Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Good customer service - a winner with home swap members

As a small business, the team at Home Base Holidays prides itself on answering members' and enquirers' questions personally, promptly and thoroughly.

Most questions can be answered quite simply but occasionally an on-going conversation develops. The Italian and UK members' names below have been changed but this is a good example of a recent such conversation. It is reproduced in full as it covers questions first time members often have, along with useful information for the Italian (a member of our partner site, Guardian Home Exchange) on an area of London Mark knows very well:

Sent: 09 September 2016 14:01

Subject :Verification

Message : Hi, I'm a member and I'm about to do my first swap. My problem is of trust: I'd like to know if there's any way to verify a user's identity. The person I should be exchanging with has an account that expires the day after our arrival. She proposed those dates and I'd like to know it's not a "smart" move not to be accountable for anything.

Should I trust someone with the "Experienced Exchanger" logo? - Maria, Rome

Inviato: Venerdì 9 Settembre 2016 16:26

Oggetto: RE: Verification

Hi Maria

Thanks for your email and really good to hear you have your first swap lined up. Arranging an exchange is an agreement between the two sets of members and so does rely on trust. It is therefore really important to have good ongoing communication with your potential exchange partners so that you both are comfortable with the swap agreement. It is also good to arrange a couple of phone/Skype calls with your exchange partners to go through details of the exchange.

When a member indicates that they are an experienced exchanger it can often be reassuring, especially as a first time exchanger, to ask if they can put you in touch with someone they have previously swapped with.

With regards to their membership expiry dates, it may well be that they are planning to renew before their membership is due to expire. In discussions you could always mention this to them as they will likely understand that you will feel more comfortable if their membership remains live on the site.

Do get in touch if you would like me to look at the member you’re in contact with so that I can double check everything looks as it should.

Thanks again and kind regards,

Mark

Sent: 09 September 2016 15:31

Hi Mark,

The member is Mary Foster, property number is HE00000. She has no pictures on the website but has sent me some and I verified with Tin Eye they were not taken from any random website.

Thanks for your email, it's pretty reassuring.

Maria

Inviato: Venerdì 9 Settembre 2016 17:34

Hi Maria

On checking member Mary’s listing, I noticed she lives on a small street in London that I used to live on – Folgate Street. It really is a fantastic location with so much to see on foot (Spitalfields market, Brick Lane, Colombia Road flower market, Tower of London, Shoreditch, London’s financial district and much more) as well as excellent transport links to explore more of London (Liverpool Street Station or Shoreditch Station are both under a five minute walk).

If you have any photos she sent from the outside of her home or local area I’d be able to confirm the location.

All the best,  

Mark

Sent: 09 September 2016 16:56

Sure, here are the pics. From what you can get from her membership everything seems all right, then? I'm more inclined towards trusting people but to my husband all this is probably too good to be true :)

Maria

Inviato: Venerdì 9 Settembre 2016 19:46

Hi Maria

Everything looks fine with Mary's membership. Have you also spoken with her over the phone? It can always be reassuring to actually speak to the other member rather than arranging everything via messages and emails.

The photos are from the area (makes me miss the it!). The brick houses are on Folgate Street and the second photo is of the square that is just around the corner from Folgate Street and so in between Spitalfields Market and Liverpool Street station (the Gherkin skyscraper in the background).

Do let me know if you’d like me to check any additional details or if you’d like any more information about the area.

All the best,

Mark

Sent: 09 September 2016 20:02

Hi Mark,

I'm much more relieved after you've talked to me. You've been extremely helpful. If there's a way to leave a review for the service you're providing, it's a 10 :)

Thanks

Maria

Inviato: Martedì 13 Settembre 2016 15:11

Hi Maria

Thank you so much for your lovely feedback! We’d love to receive your review of the service as we could include it on our testimonials page. We also have a Facebook page that allows users to leave reviews: https://www.facebook.com/guardianhomeexchange/

Do get back to me if you have any questions in the lead up to your exchange. Also if you’d like any information about the Spitalfields area of London I’d be very happy to help.

Thanks again and kind regards,

Mark

Sent: 14 September 2016 17:23

Hi Mark,

Since you've lived there, one important thing for us to know is if there are any playgrounds in the immediate area and any supermarket.

Thanks again.

Maria

Inviato: Giovedì 15 Settembre 2016 10:18

Hi Maria

I’ve just seen your lovely feedback on our Facebook page – thank you so much!

Although Spitalfields is a fantastic area of London, one thing it is missing a bit is green space. That said, under 10 minutes' walk from Folgate Street is Spitalfields City Farm which is a very small city central farm ideally suited for kids. Here’s a link to the farm: http://www.spitalfieldscityfarm.org. The farm is just off from Brick Lane and next to the farm is a small playing field.

In terms of supermarkets, there are a couple of Tesco Metro shops within a five minute walk – these are quite small city supermarkets but should be fine for picking up the basics. One of the Tesco Metro stores is on Bishopsgate just opposite Liverpool Street station. The other Tesco Metro (probably the best option) is on Commercial Street and is under a two minute walk from where you’ll be staying. Having said that, Spitalfields Market has lots of places to pick up some nice food and Brick Lane (especially on a Sunday when Brick Lane comes to life) has lots of exciting food options too.

I hope this helps but do get back to me if you have any questions about the area.

All the best,

Mark

Sent: 11 November 2016 18:56

Hi Mark,

just wanted to say that we made the swap and it was fantastic!

Thanks a lot for all your help.

Maria

Inviato: Martedì 15 Novembre 2016 19:49

Hi Maria

That is so good to hear that you had a fantastic exchange in London. You were in such a great location to explore London – so much right on your doorstep. Did you visit some of the local markets? The area around the apartment you stayed in is changing all the time; apparently by the end of 2017 Time Out magazine will be opening a big new food market directly opposite Spitalfields market – a good reason to return!

If you ever get time, it would be great to hear about your swap in London. You could add it as a trip report on the site and we could publish it in a future newsletter.

All the best,

Mark

Sent: 16 November 2016 14:09

I followed your advice, since it's proved successful before, and added a trip report.

I hope you were on holiday and not sick, though.

Anyway, thanks again for your help, it's been truly fun (and swapping homes is so much cheaper!!).

Home swap adventures - refuse collection and recycling!

“My dear home swap friend, Bea, has written an amazing article about life in Finland which brought to mind the fascinating differences we face in our everyday lives when we live in someone else's home. For instance, while staying in Bea's wonderful apartment I had to send her a message one day because the washing machine had suddenly stopped. It seems that in Switzerland the machines are programmed to switch off during the lunchtime power surge. How clever is that? Just as wonderful was the post bus which came on time almost to the minute. We are used to clogged London streets where we don't even bother to consider the bus timetables.

This got me to thinking about all the different ways we have of getting rid of our refuse and recycling. At Kas' and Bea's home we simply had to pop it in huge containers in the private car park next to the house. In Barcelona our swap partner told us to take it to the car park built under the flats but it took us ages to locate the bins. In Warwick our host had obviously got used to returning home to find that visitors had done mad things with the recycling and the instructions he left were just to leave it all in the garage. We stayed in a block of flats in Dorset where we just left the bag outside the door and a caretaker collected it. That felt very posh.

In  Nice, in apartments on the Promenade des Anglais, the bins tend to be in the basements. These basements are fascinating places resplendent with the fittings of a bygone age intended to make a trip to the beach more comfortable, such as showers and changing cubicles. Sometimes you see someone arrive who is employed to bring out the bins and hose them out. What I couldn't stand on a long term basis is the fact that the rubbish is collected so late at night and the noise is tremendous.

We've stayed in many places where there is no door to door collection and people wander round the town with their rubbish bags. We even got on the boat from Como Town one day and a lady next to me said, 'Oh no. I forgot to get rid of my rubbish!'

In Venice the whole business of day to day life is fascinating to watch: deliveries to shops; old washing machines being removed from high floors of ancient buildings; people trundling around with their shopping...nearly everyone, even smartly dressed business folk, has a trolley. So much is done from the water. There are boats with all sorts of heavy machinery attached. 

We stayed this September on the Zattere, a wide and beautiful 'walkway' on the Giudecca Canal, and were told to put our rubbish out between 6.00 and 8.00 am. This horrified me as on earlier trips and in a different apartment we'd been allowed to secure it to railings the previous evening as long as it was high enough from the ground. Who wants to be up that early on holiday? But I loved those quiet dark mornings, no-one about, lights on the water, the odd boat chugging along.

And Bea, you may favour the economy of the hand shower next to the loo but Paul still marvels about your toilet and talks about it to this day!" - Sandra Newnham, London

Sandra and her husband, Paul, are very experienced home swappers - both to nearby destinations in the UK and further afield in Europe. See the couple's home swap offer in London.

*Read 'Finland Impressions', Bea's recent article on the blog

Home Swappers newsletter: winter & spring home swaps

Check out the latest issue of Home Swappers - the home exchange holiday newsletter. Whether you're looking for winter sun or a cosy country cottage getaway, you'll find a home swap offer to suit you. View the latest Home Swappers travel newsletter

 

In this issue of the Home Swappers newsletter:

• Featured home exchanges: Sunny Spanish apartment in Andalucia, Spain | Skiing swap in Ponte di Legno, Italy | Cosy home in Vancouver, Canada | Stunning converted barn in Devon, England
• Home swap trip report: beautiful seaside home exchange in St Ives
• Home swap tip: add good photos to your Home Base Holidays listing

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 Find your perfect home swap vacation: join Home Base Holidays

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Home swap photos: Skipton, UK

Continuing our series of sharing photos from our summer home swap competition, here are two lovely photos entered by Carol Richardson from British Columbia, Canada:

Home in Skipton UK, taken on a house exchange

Yorkshire countryside from Malham Cove taken on a house exchange in Skipton

Carol lives with her husband on Vancouver Island in the beautiful harbour city Nanaimo (if you have been to Canada you may be familiar with the yummy Nanaimo bars!). See Carol's home swap offer.

A first home swap: Germany to England

We had many lovely photos and stories submitted in the Home Base Holidays holiday photos competition this year. The winning photo and runners-up entries have already been  published but now we want to share some of the other entries too and will do so in a series of posts.

The first entry is from Marina who shared photos of her family’s first home swap in Teignmouth, Devon, England.

Marina wrote:

‘We arrived home yesterday from our first home swapping holiday in England. My husband, two children and I swapped with a couple from Teignmouth. They offered us a lovely house with a fantastic view to the sea.

We had mostly sunny weather and the whole family had so much fun playing in the waves and on the beach in Teignmouth.

The surrounding area offers many possibilities for trips and we enjoyed them by bike, train, bus, boat and on foot.’

It’s always interesting to go to somewhere completely different from home.

Marina describes her area:

‘Our wonderful area is named 3-countries-corner (Germany/Austria/Switzerland). Wangen (in photo) is a historical baroque town and healthy air resort where there are lots of choice for adventure, sports, sight-seeing, wellness and spa, nature-lovers and mountain-friends.’

Check out Marina’s lovely home exchange offer with a detailed description of the town of Wangen and local area.

Trip report: great home swap in the North of Lille

Wambrechies, one of the prettiest little towns in the greater Lille area

"Their house in the Town of Wambrechies is lovely, spacious and really comfortable. We had excellent guidance before and during the home swap, and this helped us to have a very relaxing trip. Our hosts were very kind and we appreciated their attention to detail.

The local area is close to many attractions and things to do in Lille. We visited the Great Zoo in the centre of Lille, Art Galleries: Beaux-Arts, Hospice Comtesse, Piscine de Roubaix and all just a short drive in the car.

The location is also ideally suited to day trips and we visited the city of Ghent in Belgium (an easy 1 hour drive) and Wissand beach on the Opal Coast (A real highlight as the sea was warm!)

We loved their allotment and were very impressed with the freshness of local food and wine generally in the area. We had a great time and would recommend the house, area and family!" Zara

Highlights of the home swap:

1. Visiting the Opal Coast.
2. Fantastic Food and Drink.
3. A lovely home to come back to after a hard day sight seeing!

 

View Dominique & Etienne's home swap in Wambrechies, France | View Zara's home swap in London, UK