Here’s how to stop paying for hotels and accommodation forever

Imagine being able to travel all over the world and enjoy every destination as though you were a local. Imagine staying in a beach house, a mountain chalet, or a city centre pad and not having to pay for the privilege.

One of the biggest expenses of travelling has to be the cost of accommodation. If you could stop paying for hotels and apartments, you’d have more cash to splash on spreading your wings and seeing the world.

All you need is an open mind, a little planning and a willingness to stay in someone else’s home – and in return have them stay in yours. House swapping is growing and it could turn you into a globe trotter.

I spend a great deal of time watering my next-door-neighbour’s plants and taking in their mail since they discovered house swapping.  They’ve been all over the world and so far have only had positive experiences. Barry and Jean (my neighbour) tells me that people are generally very clean and very respectful of their home and like many house swappers they include the use of their car in the deal, which is another cost you can strike off your bill.

Barry says it’s a way to take a holiday and instead of feeling like a tourist, you can feel like and live like a local. Not only did house swapping meet his and his wife’s desire to travel several times a year, but it met their desire to make trips more authentic by allowing them to immerse themselves in a new culture.

We spend a lot of time and trouble stopping strangers getting in to our homes, so is it a risk to invite them in? According to a recent university study on house swapping, Australians are a trusting lot who reckon exchanges are worth the risk. Italy’s University of Bergamo surveyed 7000 home exchangers worldwide and found overwhelming support for the idea of swapping homes, with three quarters agreeing that most people are trustworthy. That figure was even higher for Australian home-swappers, with 92 per cent saying they were satisfied with their home-swap experience.

It sounds win, win and I have to confess I’m tempted myself, but where do you start?

Shelly Miller is a Home Exchange expert and she has a list of 8 top tips in The Huffington Post

8 Easy Ways To Choose a Home Swap Club

1. Location, Location, Location – When you search for a house exchange/house swap you need to achieve two things: a) find a suitable home in your dream city and b) find an exchange partner who wants to visit your city. Let’s say you want to vacation in Paris. If a house exchange club has 20K members, but they have only 100 homes in Paris, you have less of a chance with them than you would with a home swap company with 10K members and 1,000 homes in Paris.

2. Number of Listings: Sometimes it’s all about numbers and increasing your odds of booking an exchange. When you join a home swap company you’ll want to remain a member with them for several years, so although this year you may want to enjoy a home exchange in Paris, next year it might be Madrid. Consider all eight ways to select a home swap club and choose the company that feels right and meets most of your priorities.

3. Price: Annual fees for home swap clubs range. Many allow you to look around their website for free; Shelly says you should invest 30 minutes on three different house swap websites and determine which one has the most homes that match your style.

4. Maximum Number of Photos Allowed: High quality photos of your home are the single most important way to attract a top home swap. When you home exchange you’ll want to know exactly what you’re getting, and you’ll want to see photos of the kitchen, living room, bedrooms, and yes the bathrooms too.

5. Reverse Search: It allows you to easily find home exchange partners who want to visit your city or state, as opposed to you looking at the entire list of members and just hoping to find someone who wants to visit your region.

6. Website Ease: Website friendliness is really subjective, but there’s no question that some sites are easier to use than others.

7. Language Translation: After 14 house swaps in nine countries Shelly always communicates with our swap partners in English. But just in case, a few home swap agencies offer translation options.

8. Response Rate:  Some people join house exchange clubs and then don’t ever exchange; they don’t even respond to house exchange requests.  Don’t waste your time with them; focus on the members who are actively seeking and responding. Look for members who have a 75% and above response rate.

So there are Shelly’s top tips on how to get started. If you get the bug, you may discover the world is only a few clicks away.

Have you house swapped, what was your experience? Would you do it again? Do you have any insider tips for us to add to the list?

 

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