Home exchange

Last updated

Home exchange, also known as house swapping, is a form of lodging in which two parties agree to offer each other homestays for a set period of time. Since no monetary exchange takes place, it is a form of barter, collaborative consumption, and sharing. Home exchange can cover any type of residence including apartments, houses, holiday cottages, boats, or recreational vehicles. It can include an exchange of the entire home or just a room. The length of the swap can vary from a weekend to over a year. The swap can be simultaneous or non simultaneous. Home exchanges are usually arranged via specific types of social networking services, most of which charge a fee. [1] [2]

Contents

Like all homestays, home exchanges offer several advantages over hotel lodging, including a lower cost and opportunities for cultural diplomacy and friendship. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Some networks offer the ability to collect a security deposit. [7]

Summer is traditionally the peak season for house swapping, as families travel during school breaks. [4]

History

Organized home exchange originated in 1953 with the creation of Intervac International by a group of European teachers looking to travel internationally economically during their summer breaks. [8] That same year, teacher David Ostroff created a home exchange network called "Vacation Exchange Club" (now HomeLink) in New York City. [9]

In 1992, Ed Kushins started what is now HomeExchange.com after a home exchange experience in Washington D.C. In 1995, he moved the business to the internet. [10] [11] [12]

In 1999, home exchange was estimated to be growing at 15-20% per year. [13] In 2010, home exchange networks were continuing to experience rapid growth. [14]

Academic research

Home exchange has been a subject of sociological studies, geographical and tourism studies, culture studies and peace studies. In 2008 it became also the subject of information and information security studies. [15]

Information studies

The 2008 study by Julia Maria Koszewska explored "the role of information in modern society, particularly onaccess to information and information management as prerequisites for participative and democratic society". [15] This was done by study of history of home exchange movement and its initiatives, websites, and functionality expressed by users experiences shared with the researcher.

Participant demographics

Participants tend to be well-educated and well-traveled. Home exchanges are popular with teachers during school holidays, particularly during the summer, [16] and with senior citizens, who have more time to travel. [17]

A 2013 study by the University of Bergamo showed that participants were more skewed to higher age groups, with 28.3% aged 45–54, 18.7% 65+ and only 5.9% under age 34. [18] The study showed that 84.3% of respondents seek out museums and nature, 67% value environmentally-friendly tourism, and 98% express interest in cultural heritage. Fair trade food (63%) and organic food (73%) are also important. [18] The study noted the strong degree of trust necessary in collaborative consumption, with 75% agreeing that most people are trustworthy. 93% were satisfied with their experience, with 81% having swapped homes more than once. [18]

Companies

Home exchange services encompass various brands facilitating the exchange of residential properties for temporary stays. Several prominent companies operate in this domain: Homeexchange.com stands as the largest global service of its kind, boasting a substantial network of over 450,000 homes worldwide.[ citation needed ] ThirdHome distinguishes itself as an upscale home exchange community exclusive to second-home owners. [19] [20]

Home exchange was the subject of the 2006 romantic comedy The Holiday , directed by Nancy Meyers and starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black and Jude Law. [21]

Permanent home exchange

There are several situations in which people have exchanged homes permanently:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel</span> Establishment that provides lodging paid on a short-term basis

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator, and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a television, and en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, a business center with computers, printers, and other office equipment, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.

Chaucer College Canterbury is an independent college for Japanese university and high school students. It was founded in 1992 by Hiroshi Kawashima, the head of the Shumei Foundation, and opened on 13 October 1992, and is located in a prize-winning building featuring a combination of western and oriental architectural styles on the campus of the University of Kent at Canterbury. All students are recruited by the Shumei Foundation, and many are drawn from its educational establishments in Japan, consisting of a small private university and three very successful independent high schools. The college now also offers English language courses for European and international students. This is in keeping with the founding principles that 'World peace in both political and economic spheres depends upon international exchange and understanding'.

Hospitality Club (HC) was a hospitality exchange service accessible via a website. HC's specified goals were to facilitate "intercultural understanding ... bringing people together ... travelers and locals".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lodging</span> Industry and type of residential accommodation

Lodging refers to the use of a short-term dwelling, usually by renting the living space or sometimes through some other arrangement. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, food, safety, shelter from cold temperatures or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions. Lodging is a form of the sharing economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hostel</span> Cheap, sociable lodging

A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared bathrooms. Private rooms may also be available. Hostels are popular forms of lodging for backpackers, however very few impose age limits, so hostels are an option for travellers of all ages and styles. The benefits of hostels include lower costs and opportunities to meet people from different places, find travel partners, and share travel experiences. Some hostels, such as in India or Hostelling International, cater to a niche market of travelers. Different hostels can be known for offering different experiences. For example, one hostel might feature in-house social gatherings such as movie nights or communal dinners, another might feature local tours, one might be known for its parties, and another might have a quieter place to relax in serenity, or be located on the beach. Newer hostels focus on a more trendy design, some of which are on par with boutique hotels. Some may cater to older digital nomads, global nomads, and perpetual travelers who prefer slightly more upmarket private rooms or a quieter atmosphere. Hostels may also differentiate themselves by being environmentally friendly ecohostels. In countries where wages are lower, the cost of staying at a hostel may be similar to staying in a budget hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vacation</span> Leisure travel away from home or work

A vacation or holiday is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festivals or celebrations. Vacations are often spent with friends or family. Vacations may include a specific trip or journey, usually for the purpose of recreation or tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backpacking (travel)</span> Low-cost, lightweight, independent and often international travel

Backpacking is a form of low-cost, independent travel, which often includes staying in inexpensive lodgings and carrying all necessary possessions in a backpack. Once seen as a marginal form of travel undertaken only through necessity, it has become a mainstream form of tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vacation rental</span> Furnished dwelling for short-term stays

A vacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment, house, or professionally managed resort-condominium complex on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term vacation rental is mainly used in the US. Other terms used are self-catering rental, holiday home, holiday let, cottage holiday and gite.

Travel + Leisure Co. is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation ownership clubs, including Club Wyndham, WorldMark by Wyndham, Margaritaville Vacation Club, and Accor Vacation Club. The company also provides timeshare exchange services, primarily through RCI, and travel clubs including Travel + Leisure GO.

A travel website is a website that provides travel reviews, trip fares, or a combination of both. Over 1.5 billion people book travel per year, 70% of which is done online.

Homestay is a form of hospitality and lodging whereby visitors share a residence with a local of the area (host) to which they are traveling. The length of stay can vary from one night to over a year and can be provided for free, in exchange for monetary compensation, in exchange for a stay at the guest's property either simultaneously or at another time, or in exchange for housekeeping or work on the host's property. Homestays are examples of collaborative consumption and the sharing economy. Homestays are used by travelers; students who study abroad or participate in student exchange programs; and au pairs, who provide child care assistance and light household duties. They can be arranged via certain social networking services, online marketplaces, or academic institutions. Social networking services where hosts offer homestays for free are called hospitality exchange services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hospitality exchange service</span> Social networking services where hosts do not receive payments

Hospitality exchange services are social networking services used for accommodation of travellers, where hosts do not receive payments. The relationships on hospitality exchange services are shaped by altruism and are related to the cyber-utopianism on the Web in its beginnings and to utopia in general.

HomeAway was a vacation rental marketplace. It operated through 50 websites in 23 languages through which it offered rentals of cabins, condos, castles, villas, barns, and farmhouses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Holiday Club</span>

Royal Holiday Club is a vacation club membership operator and resort developer based in Mexico offering points-based vacation ownership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workaway</span> Online homestay platform

Workaway is a platform that allows members to arrange homestays and cultural exchange. Volunteers or "Workawayers", are expected to contribute a pre-agreed amount of time per day in exchange for lodging and food, which is provided by their host.

HomeExchange.com is a network that facilitates home exchanges.

Plum Guide is a global vacation rental company headquartered in London, UK, with offices in New York and Hong Kong. The company was launched in 2016.

ThirdHome is a global home exchange service, specializing in luxury properties, founded by Wade Shealy in 2010. With its headquarters in Brentwood, Tennessee, United States, the company operates internationally, positioning itself uniquely to cater exclusively to owners of second homes.

Warm Showers (WS) is a non-profit hospitality exchange service for people engaging in bicycle touring. The platform is a gift economy — hosts are not supposed to charge for lodging and are not bound. The legal form is a Colorado 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, US.

References

  1. ↑ Costello, Caroline (31 January 2013). "10 things you need to know about home swapping". USA Today .
  2. ↑ Miller, Shelley (7 February 2013). "8 Easy Ways to Choose a Home Swap Club and Enjoy a Dream Vacation for Half the Price". The Huffington Post .
  3. ↑ Jackson, Kimberly L. (1 March 2008). "On Holiday with Vacation Home Exchange". The Star-Ledger .
  4. 1 2 Rosenbloom, Stephanie (29 June 2006). "At Home in the World". The New York Times .
  5. ↑ Lloyd, Carol (11 November 2003). "Life Swapping". San Francisco Chronicle .
  6. ↑ Bopp, Suzanne (18 July 2012). "5 Steps to a Successful Home Exchange". Fodor's . Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  7. ↑ Millard, Rosie (21 February 2013). "House swap holidays: advice and tips". The Daily Telegraph .
  8. ↑ "Facts About Intervac".
  9. ↑ "HomeLink".
  10. ↑ Kushins, Ed (14 July 2012). "Prepared in the Pacific". The New York Times.(subscription required)
  11. ↑ Martín, Hugo (29 April 2012). "Ed Kushins' home exchange firm began as a hobby". Los Angeles Times .
  12. ↑ Virship, Amy (2 January 2015). "Home Exchange 101". The New York Times.(subscription required)
  13. ↑ Russo, Francine (8 November 1999). "House Swapping". Time . Archived from the original on 11 February 2005.
  14. ↑ Trejos, Nancy (13 June 2010). "Some travelers choose strangers' houses over hotels". The Washington Post .
  15. 1 2 Koszewska, Julia Maria (2008). Gift, Exchange and Trust: Information (its role, management and access to information) in modern society on the example of free-hospitality networks (Masters thesis). University of Warsaw – via Academia.edu.
  16. ↑ Woulfe, Nuala (8 June 2015). "House swapping - Stepping into somebody's else's life". Irish Examiner .
  17. ↑ "Seniors find creative ways to travel cheaply". The Dallas Morning News . 11 September 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 "My House Is Yours" (PDF). University of Bergamo. May–June 2013.
  19. ↑ Vora, Shivani (17 March 2020). "Vacation Home Swapping for the Very Wealthy". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  20. ↑ Bulseco, Donna (11 January 2019). "The Secret to Scoring a Vacation Home That's (Practically) Free". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  21. ↑ Baxter-Wright, Dusty (10 December 2017). "16 things you didn't know about The Holiday". Cosmopolitan .
  22. ↑ Levitz, Jennifer (8 February 2008). "Slow Market Prompts Some People to Try House Swapping". Chicago Tribune .
  23. ↑ "How to permanently trade your home for another property - FAQs". Zillow . 6 June 2008.
  24. ↑ Farnsworth, Amy (23 March 2009). "Can't sell your house in this market? Trade it". Christian Science Monitor .
  25. ↑ Cavaglieri, Chiara (21 March 2009). "When there's no way out, try a home swap". The Independent .
  26. ↑ "Swapping your council or housing association home". DirectGov.
  27. ↑ Castaneda, Antonio (28 July 2006). "Iraqis House-Swapping to Escape Violence". The Washington Post .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.