A Home Exchange Vacation - Is it Right for You?
June 25, 2008
For many years, home exchanging has been a popular and economical way to vacation. Home exchange or house swapping, offers the benefit of staying in someone else’s home while they in turn, occupy yours. These swaps are even exchanges and are typically free of charge. The choices of locations are virtually limitless.
In a typical exchange, you and your exchange partner stay in each other’s homes at the same time. These home are usually the vacationer’s primary residence. A newer, emerging trend is to have a non-simultaneous swap; where the owner’s vacation homes or secondary residences are used in the exchange. This allows both parties to stay in their own home and have more flexibility on the travel dates and how long they stay.
How do you find the right home and home exchange partner? There are many reputable companies and sites available right on the web. HomeExchange.com has over 20,000 listings that you can browse for free. If you want to list your home or contact another home owner, you will need to become a member and pay the annual subscription fee. They also have a great FAQ (frequently asked questions) area to get you started on your search. The International Vacation Home Exchange specializes in 2nd home or vacation home exchanges and also lets you browse listings for free. For seniors, one of the best resources is Seniors Home Exchange. They focus specifically on exchangers that are in the over 50 age group. Seniors are a great fit for home swaps because they have a more flexible schedule, aren’t tied to children’s schedules or school holidays and can stay for longer periods of time.
So is home exchanging right for you? Well, it certainly isn’t for everyone. Many people love it because it allows them to travel and experience new locations without incurring the cost of a hotel or having to eat out at every meal. Moreover, staying in a home affords you more space than a hotel room. Home exchanges are also a great way to immerse yourself into the life of a local community. Very often your exchange partner will give you information about the area, introduce you to neighbors and friends and give you a real feel for the local culture. Some of the down sides to exchanging are the fact that you are responsible for keeping the home clean while you are staying there. There is no room service or daily housekeeping. For some folks, that is a deal breaker.
If you would prefer to stay in a home but still have the comforts and services of a hotel, then a vacation rental might be a better fit for you. It is going to cost you, but if you’re traveling with friends or family it can actually be cheaper than booking multiple hotel rooms.
Obviously, there are many pros and cons to a home exchange vacation. Do some investigating and due diligence on your part before you jump in. Who knows, you might just find you’re hooked!
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Thanks for drawing attention to home exchange as a great way to travel - especially if you are a senior and able to be flexible on dates and length of exchange. Of course, not everyone will feel able to take part in a home swap but, for a growing number of travellers, it’s definitely the way to go!
I would just suggest that, if you are interested in exchanging homes to another country, it’s a good idea to check for home exchange services based in that country (likely to have more choice with fewer of your fellow citizens chasing the same offers). If you would like to exchange to London (yes, our city is still affordable if you swap homes!) or anywhere in the UK, do check out our listings at Home Base Holidays. And visit my home exchange blog for more information.
Cheers!
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Excellent article. Unfortunately you failed to mention my company: http://www.exchangehomes.com which has been continually in business, helping home exchangers since 1986. The media has described us more than once as “one of the oldies and goodies!”
Many of our members have been with us 10, 12, even 15+ years and one lady from Atlanta has been a member since the year we began business.
http://www.exchangehomes.com has an award winning and especially user friendly web site, and we believe our toll free Customer Service is the best in the business. Visitors can explore all our listings at their leisure and to help people “get acquainted” with the concept and generally test the waters, we offer an Associate Membership where visitors can contact up to 5 Full Members free of charge. However, to actually list and display their own home exchange offer, they will need to pay the $39 annual membership fee.
We have great F.A.Q’s, a downloadable Hints and Advice Book, and general Help sections, plus we publish a blog, full of tips, advice and stories contributed by members. Both visitors can also subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter.
In these hard economic times, home exchange offers once remaining opportunity for affordable travel, and if the rising cost of air fares is an issue, I should point out that many of our members are now arranging great exchanges much closer to home. After all, a vacation doesn’t have to mean traveling half way around the world. There are many excellent opportunities to be found less than 500 miles from your front door!
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Excellent article. Very well thought out with a lot of important points addressed.
There are many Internet-based services that pair prospective travelers with one another for a home-exchange vacation but I would highly recommend http://www.homeforswap.com
Best Wishes!
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