Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

How does non simultaneous home exchange work?

Q: Hi and thank you for your welcome as a new home exchange member. I only have one question regarding the possible types of exchange. How does a non simultaneous home swap work? - Lucila, Barcelona (in photo).

A: When members are able to offer their homes at different times (often when swapping second homes), they can arrange to have their holidays at different times, rather than the usual direct swap between members at the same time. So, for example, if you wanted to swap for two weeks in July (and your exchange partners home was available then) but your exchange partner’s preferred dates were two weeks in September (and you were able to offer your home to them at that time), you would have your holiday in July while they would have their part of the exchange two months later in September.

Olympic volunteer seeks London home exchange

Monique, who lives in beautiful Northumberland, is one of the lucky 7000 people who have been chosen to volunteer at the Olympic or Paralympic Games as a Gamemaker. She says:

"I will be working for about five weeks at the Olympic village, where the athletes and coaches live. I am assigned to a delegation and will be assisting the Chef de Mission of that country with their daily work. I have been training in London once a month since January and it is really interesting as I get to go behind the scenes where not many people are allowed."

However, as the Gamemakers are not reimbursed for any costs and are not provided with accommodation, Monique is looking to arrange a home swap. She will be in London from around 18 July until 15 August and has a lovely cottage in a quiet rural location to offer:

"I believe a holiday in Northumberland is as good as a foreign destination, with a fantastic coastline, ample opportunities for walking, cycling, horse riding, golfing and world heritage sites (Hadrian's Wall, Durham Cathedral) and other great places to visit on my doorstep. I have two adorable cats and don't mind looking after your pets".

If you are interested in a home swap with Monique even for just one week, please see full details of her home exchange offer (HE26763) and contact her right away.

Being a long standing London based service, and also operating Guardian Home Exchange, Home Base Holidays has many London members who have already arranged or are offering homes for exchange during the Olympic period. Do check out our special Olympics information and sample home exchange offers.

'House swaps for Horse Lovers' - Equitrekking May Newsletter

Equitrekking host Darley Newman riding in the Brecon Beacons in Wales

'Interested in traveling the world but horses are keeping you at home? Ever considered a house swap with a fellow horse owner? What about swapping homes with someone who lives in a place you’ve always wanted to ride?'

This is a quote from an excellent article on home exchange by Darley Newman in the May edition of the Equitrekking newsletter. Darley is a three time Daytime Emmy nominated host, writer and producer of the Emmy-winning Equitrekking TV show and an equestrian travel expert.

On her search of Home Base Holidays listings of interest to horse owners, Darley found a lovely little cottage (in photo) in Brecon, Wales right on riding trails:

'I’ve ridden in the Brecon Beacons and there are wonderful riding trails and great stables there in Wales.'

'Another interesting pick was a home in Cadiz, Spain with a pool where the owners are seeking people to look after their horses, dogs, cats, and chickens. There was also an eco log house touting a ten minute walk to the beach with views of horses and fields on the Gower Peninsula of Wales. Having ridden nearby with Olive Edwards, I know there’s good horse riding there too'.

If you are looking for home exchange partners able to look after your horses while staying in your home, or you want to swap homes to a location near good riding trails, click 'Show more options' and use the free text advanced search option box to enter 'horse' and, separately, 'horses' (without the quotation marks) to narrow search results to exchange offers most likely to suit your needs.

 

Featured Home Swap: Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos

Lovely home swap offer in Turks & Caicos - only ten minutes walk from Grace Bay, recently voted World's Best Beach. Excellent restaurants and bars. World class snorkelling, diving and paragliding.

 

Accommodates: 6 (2 bedrooms)

Exchange Request:  UK and Open to offers

View full Home Exchange Offer...

‘My Weekly’: Holidays on the Cheap - home exchange

From the 1 – 7 May issue:

‘We recently exchanged our three-bedroom, terraced house in London for a large, 17th century home in Somerset ... apart from the groceries and our £29 annual membership, this holiday only cost us £50 for our train tickets.’ – Sandra N; see her home swap offer in London.

Arranging a home exchange during the Olympics?

We’ve received the following request from a journalist working for French national radio:

‘I am about to prepare a report about Londoners who want to be away from London during the Olympic Games. I’d really like to talk to a Home Base Holidays member who has, or hopes to, arrange a home exchange during the Games.’

If you would be interested in talking to the journalist about your exchange plans (his report should give some extra publicity in France for London members!), please let us know and we’ll forward your message. He will then get in touch directly and arrange a good time to talk to you.