Home Exchange Article: the UK - a popular exchange destination

Are you planning a visit to the UK but finding accommodation expensive? Swap homes with a British family and enjoy all the benefits of a home from home – rent-free!

Home exchange is increasingly popular in the UK and many homes are available both in major cities such as London and Edinburgh but also in rural areas off the beaten tourist track. Home exchange appeals particularly to independent travellers who like the chance to really get to know an area. Many home exchangers’ friends and neighbours take an active part in entertaining exchange visitors and providing information on local attractions and facilities. It is also great to have the freedom and privacy of a real home to relax in after a day of sight-seeing.

The home exchange idea attracts many people – families with children often arrange to swap with others with similar aged children for instance. This saves the hassle of carting all the usual baby and toddler equipment when you are travelling with young children. Children of all ages enjoy having a whole new set of toys, books and videos to occupy them while their parents relax. Local playmates and often babysitters can be added bonuses.

Retired travellers make ideal home exchangers as they are often able to be flexible about exact dates and length of exchange periods. As the only major expenses on a home swap vacation are usually the air fares, those with the time available can arrange a longer holiday than usual, cutting down on expensive meals out and exchanging cars too if agreed. If you have pets you can even save on kennel fees if your exchange partner is happy to look after them.

Anyone with a home can take part in a home exchange holiday. You don’t necessarily need to swap like for like in terms of type and size of home. Most exchangers are looking for a base big enough to comfortably accommodate their family in an area they want to visit. It can be part of the fun of exchanging to find yourself in a home entirely different from your own – an olde worlde thatched cottage in rural England for your modern California bungalow perhaps?

Generally it is safer to leave your home occupied while you are away. Home insurance companies are now recognising this and usually look favourably on home exchange for this reason. As home exchange is a ‘do-it-yourself’ holiday it is of course important to take care in preparations before agreeing to an exchange and this includes ensuring that your home insurance policy will cover your non-paying guests when resident in your home.

Worried about leaving your home with ‘strangers’? During the time you are communicating with your exchange partners before your holiday – exchanging photos, providing information on local attractions, asking all the questions you want (and getting references too if this would be a reassurance) – you will be getting to know each other so that by the time you go away you should feel comfortable that your home will be in good hands. And remember – potential exchange partners will have exactly the same concerns about you until they get to know you! It is this mutual trust that develops which gives each party in the exchange a great incentive to treat the home entrusted to them with respect. Take care in your preparations and you will look back on your vacation in the UK with many happy memories of your home away from home.

Further Information

Contact Lois Sealey at Home Base Holidays: homeexchange@btinternet.com or by phone +44(0)20 8886 8752