Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Most Popular Home Exchange Location?

Every once in awhile an enquirer, or Home Base Holidays member planning to buy a second home in a location that will be popular for home swaps, puts me on the spot to name that mythical 'most popular location in the world' for exchanges. The truth is, there is no one country, or area, or city that stands way ahead of other equally attractive locations. Just as homes come in all shapes and sizes, so do the needs of home exchangers - some want to swap to major world cities (and save the high costs of hotel bills), others want to holiday in seaside or ski resorts, while others prefer to exchange to untouristy, off the beaten track areas to experience living in a completely different environment. By the very fact they are prepared to swap homes and arrange their own trips, home exchangers are independent travellers and so could never be slotted under a one size fits all 'preferred destination' or even several.

The advantage of having operated a home exchange service for many years is that I have been able to see trends come and go (e.g. a few years ago the prohibitive costs of flights put many British exchangers off long haul destinations like Australia. Now Australia is one the most popular destinations for Brits). From this vantage point I also get a broad perspective over a large number of exchanges taking place each year between, and within, countries all over the world. Some lucky members do, of course, receive many exchange offers without any effort - but there is no one location where this applies exclusively. Others, the majority, who live in lesser known areas, do often have to work harder to attract interest in their exchange offers but, with a little effort, there's certainly no reason why even the most remote town will not be desirable as an exchange destination. It's just a matter of being prepared to take the time to find the right people.

There are statistics regularly published in various journals and websites on the number of visitors to countries and large cities. This information is valuable to tourist offices and businesses who target visitors. But what do statistics really tell you? Some will cover all visitors to a country during a defined period, some include or exclude business travellers, others mainly domestic travellers and still others will record everyone who passes through an airport without differentiating between those arriving at their final destination from travellers in transit only. Euromonitor International has provided international market intelligence on industries, countries and consumers for over 30 years. A quote from a recent Euromonitor report on the Top City Destinations for Tourists Worldwide:

'London attracted 15.6 million international visitors in 2006 to rank first in Euromonitor International's Top 150 City Destinations. The gap between the UK capital and other major cities increased as the presence of tourists in London's streets increased by 13% up on 2005.

Bangkok (2), Paris (3) and Singapore (4) follow London respectively, with around ten million tourists each. Hong Kong ranked 5th with 8 million, while the six-million-club included New York (6), Dubai (7) and Rome (8).'

This is a snapshot at one point in time, and the positions and cities in this list will fluctuate from year to year but, for now, the position of London as top city destination is no surprise from a home exchange perspective. London is by far the most requested city destination by Home Base Holidays members. But then, it's hardly surprising that Home Base Holidays, based in London and with many London members, attracts members worldwide who want to visit London! Check out current exchange offers in London (choose England from the country list and then, London, from the state/county list to limit the results to homes within the city).

Rather than try to pin down the most popular location(s) in the world for home exchanges, it's much more useful to look at supply and demand. Although Rome may be in eighth position according to the figures published by Euromonitor International, Rome, and indeed, Italy generally, is a very popular destination request by home exchangers. Although numbers of members in Italy are increasing, as the demand for exchanges to Italy comes from all over the world, it's hardly surprising that, yes, if you can afford that lovely villa in Tuscany, the world will be your oyster for home exchanges!

Tuscany a little beyond your means? Don't worry - your home, wherever you live, will be an ideal location for someone. How can that be you ask? Well, check through listings and the most requested destination of all is, ta-da - 'Open to Offers'! Of course this doesn't mean that a member who is willing to consider exchange offers from anywhere in the world will be interested in, or able to take up, every offer received. That would be unrealistic. And you will need to be prepared to be proactive in contacting other members with your exchange offer and work that bit harder at drawing attention to the attractions close to your home if you don't live in a well known city or area. But, as long as you are realistic about locations you will consider too, there is no reason why you won't be able to arrange a great swap as thousands of other similar home exchangers do every year.

Can't find an exchange in Tuscany for your cute little house on the prairie? Look at exchange offers in neighbouring countries - France, Spain, Germany and the UK too. Think laterally - Western Europe is not a huge area, and there are several airlines offering cheap fares for short flights between cities throughout Europe. The money you save on accommodation costs while in your exchange home should easily cover the costs of a flight within Europe to, and hotel costs for a few days, in the place you set your heart on seeing. And your 'second best' choice exchange location may well surprise you with all it has to offer. The best of both worlds!

Times Article Includes Home Exchange as a Bargain Holiday Option

In an article, 'Bargain holidays: go your own way', published recently in the Business section of The Times, journalist Mark Bridge explains how you can wipe out much of the cost of conventional travel. Home exchange is included as a great way to save on the costs of holiday accommodation.

A quote from the article:

'If staying with a stranger does not appeal and you are a homeowner, a home swap could be a comfortable alternative. ... Listings give a description and photographs of each home, plus the owner’s availability for travel and preferred destinations. Other members whose requirements mirror their own, can offer a rent-free exchange. Homes in Europe, the US and former British dominions, such as South Africa and New Zealand, are best represented.

Lois Sealey, of Home Base Holidays, which charges £29 a year or £39 for two years, says that location is key – a mansion owner in Florida may be happy to swap for a small flat in Central London, for instance. John Onken, 41, an architect, joined the scheme in 2000 and has used it to make regular trips to Europe and the US with his wife and two children.

Their four-bedroom house in Thames Ditton, Surrey, is two miles from Hampton Court Palace and a 20-minute train ride from Central London and attracts regular offers. He says that some of the best have been from expatriates keen to visit family in the South East. "We no longer book hotels," he says. "Cost is part of it, but we also like entering a community. One small drawback is the last-minute rush to make the house presentable."'

See the family's full home exchange offer and more photos, HE19083

And read the article, 'Bargain holidays: go your own way' on TimesOnline.

Using Home Exchange to be Part of a Local Golf Community

A quote from a recent comment left on Travel the Home Exchange Way:

'I'd like to communicate with anyone who has used Home or Hospitality Exchange to enjoy golf related travel to different parts of the world. Were your experiences positive? Did you feel you were able to live like a local and be part of the local golf community in the area you visited? Thanks in advance for any feedback.' - Graeme

I hope that some of the many golfers amongst Home Base Holidays members and others will leave a comment or get in touch to share your experiences with Graeme. It's easy to find homes near golf courses available for exchange by using the Detailed Search function. Choose Golfing from the drop down list beside Leisure Activity (refine your search in any other way you want to). Here are just a few samples of homes that would suit those who want a convenient base near a golf club when on a home exchange:

Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

New (2004) and immaculate town house with every modern convenience. Walking distance to supermarket, cinema, bowling, restaurants, cafe. Local Bus Stop 5 mins walk, train station 15 mins walk. Driving to Edinburgh (14 mls-20mins); Perth, Stirling, St Andrews, Glasgow and the Highlands all within an hour. Many good golf courses nearby and fishing and other sports also available. See full home exchange offer, HE20131

Napier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Beautiful house on hill top overlooking the Hawkes Bay with the Art Deco town of Napier of 50,000 below with cafes, shops, beach sailing etc. all minutes away. Famous wine region with 30 wineries within half hour drive. 2 hours to ski fields, 1 hour to Lake Taupo and many beautiful walks in the area. International golf course nearby. See full home exchange offer, HE19315

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

We live in a Mexican beach house on a quiet street in the old part of Acapulco. The house has a beautiful sea view, 5 minutes from the nearest beach, cliff divers and yacht club, 15 from shops, golf club, restaurants and nightlife and 45 from airport. The weather varies from fabulous to wonderful with outbreaks of marvelous. See full home exchange offer, See full home exchange offer, HE15767

Wilmington, Delaware USA

Lovely, suburban home on tree lined street, with a nice backyard, next to a large park with hiking trails, close to major malls with lots of tax free shopping. Philadelphia is only 30 miles away and easy access by highway or train. New York and Washington D.C. are less than 2 hours by train, and the Delaware and New Jersey beaches are 1 and 1/2 hours away. There are many golf courses near by. See full home exchange offer, HE17409

Note: Many members who are themselves keen golfers offer to share club memberships and/or golf clubs and will very likely introduce exchange partners who are also ethusiastic golfers to their golfing buddies.

Calling Home Exchange Partners: Free Phone Calls on Facebook

Have you got hooked on Facebook yet? Although I try to keep away from it, I do have a Facebook profile and use it as another way of publishing home exchange blog posts as well as keeping in touch with friends (and wasting time!)

We were recently contacted by Truphone, a mobile operator that has added a new application on Facebook that enables Facebook users to make free phone calls. This application looks like it could have a lot of potential, not only for keeping in touch with family and friends when travelling, but also for home exchangers when making arrangements in the run-up to an exchange. Email is great but being able to talk one to one is even better. Here are the details from Truphone:

Truphone is a new type of mobile operator. We provide you with low-cost calls on your mobile. We do this by routing your calls over the internet (VoIP) rather than via traditional mobile operators thus cutting out the middleman.

There are no roaming charges, inbound call fees or subscriptions, so we’ve become particularly popular with travellers and travelling-business men/women alike who want to stay in contact with friends, family or the office whilst abroad without breaking the bank.

Truphone have now built a unique application on Facebook that enables Facebook users and their friends to call each other for free.

It’s a great button if you’re travelling because it helps keep you in contact with your friends and family from anywhere in the world for free and is available to all Facebook users. You can set the button to ring your:

- Truphone mobile number

- US cellphone

- US landline

- Other world landline (choice from 40 countries worldwide)

To make a call directly from their PC, any of your friends can simply click on the ‘Call Me’ button and the Truphone application makes the call. You don’t need to worry about your privacy, a user's 'Call Me' Button can be set to only be visible to that user's friends so your actual phone numbers are never revealed.

Anyone can use it - simply set up an account on Facebook, and add the application to your profile: http://apps.facebook.com/truphone

If you do have any questions then check out the page: www.truphone.com/facebook, watch our video or visit the mobilevoipforum.

Facebook

Facebook is a social utility that offers an efficient way for people to stay connected with their friends and the people around them. Facebook users communicate and share information through the social graph, the network of connections and relationships between people. With more than 54 million users, Facebook is the sixth most-trafficked website in the United States.

Home Exchange Memberships: Long Periods - Even Lifetime (and the Expiry Dates are?)

If you are a Home Base Holidays member, Home Swappers Newsletter subscriber or regularly read this blog, you probably know that every so often I publish a post to emphasise dates to look for in home exchange offers - especially the importance of the date of joining or renewing and the expiry date. Having both dates displayed prominently is vital information that enables site visitors and members to see exactly how up-to-date each home exchange offer is, i.e. how long it has already been, and will continue to be, in circulation. This doesn't mean that members who joined several months ago won't be interested in your exchange offer (many use membership to arrange several exchanges) but members do tend to be most actively looking for exchanges during the first few weeks of their membership.

Also, in order to keep listings fresh, membership periods should not be overly long (one to two years seems a good maximum length). As long as membership rates are reasonable, those who are interested in arranging further exchanges will renew their subscriptions when close to expiry, thus keeping the information as up-to-date as possible. Longer membership periods at greatly reduced rates can seem like a good deal, and of course would make the number of exchange offers available appear to be much larger than on Home Base Holidays where membership periods are restricted to one or two years. But, with long membership periods (even lifetime!), there will be a much higher percentage of inactive members, with some members who joined to arrange a specific exchange even forgetting that their exchange offers are still in circulation.

Hmm, wonder how you could tell when a lifetime membership has expired? I doubt many people leave instructions in their wills to cancel their home exchange membership!

Home Exchange Offers: Advantages in Swapping to a Holiday Home

Second homes available for home swaps often have some major advantages over primary homes: vacation homes are generally located in attractive areas and second home owners can usually be more flexible on dates, often offering non-simultaneous exchanges to fit around the best dates for both parties.

Members may sometimes feel that a drawback to exchanging to a second home is that it won't be as well equipped as a primary residence. This can, of course, sometimes be true, especially if a holiday home is solely for the owners' private use and occupied for short periods only. However, don't assume all second homes will fall into this category. Many will offer all the comforts and conveniences of a main home.

Edel lives with her husband and children (aged 13, 11 and 9) in Ireland and offers the family's second home for exchange (a five bedroom villa in a great location - on a golf course, 15 minutes drive from DisneyWorld and all major theme parks in Florida). She writes:

'I suppose the first thing to get across to people is that although our home is a second home, it is fully stocked with absolutely everything you would need for your holiday. Plenty of linen, towels, tea towels, crockery, cutlery, tvs, high fi system etc. We had one family dismiss us straight away because she doesn't like second homes because they don't have anything for the kids like games and PS2 etc. Well ours actually does. It's a second home but it is rented out to the holiday market and has a dedicated children's room with separate TV, DVD, Video, film library, games, colouring materials, PS2 selection of PS games etc. This is the 5th bedroom, but in it is the bunk beds with single on top and double on the bottom which converts to a couch. You can shut the door and they can have their room and you can have your peace.

I know our home is absolutely spotless before any guests arrive there. You could eat off the floors!! Because we also rent it out, it has to be. I read on your blog that some people had a problem with the standard of cleanliness in the homes they exchanged to - with a second home which is rented out this does not arise.

Our home, because it has five bedrooms, caters to 10 people comfortably. And I mean comfortably ... I've been over there with my family and my in-laws and there has been plenty of breathing room between us. It is large spacious and well located.'

Check out the family's full home exchange offer in Orlando on Home Base Holidays and more lovely photos, HE19644. Although tied to the last week in July and first two weeks in August for their own holiday, as they are offering a second home, you will have a choice of dates to suit your needs. Edel writes:

'We would love to exchange with someone in Italy, Spain or France. We don't want a mansion, just somewhere to fit the five of us comfortably. Last year we spent six weeks in Perth, Australia in an exchange home but it was the wettest, coldest summer on record, so we really really need to sun this year!'