Fancy going on holiday but aren't so keen on paying out huge amounts for accommodation? By swapping your house for a couple of weeks you can get a holiday with more authenticity and for a much cheaper price. We look at how house-swapping works.
What is house-swapping?
Swapping houses with people in other countries to ‘see how the other half lives’ has been practised by people for years, and thanks to the internet is becoming a more accessible way of holidaying for less. It’s based on the idea that by swapping your home for a week or two with a home-owner in another part of the country or the other side of the world, you can benefit from free accommodation for the duration of your holiday. This can work especially well if you are planning to go on a longer break, as you can take advantage of free accommodation for the whole time.
Living in a local’s home will also help you to get a more in-depth experience of the place you are visiting, rather than the more superficial experience you might get from staying in a hotel for a few days and ticking off tourist hotspots one by one.
The price you have to pay for this free accommodation and more authentic holiday is that you allow another couple, family, or individual to stay at your house while you are enjoying theirs. In this way they can experience the locality that you live in, and get to know your part of the world.
You might try house-swapping with a friend or relative in another county or country, allowing you to experience their local surroundings while they do the same from your house. Or you could join one of the many house-swapping sites on the internet that provide a huge network of possible homes you could swap with.
How does house-swapping work?
If the idea of house-swapping appeals to you, you might first want to want to scope out any possible relatives or friends who live in an area you’d like to visit, and who might be interested in living in your home temporarily. It may be possible to come to an informal arrangement with them to live in each other’s houses for a week, month, or more if the option is available. By doing so you can each benefit from a free holiday and experience what it’s like to live in another part of the world.
Alternatively you can sign up with one or more of the home-swapping sites on the web. You will usually have to pay a fee to be a member of the site for a certain number of months, for example Home Link charges £115 for a 12 month membership. The price of membership will need to be weighed against how much you would usually spend on holiday accommodation, to see if the scheme will be worth the cost.
Some other home-swapping sites include Home Base Holidays, Home XChange Vacation, Green Theme International, HomeExchange.com and Guardian Home Exchange. Each will require you to sign up and pay a fee to have your house displayed in their listings for a number of months. You’ll then be able to browse the homes available at your leisure, searching different countries and areas of the world until you arrive at your dream holiday accommodation.
If the occupiers of the home you’ve chosen are interested in staying in your home, you’ll be able arrange a house-swap. Typically this will involve corresponding by email or phone up until the point that you plan to travel, allowing you to get to know each other and set out the particulars of the arrangement.
What are the benefits of house-swapping?
One of the biggest appeals of house-swapping is the amount of money you will save by not having to pay for accommodation on your holiday, whether that is for a hotel room or rented accommodation. With the extra money freed up from avoiding this expense, you may be able to extend your holiday stay, stay in more exotic destinations, or pay for events or activities that you usually wouldn’t be able to factor into your holiday budget.
In some cases you may also be able to save on car rental expenses, as you may be able to use your exchange-partner’s car (and vice versa). This means you won’t have to fork out for expensive car rental when you want to travel from your holiday home – a car could already be waiting for you to use.
Aside from the economical alternative to holidaying that house-swapping presents, it can also improve your holiday in other ways. You may find that you have more of an authentic experience of the place you are visiting, because you will be living like a local instead of a tourist. For people who have travelled before and ticked off the typical tourist sights, experiencing a new culture from a native point of view could really add something extra to your holiday.
What’s more, having your home occupied while you’re on holiday can in some ways make it more secure than if it was left empty. It’s much more likely to be broken into if it is obviously unoccupied, but if people are living there while you’re away then you can at least have the reassurance that it is being looked after.
What’s the catch of house-swapping?
The biggest issue that will come to mind when you’re considering swapping your home, particularly with strangers, is how secure it will be in your absence. It’s impossible to guarantee that your home will be completely safe while you’re away, although many find that exchange-partners will treat your home with respect and care – because the exchange is based on trust and besides, it is their home that you are occupying at the other end.
Also it’s worth noting that house-swapping is only really going to be a suitable holiday alternative to home-owners rather than tenants. Although tenants can speak to their landlords to see if they would be happy with such an arrangement, some landlords may not want their rented accommodation being used by unknown and unreferenced occupiers.
It’s advisable to contact your insurer before starting on a house-swap, as mitigating circumstances may apply when there are new people occupying your home. However many insurers may treat the house-swap like any other guest-visit to your home, and may in fact prefer to know your house will be occupied while you are away rather than left empty.
Finally it may be a good idea to lock up any valuables you have before you leave your house. This will lessen the risk of them falling into the wrong hands or being accidentally damaged.
