Guest Blog by Sandra Pearson
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Exchanging 101
Our interest
in travelling to see the world is at an all-time high, however often what holds
us back is the cost. Undoubtedly travelling is expensive - but wouldn’t it be
great if you could somehow significantly reduce what you pay for possibly the
biggest portion of your vacation budget… the accommodation! The good news is
you can through home exchanging! The concept is not new and is often described
as ‘vacation rentals’ and can be in the form of an apartment, condominium,
single detached house, houseboat, villa and chateau!
Home
exchanging occurs when:
1. Two
travellers make arrangements to stay in each other’s homes. In this scenario,
the travellers are trading spaces with each other.
2.
Alternatively, and more commonly, home exchanging occurs when multiple
travellers are involved… whereby traveller A stays in traveller B’s home, while
traveller B stays in traveller C’s home and so on creating a web of
connections.
For both
parties, it’s a win-win situation. Instead of paying a hotel or inn the nightly
room rate, travellers pay each other!
Originally,
home exchanging attracted travellers that required several weeks’ accommodation
for their vacation. As home exchanging is now so flexible, hosts are welcoming
guests for stays from 1 or 2 nights to several weeks.
The benefits
of staying in a vacation rental are numerous. It gives you:
- Practical
amenities such as a kitchen to prepare meals and in-home laundry facilities.
- More space
for you and your travel group. There are separate rooms for living, dining and
sleeping, including multiple bedrooms. In addition, there’s usually more than
one bathroom!
- The
opportunity to live like a local and immerse yourself in a different culture
and lifestyle.
- The
opportunity to experience a different environment. With home exchanging, you
can experience living in a chateau in France once occupied by a Marquis, a
cottage in the Cotswold Region of England, a villa in Tuscany or a houseboat
off a Caribbean Island, a renovated lighthouse located along the USA’s east
coast, a vintage sausage-shaped silver aluminum Airstream trailer, a restored
windmill on the Cycladic Islands of Greece or have a true nomadic adventure
with a stay in a yurt!
The #1 benefit
however of home exchanging is… saving you money! Typically the price of your
accommodation can represent the largest part of your travel budget. With home
exchanging, the cost of your accommodation is ‘paid’ by the person who is
staying in your home. Depending on the type and size of the home you book for
your vacation and the type and size of your home that you are renting out to a
guest, the cost of your accommodation can either be eliminated or significantly
reduced.
To illustrate
this, let’s look at an example of you staying in a one bedroom apartment in Barcelona for $150/night
and for the identical time, another traveller stays in your home for
$180/night.
You pay your
host $150/night
Your guest
pays you $180/night
… The cost of
your accommodation = $0
Your profit:
$30/night that can be applied to another part of your vacation cost such as
meals or transit.
Of course,
there are numerous vacation rentals available that are highly luxurious and
therefore expensive… just as there are luxurious and expensive hotel suites.
But when you compare an average vacation rental’s nightly room rate to that of
a similar hotel’s room rate, a vacation rental is more economical. And that’s
not all… it offers more space, privacy and practical amenities that are not
available in a standard hotel room.
Most
importantly, it offers you a kitchen to prepare your meals. True - maybe you
won’t want to cook dinners every night while on vacation… but you will be able
to make breakfasts and prepare lunches to take with you during a day of
sight-seeing. Plus, when the pangs of hunger strike you late in the evening or
night, all you need to do is head to the kitchen for a midnight snack! You
don’t have to rely on vending machine fare or pay outrageous prices for
something from the hotel’s in-room mini-bar!
Home exchanging can be for everyone and maybe now you
want to give it a try... but
you just have a few nagging concerns that are holding you back. Below are the
top 3 misconceptions regarding home exchanging. Read on and you may find
yourself planning a trip just to give home exchanging a try!
Myth #1 - You
Need a Home to ‘Exchange’ to Get Involved
One obstacle
holding some people back from getting involved with home exchanging is that
they do not have a home to ‘exchange’ or to ‘rent out’ to a traveller. Some are
currently renting their home and their landlord does not allow for subletting.
Or for condominium owners, the condo rules may prohibit the short term renting
of a unit. Or the scenario may exist where your home will not be vacant while
you are away as you live with your parents or have children still living under
your roof, and as such, you are not able to take in guests.
These above
scenarios are very common and should not prevent you from getting involved.
Home exchanging has evolved over the years to be very flexible. You can be a
guest without being a host and similarly, you can be a host without being a
guest… the ‘exchange’ can be customized to suit your requirements.
Although it
is advantageous for you to be both a host and guest, there are many benefits
that you will experience by being either.
Myth #2 -
Home Exchanging is Only for Vacationers
Thanks to the
internet, home exchanging has entered the mainstream and is no longer used by
vacationing couples and families who ‘traded places’, making arrangements to
stay in each other’s homes. With the coordination that was required for the
trades, home exchanging was not considered a viable accommodation option for
non-pleasure trips. However today, exchanging has become more attractive for
people travelling on business, temporary work assignments or sabbaticals. Home
exchanging is also popular among solo travellers, couples, people travelling in
groups and families including children and elderly relatives.
The option to
rent a full house or an entire apartment through home exchanging is appealing
for the extra space it can provide. A hotel room offers just one room that
functions as your bedroom, living and often times dining space. In comparison,
the space in a vacation rental provides you with separate rooms for living,
dining and sleeping, including multiple bedrooms. In addition, there’s usually
more than one bathroom!
The large
space is especially attractive for business travellers who need an accommodation
for an extended period. A home provides a fixed base, including internet
access, a mailbox, telephone line and fax machine. This convenience is
priceless for the business traveller as they no longer need to rely on and pay
a hotel’s front desk staff for such services. The vacation rental also offers
the possibility for the business travellers’ family to join them as it provides
more space to accommodate a family than a typical hotel room.
Myth #3 – If
Something Goes Wrong During My Stay, I Have No One to Call
People who
traditionally stay in hotels often fear that when an issue arises in a vacation
rental they will be ‘on their own’ to deal with it. Their concern is that they
wouldn’t have anyone to call if an appliance or machine doesn’t work or if an
emergency occurs.
In a typical
hotel, if there is a problem, you can call the front desk to advise them of the
situation. However, in reality, how often has an issue brought to the attention
of the hotel’s front desk staff ever been resolved quickly to your satisfaction?
We have all read hotel reviews where thermostats didn’t work or the air
conditioner being so old that it took an entire day to cool the room. It is
common to hear hotel guests’ accounts of calling the front desk to complain of
a situation and receive a nonchalant response and the promise that the matter
would be looked into in the morning - only to find that it was not resolved at
all to one’s liking.
With home
exchanging, the host has a vested interest to ensure that your stay in their
home is near perfect. Once you check-in, the host will provide you with an
emergency contact number. Their response will likely be more prompt and your
concern more readily addressed, in comparison to that of a hotel’s front desk
staff. Plus, as it is their home, one could assume that everything is in
working order as they use the various appliances and machines on a daily basis.
In addition,
many vacation rentals are now managed by professional full service property
managers who are hired by homeowners to offer immediate response to any guest
inquiries or issues throughout their stay. They’re only a phone call away!
Home
exchanging can be for everyone! I hope I have clarified any misconceptions and
provided you with the information you need to help you get involved and start
enjoying all the benefits that await you with home exchanging!
twitter: @HomeExchanging
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