A Vacation In Someone Else's Home,
Are You Kidding?
by Frederick Pearce
WELCOME to the world of vacation home-exchange!
The concept is very simple -- a home swap or exchange is
where you live in another person's home for a short period,
and they come and live in yours. This can be in your own
country or abroad, in your own state or across the continent.
The advantages of such a scheme are numerous but the key
attractions are:-
- You do not have to pay to rent the other persons home - no
money changes hands.
- You get to visit and stay in countries and properties you
may otherwise not have access to, or be able to afford.
- Someone is taking care of your home while you are away,
pets and plants can be cared for. Insurance companies love
this - Some people pay to have their home looked after while
they are away. With a home-exchange, you get it for free!
- You have the chance to make new friends in the process and
get to know the exchange home, its owner and the area well -
before you go. Remember, you are exchanging HOME for HOME.
Experienced exchangers will tell you this is a big and
significant difference from simply staying in a hotel, or
renting a house or apartment.
- You get to meet the people where you're going (not just
hotel staff), and, if you are into genealogy, you get into
the rhythm of life in your host area.
The actual process of learning about how vacation home
exchange works, looking at possible exchanges, making contact
with other exchangers and finally arranging and going on an
exchange, is an exciting, interesting and educational
experience for you and your family - no other vacation is
quite like it.
The idea of swapping or exchanging your home with another
family for a short period is not new, its been around since
the 1950s, and hundreds of thousands of families regularly
exchange homes for their annual vacation. However, home
swapping is difficult to arrange on your own without a
reliable matching service. The arrival of the World Wide Web
has now made the development of such matching services
possible. They offer help, advice and support to ensure you
understand the advantages, and to ensure you enjoy the low
cost trouble-free break of your dreams.
With a little perseverance, and an hour or two at the family
computer, you can access the search engines - Alta Vista,
Excite, Lycos and others - and search for 'holiday swaps'.
This will bring up a number of services offering to help you
turn this crazy idea into a marvelous vacation. Sites offer
hints and tips about how to make a selection, how to go about
the task to minimize risk. They will do everything to ensure
you fully understand the principals of home exchange and how
it can Save you money.
You can select your ideal holiday location and accommodation
through these websites and use maps and links to find out more
about the location and property that interests you. Plus you
make interesting and valuable new contacts with whom you may
form lasting friendships.
But, you have kids! Chances are, they do, too. And pets!
Maybe they do, too. Exchangers are ordinary people, just like
you. In fact, it frequently happens that people come together
because of certain similarities - because the children are of
similar ages, you have similar interests, or work in similar
occupations. A lawyer in New York may feel more at ease
swapping homes with a lawyer in New Zealand: an American
family wanting to expose their teenage children to French
culture, may feel more comfortable exchanging homes with a
French family who want their teenagers to improve their
English.
Intercontinental airfares have come down significantly in
recent years, but hotel rates have not. Vacation home-exchange
provides the means that many families need to be able to take
affordable foreign vacations. When you have found a property
exchange that interests you on the web, and you wish to make
contact with owners, you can e-mail them and discuss your
property, dates etc. You do this directly with the home-owner,
not an agency. You talk to the people who will be vacationing
in your home. Most sites have a Code of Conduct, or similar,
which adds to the comfort of negotiating with strangers. But
you will find they won't remain strangers for long. A rapport
soon develops arising out of a common goal - a unique and
trouble-free vacation.
Frederick Pearce
Frederick Pearce is the Key US Partner for Holi-Swaps®, an
International Vacation and Holiday Travel site. Started in
1997, this website http://www.holi-swaps.com now offers
Swaps and Exchanges, Rentals, vacation home sales, timeshare
swaps, a code of conduct for members and a host of travel
information to destinations world-wide. One can visit the site
and browse without joining - even make enquires to homes
listed. To many this will provide an interesting, rewarding,
and educational pastime. However HOLI-SWAPS® true value is in
the chance to make new friends, learn about, visit and enjoy
new locations and have an affordable, relaxing vacation.
Also, Holi-Swaps is on the lookout for Partners in Canada,
Australia, South Africa, Europe, USA (all states under the
guidance of our US office usa@holi-swaps.com ), in fact
everywhere the internet reaches.
Please feel free to e-mail me, Frederick Pearce, at
usa@holi-swaps.com
