HomeExchange has committed to following the official recommendations regarding travel restrictions and limitations for each country. We believe that neither the guest nor the host should be penalized by a case of force majeure requiring the cancellation of a trip.
Therefore, HomeExchange will return the GuestPoints to the host and guest if the cancellation of the exchange is unavoidable and deemed unforeseeable at the time the exchange was finalized due to decisions of the authorities or personal inability to travel due to the COVID-19.
Example 1: The local authorities have decided to prevent travel to a city after the finalization of my exchange. HomeExchange will return the GuestPoints to me.
Example 2: My flight to Portugal is cancelled because of the coronavirus. HomeExchange will return the GuestPoints to me.
Example 3: Official travel restrictions still apply to the public transportation I would have to take to get to my exchange. HomeExchange will return the GuestPoints to me.
Example 4: I have been in contact with someone who has been tested positive to COVID-19 or I am waiting for the results of my PCR test because I am experiencing symptoms. I need to contact HomeExchange with supporting documents to recover my GuestPoints.
For all other cases of cancellation, you should decide with your exchange partner that half of the GuestPoints will go to the host and half to the guest you can contact us at contact@homeexchange.com so we can facilitate this.
If you do not yet have a clear view of the restrictions or official recommendations at the date of your exchange, we advise you to wait as long as possible before canceling it. You can write to us a few days before the cancellation or even after the cancellation. If your situation corresponds to the rules mentioned above, we will return the GuestPoints to both parties.
We also created a little video on the subject to help you further :)