Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Travel Q&A: I have a lodger, can I still swap my home?

Can you arrange a home swap holiday when you have a lodger?

Q: We have a 4-bedroom house in North London. I've been looking at home swapping as a family holiday option, however there is a problem (or maybe not?)... we have a lodger! Our lodger has lived with us for over a year, he's a muture student in his mid 30s, he's really nice and pretty much keeps himself to himself, although does share the bathroom. Does this ever happen with other members and do you think I'd still be able to arrange a home swap holiday? - Barbara (London, England)

A: What an interesting question! Although I can't recall a Home Base Holidays member ever mentioning taking part in an exchange while having a resident lodger, this doesn't mean it never happens. There could be similar situations where a home may be occupied by a grown up child, housekeeper, etc. during an exchange. Having a lodger won't preclude you from swapping your home but you will need to inform potential home exchange partners - and your lodger!

How well a home exchange will work when a home is occupied probably boils down to common sense, i.e. if the lodger is rarely in or stays mainly in his/her room, doesn't share your living space (other than your bathroom), then there shouldn't be any issues so long as this is discussed your guests prior to agreeing to exchange. And of course this works the other way around too; it's a good idea to discuss this with your lodger and make sure he/she is also happy to have other people staying in the home (if they are a quiet student, they may not want to share their space with people they don't know).

Take care (as you would anyway) in choosing your lodger and in selecting compatible exchange partners (who don't mind that your home will be occupied during their stay) and you should be able to combine the two without problems. In fact, if the lodger and your exchange partners get on, this could actually be a bonus for your guests who may enjoy having a 'local' to show them the area and explain how things work in your house!

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3 Easy Steps for Creating a Home Exchange User Guide

It’s good to anticipate what your home exchange guests might need to know about their home and local area. It can be frustrating to spend your valuable holiday time figuring out how to use the new appliances, how to get hot water from the shower, or where to put the rubbish and recycling.

Putting together a home user guide for your guests not only helps them enjoy their stay, but it conveys a clear message: “We want you to enjoy your stay!”. It has the added benefit of helping to keep you from being bombarded by texts and phone calls while you’re also relaxing on your home swap holiday.

Here are 3 easy steps for creating a great home user guide. Once you’ve written and assembled the guide, all you’ll need to do is update it when something changes.

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Step 1. Decide what “must-have” content to include

Think about what guests need to know to live comfortably in your home and handle any problems that might come up. Must-have content typically includes:

• A short, friendly note welcoming your guests to your home
• The home’s street address and telephone number
• How guests can reach you while they are staying in your home
• The password or code for your security system, if any, and how to turn it and off
• The Wifi password and what to do if it goes down
• Phone numbers for the fire department, police, hospital, pharmacy, and poison control
• Instructions for sorting the recycling, where to put the rubbish and recycling
• What to do if the power goes out, the plumbing backs up, the heater or water heater won’t go on, they lose their keys, or something else serious happens
• Instructions and/or manuals for the appliances, heater/air conditioner, TV, streaming services, sound system, barbecue, and other equipment
• Cautions (“The toilet in the front bathroom backs up easily so be gentle”; “Please do not lock the door between the stairs and the back hall – we don’t have a key”; “the drawer in the kitchen table falls out easily so be careful when you open it”)
• Rules (“Please do not play the TV or music loudly after 10:00 at night”; “Please do not smoke in the house or on the property”; “Please park only in our assigned space, #288”)
• What guests should do when they leave (“Please replace the toilet paper and cleaning supplies”; “Strip the beds and put the sheets in the washer”; “Leave us some milk, eggs, butter, and bread”)

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Step 2. Decide what nice-to-have information to include

A big part of traveling is the fun of exploring a new area, but it’s also nice to have a local’s point of view. Help guests have a great experience by being a “virtual tourist guide,” with suggestions for places they might not find in their travel books.

• Where to shop: supermarkets, farmers’ markets, bookstores, cafes
• How to get around: maps of the area along with bus, train, and ferry information and schedules along with phone numbers for taxi and airport shuttle services
• Where to play: parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, gyms, beaches, golf courses, tennis courts, hiking trails, ski slopes, and other recreational facilities
• Where to eat: a selection of cafes, bars and restaurants they might enjoy

Tip: Collect menus from places you like and leave them for your guests

• What to see: local attractions such as museums, art galleries, nature preserves, sports arenas, universities, and more

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Step 3. Write and assemble your home user guide

Make your home user guide easy to read. Use lists and headings to help guests quickly find specific information. Keep sentences and paragraphs to a minimum. To assemble the guide, you can staple the pages of instructions and suggestions together and put the maps, menus, and brochures in a basket or put everything in a binder or folder with pockets.

Tip: E-mail guests a copy of the written part of the guide so they can look it over and ask questions before they arrive.

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Arrange a home swap holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays for free and contact members to arrange your home swap holiday accommodation. Search home swap holiday offers

Putting your home exchange membership 'on hold'

Sometimes life gets in the way and you're not in a position to plan your next home swap holiday or respond to members' enquiry messages. Therefore, please feel free to contact us at Home Base Holidays if you'd like to put your membership on hold for a few weeks or a few months.

There can be times where this is a really useful option e.g. when moving home, undertaking major house renovation, arranging a different type of holiday, or when a family member is unwell.

We'll always do whatever we can to help our members and so are always happy to pause your membership until you're ready to start home swapping again.

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• If you should ever need your membership put on hold, contact us.

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Arrange a home swap holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays for free and contact members to arrange your home swap holiday accommodation. Search home swap holiday offers

Home swap holiday: cosy log cabin in Eryri (Snowdonia)

Home swapping to a log cabin in the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park

We love hearing about your home swap holidays! Here we've received a trip report from Home Base Holidays member, Madeline, who enjoyed a lovely family home swap holiday to Karen's cosy log cabin set within the beautiful Eryri National Park (Snowdonia). 

Family holiday in Wales: scenic log cabin & caring home swap hosts "We enjoyed such a wonderful one week home swap holiday staying in Karen's lovely log cabin. The cabin is in such a fabulous location, in a beautiful spot within the Snowdonia National Park with amazing views over the Rhinog Mountains. The log cabin was so welcoming, it is really nicely renovated, clean, plus warm and cosy, perfectly equipped for colder days! Communication with Karen was excellent and we really appreciated the thoughtful recommendations for our family. The cabin is in the Trawsfynydd Leisure Village which is very family friendly, our kid really enjoyed visiting the playground on site. The setting and surrounding area is just stunning with lots of walks and outings to choose from. Plus what a treat to watch all the busy bird feeders in the garden! Thank you so much for such a lovely holiday." - Madeline

Highlights of the holiday: Swapping to a cosy log cabin with stunning views Beautiful location in the Snowdonia National Park Kind and responsive owners

Madeline's riverside home in Frome Lovely, peaceful family flat in Frome, a beautiful, historic town in Somerset. View the home swap holiday offer	Karen's log cabin in Snowdonia, Wales Norwegian style log cabin nestled within the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park. View the home swap holiday offer

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Start home swapping and cut the cost of your next holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays and save up to 90% on the cost of your holidays by arranging a home exchange. Search the latest home exchange holiday offers

Handling back-to-back home swap holidays | Travel tips

The majority of home exchange holidays are simultaneous swaps, where the two members agree to swap homes for the duration of their holidays. Although all home exchanges take careful planning and preparation, they usually tend to be quite straight forward to arrange.

However, some home exchangers arrange two or even a series of swaps, one after the other. Such arrangements take careful planning as, if one member is unable to take part in an agreed exchange for any reason, this could affect others in the chain of swaps. Although it is very rare that there will be a problem, as with any home exchange, it’s sensible to have a fall-back plan, perhaps even agreeing to pay for alternative accommodation for your guests should you have to cancel at short notice.

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Exchanging keys: If you're arranging back-to-back home swaps, it might be worth installing a lock box outside your home so that you can provide your guests' with a code to access the keys to your home when they arrive at the start of the swap. If you do install a lock box, make sure to give detailed instructions as to where to find the lock box and how to enter the code.

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It is also important to consider arrangements to ensure your home is ready for your second exchange guests arrival. The vast majority of home exchangers will leave your home very clean and tidy at the end of their stay. However, if you're doing back-to-back home exchanges, it's likely you won't have a chance to check your home prior to your next guests' arrival. Therefore, to give you and your guests peace of mind, it might be good to arrange a cleaner to come in between the exchanges so as to make sure your home is clean and tidy, change bed linen, wash towels, etc. You can then relax as you start your second exchange, knowing that your home will be just as you left it and ready for your guests' arrival.

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Home Base Holidays: arrange a home exchange holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial and start planning your home swap holiday accommodation.  Search Home Base Holidays for the latest home swap holiday offers

Travelling with kids: wonderful home swap in Devon

We love receiving trip reports from Home Base Holidays members! In this trip report, members, Eliza and her two young daughters, enjoyed a wonderful non-simultaneous home swap holiday staying in Isabel's cosy cottage set in the beautiful East Devon countryside. 

Eliza's home swap holiday in the Devon countryside "We had the most wonderful time in Devon swapping homes with Isabel and her family. We'd arranged a non-simultaneous home swap holiday and Isabel couldn't have been more welcoming or lovely. It was such a treat to get to enjoy a couple of nights in such a beautiful part of the Devon countryside. Isabel's home is a lovely cosy cottage set in a beautiful valley close to the coast. The cottage is in such a perfect location, just a short stroll to Lyme Regis and ideal for exploring East Devon's Jurassic Coast. My husband couldn't join us so it was just myself and my two little daughters. Isabel went to every effort to make sure I had everything I needed, including a cot for my youngest and even a bucket and spade when we went to the beach. It really was such a lovely break and I'd recommend Isabel's cottage to everyone. Thanks so much!" - Eliza

Highlights of the holiday: Enjoy gorgeous country walks direct from the cottage Going to the beach. The cottage is less than 10 minutes from Lyme Regis! Cosying up in Isabel's beautiful cute cottage

Photos from the home swap in Devon

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Reply from Isabel: "Thanks so much Eliza for the great review. We really enjoyed meeting you and your daughters. We loved our home swap to your beautiful Cotswolds cottage and I really hope we can arrange a swap again later this year! Many thanks, Isabel"

Eliza's cottage in the Cotswolds Cosy cottage on the edge of the Cotswolds. Set in a pretty village in the Wiltshire countryside. View the home swap holiday offer	Isabel's cottage in Devon Lovely cottage in the beautiful East Devon countryside. 10 minutes from Lyme Regis. View the home swap holiday offer

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Start home swapping and cut the cost of your next holiday Sign up to Home Base Holidays and save up to 90% on the cost of your holidays by arranging a home exchange. Search the latest home exchange holiday offers