Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Home Exchange: Allergy Sufferer? Take Extra Care to Find a Suitable Swap

New Home Base Holidays members in San Francisco included the following information, that's very important for them, in their home exchange offer:

'We are both non-smokers and we don’t have any pets (allergic to cats). First time exchangers and we’re excited to find a good match and to share our home.'

This should deter other members with cats from contacting them as, even if a cat will not be at home during the period of a home swap, a home where one normally lives, however carefully cleaned, is not going to be suitable for anyone with a severe allergy to cats.

I recently had an overnight guest (friend of a friend from Canada) who, late at night when I showed her to her room, informed me that she couldn't sleep in the room even if I took out the feather pillows on the bed as she was very allergic to feathers. Fortunately we have a sofa bed which I quickly made up with foam filled pillows - but it would have saved some hassle if I had known about the major feather allergy in advance! Maybe Canadians don't have many pillows filled with feathers any more? This is another example of information on an allergy you would need to share with home exchange partners in advance of a home swap too.

Home Exchange Offers: Waiting for Responses

Q: Well, we are set up on the home swap service and happily sending out exchange enquiries. One question has come up. Some of the people we 'pitch' respond right away while others don't seem that prompt. Do you have a feeling concerning a time period beyond which one can reasonably expect that the party isn't likely to respond? - Dan & Jane, Seattle, WA, home exchange listing, HE17283

A: The subject of people not always responding promptly to home exchange offers is one that crops up from time to time. Although Home Base Holidays members are encouraged to respond to all exchange offers even when unable to consider the swap, there will, I'm afraid, always be a few people who don't. There can be a number of legitimate reasons: not everyone checks email regularly (hard to believe but true!), some will want to take a little time to consider your offer before responding, some members will not be checking email when away from home for a period, some messages will be overlooked, 'good' messages are sometimes put into spam folders by mistake or are blocked by some ISPs.

If you don't hear back within a week, do contact the member again and, if they have included a second email address, copy your message to that address too. If it seems likely that a member's first language isn't English, it would help if you can at least have a short message translated into their first language before re-sending. If you still don't hear back within another week, it's probably best to assume that the member isn't interested in your offer.

Check for new listings regularly and contact new members whose offers are of interest right away. You might also find these earlier blog posts useful too, Have a Heart: Answer All Home Swap Offers ASAP and Send Enticing Home Swap Offers.

Home Exchange Offers Near Ski Resorts

It's that time of year when keen skiiers will be looking forward to their first fix of the season. Many Home Base Holidays home exchange members live near ski resorts (and some own chalets at resorts). Swapping homes is a good way to save money when rental accommodation and hotels are often expensive in popular resorts.

A few recent examples of homes near skiing available for exchange:

Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada - cedar home on three acres, situated in the Rocky Mountains on a ridge close to the B.C./Alberta border.

Queenstown, Central Otago, New Zealand - French farmhouse style home, with spectacular river and mountain views set on 1 1/2 acres.

Almunecar, Granada, Spain - Andalucian style refurbished cortijo dating from 1870, set in 2 acres of rural countryside amongst olive and almond trees, with swimming pool and terraces. Idyllic peaceful mountain location.

Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada - home, on 8.5 acres, located 5 mins outside of Cranbrook which is nestled between the Rocky Mountains and the Monashees in the heart of the East Kootenays.

Denver, Colorado, USA - home located near the heart of downtown Denver, a cultural city at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, an hour away from the 'high country' hiking and skiing; also have a vacation home in the mountains which sleeps 6 - if you would prefer to be in the mountains!

To quickly find all current homes available for exchange near ski resorts, use Advanced Search. Choose 'skiing' from the drop down menu under 'Theme' and Search.

Kiwi McLeods on Tour (and Home Exchange) #2: From Hot (Dubai) to Cold (England)

Last week I included a first post on the 'Kiwi McLeods on Tour' travelblog of their trip (including two home swaps) from New Zealand to Europe. We can now catch up with them in England:

'Very nice to be met at the airport by our home exchange hosts - Stephen and Penny Lake (Home Base Holidays members, HE16441) - with a little sign "McLeod". Got settled quickly in Swindon - the roundabout capital of the world - and enjoyed a fabulous 3 course dinner of curried parsnip soup, roast beef and trifle.'

Read more of Heidi's latest post, Swindon, Oxford and Chester. The family have a busy schedule on this trip, fitting in many sights and tours, visits to friends (plus lots of shopping!)

The McLeod - Lake swap is a good example of combining a hospitality and home exchange, with the McCleod family being hosted by the Lakes before their own trip to New Zealand and the McLeods' home in Auckland. The photo is of the Lakes' home in Swindon, Wiltshire, a good base for visiting the Cotswolds, London, Oxford and Bath.

Home Exchange Vacations: Travelling Light

On the one hand, you will usually have lots of space for your things in a home exchange home and might be tempted to pack loads more than you need; on the other, simply by being in a 'real' home while on a swap, you shouldn't need to bring quite so much with you. A good example of this is of home exchangers with babies and young children who cleverly arrange to swap homes with others with similar aged children; hence no need to cart all the baby equipment, toys and books with you as these should all be available in your temporary home.

Many people, however, seem to have no concept of packing light. Recently, while standing in a long check-in queue at Gatwick, me and my fellow bored queuers were entertained for awhile by a woman in the next queue frantically trying to close an over stuffed suitcase. When even bouncing on it wouldn't do the trick, the woman got up, the lid sprung open and the contents came tumbling out. The young man behind me commented, 'I don't believe it - it's full of shoes!' The two women behind him looked a little sheepish ...

Having missed the last bus connection while waiting for luggage after a flight to Toronto (more than once), I've learned the hard way the advantages of packing light! I've recently discovered a great website that should help anyone get to grips with lightening the load when packing. One Bag - The Art and Science of Travelling Light, is described as 'offering exhaustive (some might say exhausting) detail on the art of travelling light, living for an indefinite period of time out of a single (carryon-sized) bag.' What a useful labour of love this site is!

Small Home? Finding Other Single Travellers to Arrange a Home Exchange

Q: 'I had printed a home exchange listing from your website some months ago but can't now find it. My main interest in this particular listing is that it was only for one person. My house is perfect for one person and it is not often that only one person is looking for somewhere to stay. He/she said he/she wanted to visit the US, but not where. Is there any way to contact this person and see if they are still interested in a home exchange and would they be interested in visiting Portland, Oregon? (Very nice place!)' - Marcie

A: It is likely that the home exchange offer you were looking for again has now expired (not everyone renews immediately!)

You can easily check for all current single home exchangers (a good number) listed with Home Base Holidays by using Advanced Search. Select '1' from the drop down list next to the option, 'No. in exchange party' and click Search. You can, of course, restrict the search results to particular countries, etc too. Once you join Home Base Holidays, you will be able to send your exchange offer to as many other solo home exchangers as you like.