Your inquiry about a possible exchange
Help! Why aren't I receiving responses to my inquiries?
Check your initial contact letter. Remember it's an invitation as well as an inquiry.
I know personally how disappointing it is when people fail to respond with even a short 'no thanks' to an exchange offer. Often I check my email regularly after having sent out inquiries.
Unfortunately, there will always be some people who don't respond to your inquiry. Some may not check their email often, or may be away, while others could just be overwhelmed with responses.
You can't be sure of getting a response to all offers you send out but here's a few suggestions that might help increase your chances of getting responses:
The first letter you send to potential exchangers should express your tentative interest, pending further correspondence. What you say can go a long way towards finding an exchange.
Introduce your family, the ages of your children, careers, hobbies and special interests. Especially when teens and kids are involved, including a family photo is a good idea.
Outline the advantages of your home–i.e., its proximity to tourist attractions, shopping, safe and quiet neighborhood, climate.
Provide a detailed description of the interior and exterior of your home, listing features like working fireplace, oriental carpets, antiques, childproofing, barbecue and outside eating area
If offering a car, give the make, year and condition. An automatic makes driving on an unaccustomed side of the road much easier.
Provide references if you are an experienced exchanger.
List your preferred dates and length of exchange. The more flexible you are, the better your chances.
Be honest. Your abode may be humbler than that villa in Tuscany where you’re hoping to go, but if the time and the place are right, your potential exchange partners would probably prefer your home to a hotel.
Be positive
Request that they reply to your message as soon as they can as you are waiting to hear back even if they can't consider your offer at this time.
Most home exchange and vacation rental agencies such as Global receive
heaps of possible spam each day. 99% of spam is filtered and
blocked from reaching members inboxes. A huge segment of spam
attempts is sent from email addresses provided by Yahoo. As a
result many agencies now block all Yahoo email addresses from using
their contact form. If you are using a Yahoo email address on a
contact form and not receiving responses it may be filtered and blocked.
Try another email address that is not Yahoo.
Home Exchange Resources
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