Q: My husband and I love the idea of home exchanging but are yet to arrange one. Several years ago we signed up to a free home exchange website and sent out messages to quite a number of members. However, it became clear to us that the most of the offers shown on the website were old inactive listings, even some that looked fake (we saw a home in London with no description and just one photo - a photo of a giraffe!). So, our first attempt at home exchanging was an unsuccessful one but we're now keen to try again. Most of the home exchange websites we have looked at have lots of nice homes but how do we know that they are up to date genuine offers?
- Best wishes, Sue (Scotland)
A: Thank you for getting in touch and great to hear that you are interested in home exchanging. Really sorry though that your first foray into home exchanging was an unsuccessful one. Unfortunately, we see it more often than not where home exchange sites choose not to hide or remove old / inactive listings. This superficially boosts the number of listings shown on the website but we believe it is a bad practice and is misleading to potential members.
As mentioned, we know how frustrating it can be, scrolling through home exchange listings only to find out that most of the listings shown have not been active for months (even years). Therefore, at Home Base Holidays we try to focus on keeping our offers as up-to-date as possible. Our longest membership period is our one-year option, homes are then automatically hidden on the expiry date if the member chooses not to renew their membership. We charge a modest membership fee (our six-month membership is just £29) - even with such modest fees, members that have paid to sign up to a website are far more likely to be actively looking to home exchange than on free websites, such as with your previous experience. The membership fee also adds a reassurance that the listings shown are genuine offers. We do offer a two-week free trial membership so that people can try out our service before committing to a full membership, but again, if not renewed on or before the expiry date, these trial membership are also automatically hidden.
Home Base Holidays expiry dates
It's worth noting that people arrange successful home exchanges using a variety of different websites and so there is not a one size fits all. Do some research and even sign up to several sites until you find a home exchange service that works for you. When choosing which home exchange site(s) to sign up to, look for sites that clearly display membership expiry dates on all listings so that you know the offers shown are up-to-date active offers.
Home Base Holidays:home swap accommodation
For nearly 40 years, Home Base Holidays has been helping members arrange home swap accommodation. Search thousands of home exchange vacation offers
Guest post by Home Base Holidays member and experienced home exchanger, Jean Bucknall:
August 2019 marks the thirtieth anniversary of our very first home exchange and since then we have completed ninety more! Especially for those of you for whom home exchanging is still something you’re not quite sure about, let me give you a brief history of our experiences over the years.
When we first decided to give home exchanging a try we signed up with an agency and, in those days, well before the internet was available to the general public, the agencies produced directories. These were rather like telephone directories, but with photographs (initially in black and white, but later in colour) of most properties, together with members’ names, addresses and telephone numbers. The facilities on offer – e.g the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, whether there were pets to care for, the number of people that would be in the party, desired destinations, whether car exchange was possible, preferred dates for the exchanges etc etc were listed in abbreviated form, so one had to learn how to read the listings before one could be sure that a particular property was suitable for your party. Then, having found a property which fitted the bill, one had to write to or telephone the people to ascertain if they liked the idea of an exchange with you. For popular places and times of the year, such as school holidays, finding and agreeing an exchange could be a lengthy process and an expensive one too, if one was having to make international phone calls! Also, the directories were effectively out of date very quickly as the property information couldn’t be changed between editions and one never knew until you contacted somebody whether they had already agreed an exchange for the period you wanted yourself. The last directory we received was in 2010, by which time most members had email addresses and these were available upon request to other members. Nowadays the whole process is so much easier as one’s listing can be changed at any time and the agencies’ messaging systems are a much easier and quicker way of contacting prospective exchange partners. Many people loved getting the directories and it was great fun poring over them dreaming of the possible holidays one could have, but they must have been very expensive to produce and post and, although we initially missed the excitement of receiving them twice yearly, we soon realised that the internet had rendered them obsolete.
Having exchanged letters and agreeing dates we were ready for our first exchange, which was in Paris. We felt very brave venturing abroad for our “trial run”, but it all worked out well. The flat was very conveniently situated just around the corner from the Gare du Nord, but it was on the sixth floor with no lift and Paris in August is very hot and mosquitos plagued us every night. Only at the end of our stay did we discover that there were plug-in mosquito repellents in the flat which we could have used to keep the little pests away. You live and learn! It made us realise the importance of leaving adequate information in the house, so soon after our return from Paris we started work on our “Homefile”, a loose-leaf binder of information and advice for our exchangers. This has grown over the years and is constantly being amended when, for instance, we change items of household equipment or find a new restaurant that we think our exchangers might like to try. It is very important that people know things like where the electricity fuse box and the mains water stop cock are situated as well as the days of refuse collection in your neighbourhood and, in these days of kerbside recycling, what is collected on any specific week. Instructions for plant watering when necessary and where to find household appliances are also included, along with a book of local street maps with shops, petrol stations, restaurants, banks etc marked on the relevant pages.
After that first successful experience in Paris (the first of four exchanges in that lovely city) we felt confident to exchange again both in the UK and in continental Europe, which we did for some years before venturing on our one and only long-haul exchange to Vancouver, where we exchanged with a retired couple. They had different surnames – not particularly unusual - but when we arrived at their house we found that they lived separate lives under the same roof – even to the extent of each having their own kitchen and their own cleaner! On the assumption that they were “a couple”, I had only made up one double bed for them at our house, but they used their initiative and made up one of the spare beds. I now make up all the beds before exchanges so that our exchangers can choose which room(s) they want to use. Vancouver was wonderful, but long-haul flying is not for us and we now restrict our exchanging to the UK and mainland Europe. Apart from the four in Paris, other European exchanges have taken us to many different parts of Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, sometimes exchanging cars, but most often travelling there and back by train and using public transport to explore.
Until a few years ago we had two cats so would exchange with other cat owners most of the time, but, if not, we would always check that people were happy to look after our cats as part of the exchange. We have looked after cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens etc over the years, but I must admit to being nervous on one exchange because one of the two resident cats was diabetic and had to have insulin injections twice a day! It was not something I had ever done before, but Phoebe was patient with my novice attempts and most of the time I managed to get the insulin injected correctly. Pets can add pleasure and interest to any exchange, but I always check what exactly is required of us before we finalise arrangements.
Over the years we have made many new friends through house exchanging and have had repeat exchanges with quite a few people in this country and in Berlin. When we are on an exchange anywhere close to other exchanging friends we try to meet up for lunch during our stay and swap stories of our respective swaps. We all have tales to tell – and the lunches often stretch well into the afternoon we relate humorous tales of trying to find houses in the dark, antics of pets in our care and, in our case, the search when we first arrive for a teapot! We have lost count of the number of places where we have trawled through local charity shops to find one, which, having cleaned it and used it during our stay, we then leave in the exchange home in the hope that it will be there for future exchangers to use, if, like us, they prefer to make tea in a pot rather than in mugs.
One thing we have learned over the years is not to always look for exchanges in well-known, popular places. Don’t dismiss offers of exchanges from places you haven’t heard of or that you don’t think will be to your taste. Some of our best exchanges have been in unlikely locations which have proved to be excellent bases for town and country walking or, in the UK, for visiting nearby National Trust, Cadw, English Heritage or Historic Scotland properties. We are National Trust and Cadw members and find that now we are retired and can exchange several times a year we are “in credit” with both organisations before the year is half over. In the six months up to the start of July this year our National Trust visits would have cost us over £400 in entrance fees had we not been members – over four times our annual membership fees! It is well worth taking out membership of these organisations if one enjoys visiting historic properties and one has the opportunity to visit several of them each year.
Occasionally, however well planned, exchanges have to be cancelled at short notice for reasons like illness or bereavement and it isn’t always possible to make other arrangements, but fortunately on the two occasions that we have had to cancel – once for a bereavement and once for an injury to a friend who was due to travel with us - we have been able to stay with friends while our exchangers stayed in our house as planned. Both times our exchangers were coming from Europe and presumably they would have lost the money they had spent in advance on airline, rail or ferry fares had they had to cancel their journey because they were unable to stay in our home or find alternative accommodation. We were able to claim on our insurance for our transport costs in both instances, so didn’t lose out. In the last two years we have had two exchanges called off at short notice because of family illnesses within our exchangers’ families, but both were in the UK, so we had not spent any money beforehand other than on things like maps, which we are always happy to add to our collection anyway!
I cannot overstate the pleasure that home exchanging has brought us over our first thirty years - not to mention the opportunity to travel all over the world at a fraction of the cost of holidaying in self-catering accommodation or hotels. When one swaps a home one has the benefit of being able to use the household appliances, the garden and often the car of one’s exchangers – only paying for having one’s name added to their car insurance. We have stayed in an endless variety of homes – from terraced cottages and compact city apartments to ancient listed buildings and big houses with swimming pools and acres of garden. We have exchanged in the winter months and had to buy extra clothes to keep warm and sweltered in the summer months and had to discard the duvet, but all seasons hold their own appeal and our exploration of the UK in particular continues with every exchange. If all goes according to plan we will complete nine UK exchanges this year. We started in East Sussex in March followed by Swansea, Derbyshire, Devon, Rutland, Oxford, Wiltshire, Yorkshire and will finish our exchanges for 2019 in Bedfordshire in October! We already have one exchange agreed for 2020 and I am looking forward in the coming months to filling up the calendar for next year!
- Jean Bucknall
Meet the members, Jean & Paul:
Jean and Paul are both now retired but still enjoy an active lifestyle. Paul was a Chartered Civil Engineer specialising in railways and Jean was a part-time pharmacy assistant. They have been home exchanging since 1989 and have completed over 90 exchanges.
Pet care can be one of the many bonus of home swapping
Many cat owners have concerns about arranging care for their cats during a vacation for a week or longer. Catteries are expensive and, however obliging friendly neighbours are, it can seem an imposition to ask them to take on the responsibility of caring for a cat for more than a weekend. Fortunately, many Home Base Holidays members are happy to look after cats (and often other pets) during a home swap. It’s ideal not to have to disrupt a cat’s routine and, although notoriously independent creatures, most cats appreciate some attention from whatever humans are sharing their home! Families who don’t have pets often enjoy having a cat (and introducing children to caring for an animal) without the long-term commitment and expense of owning one.
Narrow search results by selecting ‘Pet care offered’ under Additional Options when searching home exchange offers. If looking for members happy to look after your cat, do arrange back-up care too in case your home swap partners want to go away for a day or two. Also, even if you aren’t looking for cat care (perhaps moggy is having a holiday with a family member), mention in your home exchange offer that a cat normally lives in your home so that home swappers with severe allergies can avoid suggesting an exchange.
"Please look after me while she's away" - home swap in Ludlow, England (+ cat!)
Beautiful private riverside home swap offer in the historic town of Ludlow. This early Victorian house is a real gem - beautiful to look at and beautiful to be in! Ludlow is renowned for its fascinating history which is visible in the ancient castle with its links to royalty and the many historic buildings which are still in use.
The home owner, Chloe, has a friendly cat who will need looking after but if you want to take a trip somewhere there are neighbours who will feed her.
Meet George the cat on your home swap in Freemans Bay, New Zealand:
Magical, elegant 1860s villa and garden in Freemans Bay/Ponsonby, Auckland is available to a London family who would like a home exchange to experience a perfect summer Christmas in New Zealand.
Amy's beautiful home near Lake Tahoe in Nevada, USA
Guest post by Home Base Holidays member and experienced home exchanger, Amy Davey:
Thinking about trying home exchange travel? Home exchange is different from conventional hotel or rental travel where you simply select your dates and location and book a stay. A good home exchange means meeting the needs of both exchanging parties, establishing good communication and trust, and welcoming your exchange partner as a friend and guest in your home.
Tips for attaining a home exchange:
Be flexible
If you can only travel during the first week of August, your travel group is large, and you only want to visit one specific place, you are making it challenging to find an exchange. Kids in school? Perhaps the school would allow an “enrichment experience” and release them for travel. Not sure yet what your plans are for next year? Why not take the plunge and book an exchange…you can make your plans around it!
I have heard one exchanger say about the requests they receive: “I always try to find a way to say yes”.
Be open
Maybe you’ve always wanted to visit Paris, or you dream to be in NYC on New Year’s Eve…and then you receive an exchange offer from Broughty Ferry, Scotland. Huh, where is that?! Well, it turned out to be a charming seaside village on the East coast of Scotland, and one of my favorite exchanges ever! Famous tourist destinations can be very difficult to secure an exchange with and may be best suited for booking a rental or hotel. Can you stay outside a big city? What about trying a place you never even dreamed of? Home exchange is all about the spirit of adventure…be adventurous!
Be friendly!
Which home exchange request do you prefer: “Hi Amy, I would like to stay in your home on September 12-18. Can we exchange?” or “Hi Amy, I saw your beautiful home listing and would love to discover your area! My home is in a wonderful location that I think you would really enjoy. I notice your listing says you like music and art and there are a lot of options for you to explore in my area. Please take a look at my home and let me know if you are interested in discussing the possibility of an exchange!” Remember, home exchange is a very personal experience where you are trusting your home to another and they are doing the same for you. Read their listing carefully, be a good communicator, and get to know a bit about your exchange partner. You will find that you are more comfortable opening your home when you consider them a friend!
Be tempting
Spend some time on your home exchange listing, describing your home and area and providing great photos. Include information on interesting attractions in your town or region, web links to tourist sites, suggestions for activities, the location of the nearest airport, and other helpful information to interest people in your area. Read through other home exchange listings for ideas on how to set up your own.
Be realistic
Sometimes a “last-minute” exchange will work out for people, but most home exchanges involve planning and communication, and take some time to find and arrange. Start seeking a home exchange well in advance of when you hope to travel so you have plenty of time and flexibility to consider options and discuss your exchange partner’s needs. It is not a recipe for success to buy your plane tickets, join an exchange site, and then hope to arrange an exchange around your already established plans.
Be proactive
It would be wonderful if you could post your home listing on one exchange site and watch the exchange offers start pouring in (you probably can if you live in NYC, London, Paris or other highly sought after areas!) but you should probably go a step further. Join more than one home exchange site and start sending requests. Home exchange is not as easy as booking a hotel or rental, it takes work, patience and time, but in the end can be a very rewarding way to travel!
Meet home swapper, Amy:
Amy's originally from Canada but now lives in her beautiful large country home at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the American West. Located 20 minutes from Lake Tahoe, Reno and the old west town of Virginia City with numerous summer and winter activities from hiking, skiing and golf to casino shows, restaurants and nightlife.
Arranging a home swap has always been a great way to dramatically reduce your holiday expenses as you totally cut out the costs of accommodation. However, with the value of the pound sterling falling in the seemingly never-ending Brexit muddle, now is an even better time to visit the UK, with more spending money to enjoy all the wonderful sights and attractions.
Live in the UK? Over the last five years we have seen a big rise in UK members arranging home swaps within the UK. However, if you still plan to travel abroad but are worried about the currency exchange rate, you can take comfort in the knowledge of saving a huge sum of money by choosing to swap homes rather than pay for hotel rooms or holiday rentals!
Some UK home swap holiday offers to tempt you:
Scottish Highlands: Dunnet Brough, Highlands, ScotlandThis gorgeous eco-friendly, architect designed home in Dunnet Brough, in the Scottish Highlands, is set on 5 acres of grassland and is only 75 meters from the sea. With stunning views across the Pentland Firth to the Orkney Islands from every room. View this home swap in Scotland
English thatched cottage: 16th Century thatch cottage in a small English village next to Shakespeare's home town of Stratford-upon-Avon. The house is full of quirky and authentic features and has a fabulous floral/vegetable garden well stocked with salad leaves, tomatoes and plenty of herbs. View this home swap in Warwickshire
Snowdonia, Wales: Ripon House is an 1830's, characterful, modernised, end-terraced house in the centre of a small Snowdonia village. It is only 3 mins walk from the lake, close to facilities, numerous tourist attractions, and at the start of paths to Mount Snowdon. Castles, beaches & coast are 20 mins drive away. View this Snowdonia home swap
Central London: Light spacious Art Deco 1st floor apartment by beautiful Regents Park. Quiet, safe street. Friendly local cafes, food shops 2min. London's cultural attractions, art galleries, theatres and cinemas, Oxford Street or Bond Street for shopping, and mainline train stations all walking distance. View this home exchange in London
Downpatrick, Northern Ireland: The area is steeped in history and there are museums, and historical sites too numerous to mention. It is a beautiful spot in the spring and summer especially, and sitting down on the decking by the pond and our little orchard of apple and pear trees is very relaxing in the long summer evenings. View this home swap in Northern Ireland
Be polite: make sure to reply to all home swap messages you receive
One of the the biggest frustrations faced when organising a home exchange is having slow replies or no replies to enquiry messages. At Home Base Holidays we always try to emphasise the importance of replying to all messages you receive even if just to say "Thanks for your offer but it is not what I am looking for".
As mentioned, waiting on a reply to your home swap message can be very frustrating but try to be a little patient. Remember that some members may be very computer savvy and online throughout the day whereas others may only check their emails once or twice a week. There can of course be other reasons why a member might not be able to reply right away, such as: they may be travelling and without internet access, they may be ill or have a family/work crisis, their computer might have crashed, your message alert might have ended up in their spam folder or the member may have just accidentally overlooked the message alert (see below "What should I do if I do not receive a reply?").
Messaging etiquette:
Home Exchange offers received:
Acknowledge all home exchange offers within a week of receipt.
Try to check your emails and/or the home swap site's messages every day if possible.
If you need time to think about an offer, reply to the member to let them know and try to give them a timescale for you to make a definite answer.
If you are considering more than one exchange offer, make your decision as quickly as possible and let other members you have been communicating with know without delay. Let such members know if you would like to consider their offer, if available, at a later date.
If a member fails to respond to your offer, or to follow up within the time frame agreed, re-send your offer (in case they missed your original message), with a note to say that you are looking forward to hearing soon whether or not they may be interested in your offer.
Communication before a Home Exchange is agreed:
This is the period when regular communication is crucial so that each member knows the other is genuinely interested in pursuing the exchange.
Agree to keep in regular contact (say a minimum of once every two weeks) - asking/answering questions, sharing information but, if nothing crops up, still send short notes regularly just to keep in touch.
If you will be out of contact for awhile, let your exchange partner know when you will next be able to check email and respond to messages.
Exchange alternative means of communication - phone, email, Skype, WhatsApp, etc
Arranging consecutive swaps? If you plan to arrange two, three or even more consecutive home swaps, make sure all members you are communicating with are aware of this. Arranging more than one exchange requires a great deal of organisation and coordination.
Period leading up to the Home Exchange:
Once a home exchange has been agreed and you've set up your home exchange agreement form on the site, continue corresponding regularly as a reassurance that all is well. A lapse in communication, with no advance notice, could be an early warning of a problem.
Never cancel an agreed home exchange (the only exception to this is a serious illness or death in the family, or unforeseen situations such as a fire or natural disaster). In the unlikely event you do have to break a firm agreement, let your exchange partners know immediately and do all you can to help them with alternative accommodation (if you cannot find suitable alternative accommodation, at least agree to share the cost of a rental).
Continue to respond promptly to any further exchange offers you receive. If any are of interest, suggest an exchange at a later date. If unable to consider further exchange offers at this time, go to Home Base Holidays and log in to your member area, and select "Exchange Arranged" next to your listing.
What should I do if I do not receive a reply?
Swap agreed: if you've agreed a swap but are now unable to get in touch with the member through the swap site, try contacting the member via their email or phone number. If you do not have their email or phone number, get in touch with us at Home Base Holidays and we will try to contact them for you.
First enquiry message:be patient and give them up to a week to reply. If after a week you have still not received a response, try sending a follow up message. If you still do not get a response, either choose to move on or, if particularly interested in the home swap offer, contact us at Home Base Holidays and we will try to get in touch with the member for you.
Home Base Holidays We're here to answers any questions on swapping homes, specific topics related to home exchange vacations plus share Home Base Holidays members' home swap stories and exchange offers.
