The most successful home swaps are between members who know and like each other through regular correspondence during the course of arranging an exchange. There is much less chance of problems or misunderstandings arising during an exchange when people feel comfortable in the knowledge they have similar attitudes to the whole experience of home exchanging and to what will be included in the exchange on both sides. Although it happens very rarely, occasionally we receive a message from a member who felt someone was trying to push them into agreeing to an exchange that they really didn't want to pursue and that an attitude of only trying to arrange a holiday on the cheap came across rather than taking on board the wider social benefits of exchanging homes. One member wrote recently: '.... approached me with an exchange offer and I said that I was interested but I never agreed to an exchange. I asked for photos of his property and information on the local area only so that I could have more information with which to make a decision. Although not the reason for my refusal to exchange, I was not happy with some of the aspects of this exchange offer. I felt he was very cheeky to expect us to leave our car for him to use because he "was on a budget" despite the fact that he had no car to exchange. We were already swapping a three bedroomed detached property in a capital city for a small flat in a town but it appeared that this wasn't enough - he wanted a free car as well! I think that ....'s main problem is that he is using home exchanging to get cheap holidays and he is upset that it didn't work out with us. I, on the other hand, was looking for a nice place to stay but did not need to exchange as I can afford to pay for accomodation (and a car!) It seems to me that alot of people who exchange have large houses and so apparently do not exchange to save money. I am simply not happy exchanging with someone whose main concern is using my house as a money saving option - that, I feel, is not a fair reason to exchange.' Undoubtedly one of the advantages of a home exchange vacation is that it cuts out the hotel/rental bill, one of the major vacation expenses for most people. However, from feedback we receive from the majority of Home Base Holidays members, the cost savings are not the main benefit of home swapping. Staying in another member's house or apartment with all the home comforts, getting to know a neighbourhood and meeting local people rather than, as often happens in a traditional vacation, mainly meeting other tourists, are the positive points of home exchange most often mentioned.
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