Did you ever see the movie The Holiday? In it, Cameron Diaz is fed up with her busy Los Angeles life and decides to exchange her mansion with an anonymous stranger. The stranger, Kate Winslet, lives in a tidy cottage in England and the two spend the Christmas holiday in each other’s homes. They both fall in love and get to experience life in a foreign country as a local instead of a tourist.

This charming movie exposed a lot of people to the idea of house swapping, where you exchange homes for a week or two with someone else. Instead of staying in an anonymous hotel, you stay in their home and they stay in yours. Millions of people swap homes every year all over the world. And for those who have to be careful with money, swapping homes is one of the best ways to experience a new place and save money on your vacation at the same time.

Home swaps usually occur simultaneously, staying in each other’s home during the same week. However, if you’ll be away on business or on a separate vacation while they wish to visit, you can still swap out your home. In this case, you simply arrange to stay at their home at a later date.

Home swapping definitely has many benefits, and one of the most important ones is that you don’t pay anything for your lodging. The only cost associated with this practice is the membership fee for the house swapping website (which is essential to find someone to swap with). These fees are usually $100 or more per year, but since the average price for one night in a hotel often exceeds $100, most people find this to be a bargain.

Another travel expense that can get prohibitive is eating out. But since you’ll have a full kitchen to cook in, you won’t need to eat three meals “out” every day. Plus, you’ll get to experience local grocery shopping, which can be quite different in other countries. Furthermore, if you and your host agree to swap cars, you’ll eliminate car rental costs as well. Staying in someone’s home rather than a hotel is often more comfortable: there are usually movies to watch, books to read, and perhaps even toys for your kids to play with. Some homes have a pool or fitness room as well.

Also, when you swap, you’re in an actual home and not an impersonal hotel room. In addition, you’re also more likely to get a better sense of the area’s culture because you’re in a neighborhood rather than a hotel. Living amidst “the locals” can add a depth of perspective to your trip that you would otherwise miss out on in a hotel or tourist-centric area.

Home exchange is especially easy if you have a second home, a vacation home. Because you’re not living there all year round, you don’t have to try as hard to coordinate schedules. You can make your home available to a wider variety of exchangers with different travel needs.

Another interesting aspect is that home exchanges don’t always involve homes: you can also stay in someone’s yacht, or even their caravan so you can tour an area. You can often find unique lodging options that are unavailable, or quite expensive, via other means.

Home exchanges take time to arrange. In fact, most sites recommend starting your search at least four to six months before you plan to go on vacation, and you’ll also want to be flexible on the exact location and dates.

By Heather Levin,
Posted in: Spending and Saving, Travel https://www.moneycrashers.com/house-swap-exchange-homes/