Travel the Home Exchange Way

Media Request: UK Home Exchange Members Who Have Swapped for an 'Exotic' Location

Cassandra, a journalist writing a feature story on home exchange for the Daily Telegraph, is looking for UK Home Base Holidays members who have had an exchange to 'somewhere beautiful/exotic with people whose home was very different from their own'. Cassandra wants to include a photo (a very large, high resolution jpeg file to reproduce well enough for print) of the British couple or family while on holiday in their exchange home, along with a photo of their own home to show the contrast in lifestyles.

As often happens with journalists, Cassandra has a tight deadline and will be writing the article on Monday (it will be published next week, probably Thursday or Friday). As it will be on the Telegraph website as well as in the paper, a link to the full article will be published on our blog and also links to any members' listings featured (giving some extra publicity for their exchange offers).

As many exchanges will fit the description of a contrast in locations and home styles, if you are interested in helping Cassandra please contact us by Monday, giving your full name and/or User ID and your message will be forwarded to her. I will acknowledge your message and you can then send photos directly to me.

BBC - 'The One Show': Request for Participants for Home Exchange Feature

If you live, or have swapped homes in the UK, you are likely to have seen The One Show, a topical magazine programme broadcast weekdays at 7pm on BBC One. The One Show is planning a story on home exchange and Katie, a researcher on the programme, is looking for families, couples or individuals who are due to go on an exchange holiday in the next couple of months, with another family coming to their home at the same time, who would be interested in taking part in the programme. The details aren't finalised as yet but the feature would cover the family going on an exchange, with them possibly keeping a video diary when abroad, while the BBC would likely want to film the family who visit their home (and so would entail asking exchange partners if they would be willing to take part too).

Many Home Base Holidays members have participated in similar programmes in the past have and most report being involved in filming is an interesting experience. Taking part in The One Show shouldn't be intrusive or take up too much of your valuable holiday time. If you may be interested, please  as soon as possible, giving your name, User ID and when/where you will be exchanging. Your message will be forwarded to Katie who will contact you directly with more details and answer any questions you have.

 

Home Swappers: the Home Exchange Newsletter, June/July09

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

• Expat Living in Amsterdam: House-swap that Delivered the Goods

• Photos in Listings - Yet Again!

• Housekeeping Styles: Feedback Request

• BBC - 'The One Show': Request for Participants

• Untours: Free Access to a 'Local Expert' Offer

• Home Exchange = Serendipity!

Read articles in this issue in full and previous issues of Home Swappers Newsletter, in the Newsletter Archive.

Home Swappers: the Home Exchange Newsletter, Apr/May09

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

• Helping 'Virgin-swappers', Insurance Issues and Tips

• Buckingham Palace - Home Swaps and Hen Parties?

• What Does This Picture Say to You?

• Google Street Views - a Useful Tool for Home Exchangers?

• London or Bust! Home Exchange Offer in Arizona

• Media Request: Grazia Magazine

Read articles in this issue in full and previous issues of Home Swappers Newsletter, in the Newsletter Archive.

The Jerusalem Post: Urgent Request for Home Exchange Participants

Laura Kusisto, a reporter for The Jerusalem Post, has an urgent request for an experienced home exchanger in Israel, or anyone who has arranged an exchange for Passover, to get in touch if willing to answer a few questions about their exchanges. Laura writes:

'I'm writing an article looking at people here doing housing exchanges for Passover - and my deadline is this Thursday!'

If you can help Laura with her article on home exchange, please contact Home Base Holidays, including 'for Laura' in the subject line and your message will be forwarded to her right away. Thanks!

'The Best Things in Life are Free': Media Request for a Home Exchanger

Rachel, a journalist working on a feature story for Prima magazine, has sent this request:

'I'm writing an artricle based on the 'best things in life are free' for Prima magazine's April issue. I'd like to include a woman (age 30 - 50) who has enjoyed a successful house swap.

It would be great if a UK based Home Base Holidays member is willing to talk me about her home exchange experiences and have her photo included in the magazine.'

Do let me know if you are interested (subject line: Prima) and I will pass your message to Rachel who will contact you directly. As well as having your photo in Prima, we will give your next home exchange offer extra publicity when the April issue is published.

Are You Travelling Abroad for a Christmas Home Swap Soon?

'Lion Television is currently producing a new documentary series based at Heathrow Airport called Hello Goodbye, for Sky One. The show has a very simple premise telling the stories of people in the Arrivals and Departures lounges at Heathrow, from the wonderful and uplifting to the unusual and surprising.

We would love to meet people who are traveling abroad for a Home Exchange for the holiday and being waved off by friends and family between now and 9th January. So if you are, and would be happy to be filmed having a short chat with our presenter, Kate Thornton, about your journey, please get in touch asap.' - Linzi Small, Lion Television

Being involved in the filming for Hello Goodbye sounds like a good way of relieving some of the tedium of waiting around at the airport! If you'd like to take part, please send a message (subject line: Hello Goodbye) to be forwarded to Linzi who will contact you directly by email or phone if you include your phone number.

Happy travels!

Family Gap Year Home Exchange? Channel 4 Seeks Adventurers

'Do you want your children's education to take in the best of what the world has to offer and not just the four walls of a classroom? Are you planning time out with your family to do something extraordinary?'

Twenty Twenty Television, a UK TV production company, is planning a new series for Channel 4 about families taking gap years. Victoria, a researcher at the company, is looking for a British family planning a long term home exchange prepared to share their adventure to be featured in one episode of the Channel 4 series. The series will include a number of other families on gap years, e.g. going to a far flung destination, going on safari or volunteering (i.e. taking a gap year with a purpose rather than going the traditional travelling route).

Victoria assured me that any Home Base Holidays members who agree to take part will not be followed around by a film crew the whole time they are on their extended home exchange! Rather, the company would provide the family with compact camera equipment to record aspects of their experiences while living in another country and this would be supplemented by the director's filming (who would be with the family for a short time, perhaps to record a particular aspect of the exchange or a special occasion).

Victoria's request:

'I'm looking for interesting and outgoing people with children who would make good subjects to base our series on. The family would ideally be travelling outside of Europe and although they do not need to be away for a whole year, it would be great to find people who are taking substantial breaks away from work and/or taking children out of school for a while to home school.

Potential people could be departing any time between now and Spring 2009 but we would like to make contact, through you, as soon as possible.

Twenty Twenty Television is an established independent production company that has won a number of awards for programmes such as The Choir, That'll Teach Them, Brat Camp and Lads' Army.'

If you are interested, please contact Home Base Holidays (subject line: Channel 4), giving your name, a daytime phone number and a brief outline of your proposed trip. Your message will be forwarded to Victoria who will contact you directly with more information.

CNN Request for UK Participants for News Feature on Home Exchange

 Hello, I am a reporter with CNN and am doing a business piece about house swapping holidays in the UK. I am looking for people in the UK who might be doing a house swap with another UK family. This is for a short news feature for our news programmes.

It would be great to speak to anyone who is planning such a swap / done one already / about to go on one. Ideally I’d like to feature both parties in the swap to give our viewers an idea about how the process works.

Please either leave a comment or send a message to Home Base Holidays (subject line: for Sasha) if you are interested in being interviewed for the piece. Your message will be forwarded to me and I'll answer any questions you have. I look forward to hearing from you!

Many thanks

Sasha Herriman, Anchor /Reporter CNN

CNN International

Appeal for Home Exchange (or Other Accommodation) Near Cedars Sinai Hospital, Beverly Hills

This is a special appeal to anyone, Home Base Holidays members, members or agents from other home exchange clubs, or anyone who lives near Cedars Sinai Hospital, Beverly Hills, who might be able to either do a non-simultaneous exchange or offer accommodation close to the hospital, to please get in touch. Here's the story behind this appeal and I hope that through spreading the word as widely as possible, we can draw on the resources of the whole home exchange community and find someone able to offer help:

Dear Lois,

I am writing because I was just diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia a week ago and I'm 25 weeks pregnant with a girl. (We already have a 3 year old boy, Daxton, so we're very excited). The best treatment I can get in the area is at Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, but that is about an hour's drive away without traffic and can be 2 or more hours....plus I have to go there every couple of days for treatment.

I thought I might find someone who lives close to Cedars who would be willing to let us use their home for a couple of months during my treatment, but haven't had any luck so far. I just wanted to see if you know of any members in the Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, West LA, Brentwood, or any of the surrounding areas close to Cedars Sinai Hospital? Or if you know anyone personally or have any ideas for me. I realize you may not know how to help me, but I thought it was worth the inquiry.

Thanks so much and I hope you are well. By the way - my Leukemia is treatable and curable, I just need to get the baby out first and then I can start treatment! I also may have a surgery next week to remove my spleen.

Best,

Leslie

Leslie was delightful to correspond with during a period when she was promoting her start-up business (no longer operating) and had just discovered home exchange and Home Base Holidays. Leslie wrote an article, Long Haul Home Exchange with a Toddler, for Home Swappers Newsletter last year, relating the story of her first home exchanges in Holland and Germany with husband, David, and son, Daxton, in 2006 (photo is of their home in LA). Leslie's enthusiasm for everything she does shines through in her writing (I first discovered Leslie through the blog she had started to promote her business and was so impressed by her upbeat attitude to everything she was involved with that I felt compelled to write and encourage her in her new venture). I do hope we in the home exchange community can help find suitable accommodation near Cedars Sinai to at least eliminate the additional stress of travel from her home during Leslie's on-going treatment immediately after the birth of her baby at the same hospital (late July/early August).

Understandably, Leslie and David won't be able to consider a simultaneous exchange at this difficult time but, if you might be able to help, either by considering a non-simultaneous exchange (your part of the exchange to be taken later) or can possibly provide other short term accommodation near the hospital during the period of Leslie's treatment, please use the contact form to send your message (type 'For Leslie' in the subject line) or leave a comment at the end of this post and I will forward it to Leslie and David who will reply directly.

If you publish a blog or newsletter that could reach readers who live near Cedars Sinai who might be able to help, please feel free to reproduce this post or part of it. Forward any offers you receive for Leslie and I will pass these on. If you are a member of another home exchange agency, it would be helpful to include the agency site URL and your reference ID, or a direct link to your listing, within your message (see link to contact form above). If you live near the hospital and can suggest possible rental accommodation or useful contacts, please also get in touch. Every lead will be helpful and appreciated.

I will be waiting anxiously to hear of the safe delivery of Leslie's baby daughter and then her speedy recovery from Leukemia so that she can re-gain her strength and enjoy her young family to the full as soon as possible.

Check out the family's comfortable home with mountain views in Los Angeles. The house is fully equipped for young children, with lots of hiking trails within walking distance. See the full exchange offer, HE18192.