I don't meet non-simultaneous swappers during the wee hours of the morning, so those who insist on arriving at that time do need to spend a night at a hotel. That is something we agree on before they arrive. However, I am not in the habit of telling my guests which hotel to choose. In this case it seemed as if the swappers might leave a memento of their visit in the form of bedbugs provided free at the homeless "hotel". I felt I was within my rights to ask them to switch their reservation.
Still, I felt bad about forcing them to do so when they were obviously enamored of the homeless shelter's low, low rates. I decided to make it up to them. Here is the email I sent after they confirmed the reservation I made for them at a legitimate hotel but before I met them:
Hi X and Y
Thanks for confirming the reservation. You will be much more comfortable than at the homeless shelter hotel. I spoke to Z at the hotel. He says check out time is 11am but they will store your luggage until the afternoon. I can meet you at the hotel lobby at 3:30pm. Will that work for you?
I am sorry for the inconvenience about the hotel. I would like to get you theater tickets as my guests to a very funny Broadway show. It is a very visual comedy so I think you will enjoy it even if you are not used to going to the theater in English. I can get tickets for The day after you arrive. Info is below. If you would like to go, please tell me as soon as possible because I don't want the tickets to be sold out.
See you Monday,
I hoped that providing them these tickets, which I was able to purchase at a student discount not available to the swappers, would smooth things over between us after their unwillingness to change their reservation. Home exchange is about person-to-person interaction not available with most travel modes. I hoped I would like these people, even if I disagreed with their hotel choice. I waited to hear how they felt about this gesture.
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I think it's up to them which hotel they decide to stay in - what they choose to do before they arrive at your house is their business and all you can do is advise them. What difference does it make to you?! If your fear is that they'd bring bed bugs into your house (and I don't think they can be transmitted from person to furniture anyway) then you deal with that risk. No exchange is without some risk, but it seems more than a little paranoid to me. I would have changed my mind about exchanging with you.
ReplyDeleteHere's a cheery article called "It's not your imagination, the bedbug crisis is exploding" http://www.businessinsider.com/historical-bed-bug-statistics-2010-8 My swappers had booked a room in a homeless shelter. Hanging out with desperate homeless people is not my idea of a vacation. And bedbugs are at epidemic levels in NYC hotels specifically because the way they are transmitted is from person to furniture. They cling to the clothing or get into the luggage in an infested room. The person then carries them to the next home (mine). It costs 20,000 to 30,000 to get rid of an infestation. If you are that ignorant about this problem and that unconcerned about staying in a homeless shelter I am glad you would have changed your mind about exchanging with me. I would never expose my swap partners if the shoe were on the other foot.
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