Home Exchange: Tips and Advice for a Vacation That's Out of the Ordinary
Of course, the recent success of this new type of vacation hasn't escaped you: the media is talking about it everywhere, everyone has advice and something to say, and home exchange offers are sprouting up everywhere on the web. But what exactly is a home exchange?
Webside Holidays has looked into this surprising concept based on trust and sharing. We will give you some advice and tips to help you understand how it works... and get you started on this adventure!
- What is a home exchange?
- What are the advantages of a home exchange?
- Can I exchange my home or my apartment if I rent?
- Do we have to draw up a contract for a home exchange?
- What are the practical details in terms of insurance and liability?
- Home exchange on Webside Holidays: how does it work?
- How can I be sure that I can trust another traveler?
- How do I prepare my home for the travelers' arrival?
- What are the rules to follow once you're there?
What is a home exchange?
The idea is simple: you agree with another person or another family to exchange your homes for free during your vacation. All of conditions are set out in advance, including the dates and length of stay, each participant's obligations (watering the plants or picking up the mail, for example), or even a list of property included the exchange (is the car included?).
There are no established rules for a home exchange: the idea is complete freedom. Exchanging a studio in London for a farmhouse in Provence? A houseboat on the Seine for an apartment in Tokyo? Anything is possible!
You can exchange your main residence just like your secondary residence, whether you own or rent, regardless of where your home is located, or how big it is. And you don't have to travel at the same time as your guests: a home exchange can be simultaneous or during different times of the year.
What are the advantages of a home exchange?
The most obvious motivation is of course economic: your accommodations generally account for more than two thirds of a vacation budget and a home exchange allows you to reduce the share to...zero! This concept now lets you explore more exotic destinations, to take advantage of your stay to discover cuisine, museums, and leisure activities that seemed inaccessible before.
But beyond these financial considerations, a home exchange offers you the opportunity to experience an authentic vacation and immerse yourself in the culture of a country or a region. Indeed, you will discover the locals' way of life from the inside, their everyday environment, far from traditional tour itineraries, which are often formatted and bland. You will be in direct contact with other travelers who will open their doors to you, and you will do the same in a spirit of trust and mutual discovery.
Can I exchange my home or my apartment if I rent?
If you rent your home, a home exchange isn't considered to be a sublet because it doesn't involve a financial transaction. From a legal standpoint, you are simply graciously lending your real estate property to a third party.
You can therefore exchange your home or apartment in the same capacity as an owner and you are not required to inform your lessor, even though we often advise you to do it out of courtesy.
Do we have to draw up a contract for a home exchange?
A home exchange is based on sharing and trust, and it is customary for the two parties decide on the practical details of the home exchange informally, without drawing up a specific contract. So you usually put your trust in the good faith of the other family.
But of course it isn't easy to go away on vacation with your mind at ease when you leave your house to perfect strangers. We therefore offer you some advice on how to make the right choice in the How can I be sure that I can trust another traveler? Section, and we've made a home exchange contract template available for those of you who would be reassured by a more formal agreement.
What are the practical details in terms of insurance and liability?
Your home insurance or the personal liability insurance of your guests, depending on the case, will cover any damage that occurs during their stay, just like it would if friends stayed over for the weekend. There is no specific administrative procedure. You just have to check whether your insurance covers damage caused by a third party who's house-sitting in your absence.
If you're also making a vehicle (car, motorcycle, boat) available, don't hesitate to contact your insurance, which will often require an additional fee to cover a second driver.
Home exchange on Webside Holidays: how does it work?
We suggest you post your home exchange ad using the online form in our Exchange Area. This very complete and easy-to-use tool will let you provide as much information as possible about your home and what you'd like to exchange is for (the places and desired dates for your next vacation). It also includes empty fields so you can provide any additional information you feel would be useful. Don't hesitate to regularly update your ad: you can change it for free at any time, as many times as you like.
To promote your ad and make it as attractive as possible, we offer two high-quality services. First, an interactive slideshow lets you illustrate your ad with many photos (up to 30!) and helps reassure the other travelers. Second, professional translation of all the fields in the form in 3 languages (soon to be 9) and automatic translation of the free-form fields with one of the most efficient tools currently available on the market (Google Translate).
Your ad can be for your main residence as well as your secondary residence... or even both! You can post as many ads as you like on Webside Holidays!
You will find your next vacation spot using our home exchange search form that lets you target the properties on offer using multiple criteria. If no ads correspond to your search immediately, we can save your search criteria and contact you by e-mail if a new ad comes up that might interest you.
Then you contact other members using the Webside Holidays internal messaging system. Your e-mail address is never given out to other members or third parties. It's you who decides to give it to whoever you like, whenever you like. This way you're assured of not receiving unsolicited e-mail.
During our launch phase, you can post your ad free of charge for 24 months. Take advantage of our offer!
How can I be sure that I can trust another traveler?
At Webside Holidays, we are doing everything to only publish quality ads. You can only be contacted by members of the Share Area who have posted a home exchange ad on our site. What's more, each ad must contain at least two photos, which will ensure that you find a property matching the ad's description once you're there.
We encourage each member of the Share Area to also add a photo of the people who will be participating in the exchange – generally himself and his family. This photo, which can only be viewed by members who have posted a personal photo, plays an important role in establishing a trust-based relationship. It allows you to imagine the people you will be entrusting your home to during the vacation more easily and this first impression will help you decide whether to move forward with this contact.
What's more, on the bottom of each home exchange ad you will find comments left by people who have stayed there. By reading the comments, you can check whether the property matches the description and make sure the owners themselves were also exemplary guests.
The first contact between your future guests and yourself will be made using the Webside Holidays internal messaging system. We encourage you to exchange telephone numbers rather quickly so that you can hear each other's voices as you discuss the practical details of the exchange in greater depth. There more direct your contact is, the clearer and more reliable the impression.
How do I prepare my home for the travelers' arrival?
To welcome your guests properly, we advise you to do a couple of nice little things for them. This way they will immediately feel...right at home!
In a visible place – on the living room table for example – gather all of the indispensable little things they may need during their stay: the remote control to open the gates, the mail box or cellar key, instruction manuals for electric appliances, etc. This will prevent them from spending their first morning looking for everything!
Add to that a key element: the Guide to Your Vacation Home. This little booklet gathers all the information that would be useful to your guests in one place. It includes emergency numbers (doctor, fire department, police, locksmith,...), the location of the fusebox, how to work the washing machine and the oven, the days garbage is collected, etc.
In the end, use your personal touch, recommend a local specialty, or leave a word of welcome, which would, without a doubt, be greatly appreciated.
What are the rules to follow once you're there?
Remember to spell out all of the practical details regarding getting the keys of the vacation home (generally from a neighbor) before your departure and clarify all of the instructions for “turning on” the house: the code of the security system, how to turn on the hot-water heater, where to find the fuse box, etc.
You should be able to find the excellent Guide to Your Vacation Home that we mentioned above (How do I prepare my home for the travelers' arrival ?) easily. Spend a few minutes looking it over: it will prove useful throughout your stay.
After that, a golden rule: treat the place as if it were your own home. It may happen happen that you unintentionally break a dish or the personal belongings of your host: if that is the case, contact him to decide on how you can replace the object or reimburse him. When you leave, you have to leave the premises in as good a condition as you found them upon arrival.
Then the second golden rule: make the most of your stay! You will have a dream opportunity to live close to the daily reality of the locals who live near your vacation spot. Take walks, explore, experience, have fun.... and you will see that for your next vacation, the odds are good that you will chose a home exchange again!
We hope these tips have been useful to you and that they've made you eager to try the unforgettable experience of a home exchange. We are available to you for any additional questions. Don't hesitate to read our Frequently Asked Questions or to contact us by e-mail or on the home page of the customer service department.
Have a great vacation!
The Customer Service Department
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