Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Beautiful Home Exchange Offer in Sunny Acapulco

‘The weather varies from fabulous to wonderful with outbreaks of marvellous.’

 

Sitting in my office in London today, with the weather varying from sunny to cloudy with outbreaks of rain, this home exchange offer, renewed today, in Acapulco, Mexico, is certainly enticing!

 

The Offer:

 

‘We live in a Mexican beach house on a quiet street in the old part of Acapulco. The house has a beautiful sea view where we recently watched 4 frolicking whales. It is 5 minutes from the nearest beach, cliff divers and yacht club, 20 minutes from shops, golf club, restaurants and nightlife and 45 from airport.’ See the full exchange offer and more lovely photos, HE15767.

 

 

 

Can a Home Exchange Really be Guaranteed?

Q: I'm curious...is there a guarantee that I'd find a swap during the year of my membership? My home is in central Cape Town so it should be pretty sought-after, though am still keen to know before joining... thanks! - Ingrid

 

A: Although the majority of Home Base Holidays members do arrange swaps during the periods wanted, no home exchange agency could ever honestly give an absolute guarantee. Successful matches can depend on a number of factors - how proactive a member is in contacting others to suggest an exchange, how flexible they are on destinations, how much time there is between joining and the dates wanted (if dates are very specific) and on location. However, with a home in central Cape Town, you should certainly find interest in your exchange offer (and undoubtedly even more interest if your home happens to be available during the World Cup this year!).

 

Join Home Base Holidays well before the dates you want to exchange, be as open as possible on destinations you will consider and contact members with your exchange offer rather than wait to be contacted.

Honouring a Non-simultaneous Home Exchange Agreement

Q: Is there anyway one can get some guarantee that people will honour a non simultaneous exchange?

A: Although there isn't a completely fail-safe way to guarantee that members will honour a non-simultaneous home exchange agreement (after taking their part of the holiday first), we have never in nearly 25 years running Home Base Holidays had a report of any members failing to honour such a commitment.

Just as when arranging a regular simultaneous exchange, take your time to ensure the exchange offer is suitable and the members compatible before agreeing to go ahead, and then continue to take time to get to know your exchange partners through regular correspondence in the run-up to the exchange dates. However, if you would still feel uneasy about offering your home for a non-simultaneous exchange, even when it is an option for both parties (often when swapping second homes) that increases flexibility on dates for both, you may feel more comfortable offering only simultaneous exchanges.

G'Day Mate - 'Skippy' Draws Attention to an Attractive Home Exchange Offer in Australia

This picture, the main photo in a home exchange offer in Albury, NSW, always makes me smile when it pops up amongst the sample home exchange offers on Home Base Holidays. The members, experienced home exchangers who have renewed today, give an excellent, detailed description of their home and area, and include the usual home photos but, by using a kangaroo as their main photo (the thumbnail photo is shown in search results), they draw extra attention to their exchange offer, making it stand out from the usual outside house shots used in most listings.

The home on offer is a very large 100 year old lovely Victorian style brick house in Albury  - less than an hour flight to Melbourne, Canberra (the Nation’s Capital) and Sydney or 3hrs, 3hrs and 5hrs respectively by major highway.

Albury-Wodonga (twin cities) Pop.100,000. Situated on one of the world's great rivers, the Murray, surrounded by beauty & diversity. The region has something to suit everyone. Broad tree-lined streets, walking & cycling tracks and many areas of parkland. Spectacular Lake Hume boasts 240 miles of shoreline, ideal for water skiing, canoeing, fishing & swimming. 4 fabulous golf courses.

See the full home exchange offer and more photos, HE17722

Popular Home Exchange Blog Posts in 2009

It’s that time of year when we have a look back over the topics that proved most popular with blog readers over the last 12 months. Here is our list of 10 of the most read posts published in 2009:

60+ Home Swap Holidays – is This a Record?

The couple who (have probably notched a few more swaps since this post was published last January) live in a 17^th century sandstone cottage (in photo) in Cumbria, an ideal location for visiting the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and Scotland. Read the post in full.

A Check List of Things to Do Before a Home Swap

This post is based on the many valuable suggestions by 'Hobiej', an experienced home exchanger who regularly comments on the blog. Read the post in full.

Swap Homes in Your Own Country and Beat the Credit Crunch

2009 was undoubtedly a difficult year financially for many people – and a year that many more people discovered home exchange as a way of cutting down on holiday costs. More Home Base Holidays members were putting off long-haul travel plans and arranging exchanges closer to home too. Read the post in full.

Slow Down in London – Swap Homes with a Londoner

This post was published to coincide with the first Slow Down London week. What better way to slow down in a busy city than to discover it at leisure with a comfortable home to relax in rather than an expensive hotel room. Read the post in full.

Choosing the Best Photos to Compliment a Home Exchange Description

The importance of adding photos to listings as soon as possible after joining is something we keep stressing to Home Base Holidays members. Those members who also take the time to choose a selection of (good, sharp) photos to illustrate their exchange offer have a definite head start in persuading others to take up their offer. Read the post in full.

‘The Holiday’ – Bad for the Home Exchange Community?

You may have seen ‘The Holiday’, a light weight comedy loosely based on the idea of a home swap, on TV over the holidays. It doesn’t seem the type of film to spark much controversy but, judging by the comments by experienced home exchangers, it did! Read the post in full.

Watch the Film of a UK-US Home Exchange on BBC TV

We were delighted when Home Base Holidays and Guardian home exchange members agreed to take part in the home exchgange feature on the popular ‘One Show’ on BBC1 last summer. Read the post with link to view the short film.

Reasons to Plan a Home Exchange Well in Advance

A guest article by Cathy, very experienced exchangers and Home Base Holidays representative in New Zealand.Read the post in full.

Tips for Arranging a Last Minute Home Exchange

It’s always best (as detailed in Cathy’s post above) to start planning home swaps, especially to long haul destinations, several monthjs in advance but there are always times when swaps are needed (perhaps for family reasons) at short notice. Read the post in full.

Home Exchange Offers: Dates, Dates, Dates – Confused?

Unfortunately the growing popularity of home exchange (and the relative ease of setting up a website) spawns dozens of new home exchange sites every year, many claiming thousands of listings within a short time (hardly ever charging a membership fee to weed out time wasters). Although some new sites do offer a good service (and are welcome additions to this niche travel industry), many others fade away within a short time. Potential members need to be alert to some of the tricks of the trade that can make a site superficially attractive. One of the most common less than honest tactics is to not disclose the dates members joined or renewed and the dates memberships will expire. This is such crucial information to have to make an informed choice on how up-to-date listings are (and therefore how likely the members are to still be actively looking for exchanges). Read the post in full.

If you have ideas for home exchange related topics you would like to see addressed here in 2010, please let us know. Or, if you are experienced exchanger, we’d love to get your feedback too.

CHECtravel Special $5 Membership Offer for Home Exchangers

We are pleased to pass on a very special discount offer from CHECtravel (CHEC = Certified Home Exchange Club; Home Base Holidays is a CHECtravel agency member). Home Base Holidays members can join CHECtravel as individual members at $5 (US) only for a range of features, benefits and services especially for home exchangers. A summary of features:

• Travel Guard home exchange insurance available*
• Member misconduct reporting 
• CHEC mediation servicereferrals
• InteractiveCHEC home and automobile forms: Fill in your exchange agreements online. CHECtravel will keep a copy and email it between partners (Members only)
• Interactive CHEC Home Companion - Preparation Tips for home exchangers. Online forms and information booklet to help you with your exchange (Members only)
• Third-party identity and address verification of CHEC members
• Random criminal background check of CHEC members
• Peace of mind knowing that CHEC exchangers follow the CHEC Code of Conduct
• CHEC Certified Clubs that uphold the highest ethical standards of behaviour for themselves and their members

*Insurance currently available to US and Canada residents only

To access the CHECtravel membership form and secure payment site, and the code you will need to join at the $5 rate, log on to your member area  (under: Message from the site administrator).

Not yet a Home Base Holidays member? Join Now!