Home swapping is not necessarily a new trend but it fluctuates in popularity. This accommodation type is, once again, seeing a comeback and making waves in the travel industry. With popular platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo, some travelers may find no need to try out this type of stay. Despite it sometimes being an underrated travel experience, there are a lot of benefits to home exchange.

Home swapping might be a great way to broaden a traveler’s horizons and mix it up during the next travel adventure. Here are the basics of a successful home swap and what travelers can look forward to if they are considering trying out home swapping.

How Does Home Swapping Work?

Learn more about home swapping.
pictured: a nice home — Photo credit: Daniil Silantev/Unsplash

Home swapping can be an intimidating process to some travelers but it is truly a great opportunity for people to connect. Travelers can learn more about other cultures and try out their dream lifestyle or destination. Technically, it is just switching locations and lifestyles with someone in a destination that a traveler wants to visit. The concept of home swapping is not super complicated so the biggest concern for travelers is to be on the same page as the person they are exchanging places with.

A clear understanding means that each participant agrees on many things. For example, the boundaries in place in each space, any domestic duties to be taken care of during their stay, and basic factors like when the swap agreement will occur. This type of swap entails finding a good match that shares the same lifestyle or values about their home space. For example, there can be certain conditions to the swap agreement that do not fit every type of traveler. Some home swappers are more high maintenance than others. If a swapper expects their counterpart to deep clean each day, they should match with someone who is okay with that. But house swapping is not as simple as swiping left or right on potential swappers through an app. Writing up a contract to solidify expectations for each traveler is standard practice.

Popular Platforms

There are a few different home-swapping platforms that provide a space for like-minded travelers to explore their options. The swap platforms usually charge a membership fee. This fee grants travelers access to unlimited swaps and, in some cases, exclusive luxury homes. Some popular home-swapping platforms include Holiday Swap, Home Link International, HomeExchange, and HomeLink. Some travelers prefer to arrange home swaps on more accessible platforms like Facebook. There are plenty of Facebook groups for home swappers. Solo travelers may also find comfort in the possibility of looking for a home swap partner in groups meant for solo women travelers, for example.

Benefits

Utilizing home swap platforms to arrange a stay in a new and exciting destination has many benefits. For one, swapping houses can be a very low-cost venture. This is because house-swapping arrangements offer alternative accommodations. Therefore, these types of arrangements often have different prices for travelers compared to luxury accommodations or even traditional rental platforms. Some house swaps may even be free. This is largely dependent on the relationship between the swappers and what travelers commit to during their stay.

Home exchanges are typically longer stays which means that travelers usually save more money. In many cases, since both swappers are getting an equal trade they just call it even and get to enjoy their destination free of charge. A portion of home exchangers see the arrangement as “home sitting” so some travelers may be lucky enough to stay in central accommodations for free or make money from taking care of pets.

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