Exchange Homes: Doing a Small Bit for Our Planet

Some months ago I wrote about swapping homes as a greener way to travel, International Home Swaps: Environmentally Friendly Travel? Using a home that would otherwise be left empty while the owners are away seems a sensible alternative to staying in hotels whose very existence often spoils much of the areas that attracted visitors in the first place.

All travel by air, especially long haul travel, undeniably does much damage to the environment so, in this context, it perhaps seems that choosing to stay in a home rather than in a hotel when travelling abroad is a minor point; but, when you consider all that is involved in the hotel industry, more travellers choosing to swap homes, making the best use of resources, can have some impact. Ruti Singer put this very well in her article, Home Away From Home:

'Actually, there are also deeper layers of thought to the home exchange idea. When you think about global waste and conservation, the idea of combining resources with other people on the globe has more merits than those you experience on a personal level. Think of all the hotel sheets and towels that are washed every day; of the low-paid hotel workers (often foreigners); of the huge and wasteful industry that has grown around the needs of people who want to experience a holiday in a different country.'