We are heading to the US in October for 12 days and am looking at accommodation. Airbnb is the main source of inquiry. However I have looked at the house swap sites and was wondering if anyone has used them.
In the first instance we know where we are going to be staying - Memphis - but over the next four years we are hoping to visit other places. We would always have ‘fixed’ dates to travel and I feel that this would be limiting.
Not at all worried about somebody else staying in our very modest home - though would anyone want to come to a northern city in Britain?
If anyone has used them or is a member could you give some pros and cons?
Many thanks
I have no experience with home exchanges but we had a lovely family vacation partially based out of Bishop Wilton near York. I would go back.
Are you choosing Memphis for a particular reason? Having done business there I’d recommend any other city in TN over Memphis. Choose wisely, it’s not a particularly safe city in some areas.
@Whistlingal , my family has done many, many home swaps over the years (upwards of 15). We have home swapped in Europe, Canada, and various places in the US. In my opinion, it makes the most sense to home swap when you are visiting somewhere (like metro Europe or US) with expensive lodging because there is an additional hassle factor, compared to airbnb or hotel bookings. In particular, you need to coordinate timing with the other family and that can be tricky when trying to get good airfare.
Our experiences have always been very positive. If you value the experience of living like a local, have an open mind, are relatively flexible and communicative, and are more concerned with finding a location you like than finding an exact apples to apples housing “match,” you will probably be a convert once you try it! We paid for a membership once, when we were swapping in London (ihen.com), but otherwise have had great success on craigslist, of all places. They have a specific category for swapping and you don’t provide any specifics on the public site, of course.
One of my good friends and neighbor did a house swap about 15 years ago. We live in a Southern California city close to the beach and we have a beautiful community pool and tennis courts. My friend and her S swapped houses for 3 weeks with a family of 4 from Dublin since my friend wanted to see Ireland.
I think you have to be in an area that others want to visit to be able to swap homes.
Several of my cousin’s did it years ago and now their married w/kids children are doing it. They live in the NYC metro area which is very desirable. They love swapping.
Thanks everyone for their input. @eyemamom Yes we are picking Memphis as S is heading there. I know there are lots of problems with security as a city but in fact really looking forward to it as S and H are very musical and want to explore the musical heritage. However, after our first visit we hope to see something else of the US and get S to join us. Have him come to us as it were.
My issue is we may not want to visit the NYs and SFs and Florida’s but explore some more out of the way places and I feel we might be limited with the areas of a house swap. We intend to be at the 2021 World Athletics in Eugene. Not a big tourist hot spot.
So while I can see that we will save a lot of money and that is needed due to flights (and S’s fees) I think we might have to resort to traditional (if Airbnb can be called traditional) accommodation.
Anyway thanks again for everyone’s input.
I have used Airbnb a lot both in the states and in europe. A lot less cost than hotels. Never tried home swap. We have driven from Chicago to Memphis then home to Colorado. The Great Smokey Mountains National Park was beautiful and is about 6 hrs from Memphis. (Skip Gatlinburg, not worth it.)
I’m starting to look into home swapping for retirement years when I have maximum timing flexibility. I have a ton of maintenance I need to get done on my house to make it ‘worthy’ of where I would want to swap, which would be the more desirable / expensive places. Ironically, I have a home that a family would want to swap to, but I am only looking for a small place in highly desirable location…like the 6th arr in Paris!
One can dream:)
@coralbrook I think Hubby and I will end up doing the house swap in retirement too. Would love to visit some really different places and maybe just choosing a house because it is available and you can be flexible would take us all over the place. The problem now is we are tied to times (and places)
@rockymtnhigh The Great Smokey Mountains National Park sounds great. Will definitely look that one up. Especially as I believe the National Parks are under threat??
I’ve been looking just across the boarder in Arkansas. A bit more rural? The only 2 things I know about Arkansas is ‘Little Rock’ and the Arkansas Chugaluggs off Whaky Races. Just knowing that makes me want to go!!!
How does home insurance cover damage and liability during home swaps?
@kjofkw From what research I’ve done it is covered by your ‘subscription’ to the house swap company. But you are advised to inform your own insurer. But don’t quote me.
We’ve belonged to a Home-exchange program for years. I think it was about $100.00 to join as a member. We have done quite a lot of exchanges in Europe, Canada and the US. You can list the places that are on the top of your list for an exchange. We have been limited the last 2-3 years due to our children’s school/extra-curricular plans. We get offers from all over the world. Cities and countryside. Beaches. Smokey mountain area, especially. Often people have second homes so the exchange is not as difficult for them. We have had offers from Europe that want everywhere from 1 week to one month. Each exchange has been wonderful. We have even exchanged cars.
We will pursue this even more once both kids are in college. It is wonderful to spread out and live like a local. Really slow down. We look for places where we can do day trips easily. For instance, When we exchanged in Lyon, France we spent the first 3 days in Paris, 2 weeks in Lyon and 3 days in Venice (at the mercy of frequent flyer miles;) That was an inexpensive trip. Also did a car exchange.
@amom2girls Could you message me with the company you use?
A good friend swapped houses for two years and it was quite successful - they wanted to go live in France for a while and the other family was coming to Dallas for a 2-year program. I think their experience was one of those once-in-a-lifetime things that just fell in place.
For your travels - is having your house occupied part of the requirement? I think you could easily find AirBnB for wherever it is you want to travel but it probably wouldn’t work swap-for-swap with your home. Could you just rent your house out locally and go on your adventure? Or if finances work out - just get someone to keep an eye on your house and go on your trip?
Curious about how experienced house swappers ready their house for the exchange. Unless I had set up our house for rentals or exchange from the start, I find the prospect of securing valuables, fragile things and personal information daunting. Is it all in one locked area of the house while guests are there? Are people confident enough to leave it all as is? Do you have empty drawers and closet space available for swappers? Very interested as I understand the appeal, yet the implementation…Sounds like people have had some amazing trades and living like a local has huge appeal.
Yes, we would have a very difficult time securing all our computers and personal information and files. H also doesn’t want anyone touching “ our things.”
It’s funny how different people assess things. I hadn’t even thought of the idea of clearing closet space! Though maybe I could use it as motivation to clear out some of the stuff I no longer wear (read: can fit into!) Also never thought about computers! I am really a computer-illiterate so won’t even know how to ‘secure’ one.
Maybe I’ll just have to stick with Airbnb. We have used it a lot and always had good experiences - always opting for an independent stay. But as we will be heading to the US quite a bit over the next 4 years I thought we could save some money - especially as the flights take a lump out of our holiday budget.
We rent out our vacation home for three weeks every August; we have a storage space where we put stuff that we don’t want anyone to handle. We also clean out the refrigerator, leave shelves open in the pantry, put all our clothes in one closet and empty all the dresser drawers and the drawers in the bathrooms. It takes a bit of time to get ready for the renters. I would think that if you were doing a lengthy house swap, you’d have to empty dresser drawers and closets so that folks coming in would have a place for their stuff. I’m willing to do the work because I get enough from the rental to pay for most of the expenses for the vacation place. We’re lucky because we’ve been renting to the same family for the last 5 years. No problems.