Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

What Does This Picture Say to You?

I support Barcelona Football Club? Guinea pigs are cute and make wonderful pets? Or - Would you like to swap homes and stay in my house in Barcelona, and perhaps look after my guinea pig and attend a football match?

Although many Home Base Holidays members use an exterior view of their home as 'Picture 1' (the photo that also shows in search results), an imaginative choice of photos can really make a home exchange offer stand out. As the whole idea of the summaries in search results is to attract interest and persuade members to view your detailed exchange offer (and hopefully want to suggest a swap), it's an excellent tactic to portray your home exchange offer in a unique way if possible, especially as you can still include several photos of your home, garden, views - a variety of pictures to give potential exchange partners a very good idea of what you are offering.

Why not experiment with your choice and placement of photos (especially Picture 1) to see if one attracts more interest than others? Perhaps the view from your living room is spectacular and represents a beautiful location better than an inside shot? Or, if you are lucky enough to have a pool, a shot of the pool with loungers next to it on a bright, sunny day would do it for many (imagine how inviting that would be to someone viewing your offer on a dark, rainy day in winter?). The beauty of digital cameras is being able to take as many photos as you want to get the best shots to illustrate your home exchange offer. So, go on, use your imagination and get clicking!

.. and the home of the Spanish guinea pig?

'Ideal for families, our house is surrounded by a small garden with fruit trees, in a quiet area. 10 min walk to beaches, 15 m walk to the marina, 20 m walk to the centre of the fishing village of L'Escala. Restaurants, shops, cafés, terraces'. Check it out and see more photos, HE22374.

Google Street View - a Useful Tool for Home Exchangers

Last week several large cities in the UK joined those in a number of other countries that can be viewed, street by street, on Google Street View. Although this raises some privacy issues, it is also a really useful tool for anyone planning a home exchange to one of the cities covered.

If you live in a city covered by Google Street View, once you get to the stage of sharing contact details with home exchange partners, being able to view your street and area in such detail will enable them to become familiar with your local neighbourhood and also view it within the context of the whole city. Most home exchangers leave their guests detailed information (and you'll still want to do this) but now you can actually direct them to your favourite restaurant, the best shop for fruit and veg, the closest bus stop and your local train station. And, of course, if your home exchange destination is covered by Street View, you should have a great preview of the location before you even leave home!

Going local: Insights into Alternative Travel

The benefit of blogging is not only to publish relevant up-to-date information on everything home exchange related, but to also include links to websites and related travel blogs that add useful complementary content and resources for readers. One such travel blog that I've been following in the last few months is Going local by freelance journalist, Vicky Baker. I had enjoyed reading Vicky's column in the Guardian last year when she reported each week on her experiences and the people she met while travelling across Central and South America with the aid of travel networking sites.

Vicky now publishes Going local to provide information for independent travellers who prefer alternatives to hotels and organised tours. I was delighted to hear from Vicky that she regularly reads this blog too! In fact, she followed up on my post last week, Swap Homes in Your Own Country and Beat the Credit Crunch, with 'Beat the credit crunch with a home swap on home turf' (read this 17 March post on Going local for another take on the recent trend for swapping homes closer to home).

Home exchangers are adventurous people who enjoy travelling to other countries but also appreciate attractions closer to home too. New Home Base Holidays members, with an apartment to exchange in the seaside resort of Bridlington, in Yorkshire, England, for Australia, New Zealand, and England, put this well:

'We are a married couple in our early sixties. Enjoy travel abroad and in this small but beautifully formed country.'

BBC Radio Derby: Home Exchange - Local Case Study and Overview

Another week, another live radio broadcast on home exchange! Yesterday morning I took part in a lengthy feature on home swapping on Aleena Naylor's Morning Show, BBC Radio Derby, which started with a reporter visiting Dawn, an experienced exchanger, in her seven bedroom house in Derbyshire, followed by my conversation with Aleena a few minutes later.

The recording of the Tuesday edition of the programme is available on BBC iPlayer for the next few days. Access the recording, press Play (if you already have iPlayer downloaded) and move the counter along to 01.13 to catch the start of the interview in Dawn's seven bedroom house. Then, directly after a Prince song, my bit starts at 01.43.

The Jerusalem Post: Urgent Request for Home Exchange Participants

Laura Kusisto, a reporter for The Jerusalem Post, has an urgent request for an experienced home exchanger in Israel, or anyone who has arranged an exchange for Passover, to get in touch if willing to answer a few questions about their exchanges. Laura writes:

'I'm writing an article looking at people here doing housing exchanges for Passover - and my deadline is this Thursday!'

If you can help Laura with her article on home exchange, please contact Home Base Holidays, including 'for Laura' in the subject line and your message will be forwarded to her right away. Thanks!

Swap Homes in Your Own Country and Beat the Credit Crunch

I have seen home exchange described as a '2009 travel trend' quite a lot recently, linking the continued growth in popularity of home swapping with a change in travel options to beat the major downturn in the economy worldwide. Home exchange, an idea around from at least the mid 1950's, is hardly a new 'travel trend', but it is true that the idea of swapping homes to save money on holidays is certainly on the increase.

One definite recent trend that we have noticed in Home Base Holidays, especially amongst our many UK members, is a change in destination requests. Of course, many members are still interested in exchanges abroad, but many are also looking for exchanges within the UK. In the past, swaps closer to home had often been primarily for short breaks but now many more are exchanging for longer holiday periods. This is hardly surprising with the recent downward spiral in the value of the pound, making exchanges, especially in the Eurozone and USA, much more expensive than in recent years.

There may be a misconception that a long established international service like Home Base Holidays (since 1985), with members in many countries, won't cater for the needs of people who want to arrange domestic exchanges. Nothing could be further from the truth! Yes, of course, when you browse our listings you may look longingly at luxurious homes in exotic locations that you may have to forego this year, but have a look at the large choice of attractive offers practically on your doorstep. It's easy to take for granted the many attractions close to your home but, with many people having to make savings on holiday costs, now is a perfect time to re-discover your own country.

Note on UK listings: Listings are divided by country - England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. England is further sub-divided by county to make searches for all exchange offers in a particular area simple and complete. Browse listings.

Samples:

First photo: Faversham, Kent, England (HE19421), a 500-year-old Grade-II-listed two-bedroom house in Faversham, voted 'the best market town in Kent'. The house features oak beams, 18th-century bread ovens, wood stove, 2 computers with wireless broadband, a small herb and fruit garden, 6'6" Bluthner grand piano, Arts and Crafts antiques, plenty of books and DVDs, far too much cooking gadgetry, 1 car, and 3 bikes.

Second photo: Huntly, Highlands & Islands - Aberdeenshire, Scotland (HE10019), converted 19th Century mill house in heart of Scottish countryside on the Castle Trail in Aberdeenshire. Situated in a valley with lovely views of the surrounding hills & waterfall & stream which runs through the garden. The garden extends to about an acre & is a mixture of lawn, flower beds & woods stepped into the valley.