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Many people all over the world are willing to trade their home in France, Hawaii, or Australia for a few weeks in your home wherever it may be. This process, called home exchanging, is an excellent way to keep the cost down when you plan a dream vacation.
Instead of paying high hotel costs you will be able to stay in a fully furnished home, complete with kitchen, television, stereo, and sometimes a car! All these home away from home comforts are free! All this... in exchange for your home, kitchen, stereo, T.V. and car, of course.
Home exchanging can save you about $1,500.00 a week in hotel costs, expensive restaurant bills and rental car fees. But, home exchanging is not only about saving money. You can establish a relationship with another family in a foreign place by exchanging what is very dear to you; your home. Home is where the heart is, so it is like exchanging hearts. You get very close to people by opening up your heart and home to them. Most home exchanges end up in long lasting bonds of friendship.
You get to experience a place in a way that tourists can never do. You can see what it really is like living the “real” life in France, Hawaii, or Italy because you are not just staying in a sanitized hotel. You will be in a real neighborhood, in a real home. It is very interesting to see what kinds of pots and pans, utensils, books, and even the toilet paper that people use in different countries.
Home exchange can also be done just in the United States. If you live in Mammoth Mountain and are tired of the snow, you can exchange your home with someone in sunny Arizona. You get to golf for a couple of weeks, while they get to ski.
There are two types of home exchange. The first type is where both homes are exchanged simultaneously. The second is called a “hospitality exchange”, where you host the travelers in your home as guests, while you stay there with them. Then, at another date, you go to their home as guests and they host you. Hospitality exchange is probably the best place to start if you are new to home exchange and are nervous about it.
First step: find a place you really want to go, think of your dream vacation spot. Second step: you must find a home you want and attract potential guests to your home. Some research and advertising is necessary in this process. With the Internet and e-mail the process is a lot easier. You can send out e-mails with photo attachments of your home to a list of potential exchangers to find the perfect match. There are many sites on the Internet that deal totally with home exchanging. Some of the sites charge a membership fee and act like a dating service to hook you up with the perfect match. Many of them list university housing for professors that are on sabbatical. Also, in the back of travel magazines are ads listing home exchanges.
Home exchanging is relatively risk fee. You sign a contract based on the things that are important to you. In the interviewing process you will need to make sure you ask questions, such as, “Do you smoke? or, Do you have small children?” Exchanging auto insurance and drivers licenses is a good idea if you are exchanging cars. Make sure you have home owners insurance. Make sure you remove all valuables from your home and put away breakables and things you don’t want used. Usually problems are minimal in
home exchange, so if you are adventurous give it a try.
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