SWAP-SPAMMERS

In the dark paleolithic era of home exchange we would write a letter to potential exchangers, enclose actual photographs taken with a film camera, put our missive in the mailbox and wait a week or two for a response. Sending enough letters to get a match was a labor-intensive process. It could even prove expensive, particularly when angling for a foreign exchange.

The internet changed how we communicate, for better or worse. Where we once waited impatiently for the one response that could confirm our year's vacation plans, we now have the ability to contact dozens or hundreds of potential exchange partners with a few taps on the keyboard.

I hope new exchangers learn not to abuse the ease of communication we now enjoy. I recently modified my exchange listings to make it clear that this year our home is only available in December. Before I did this, I often received upwards of thirty exchange offers per week. This is not in itself arduous, though I often wonder if there are any non-traveling Australians left in residence there, since they contact me constantly to try to arrange a swap.

What always surprises me about the flood of swap offers I receive is when I reply that I am interested and never hear back from the exchanger. I keep my responses short, edited and professional, so I know they're not being turned off by my weird writing style. Rather, it is pretty obvious that these folks have blitzed fellow exchangers in my town with as many exchange offers as they can type. After sending out several dozen or, for all I know, a few hundred, emails, these swap-spammers wait to receive the best offer and ignore all other replies.

I've posted before about how annoying this approach is. What swap-spammers will soon learn is this: offer me a swap then ignore me once, shame on you. Swap-spam me twice, and no exchange for you. I can't be the only one who doesn't take it kindly when someone makes an exchange offer then drops the ball without explanation. In fact, I keep a folder of such "offers" so I can be aware of who is an unreliable correspondent if they contact me in the future.

Home exchange is a community of like-minded people. We all need to treat each other with respect for home exchange to work. Swap-spamming is disrespectful. It is, in fact, downright rude. If we each remember that home exchange is an opportunity to show our best hospitality and consideration of others we will flourish as a travel option. If we treat each other like gullible folk eager for fake stock tips, no one will trust anyone else and we'll all end up back in some cramped little hotel room.