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If you'd like to stay in one place for a longish time, but
the thought of hotel and restaurant bills is daunting, consider a home swap.
It means more room than a hotel at a fraction of the cost, not to
mention reducing restaurant meals to a choice, not a necessity. |
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To do a home-swap, your family needs to be comfortable with
the idea of strangers being in your home while you're away. However, if
you store away valuables, it may actually be a comfort to know that your
house is not standing empty with a "rob me!" sign on it while you're away. |
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A home swap might be as simple as having family or friends
who would like to swap house, townhouse, apartment with you for a few days
– or a whole summer vacation. You can include vehicles (cars, trucks,
bikes, boats) or not. |
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What if you don't happen to have a good personal contact?
Not to worry, there are several home swapping agencies online.
As with anything else, do your homework before deciding if this is an option
for you and which type of service to use. Some will charge a "match-maker"
type fee. Some require that you list your home,
others offer home rentals in addition to home-swaps. Even private-party
home rentals are more economical than a hotel for a longish stay, but of
course, without the hotel amenities like maid service. |
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Home swapping agencies |
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Home Exchange guarantees you'll find a home exchange: if you don't find
a home exchange partner during your first year, your second year is free!
They list over 120 countries, from Anguilla to Zambia (including places like
Australia, Ireland, St. Maartens, too). |
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Home
Base Holidays has been around since 1985. A great family-oriented
site that not only arranges home swaps for a reasonable fee, but also provides
an excellent newsletter. One suggestion from the site: "Exchange with a family with children of a similar age to your
own – your children will have a whole new set of toys, books and videos;
extra perks include local babysitters and playmates for your children." |
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General Tips |
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Make sure both sides know what the swap consists
of: be honest in describing your home. Include a real estate type description
about rooms, yards and neighborhood type, as well as how far it is to town
or attractions such as a beach, river, amusement park, museums, etc. |
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Be flexible in working out a schedule. |
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Clean your home thoroughly before leaving home;
clean the swap-home thoroughly, before leaving it. |
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Lock away valuables. |
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Post a list of emergency numbers (Fire, police,
ambulance, neighbor, friend, relative and let those people know they're
on the list). |
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Post a list of maintenance issues: (trash collection
day, plant watering schedule, how to run the washer/dryer/dish washer etc.) |
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Put your mail on hold for you at the post office. |
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Leave a nice "welcome" meal in the kitchen. |
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If you're doing a vehicle swap, clean it inside
and out, leave a full tank of gas and leave the swap vehicle the same way. |
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Testimonials |
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There’s nothing like hearing
it from someone who’s done it. Here are two “testimonials” from Home Base
Holiday subscribers. |
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A
subscriber in England, “Jo,” wrote about her swaps in the U.S.:
We were a little
hesitant as our exchange partner was a bachelor (would he tolerate children?)
and he was exchanging his second home with our primary one. We did the usual
swapping of photographs and chats on the phone: We asked where we could
get certain items to save us from lugging them. "No problem.” He is
a rabbi and asked his congregation: we had a cot, a car-seat, a pushchair,
a playpen and a bag of toys - magic! (Jo's suggestion for new exchangers - Ask as many questions
as you can. Do not leave any stone unturned.)
“Jo’s” second trip was in
Florida:
It was a fabulous exchange with
a couple who had two sons. Their home was beautiful and it included a swimming
pool, Jacuzzi and the use of a small motorboat. They arranged for a friend
to come to us and take us fishing: we caught our own dinner and grilled
it as the sun set over the back garden. |
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"Tom"
of Ireland describes his family’s first exchange to Austin, Texas: Communication by e-mail and phone reassured us that we were dealing with
responsible people who shared our priorities and interests. The children
enjoyed getting to know each other via e-mail, planning theme park visits,
comparing toys and games, favourite things to do locally and preferred restaurants.
The sense of anticipation was enhanced by exchange of photos and books about
local activities, and organising flight arrangements.…we swam in creeks
with turtles and catfish (while buzzards hovered overhead!), ate BBQ, rode
all the nearby roller coasters, shopped at Outlet Stores, listened to Tex-Mex
music and the Austin Symphony Orchestra, won the prize for "Most Patriotically
Dressed" at our local July 4th Street Party (definitely a rigged vote
by hospitable neighbours!), and of course visited the Alamo. The home in
which we stayed was large, well equipped, and very suitable for our four
children, especially as we were enrolled at the nearby swimming pool. |
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You probably shouldn’t expect
swimming pools and motor boats when exchanging with someone in London or
Buenos Aires. But in fact, you’ll find everything from simple apartments
to country estates to houseboats! All kinds of families and family homes
can be found on these sites. The underlying theme in most home swap experiences?
Besides the house itself, having a “ghost/host” can really enrich the travel
experience, from great local insider tips, to arranging for special needs,
to just making one another comfortable with the idea of handing over the
keys to the front door. |
