Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Home Exchange Over? Keeping in Touch with Past Exchange Partners

The following quote from a renewing Home Base Holidays member speaks for itself on the benefits that can be had from keeping in touch with previous home exchange partners:

'We have swapped before, in 2001 with people from Queensland, and we are still benefitting from that association, having visited them on two other occasions and also hosting them and their family/friends in 2005. We have also exchanged with a couple in W. Australia & also B.C. Canada, in 2006 & 2007.'

Martin and Marion's three bedroom bungalow is situated in a village 5 miles (8km.) to the E. of the beautiful city of York, 'where you'll be walking on 2000 years of history.'

Martin continues:

'York itself can be the gateway to London or Edinburgh/Glasgow by train with all their attractions! In short, this area where we live is in a suburb location for visiting. Note: our home is not suitable for disabled guests, due to stepped thresholds.

Marion & I are planning to be in Cape Town in Sept. 2007 for the 20/20 Cricket World Cup, after visiting friends in Egypt. We also intend to take to the ski slopes of Europe in Jan/Feb/Mar 2008 and hope to get to Australia & New Zealand in Sept/Oct/Nov 2008. As can be seen, we intend to be away from home quite a bit in the next 18 months!

We love the idea of exchanging homes and have had nothing but wonderful experiences. References are available.'

See the full home exchange offer in York, England.

Transitions Abroad: 'Home Exchange Tips'

I recently came across an article, 'Home Exchange Tips', that was published in the July/August 2002 issue of Transitions Abroad Magazine. As I was unable to track down the author, Ruth Marvin Webster, to ask permission to reproduce her article in full, here's just a sample:

'Test the level of customer or trade service each company provides. Determine whether there is someone to answer specific questions or has representatives in different countries. Bigger may not always be better.'

Although her article was written five years ago, all Ruth's tips are still spot on. Do read the full article on Transitions Abroad.

Transitions Abroad ('Since 1977, the single most important resource for work, study, travel and living abroad')

Make the First Footprints in the Sand: a Tempting Home Exchange Offer

Some Home Base Holidays members really know how to entice interest in their home exchange offers with detailed descriptions, often drawing readers in by encouraging them to envisage themselves relaxing in the home, perhaps enjoying a quiet drink on a patio overlooking a beautiful view at the end of a busy day. It helps, of course, if a location has a lot to offer visitors but even an area which those who live there may take for granted can be interesting, even exotic, to others who live somewhere completely different.

From the description she gave of her home and area, a new member in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, certainly has reason to end her offer with:

'If you want to put the first footprints on the beach each morning then tempt us!'

A brief description:

'We offer a 3 bedroom villa in a 4 star resort, just 100 mtrs to beach. The resort has great facilities: a gym, sauna, tennis court, 2 pools, lap/beach pool, BBQs, children's playground and front office tour desk. A cafe provides fully cooked English or American style breakfast for $9 if you wish to have a morning off cooking.'

Do read the full, very detailed description of this home exchange offer which includes many suggestions for local tours, independent trips and activities.

'David and I enjoy fine restaurants and the beach. We are very open to offers from around the world as we believe experiencing cultures and wildife add to our own personalities. We recently went over to Borneo and throughly enjoyed the culture and wildlife. Neither of us smoke and Callum is a well-mannered and mature 10 year old who, although he enjoys sport and the beach, can often be found with his nose in a book.

We are not party people, and we would look after your home as though it was our own. Although we are tied to the Australian QLD holidays, the world is our oyster. We are needing a UK swap 30/6/08 for 3/4 weeks to attend a family wedding.'

Ebook About Home Exchange: No Review, No Recommendation

In a recent edition of a travel ezine I subscribe to I noticed that amongst the list of eBooks available to buy from the site, there was one on home exchange that claimed to be: 'the orginal, definitive guidebook', 'explains everything you need to know about home swapping', 'This eBook is the way to get started', 'Get this report and bring your dreams of luxurious world travel to life...' (the bold and italics are as in the promotional blurb). Those are pretty impressive claims and so I was eager to have a copy to review, with the idea of recommending it to readers of this blog and Home Base Holidays members if it was, indeed, a comprehensive and useful guide, especially for those new to home exchange.

Most publishers and authors are delighted to receive extra publicity from reviews, especially those that will be read by their target market and thus likely to generate a good number of sales, but not this one. On requesting a review copy, I received the following reply:

'Our website has a policy of not releasing any eBooks for review, even if it may potentially increase sales. Our contracts also include a clause that prevents us from promoting the author's work anywhere except for on our authorized sites.'

Perhaps that's a standard policy with eBooks sales? I don't know. It just seems odd and restrictive when any sales of the eBook would be made through a link on the site, thus benefiting both the author and the business. Perhaps there's a fear that the eBook would be copied (always a possibility when any information is made available)? Whatever, on reading the promotional blurb further, I see that the author, although having run a small home exchange agency for seven years, doesn't appear to actually have been involved in the business in any way for the last seven years. What happened to the agency? As there have been many changes in recent years, maybe this is a warning that the information is not likely to be up-to-date. There was no indication of the length of the report either. It's really not worth paying for an eBook sight unseen, with no reviews available, when there is so much information on home exchange now freely available on the internet.

Another Day, Another Great Travel Blog - and Posts About Home Exchange

I am amazed by the number of excellent travel blogs there are and the dedicated bloggers who are providing such consistently well written and useful content, often beautifully illustrated, and with lots of links to further sources of information.

Although there are many thousands of personal travel blogs (such a good way to keep a record of a special trip, including, of course, a home exchange), there are many others whose coverage goes way beyond their own personal experiences, with a mission to share a wide range of wonderful travel discoveries and ideas. Two blogs fit this category perfectly and both have recently published posts about home exchange:

'Swapping homes for vacations' was published on of travels and travails ('Musings...of travels and travails. Life is about the journey, not just the destination.')

'Travel the Home Exchange Way Blog' was published on Travel plan idea blog ('Travel plans & itineraries, fun vacation ideas & planning, destination reviews & guides')

Bombarded with the Same Home Exchange Offer?

It's understandably disappointing for an eager home exchanger if they don't receive responses to their exchange offers. It's only courteous to respond to all offers even if the reply is simply a brief message politely declining the offer. However, we're now beginning to receive the odd report of a different problem: a few over enthusiastic home exchangers seem to expect instant responses to their offers, and if they don't receive replies almost by return, keep contacting the same members over and over. That's hardly the way to encourage anyone to want to take up an exchange offer - if someone is so impatient and persistent on a first encounter, there seems a good chance they would also be irritating and demanding as exchange partners.

First of all, it's important to target exchange offers at those most likely to be interested (take the time to read a listing carefully before contacting a member), compile an attractive, personalised exchange offer and send it. Give the recipient at least a week to respond before following up with a second message. And don't come across as demanding. Then, if you still don't receive a reply, or the member does respond and isn't interested in your offer, don't, for goodness sake, contact them again. If their exchange offer sounds perfect for you, it may be tempting to try to persuade them to change their minds and re-consider your offer. But, more than likely, they will just perceive you as a very annoying person - and be even less inclined to take up your offer.