Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Home Exchange Travel: Respecting and Understanding Different Cultures

New Home Base Holidays member, Teresa Rust, sums up perfectly an attitude of openness to experiencing different cultures and ways of living when travelling that make an ideal home exchanger:

'Our family all loves to travel. We lived in Central Asia for 2 1/2 years. We have visited Paris and Poitiers in France and Moscow, Russia. Teresa visited England in spring 2004 and fell in love with the country and people. Brad spent a month in Belfast in March 1999 and had a wonderful time. We want our children to have an accurate view of the world, and a respect for, and an understanding of different cultures.'

See Teresa's home exchange offer in Redding, California, HE17181 (two hour drive north of Sacramento and three hours east of Eureka).

Does Anybody Want to Exchange Homes to My Town?

Q: I don't see anybody who wants to come to my city - Colorado Springs, CO. Is there a way to make a 3-way exchange? Or what can be done if there is nobody looking to exchange homes with me? - Marjorie

A: You may not find listings for members specifically looking for exchanges to Colorado Springs but this doesn't mean that there aren't members who would be interested in swapping homes with you. Most home exchangers, unless they really need to be in a particular town or city (perhaps to visit family), are much more open in their destination requests, e.g. listing US states they are interested in, just indicating 'USA' or, in many cases, 'Open to Offers Anywhere.'

You can check if there are any current members who particularly want an exchange in your city/state by using Advanced Search. Enter your city or state in the box after 'To find members looking for an exchange in your location' before searching. But don't ignore the many more listings that could be possibilities for exchanges but don't list your city as a destination. Compile an enticing exchange offer message and contact as many members as you wish once you join Home Base Holidays. Include links to local information and tourist websites (links here are to Colorado Springs sites). An attractive offer can persuade members to agree to an exchange in an area they just hadn't thought of before.

As for a 3-way exchange, although this can be done, it can be much more complicated to arrange than a direct swap between two members who get to know each other through regular correspondence, i.e. this could be like being in a chain of house buyers/sellers where a problem with one link can affect everyone else in the chain. So, generally, it is best to stick to one direct home swap at a time.

Don't Set Your Heart on Only One Home Exchange Offer

Q: What if the home exchange listing that is tempting me to join is no longer current, because the people concerned have found someone? I guess what I am asking is what is the system by which a successful swapper removes their request from the site, whilst remaining a member, so that they are not bothered by more enquirers, but also so that new people are not joining when it will already be pointless for them to contact that particular member? The one I am interested in has said December 2005 for 3-4 weeks in my own home town. - Belinda, UK

A: Home Base Holidays members join and list their homes for exchange for one or two years. Members can update their offers whenever needed (many will change destinations and dates after arranging the first exchange they wanted). Others, unable to consider further exchange offers at the time, can indicate this in their listings; such listings have a suitcase symbol beside the brief listing to show this and, 'Exchange Request Fulfilled' at the top of their full listing. A few members also request that their listings be hidden for a time (examples: members who move and can't yet consider exchanging their new home and also those who have a serious illness in the family).

Some members will forget to update their offers or to add the suitcase symbol once an exchange is arranged and, we can't guarantee either that a member will be interested in a particular exchange offer (members contact and make their arrangements directly). When an exchange listing seems such a good match as the one you found, it would be very disappointing to find that the member was not interested in your offer. To make it worth your while joining Home Base Holidays, you really need to be open to other exchange offers as well as the one that looks a perfect match.

Homes Can Be Offered for Both Exchange and Rental

Q: Just found your website, the best of those I´ve seen so far! I have an apartment in Cádiz, Spain, and I´m planning to spend most of the next few years abroad, only returning in July/August each year. Apart from looking for a home exchange in London for the time I´ll be there seeing family, I´d like to make my apartment available for short/medium term holiday lets. I´m not looking for top dollar prices, it just seems a waste not to make it available to help with my expenses. If this would be an appropriate way to use your services please let me know. Thanks. - Steve

A: Home Base Holidays is primarily a home exchange service but there are a number of other options members can choose as well, including rental offered, so yes, you could certainly offer your apartment in Cádiz for rental at times it would otherwise be empty. Although members will be looking for a home swap in the first instance, if unable to arrange an exchange for the dates they want, most would be amenable to looking at a rental offer at a reasonable rate.

One member, listing an apartment in Spain, indicates that, although primarily interested in exchanges (they also have a home in Derbyshire, England, HE12064, available for exchange), as their flat in Spain is a second home, it could be available at certain times of the year for rental - at a reduced rate to other Home Base Holidays members. That is a great idea to offer special rates to other members!

Details of this exchange/rental offer:

Marina del Este, Andalucia, SPAIN (HE17147) - Penthouse flat with spectacular views over the sea from a large terrace. One hours drive from Malaga, or Granada. On a headland between the fishing village of La Herradura, and the ancient town of Almunecar. In peaceful quiet area, but only 20 mins from Nerja.

Featured Article on wikiHow: How to Exchange Your Home for Free Vacation Accommodation

I included a post on 21 July on an article on home exchange that I had recently written for wikiHow and was delighted to receive the following message from Jack at wikiHow today:

'Just wanted to let you know that your article is today's featured article on wikiHow.

You can see it posted on the main page. Thanks for sharing such a great page with all the people who will appreciate your work. Best, Jack'

Sold on Swapping! First Home Exchange: California to North Carolina

'We just returned from our first house swap and we are sold on swapping! My husband and I brought two of my three boys with us to North Carolina. We left the one year old with Nana because of the 6 hour plane ride. The trip was wonderful! We had been e-mailing back and forth with the Yorks for about 8 months. They arranged for us to get the key and they sent us detailed information about the house and the area. They even called to check in once we were there to see if we needed anything.

Once there, we had a blast! We took the kids to the Tweetsie Railroad, a nearby amusement park for young kids, which they loved. We also crossed into Tennessee and rented a boat on a beautiful lake. We took a day and drove to the Biltmore Estate, went shopping at nearby outlet stores, went swimming in the community pool and took paddle boats out on the community lake. The area was beautiful and we got to know the local deer as we fed them deer corn off the deck.

It was great not having to eat out for every meal and not having to sleep with the kids in a small, crowded hotel room. Best of all, saving money on accommodations meant more money to spend on other things! When we tell people we went house swapping on the Internet they think we are crazy, we think they are crazy not to!' - Jennifer Mitchell, California

The photo above is of the Yorks' spacious mountain retreat at Deep Gap, 10 miles from Boone, North Carolina, HE14764.

Now that the Mitchell family has caught the home swapping bug, check out their two homes available for exchange - an ocean view home in Sea Ranch, two hours north of San Francisco (HE15209) and their second home on 1.6 acres at Coarsegold, 45 minutes from Yosemite National Park (HE17166).