My family took our first HomeExchange.com vacation this summer. Would we do it again? In a heartbeat! Here are a few lessons gleaned from our first experience.
One of the hardest parts of planning a home exchange trip is the first step: finding a match. I had tried on and off for a year. I searched for hours, looking at photos of homes around the world, with no luck. The problem was I did not have a specific destination in mind. Like many people, I love to travel and there are a thousand places I’m open to going. HomeExchange.com has a search engine that begins with a destination. If you try to look for a match from Andalucia to Yellowstone, you’re probably going to give up before you find something.
Enjoying an al fresco afternoon meal in Barcelona, Spain.
Tip: Pick one destination and send inquiries to your top 5-10 families, then wait for their replies. Propose a time frame, but let them know if you are flexible. And brag about your home and location in your inquiry. It’s enticing.
I was getting frustrated and abandoned my efforts. Then a friend of mine who had used the home exchange website for a trip to Paris made a great suggestion. If you are open to the world, just wait for someone to contact you. I put my family’s fate in the world’s hands, and after rejecting several inquiries, received the one we said “yes” to.
Tip: Be open to inquiries, and you may find it easier to make a match.
We went to Spain in summertime. I had hoped that Barcelona’s location in the north and on the coast would make it mild. Boy, was I wrong. Any place can have a heat wave.
Tip: If you are a heat wimp, make sure you get air conditioning on a summer trip to a warm locale, or at least be sure there is a pool or ocean close by.
HomeSwapGal Laura Diamond in front of the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, Spain.
When my purse was stolen with the car key in it, we were launched on an expensive and time-consuming odyssey to replace it, about the cost of renting a car. The biggest lesson of the entire trip: rent a car instead of trading, even if you have to store your car somewhere. Renting also lets you worry less about keeping another family’s car pristine and unharmed (a near impossibility on Spanish roads and parking spots), and worry less about how your own car is faring at home.
Tip: Rather than trading cars (as we did), splurge on a rental car if you can.
I had the painful experience of being a sucker with a stolen purse. I got lackadaisical, carefree, forgetting to guard my purse with my life. If you do join my ranks, and odds are good that you might, be sure to make a police report. You’ll need a copy to show to credit card companies, the consulate, your bank, maybe even the DMV.
Tip: Heed your mother-in-law’s warning to never, never, never let go of your purse. If you forget, do make a police report and keep it for your records.
HomeSwapGal Laura Diamond makes her home with her husband and young boys in California. They’re already looking forward to planning a return trip to Spain, in the southern region. She says, “We’ll try December, when our children have a lengthy school vacation and we will have to pack sweaters.”
It sounds like the purse theft was a total disaster. I had no idea people swapped cars as well as houses!
Thanks for these suggestions. We tried a home exchange once, and swapped cars as well. I lived in France at the time and let my brother make all the arrangements. Error! The place we got was his dream house, not ours!
Absolutely love this post! The tips are definitely great for first-time home swappers. My first time home swapping through RoofSwap.com to London was amazing. yay for the home swap community!
The purse theft, while quite maddening and depressing for the first couple days, was not a total disaster because we refused to let it be. Stuff like this happens, and you have to choose to make the best of it or let it ruin your experience. We were also lucky that we had a loooong trip, so it became a footnote, not the feature. (We did meet two unfortunate ladies at the U.S. Consulate who spent their whole week in Spain recovering from their pickpocketing.)
I love this idea. I didn’t even know people did it.
This is such an interesting concept. I’ve only seen it in movies, but I think I would be icked out by strangers being in my home.
Yes, some people are definitely too icked out by the very notion of strangers in their home. I get it. When we told our friends our plan, there were two major camps: those who were jealous and those who were creeped out. Actually, I think the ick factor can be somewhat mitigated by choosing your exchangers carefully, trusting your gut if it feels too weird. This family was pretty close to being our Spanish counterparts in many ways.
Home exchanges seem like such a good idea to me. We’ve had people stay at our house when we were away but never managed a swap. It is such a great way to save money though. I’m inspired by this post to set something up for our next vacation.
I’ve never thought of home swapping. What a novel idea!
[...] A popular tweet from this week was about The Vacation Gals’ tips for doing a home exchange. One bit of advice I completely agree with is: “If you are a heat wimp, make sure to get air conditioning on a summer trip.” It’s just not worth it to be hot and miserable! Read the full post here. [...]
A year after that trip, we are still talking about the heat. We’re also still talking about the gorgeous ocean, the neighborhood swimming pool, the ice cream, the enchanting city of Barcelona . . . we’d do the trip again in a heartbeat! xo Laura Diamond (aka Home Swap Gal)
our last exchange to thornbury was a disaster – returned home to damaged car and bicycle, printer out of ink – all colours!; broken crystal; etc – their “spacious” home was not. their mid 1990′s cars had no air conditioning (not much fun inhaling fumes on the motorway) and were in poor condition – etc etc. beware of potential exchangers who won’t send you pics of their house interior or cars; who don’t complete exchange agreements – never again!!!!
Oh, dear!
The first question people ask me when I tell them about swapping homes, was “how did you know you could trust the other family?” My answer is, I had a gut feeling that I could trust them, in part because our lives and homes seemed so similar (kids of the same age, similar professions), and I was able to see many photos of their home. There was no “uh-oh” feeling (like I had when I received inquiries from, say, 3 college-age guys wanting to trade. No thanks!).
And we got lucky. When I was in their home, I was so nervous that we take good care of it. That made me feel more confident that they probably felt the same way about my house. (That said, they did manage to drive our car 2,000 miles in 3 weeks–we never discussed a limit on miles! But the car was in fine condition when we returned.)
There may have been a couple of “gut check” moments for you, such as the lack of photos and un-completed exchange agreements. I would say that would be a deal-breaker.
Thank you for sharing your experience!!
As a luxury home exchange owner, I often get new members nervous about trading their homes. it is a ‘leap of faith’ -no way around that. But in this age of customer reviews, I would recommend that you ask to speak with someone that they have previously exchanged with, if possible. If not, ask for a few personal and business references, and be ready to provide the same to them. This will make you get that feeling Laura got-the ‘good gut feeling’. Most people are hooked after trying it once.
Hi Margaret,
Great suggestions. For first-timers, you definitely have to take a leap of faith. And when it works out, not only is it an experience to remember, it’s a wonderful reminder that the world is filled with good eggs.