Would you like to spend your summer holiday in Paris? Or, perhaps in London? If you are used to hotels, consider what it would be like to spend your vacation living in a real home - just someone else's home! If this idea is new to you, you may be asking how home exchange vacations or home swap vacations work.

Well, for starters, you need to decide where you would like to spend your vacation. Choose a country, a region and a city or town, but be as flexible as possible on exact locations for the best choice. Once you start browsing the many exchange offers available, you most certainly will be tempted by attractive offers in locations you hadn’t previously considered.

To see what is on offer, search for a specialist home exchange website as such a site will provide you with all you need to start the adventure of swapping your home for someone else's. You should not need to register to browse listings but you will need to pay a membership fee to join, list details of your home, and begin to contact members directly to suggest an exchange.

When registering, you need to describe your home and area, provide some details about your exchange party (e.g. ages of any children) and also post photos of your house or apartment. The more detailed your description, the more likely other members will contact you to suggest an exchange.

Take a number of good photos of your home, both exterior and interior, so that others viewing your listing will have a very good idea of what your home is like. Be honest in your description too so that everyone who reads your listing will have an accurate view of your home and area.

After creating your online profile, it is always best to start contacting other members to suggest an exchange (you are not under any obligation at this early stage) rather than wait to be contacted. Keep a look-out for new members joining so that you can contact those of interest without delay.

Once you find someone who wants to visit your country or city and would like to swap homes with you, begin to discuss the details such as payment of utility bills during the exchange period; check your house insurance will remain valid too (you will find full details on issues you need to address when arranging a swap on the home exchange website).

Ask your exchange partners any questions you have as they crop up and fully address all questions they ask. Be upfront about anything that could possibly be considered a negative (e.g. if your home is on a busy city street and your exchange guests are used to a quiet, countryside location, they may find it harder to sleep in your home but are less likely to consider this a problem if forewarned!) If your area is subject to severe weather conditions, again, let your guests know in advance.

Home exchange vacations or home swap vacations are not like vacations spent in hotels. A vacation based on swapping houses guarantees you the thrill of living like a local, shopping in local stores and markets, and generally experiencing all that the area has to offer. If you want to save money, cook at least some of your own meals, discover new places and meet new people, choose a home exchange vacation.


Looking for an alternative way of spending your vacation? Forget expensive hotels, apathetic employees and surly waiters. Try home exchange vacations http://www.homebase-hols.com or home swap vacations http://www.homebase-hols.com . A home exchange vacation gives you the freedom to meet new people who may become lifelong friends, live like a local and save much money too.