Travel the Home Exchange Way

Home Swappers, the Home Exchange Newsletter, February 2012

The February issue of Home Swappers Newsletter is now available. Topics:

• Featured listing: Victorian London townhouse near Notting Hill
• Home Base Holidays exclusive: join Global Home Exchange for just $1
• Under 6 months to go to the 2012 Olympics: time to plan a home swap!
• Trip report: home exchanges and house sitters - tips for newcomers
• Household insurance during a home swap

Read articles on home exchange in this issue in full and in previous issues of Home Swappers Newsletter, in the Newsletter Archive. Subscribe to receive the newsletter as published.

Home exchange Q & A: Must I live in a super luxurious home to home swap?

Q: My partner and I live in Blackheath, which I think is a lovely area in South London. We live with our two young sons (3 years and 9 months). I belong to a popular online group for mums and saw an advert for their home swap service. This sounded ideal but when I checked their site all the homes were ridiculously posh (like really really luxurous!) plus it was so expensive to join especially when I doubt anyone on the site would want to stay in my normal (but nice!) home.

A friend suggested that I check out your site as she'd had good experiences with Homebase. It's really good to see that you do have a much broader choice of homes. There seems to be lots in England but for us this is good as we don't want to travel far while our boys are young and so it would be great if we could swap with a family living in the country or a seaside town. Do you get much requests for swaps within the UK? I am on the verge of joining but just wanted reassurance that it really is ok if your home is a small third floor flat, that we won't lower the tone and not get any interest in a swap? - Lucy B, London

A: Thanks for your question. Recently we've had quite a number of emails from families new to exchanging concerned that their homes might not be 'posh' enough to swap. I'm really sorry that you were disappointed by the luxury nature of the homes on the mums group you mentioned. Please be assured that you do not need to live in a large or grand home to take part in home exchange, certainly not with Home Base Holidays anyway. Homes for exchange vary enormously but one way to narrow your home exchange search results to homes most likely to be suitable for your family is to use 'show more options' and tick the box for 'children welcome' (and any other important criteria) before searching. This is a good starting point to find suitable homes.

Although the location of a home, rather than that the home be similar to their own, is of most importance to many members (you live in a great location in London so that's certainly not an issue), and many people are happy to swap their larger homes for a small flat in an area they want to visit, it is certainly understandable that the majority of people who live in smaller, modest flats would generally feel really uncomfortable approaching members who appear to live in designer show homes - although people interested in home exchanging are often more open to swap suggestions.

You didn't mention the cost of membership of the luxury service but membership Home Base Holidays is only £29 for 1 years membership (and only £19 to renew the following year!). I hope that seems reasonable? We try to provide the best possible service but also make sure to provide the best possible value to our members.

Look out for our post, How to find family friendly home exchange offers, to be published on 4th February, for more ideas on finding a good match. Oh and do let us know if you have any further questions.

Our website is at: www.homebase-hols.com

Beautiful 17th century thatched cottage (40minutes from London!)

Beautiful 17th century thatched cottage surrounded by a charming and tranquil garden.

The setting is rich in wildlife, perfect for walking, cycling, fishing and horse-riding. Many good pubs nearby for food and drink. Excellent transport links to London (40 mins by train to Kings Cross), the historic town of Saffron Walden is a 15 minute drive and Cambridge is a 30 minute drive.

Exchange Request: UK, Open to offers

View full Home Swap listing…

Home exchange savings are a good excuse for little treats!

"I recently read an article on home exchange in a Saturday newspaper. It carried a list of pros and cons and in the cons list the writer had included 'preparing your house for the visitors and clearing up their home before you leave'.

Now I don't think any home exchanger actually minds preparing the house before leaving. I always want people to be as comfortable there as I am and I take pleasure in leaving my Tooting terrace looking at its best just as my heart always lift when I walk through the door of my temporary home-from-home and see that my new friends have done the same for me.

But one thing I did agree with was that, because house swapping is so cost effective, you can afford to give yourself a treat while you're away. We've done this ever since we returned from our first foray into this exciting new hobby and realised that, apart from the cost of getting there, we hadn't spent any more money than if we'd stayed at home:

• So the following month saw us in Bath and, instead of a cup of tea in the Pump Room, we ordered a flight of champagne. How everyone stared as our special little trays, complete with canapés, were borne across that vast and glittering space.
• We've been racing in Chester, Exeter and Dublin and paid to go in the 'posh bit': an opportunity to dress up for the day.
• While in Dorset we took the bus to Bridport and wandered the market stalls and independent food shops and instead of buying one or two treats, purchased whatever took our fancy.
• In Barcelona we fulfilled Paul's ambition of visiting the Camp Nou Stadium (in photo above) at prices which made us realise why it's one of the richest football clubs in the world.
• In Oxford it was my turn to gratify a desire to sit in the Morse Bar at the Randolph Hotel and sip expensive cocktails.
• In Sitges we lunched at the swankiest beachside restaurant
• and in Bournemouth, when a sudden downpour had every-one diving for shelter, we took the little funicular up to the restaurant and, sitting by a vast picture window, ordered a sumptuous afternoon tea and a taxi home.

And then, at the end of our holiday, we come back home to a beautifully cleaned and cared for little house, the plants all watered, the cushions plumped, the mail neatly stacked." - Sandra Newnham, London (see Sandra's current home exchange offer, HE22742)

$1 home exchange membership offer - more choice of quality home swap offers

A Home Base Holidays Exclusive: join second home swap club for just $1

We have teamed up with a long established home exchange service based in Canada to offer Home Base Holidays members the chance to also join this second home swap agency at only $1 for one year. Like Home Base Holidays, Global Home Exchange is a private, secure membership agency that provides an excellent service. If you are a current Home Base Holidays member, and would like information on listing your home on Global, please contact us and we will send you details, with no obligation to continue Global membership at the end of the year. If you aren't a current Home Base Holidays member, join or renew and then let us know if you would like to take up the $1 membership offer from Global. 

Our mutual partnership with Global increases the choice of exchange offers for all our members at very little cost.

 

Is there insurance to cover house swap cancellations?

Q: Is there an insurance policy to cover a particular eventuality such as one party having to cancel our home swap arrangements after expensive airfares have been purchased? Travel companies seem to have a policy of NO refund or only partial refund if a client cancels after paying for the costly return flights to their home swap destination. Kind regards, Deidre P., Australia

A: Home Base Holidays is now offering an insurance policy through a UK broker that will provide cover for members should their exchange partners need to cancel at short notice due to serious illness or death in the family. It has taken a lengthy time to develop a policy that we feel will provide extra reassurance to members, although the policy will initially only be available to members in the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately there is no insurance policy that will cover cancellation of a firm home exchange agreement if a member cancels without a valid reason.

Although it is very rare that an agreed exchange is cancelled, there are steps you can take to minimise the risks:

1. Before finalising an exchange agreement, discuss and agree a fall back plan should either you or your exchange partners need to cancel the exchange at short notice. For example, those who have a second home within easy reach of their main home can offer this as an alternative should they not be able to vacate their home on the agreed dates. Others will offer to pay for rented accommodation or a hotel room in their area for their exchange guests should they need to cancel or postpone the exchange and are unable to host them. In both cases, the member who has had to cancel won't need to lose out on their own holiday if their exchange partners are able to offer use of their home at a later date (i.e. for a non-simultaneous exchange) and their travel insurance should cover the cost of flight tickets for the cancelled trip when due to a valid reason.

It is particularly important to consider options for alternative accommodation if one or both parties include people who have a serious medical condition or perhaps have close family members in poor health.

2. Once you have agreed a plan for alternative accommodation that you are both happy with should your exchange need to be cancelled or cut short for any reason, then complete your exchange agreement. Arrange to buy your flight tickets on the same day and exchange confirmation details as soon as you've done so. It is a reassurance to both parties to know that their exchange partners have also purchased flight tickets as, unless there is a genuine reason to cancel, neither party is likely to do so after spending a substantial amount on tickets.

3. After you have agreed to exchange homes and bought flight tickets, keep in regular contact with your exchange partners, both to plan your exchange arrangements and to keep updated should yours or their situation change. If, for example, one of you has an ill or elderly relative in the family, agree to let the other know at the earliest time in the unlikely event that it looks possible that travel plans will need to be curtailed. This will then give time to agree to go ahead with your alternative accommodation plan should this seem necessary.

4. If, in the worst case scenario, an exchange must be cancelled at short notice and your exchange partners can't provide accommodation for the agreed dates (either in their home or alternative rented accommodation), let us know and we will publicise your short notice offer on the blog and in the newsletter and help you find members to contact with your exchange offer.

The following may also be useful:

Home Exchange: Planning for the Unexpected

Travel Insurance: Before a Home Exchange - Disclosing Medical Conditions

Cancellation of agreed exchanges is a small risk of home exchange but it happens very rarely. I hope this helps you prepare in advance to minimise any anxiety but please get in touch again if you have any questions or special concerns.

Hoopoes, lions in the night, opossums and other creatures you might meet on a home exchange

If you are a keen nature lover or bird watcher, you could very well find your perfect home swap home here:

Pisa, Italy: Our home is an old spacious 3 bedroom country house with its own olive terraced hillside and pine wood, 20 minutes from Pisa and Pisa Airport (with connections to 50 cities in Europe and North Africa), 30 minutes from Lucca, and one hour from Florence.

There are wonderful walks all around the house and amongst the surrounding olive groves. The whole valley forms part of a protected nature reserve and is safe for kids to explore. There are no poisonous snakes or insects, and also very few mosquitoes. There is a lot of wildlife: wild boar, foxes, badgers, squirrels, lizards, buzzards, and hoopoes (in the spring). See full home exchange offer.

Munich, Germany: We live in a 100 year old beautifully renovated Art Nouveau apartment house. Our apartment is 104 m² and full of light. We are situated in one of most desirable neighborhoods of Munich. We are around the corner from the Munich zoo (we hear the lions in the night). The bus stop is only half a block away from the apartment. This runs every 10 minutes and is a direct line to Marienplatz, the city center. We are only a 10 minute walk to the Isar river, which runs through Munich. It is full of swimmers and surfers all summer long. We have the perfect combination of city living and nature. We are one block away from the forest which has many walking/jogging trails along the river and playgrounds. See full home exchange offer.

San Diego, California, USA: Our two-story, air-conditioned home of about 2,200 square feet was built in 1993. The house is part of a development in a canyon of Black Mountain (a very modest mountain by western U.S. standards, it's only about 300 meters above sea level) and is on a dead-end street. Our backyard is frequently visited by wild animals such as ground squirrels and rabbits in the daytime; opossums, raccoons, and skunks at night, and an occasional coyote. We have several different kinds of bird feeders and enjoy watching the backyard activity from the breakfast area. See full home exchange offer.

 

Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia: Our home is at Mt Coolum on the beautiful Sunshine Coast 90 minutes north of Brisbane, Queensland. Mt Coolum is about 20 kilometres south of Noosa. To the west, there are mountains and some pretty towns centred around dairying, arts and craft, fine food and breathtaking scenery. We have two good golf courses within walking distance. The Hyatt Coolum golf course is of world class standard. The smaller Mt Coolum golf course is very picturesque and you will see kangaroos and other wildlife as you enjoy a game of golf. See full home exchange offer.

Time to start planning your 2012 London home swap for the Olympics

Now's the time to arrange your home swap to London for the Olympics and Paralympics next summer when the city will be even more buzzing with activity than normal! As Home Base Holidays is a long established London based service, we offer the largest choice of attractive offers during this period. 

To quickly see some of the most recent offers, visit our dedicated Olympics home exchange offers page. This is only a few of the many offers available - do check for all offers as detailed on the Olympics page.

Note to members: if your exchange offer within easy reach of the Olympic Park or other event venues isn't on the special Olympics list, please let us know and we'll add it (also let us know if you have already arranged an exchange and your offer will be taken off the list).

Home Swappers, the Home Exchange Newsletter, January 2012

The January issue of Home Swappers Newsletter is now available. Topics:

• Featured listing: beautiful home near Stanford University, California.
• Trip report: A home exchange so good, we're doing it twice!
• Travel the Home Exchange Way blog: 1000th post published
• Home Base Holidays Exclusive: join second home swap club for just $1 for a year

Read articles in this issue in full and previous issues of Home Swappers Newsletter, in the Newsletter Archive. Subscribe to receive the newsletter as published.

Round up summary of popular home exchange posts in 2011

These are just a few of the most read posts published on Travel the Home Exchange Way during the last year:

One year to go until the London 2012 Olympics - time to plan a home exchange!

Now is definitely a great time to start planning a home swap to London or any of the other venue locations. As Home Base Holidays is based in London and has been running a home exchange service since 1985, membership gives you access to the largest choice of up-to-date home exchange offers in London and throughout Britain during the Olympics.

 

 

 

 

 

Home exchange trip report: short break home swap close to home

'Who'd have thought that in the middle of October we'd be having a pre-dinner drink "al fresco"? We're sitting on Jean's beautiful canal-side terrace, our internet shopping stowed away, a fountain whispering in the piazza, (yes, we are in the UK) looking back on two years of home swapping.'

Guess who's coming to dinner? Photos that make home swap guests feel welcome, part 1

To avoid a home looking impersonal and sterile (your guests have chosen to live in a real home, not a cookie-cutter hotel room!), personal effects such as pictures, books, photos (and pets and family members) help make a home warm and inviting. And what is more inviting than a photo of a table set up for dinner or drinks on a terrace or garden?

 

High praise for home exchange holidays: the value of genuine testimonials

Testimonials on websites can give valuable reassurance to new visitors not familiar with the business. However, to be of value, testimonials must be genuine and from 'real' customers, not anonymous quotes without sources. Fortunately, with home exchange, it is easy to show the source of testimonials by including links to the current exchange offers of all members quoted.

Care wanted for 'Flower': Requesting pet care from home exchange guests

Leaving a much loved family pet at home in the care of home swap guests is much preferable for most pet owners to the alternative, expensive (and often stressful) option of boarding a pet in kennels or a cattery. One of the many advantages of home exchange is that, not only will your home be cared for while you are on vacation, but many home exchangers are very happy to care for resident pets.

 

Home exchange home security issues

People who take part in home swaps are very conscientious and won't leave your home vulnerable intentionally (they are trusting you to care for their home too) but it's easy to take for granted steps we take when securing our own homes. Take time to write a quick Locking Up reminder list and stick it near the front door.

Not just for vacations - more reasons for arranging a home exchange, part 1

A few weeks ago, we published a series of posts on some of the many reasons Home Base Holidays members give (apart from vacations) for arranging home swaps. Members are always finding new ways to benefit from home exchange and here are a few more:

• To take part in the New York marathon
• To make friends and see places beyond the superficial tourist level
• To go to a football match
• To be near a family member having medical treatment
• To celebrate retirement
• To attend drama school

Home exchange: addressing those 'awkward' questions

The early messages between home exchange members are very important in enabling both to ask and answer questions as they occur (and generally get a feeling on their compatibility) without, at this stage, a firm commitment to exchange. Email has speeded up initial communication greatly but time and care should still be taken to minimise any possibility of misunderstandings later on.

 

 

 

How to present a house for a home exchange

Generally home exchange members just clear enough space in wardrobes and cupboards to enable their exchange guests to unpack and store their clothes and belongings. Leave your home clean and tidy but, as your home doesn’t need to be ‘de-personalised’, there is no need to store anything except personal items or items of value or sentimental value that you would be concerned about.

Home exchange comparison resource suggestion

Home Base Holidays was contacted recently by a comparison website, with a link to home exchange services comparison data, and the suggestion that 'your readers will love it because it lets you search for and compare exchange websites by the number of listings, exchange types offered, membership fee and more.' As well as some puzzling omissions/inclusions in the sites compared, the 'and more' didn't really cover anything that would be very useful for first time home exchangers to help them choose the best service for their needs.

Large home exchange party? Finding homes that accommodate 10+

We need quite a large home to sleep 10 of us in my own and my sister's family who will be coming to England for a family reunion in 2012. My own home will sleep five comfortably (seven at a pinch). Will anyone with a home large enough for us want to swap homes for our smaller property in Perth?

Live 'the good life' on a home exchange to a Grade II listed farmhouse in Cornwall

Anyone with fond memories of 'The Good Life', a popular British comedy series in the late 1970s, could well be tempted to try out the good life on a home exchange to this wonderful home:

East Trethellan Farm is a Grade II listed farmhouse set in four acres in West Cornwall. Located in a tranquil spot, but with easy access to both north and south coasts. Our five bed house has been recently renovated and provides comfort alongside period features.

The house is located with three holiday cottages, which have been converted from redundant barns. The cottages will be fully managed in our absence. The grounds are ideal for family use - there are lots of different animals - Pygmy goats, ducks, chickens, rabbits, sheep etc (these will also be looked after in our absence), a play area, wooded area and fenced off wildlife pond.

See full home swap offer and view more photos, 26282

'Merry Christmas' 35% home exchange membership discount offer

We wish all our lovely Home Base Holidays members and visitors to our home exchange blog a very happy holiday season!

Immediately after Christmas we always notice a great increase in home exchange listings as members start dreaming of summer holidays and planning home swaps for the new year.

For the greatest choice of offers, it's always a good idea to join well ahead of the dates you want to exchange homes. To encourage early birds, we are offering new members the chance to join Home Base Holidays at a massive 35% discount for either one or two years. But hurry, this discount is only valid until 31 December 2011. To take advantage of the offer, join now, entering the code, XMAS35 in the promotional code box on the membership form.