Your place or mine?
Why shell out thousands when you can swap homes for free? Agencies link you to an owner abroad, so you can enjoy a trip in your own ‘bubble’. So why wait!
HOME-swapping has been a niche way of taking holidays since the 1950s, and converts swear by it. it works like this: agencies list properties that are given a points value. Then, people who have signed up can check what their property ‘buys’ them.
if a place catches their eye, the other owner is contacted. if all are in agreement, hey presto! You’ve got a ‘free’ holiday.
Yes, there is a certain amount of trust required. You are, after all, letting strangers into your home. and, of course, Covid concerns will have to be cleared… this is not something that is going to happen for many weeks, until the lockdown is long over. But don’t let that stop you planning ahead.
which is where agencies come in handy, as all have different vetting systems to keep out unsuitable/unruly guests.
in some cases, cars and petsitting are thrown in. agreements on incidentals can also be fixed, such as the need to strip down beds at the end of stays; whether to use condiments from the
kitchen; reciprocal plant-watering; and the use of telephones. Tempted? Here we round-up the best home-swap companies…
LOVE HOME SWAP Best for beginners
AS WELL as having homes in more than 100 overseas countries, including Thailand and France, where there is a gorgeous St Tropez villa on offer, Love Home Swap lists a clutch of UK properties. It has an easy-to-use site, friendly staff, and offers a free trial period of two weeks so you can dip your toe in to see if you like it.
As an element of fun, the company recently launched a guide to long-haul namesakes in the UK — perfect for the pretence of farflung travel in the middle of the pandemic. Plucky travellers can pick from properties with exotic names: ‘California’ (in Norfolk), ‘Melbourne’ (in Derbyshire), and ‘Florence’ (in Staffordshire). Ideal for holiday bragging: ‘I’m just off to Florence!’ DETAILS: Annual membership from £96 ( lovehomeswap.com).
THIRDHOME Best for luxury
DESPITE its name, ThirdHome focuses on people’s second homes. Here, luxury is paramount, with homes, interiors and owners all having to pass strict membership criteria. Experts are allocated to help guide you, too.
There are more than 11,000 properties from which to choose, spanning Costa Rica to Cape Town in South Africa, the Caribbean and Canada. You don’t need to coordinate swaps. Simply earn ‘keys’ to use against a future stay elsewhere by renting your place. DETAILS: No annual membership fee; exchange fees from £360 per swap ( thirdhome.com).
HOME EXCHANGE Best for worldwide options
HOME Exchange has a huge pool of properties — more than 400,000 across 187 countries — so it will easily whet your appetite for a getaway. It’s fun sifting through, but watch out for poor photography and keep going until you find a real gem. Some really stand out, such as the sparkling white Ariana Villa on the Greek island of Spetses.
You can list your property, search and contact owners without signing up. But you have to pay for membership to make a booking. DETAILS: Annual membership from £110 ( homeexchange.com).
HOMELINK Best for inspiration
HAVING operated since the 1950s, HomeLink is your traditional ‘you stay in my home, I’ll stay in yours’ home-swapping outfit. All contact is direct with other members, but you must be a member yourself to do so.
You could bag a two-bedroom apartment in Venice or a picturesque villa on the outskirts of Reykjavik. About 60 countries are covered and there’s a section where you can seek inspiration according to your interests or wants, such as golf, skiing, being near a beach, having a private pool or having wheelchair access.
An ‘unusual destinations’ section includes a mountain hut in
Brazil and a beach house in the Cook Islands. DETAILS: Annual membership from £115 ( homelink.org).
INTERVAC HOME EXCHANGE Best for trusted reviews
AnOTHer long-standing player, Intervac Home exchange has nearly 70 years of experience, and its good reviews instill trust among members.
It’s possible to apply filters so you only view house swaps in cities, suburbs, small towns, the countryside, the mountains or by the sea. There’s also a handy way of simply checking last-minute exchange possibilities. Free trials are offered. some of the images are nott ththe bbestt quality,lit so you needd tto put trust in the description/review or o ask the owners for more pictures before committing. DETAILS: Annual membership from £665 ( intervac-homeexchange.com).
HOME H BASE HOLIDAYS Best for staycations
uK COMPAnY Home Base Holidays shares the same listings as Green Theme International, an American organisation. If you sign up to one, there’s no need to sign up to the other.
There are a wide range of options, with a strong selection of uK properties in areas from Bath,
CCornwallll andd LondonLd tot Kent, K t Wales and scotland (there’s a lovely seaview house on the outskirts of edinburgh). You can get a free trial, too.
Home Base Holidays has been going since 1985, arranging swaps for as short as a weekend away to escapes of six months and longer. DETAILS: Annual membership £49 ( homebase-hols.com).
EXCHANGE HOLIDAY HOMES Best for second-home owners
AnOTHer second home-only site, exchange Holiday Homes is based in Cornwall and has 57 of its prproperties in the county, meaning yoyou might still get a look in for a grgreat British break this year. Other prproperties are available further afafield, including in south Africa, CuM Cuba, Most America exchanges and are Australia. done on a crcredit system. But if you’re short of credits, you can buy more.
TThe downside? You don’t have didirect contact with your swapper ununtil after purchase. DETAILS: DE Free membership. exchange fefee of £106 per week per swap ( exchangeholidayhomes.com). e
HOLIDAY HH SWAP Be Best for slick website/app
FOFOunded by James Asquith, hoholder of the ‘youngest person to hahave visited every country in the world’ record, Holiday swap has a good variety of properties and locations, as you might expect.
More than 400,000 options are available in 184 countries, including a strong selection in America (especially new York and Miami). Cities are well covered, with Amsterdam, Mexico City, Barcelona and London highlighted.
Members can book via the website or, more handily, the app. The chat translator function is a godsend, as is the map feature through which users can share local recommendations. DETAILS: either 75p per person per night or annual membership from £44 ( holidayswap.com).