The view from our Paris flat, July 2008
Written by: Julie Ovenell-CarterIt was about this time last year that Brad and I resolved to spend a month in Paris–in someone else’s home. There are plenty of exchange agencies out there, but we’d heard good word-of-mouth about North Vancouver-based Homelink International, so we paid the $130 annual fee (don’t bristle: it’s less than one night’s accommodation in a hotel!) and spent an evening at the computer giving over our particulars and scoping out possible exchange locations. We sent out a handful of queries and then sat back and waited…and within five days had landed an elegant family-sized flat right in the trendy Marais district, two blocks from the Seine and 10 minutes by foot from Notre Dame. We spent a blissful July in France and this year we’ve already arranged a home exchange in Berlin.
Our enthusiasm for home exchange verges on the evangelical–we definitely want all our friends to see the light and join us on the path to budget-friendly travel that doesn’t involve the words “hostel” or “shared bath”–charming though those things might be when you’re 20. We’re starting to get a lot of calls from friends (or friends of friends) wanting to know more about our experience and looking for advice. So here they are, my top 10 tips for a successful home exchange:
Adjust your trust: The first question everyone always asks is, “Weren’t you worried about having a stranger in your house?” Yes, I was: for about five seconds. But think about it: is someone going to spend $130 bucks plus the cost of international airline tickets so they can rip you off? Not bloody likely. The people who go through the minor hassle of signing up with an exchange agency want what you want: an affordable vacation in an interesting part of the world. They’re not after your jewellery. Mutual trust is the bedrock of successful home exchange, so if you’re someone who doubts the essential goodness of humanity, you might want to book into a hotel instead.
Open the door to possibility: The French family that accepted our exchange offer last year had never even heard of Bowen Island when we approached them. It was never on their radar–but they were intrigued once we put it there. While it’s perfectly acceptable to zero in on a certain location for your exchange, I recommend that you leave your destination open when possible and let the world surprise you. Of course, it means you need to craft the description of your home and community with some care: you need to sell (but never over-sell) what your ‘hood has to offer. And don’t despair if you live in a little-known backwater: it could be someone’s idea of holiday heaven.
Remember your manners: Once you sign up with a home exchange agency, you are obliged to observe a few basic points of etiquette, the first and most important being: RSVP. It is exceedingly impolite to ignore an exchange request. I don’t know about the other agencies, but Homelink sends an alert advising that you have new mail, and also makes it easy to say no with a one-click “Thanks, but no thanks” button. And once you’ve committed to an exchange, it’s beyond rude to change your mind for a better offer. Sure, things can happen that necessitate a change of plans, but refer to point 1 and ask yourself how you’d feel if someone left you on the hook with $5,000 worth of airline tickets and nowhere to stay once you arrived. And just like your mom taught you, leave a note of thanks and even a small gesture like a bottle of wine at the end of your exchange.
Communicate, communicate, communicate: Talking helps build trust. Once you’ve started to dance with a potential home exchange partner, you will likely enjoy a steady stream of back-and-forth correspondence while you figure out whether your plans mesh. It’s during this uncommitted period that you really get a sense of the personalities involved. (We had one very strange correspondence with a person who we quickly determined we didn’t want to let anywhere near our lives, let alone our home.) Once you’ve committed to an exchange, you will likely share all sorts of contact info, including your personal e-dresses and cell phone numbers. Expect a flurry of communication–all those last-minute details–in the week or two leading up to the exchange.
Sign a contract: I don’t know about other agencies, but Homelink offers a handy on-line template for documenting your expectations and agreements about your home exchange. For example, since we have an excellent and inexpensive international long-distance plan, we agreed to let our French guests make long-distance calls on our home line to a maximum of $10, after which they would be required to reimburse us. Who knows if it would stand up in court, but it does help to clarify those messy details.
Write a book: This one is important. It’s time-consuming, but you only have to do it once: write the book about your home and community. Don’t take it for granted that your guests will know how to clean the lint trap on your ancient dryer or when to take the garbage can to the curb-side. We told our French guests where to find the trailhead to a favourite secret beach, where to buy organic vegetables, and who to call on for local advice; they told us how to save on transit costs by forgoing the tourist passes and buying a weekly Metro pass used by Parisian commuters. We both included local guidebooks, maps and tourism brochures in our “house books”. Keep the book on your computer so you can update it quickly for every exchange.
Clean to a higher standard: One man’s clean is another man’s clutter. Even if you’re not a natural neat-nik, you should become one for the few weeks before and during your home exchange. You don’t have to repaint your house or buy new furniture, but you do have to clean it to within an inch of its life: dust shelves and tables, wash floors, vacuum carpets, scrub sinks, toilets and tubs. (It’s also helpful to empty a drawer or two and make a little space in your bedroom closet for your guest’s clothes.) Make your house sparkle–and then make it clear to your guests that you’d like to find it exactly as you left it. Be specific about your expectations: we were asked to strip and remake the beds with fresh sheets before we left the Paris flat. We also swapped housekeeping services with our French family. If you have a housekeeper, consider asking them to continue during your time away; that way you’ll guarantee you’ll come home to a spic-and-span house.
Put your house in order: You know that funny burnt-rubber smell coming from the dryer these days? Or those rotten boards on the deck that threaten to collapse every time you use the barbecue? Now would be a good time to fix that stuff. You know you need to do it, and there’s nothing like a deadline–or the spectre of liability–to focus the mind.
Get insurance assurance: Talk to your insurance broker about your exchange plans. It shouldn’t be an issue given that most companies are happy to know that a house won’t be standing empty. If you’ve agreed to swap cars, your existing insurance should cover the guest driver, but check with your insurer. In our contract with our French family, we agreed that they would compensate us for the deductible and for any increase in our premiums if they had an accident. (They didn’t.) We also opted to pay a few extra dollars to Homelink for insurance that would cover us for expenses if our exchange fell through at the last minute and we had to pay for hotels and car rentals.
Park your expectations & pack your sense of humour: Essayist Pico Iyer says that when he travels he likes to read everything he can about his destination before he gets on the plane–and then to forget it all the minute he steps off. In my experience, the less you expect of your holiday the more satisfying it will be. Home exchange is particularly suited to the serendipitous traveller. Live like a local as much as you’re able, and you’re sure to stumble across surprises unknown to any guidebook.
Good luck and let me know your exchange experiences!
Kathryn
on January 3rd, 2009Thanks for this. It gives me courage and now I don’t have to ask you all of these questions the next time we meet.
K
Kris
on January 5th, 2009Wow, what an exotic way to spend a vacation!
Ambrose Merrell
on January 5th, 2009Get lots of photos! Probably obvious to any half brained person but not to me.
We exchanged with a family near Douglas Park, East Van. An interesting experience. Thread bare furniture, a TV from the 50’s and much, much more.
It wasn’t a disaster. Fortunately the fleas decided I was far more tasty than the rest of the family.
But lots more photos might have given us a clue before agreeing to the exchange….
Lois
on January 9th, 2009Great tips, Julie! And good point, Ambrose, about seeing lots of photos of the home before agreeing to an exchange. As for the flea problem, this one cropped up with one of our members and I published a post on this rather touchy issue on my blog, Travel the Home Exchange Way, last year, Home Exchange Guests Bitten by Fleas?
Hope that doesn’t put anyone off the idea of swapping homes. If everyone follows your tips, they can’t go wrong!
Cheers from London
1st Home Exchange
on January 9th, 2009Great tips.
I’d like to expand your list based on our experience at running a home exchange Website, http://www.1sthomeexchange.com.
1. Start Early
Don’t expect to find and agree to an exchange a few weeks before your departure date. It’s always possible but there’s a higher probability of being disappointed if you start too late.
Starting early gives you more time to get to know the people you’re going to swap with and relieves the pressure of accepting an offer you may be uncomfortable with. Getting to know each other, which takes time, raises the comfort level for both parties.
2. Contact, contact, contact
Too often, we see people new to home exchanging post a listing and wait for the offers to flood their Inbox. And of course when they receive few or no offers they are disappointed and give up on home exchanging.
Home exchanging requires some effort.
Unless you have home in a tourist destination such as New York City, you need to let people know you’re out there.
If everyone sits back and says I don’t need to contact anyone because they will contact me then no one is home exchanging!
3. Hire a cleaning service, if necessary
Complaints regarding an exchange are infrequent. However the most common complaint has to do with the fact that we all have different cleaning standards.
If upon arriving at your new home, the place isn’t up to your standards, take out the yellow pages and call a cleaning service. The small fee to have someone come in and clean the place will make your holiday so much more enjoyable.
4. Be informative
To help sell your offer make sure you include a detailed description of your home, neighborhood, region and yourself.
Include lots of photos. Photos help sell a home. And give your future guest a comfort feeling that there won’t be unpleasant surprises.
5. Join several swap services
Being open to destination, dates and length of stay makes a it easier to find a home exchange.
If your destination and dates are not flexible consider joining several exchange sites. Yes this implies additional membership costs. But the savings on accommodation for a 2 or 3 week holiday are in the thousands.
Being a member on several sites means that you have more choice and may just find that “dream” offer.
lisa rudy
on January 15th, 2009Question: we live on Cape Cod, about ten minutes walk from a harbor and bike path – and five minutes drive to a sunset beach.
Does that put us in a better place to trade than, say, a house in the suburbs of Philadelphia? If so, how do we make the most of our location to get a great swap?
Thanks,
Lisa
Lehua
on January 15th, 2009We live in a small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It is a farming area. We are 1.5 hours from the coast. Would our destination be too hard to trade? It certainly would be an experience.
1st Home Exchange
on January 18th, 2009I’d like to respond to Lisa (6) and Lehua’s (7) questions.
In general, any home in any location can be swapped.
People swap for different reasons. Most people swap for holidays. Others swap to be close to family; a family reunion such as a wedding, thanksgiving, or Christmas while other may be swapping because of a temporary work assignment.
Although the majority of swappers are looking for primary tourist destinations such as New York City, Paris, beach areas, the cottage on the lake, for others, the appeal of a home exchange is to experience a vacation living like a local. And the small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia may just be that “different” holiday that appeals to someone living in a large European city!
In our experience, anyone really interested in trying out a home exchange holiday will find a swap. Do keep in mind that your location and your home will affect the effort you need to invest. Someone with a home in Cape Cod will likely receive more offers than someone with a home in suburbs of Philadelphia. The latter may need to send out dozens of e-mails rather than sitting back and waiting for offers. As I mentioned in my earlier comment; Contact, contact, contact!
thesebootstravel
on January 18th, 2009Well, this topic certainly seems to have legs as we used to say in the journalism business! I’ve responded privately to the questions asked here, but I have to concur with the author from 1st Home Exchange –different strokes for different folks and contact, contact, contact.
Finding a house exchange is a bit like dating it seems to me: you have to get out there and meet as many new people as possible on the off chance that you will meet “the one.” If you just sit home in your pyjamas (to really pound the hell out of this metaphor), your chances of finding a match are significantly reduced. So commit to the process and reach out to every listing that appeals to you…and even one or two that don’t. You never know what will develop!
Richard from Intervac
on January 25th, 2009As the Canadian representative of another global home swapping agency I would like to add that out-of-the-way places found via “home exchanging serendipity” can be very satisfying. One year in July we ended up exchanging with a German family who lived just outside of this small fishing town (Husum – part of the Schleswig-Holstein region) north of Hamburg and just south of the Danish border. Loved visiting Hanseatic cities like Bremen & Hamburg… very few tourists + cool North Sea climate and local fish. We would have never experienced this “out-of-the-way” area without home exchange. While we have a match-alert tool on the Intervac system so members are notified immediately when a new member joins who fits their pre-set “dream” criteria… we do encourage our members to always specify that they are always open to any location … because you just never know.
Jeannine
on February 8th, 2009Great post, full of useful info! I see you are off to Berlin. We did a great swap for a Berlin apartment and had the best time. It’s a fabulous city, enjoy it.
Darlene Clarke
on March 20th, 2009Hi, this looks so interesting to me. My husband and I have a half a duplex – 4 bedroom funished, in the Queen Charlotte Islands off the west coast of B.CD. Canada and would love to consider a home swap in 2010 to Scotland or Irland.
Julie Ovenell-Carter
on March 20th, 2009Hey Darlene, thanks for entering, and check out http://www.homelink.ca under the “visitors” section to learn more about their services. You could also try Intervac which other callers on the show mentioned they had used with success…Julie
Brianna Neil
on March 22nd, 2009This does look very interesting. We are on Bowen Island; I have thought about home exchange in the past, but wasn’t sure about the best way to do it. We try to travel for a month every year, so maybe this is the accomodation solution for us. Thanks!
Julie Ovenell-Carter
on March 22nd, 2009Hi Brianna,
I’m on Bowen too! It’s Julie Ovenell-Carter here, in case you didn’t know whose site you were visiting! Good luck neighbour!
chantal frehlich
on March 23rd, 2009I live outside of Salmon Arm(about 20 mins.) If someone is interested in roughin’ it, we do have a loft cabin on our property. We built it for our families use but have considered renting it out. the wildwerness is beautiful when we all have a chance to turn off our regular lives. We have found the best quality time was time spent only 100 yards from our home. A holiday to remember!!!!!!!! Please let me know if I could advertise for an exchange or to rent it out. I’m just not sure how many people out there want to do without a hot shower each morning. A good Idea or not? thanks
lisajoie
on July 27th, 2009House swapping is a genius idea, but one that I wonder IS IT REALLY SAFE for children and women?
I have children, two large gaurd dogs a security system and private residence but STAYING at someones home could it be as safe, I mean THEY even could juts walk in any time!!
I live by the ocean, surf sail sand etc in Daytona Beach area , great neighborhood, have a nice ranch home, 2 bed 1 bath tiled floors, 2 living rooms, garage , large fenced yard with large oak trees would LOVE to try this..NEED to get away from paradise! lol
seriously, even living in paradise gets old!!!!
Eric
on October 27th, 2009Wow, awesome post! I have been thinking about doing a homeswap but have not been able to convince my wife to do so, maybe if she reads this she will see its not as bad. I found your blog entry by searching for ‘home swap experience’ and was exactly what I was looking for. Its good to know other people do it on a regular basis and for the most part it is very successful. We are in Utah, if anyone is interested in a homeswap let me know, I guess I will signup for some of those sites though and taking pictures of our home, etc.