Budget travelers can swap homes
Where to find it: Home for Swap
– www.homeforswap.com
Who runs the site: Jean Mettrie and Martinez Irrutia founded the
site in 2006 to allow vacationers an easy way to stay far from home
without the high cost of accommodations. The site was used by more
than 260,000 Americans for 2007 vacations.
Budget travelers can swap homes
Where to find it: Home for Swap – www.homeforswap.com
Who runs the site: Jean Mettrie and Martinez Irrutia founded the site in 2006 to allow vacationers an easy way to stay far from home without the high cost of accommodations. The site was used by more than 260,000 Americans for 2007 vacations.
Who is likely to use the site: People who want a free place to stay when vacationing around the world and are willing to swap homes with a stranger.
Pros: The site is easy to navigate and new visitors can get an idea of what destinations and types of dwellings are available. There are a variety of places available in cities across the United States from urban lofts, country homes and suburban apartments. The idea was popularized in the movie “The Holiday,” starring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. A burned-out Hollywood resident decides to swap homes with a worn-out English woman. Neither gets exactly what they bargained for at first, but as is the case in most Hollywood movies it all ends well.
On Homeforswap.com, there are even destinations around the world and users can quickly search by country and city to easily see if the place they are interested in has a registered member.
The way Home For Swap works is that users pay a membership to list their home on the site, along with the destination they would like to visit and the time they would like to travel. A one-year membership starts at $59. Then users can contact other users in the destination they would like to stay to negotiate the visit. They only play for flight, food and other incidentals, but accommodations are free.
Cons: There are a lot of factors that have to go into making a good match. First users need to find someone in a destination they want to visit who wants to visit where they are from – something that might be a challenge to some of the less known locations such as San Benito County. Once users find a good match, they need to see if the people want to travel at the same time as they do. If that all works out, some users may have some challenges. For instance a listing in China has little information about the apartment, likely because the person listing has limited English skills.
