6.00 am - ring, ring - I am instantly awake and reach for the phone. Either it is an emergency or my son is ringing from London. He has finally managed the technology but never seems to get the time difference right -

"Hi Mum, its Rob, are you awake?".

"Yes, I am now, how are you?"

"We are great. We have got some news. Heidi is having a baby".

My being instantly filled with love for this unborn tiny spec of life and I smile with happiness in the dark June morning in Auckland. This is my first grandchild and I feel bursting with happiness for myself, my much loved first born son and his wife Heidi.

"That's wonderful" I say between tears. I am one of those people who don't cry at sad times but happy times fill my eyes with tears. "When's the baby due?".

"Mid November".

"Great, we'll come for Christmas. Are Heidi's parents going over too?"

"Yes, they'll come in early November and stay until the baby is born and for about a week or two afterwards."

By my calculations Heidi's parents will probably have returned to Australia by the time we arrive but I think that after having them for a month and a new baby, our arrival and stay might just be too much for the new family. I am also a little concerned that I may offer "helpful advice" which may not be appreciated for its intrinsic value by the new parents. After discussion with my husband we decide that we would be better to arrange our own accommodation, close to the wee family if possible, but not on top of them.

I telephone my daughter, also in London, and ask her if she knows of any friends possibly coming home for Christmas who would like to swap homes for about a month. She makes enquiries but also checks the internet and calls me with news of a website www.homebase-hols.com. She says that she has found a house close to Rob and Heidi and the people want to come to New Zealand at the same as we want to go to London. I join straight away and email the potential swapper, Triona. We exchange information and photos by email and eventually agree to go ahead with the exchange. (Editor's note: Jan gave a vivid account of a number of amazing coincidences that occurred both before and after the exchange had been agreed. This story will be published in a future issue of Home Swappers.)

Triona and her girls arrived in New Zealand the day before we left so we had an opportunity to show her the ways of our house. We instantly got on and laughed at each other's jokes. She admired my shoes and I noticed that we were both a small size 3. I said "if there's anything in my wardrobe you need - help yourself". She told me to use her jackets and coats in London if I needed them.

We had a wonderful time in London. Triona's house was only 5 minutes from Rob, Heidi and precious baby Jasmin. We saw them every day, were able to baby sit sometimes, share meals and pop in for coffee. There was no tension, no feeling about outstaying our welcome or the three day guest rule. We shared a wonderful Christmas dinner and Jasmin's christening. She wore the gown my mother had made when I was born. Rob and his sisters had also worn it.

We thoroughly enjoyed our London months. We were able to make a cup of tea in the wee small hours without feeling we were disturbing the household. We could have breakfast in our PJ's and dressing gown - a no- no in a hotel or B & B. We had use of a lovely car and even swapped cell phones. Home swapping made possible a trip that would otherwise have been prohibitably expensive.

Triona and her finance (they became engaged in New Zealand) and her girls returned the day before we left. We had great chats and obviously they had enjoyed their holiday as much as we had. We would both like to do it again.

We returned to find a pair of Triona's shoes on our back porch. The shoes fit - so I wear them.

Thank you Home Base Holidays. We would like to make our next holiday on the eastern seaboard of USA, New England area, especially to experience the autumn/fall colours. - Jan Naish-Wallis, HE13992

View Jan's Home Exchange Offer in Auckland, HE13992

 

If you have digital images you can now upload up to five directly to your home exchange listing. Log on to your member area and click the link, Manage your Photos, near the top of the page. Read the instructions before uploading new or replacement photos (in jpeg format). Note: photos are automatically re-sized once uploaded but it helps minimise loss of quality if your saved images are at least 220 pixels in height. Don't try to upload huge photos if your internet connection is slow - make them smaller first.

As well as having all uploaded photos included in your listing immediately, Picture 1 will also appear as a small (thumbnail) image beside your brief listing in search results. Having the small photos in search results is another recent addition which we think really adds to their attractiveness and is another good reason to add photos to your listing if you haven't already done so. The photo above, of John and Elaine Sonne's home in Los Angeles (HE14967), shows a sample thumbnail size as you will see photos in search results. Most members include at least one outside view of their home; the other photos might include inside shots of one or two rooms, the garden, a view from the home and/or of family members. It's up to you - you can always change your photos later.

Although it should be easiest to upload your photos directly, if you have any problems, send your images (jpeg files only and, again, not huge please) as attachments to a message. If sending photos by email type 'Photos for HE_____ (your User ID)' in the subject line. Members without digital images can still mail one or two photos to Home Base Holidays to be scanned and added to your listing.

Home Base Holidays Member Login

 

Members: Log on and update your listing (View/alter you details) if any of the following recent new tick box options are applicable to your exchange offer:

1. second home (house with '2' icon shown in search results); most likely to consider non-simultaneous exchanges
2. over 55s/seniors ('S' icon shown in brief listings)
3. languages spoken (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish)
4. home office: computer
5. home office: printer
6. home office: internet access
7. and soon - references available from previous exchanges

Description boxes: If your descriptions are lengthy you can now break these into paragraphs leaving a blank line between each for easier reading. The heading above the second description box has been changed to encourage members to include brief information about members of their exchange party - names, ages, etc. Click Continue at the bottom of your form to save any changes you make.

Making Searches Easier for Members and Site Visitors:

Those countries which currently have the largest number of listings (Australia, Canada, England, France, USA) are sub-divided by state, province, county or region. When you do a search and choose one of these countries from the drop down list, you can either search for listings in the whole country or limit the results by selecting from the drop down state list which will appear. Note: just as only countries where there are current listings are shown in the drop down country list, so too only states/counties, etc where there are current members will appear in this drop down list. This is to help make searching easier (there is nothing more frustrating than doing a search and getting zero results!) You can also use Detailed Search (link below main search box) to limit your results further. Note: two of the new tick box options on the membership form, second home and over 55s/seniors, have been added as search options on this page but searching on either won't give accurate results until the majority of members for whom either option is relevant have had time to update their listings.

Member Area - Message from Administrator:

Refer to this message (which will be changed from time to time when there are new developments) for full information on further recent improvements to the member area, including favourites list, enquiry form for sending exchange offers directly to members, messages sent list, adding a second listing.

 

View Listings (non-members)

Members: Exchange arranged? Don't forget to log on and update your listing if needed (dates, destinations). Tick the Exchange Request Fulfilled box on your form if you aren't yet ready to consider further exchange offers. This will add the suitcase icon to your brief listing so that members won't contact you; untick the box on your form when you are ready to receive exchange offers again.

Although you can get a very good idea from searching listings before you join of the exchange possibilities in countries and areas you are interested in, there is no way of guaranteeing that a particular member (or members) will be interested in your offer. It can be very disappointing to receive a number of 'sorry - can't take up your offer' replies when you first join and start contacting members. However, don't take this as a personal rejection! By its very nature of being a personal arrangement between members, home exchange does often involve some effort before the right exchange partners are found. Although it is likely the case that a number of members will forget to update their listings and tick Exchange Request Fulfilled, a recent member, Kerry Hullett, wrote: 'I have now sent about 20 emails offering swaps and apart from the few who did not bother to respond, most have replied that they have already arranged something. I appreciate that perhaps a proportion are using this as an excuse.'

Kerry's first experiences were disheartening and it is likely that she is right that not all members she contacted (none of whom had the exchange arranged suitcase icon in their listings) had arranged exchanges - it probably just seems kinder to many members to respond in this way rather than to say they aren't interested in the offer. Kerry has a very attractive offer - check it out (that's her home in the photo, in the seaside island resort of Hayling Island, Hampshire, England, HE15146). She is now looking ahead for an exchange in summer 2005.

To optimise your chances of finding a suitable swap:

1. Join well in advance of the dates you want to exchange (months rather than weeks)
2. Be as open and flexible as you can be on destinations, exact dates and length of exchange
3. Take some time preparing a good, detailed exchange offer message before starting to contact members
4. Personalise each message you send out; if contacting a member whose first language is not your own, make a little effort to translate at least part of your exchange offer message
5. Check out the New Listings and Last Minute Offers lists regularly

View Kerry's English Seaside Resort Exchange Offer, HE15146

In the June/July issue of Home Swappers I posed the following question in a competition to find a winner of 'The Home Exchange Guide', kindly donated as a prize by the publishers, Poyeen Publishing:

A recent Home Base Holidays member described a well known annual event in his home town as ' ..... yeeee haaaaawwwwww!!!' And to give you a really big clue, this member lives in Canada.

Everyone who entered the competition had the correct answer (I obviously made this much too easy!) The member of course lives in the beautiful city of Calgary, Alberta, listing HE15132 The winner, picked at random, was Pat Tetlow from Cumbria, England, who just happened to be arranging her first exchange - to Alberta! Pat wrote, while on exchange:

'The book was very interesting and informative on a last minute basis as we were arranging our first exchange to Canada. We are having a great time and hope that this will be the first of many exchanges and that the book will prove useful for the future. We are in the home of Anne & Greg Lundmark, also first time exchangers, in Bragg Creek, Alberta, and, as in the competition question, we went to the Calgary Stampede and really enjoyed it and have had a fantastic time walking, cycling and rafting and sightseeing in the Rockies.'

Check out Pat's exchange listing (photo of her home above), HE14580, just outside Kendal, the gateway to the Lake District, and the Lundmarks' listing, HE14588, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.

'The Home Exchange Guide' - Information, Reviews & Order Form

Cathy Lawie-Phillips from New Zealand (the second Auckland member to contribute to this newsletter!) recently wrote:

'Have you ever thought about having a "member recommendation" or "member reference" similar to what online auction sites have? I sing the praises of house exchange but often face the question "How do you know the exchanger is on the level / clean / not likely to run amok in your home etc?" I don't have a problem as I get a good feel about some and a "not so good" feeling about others and do go on gut feeling and the "getting to know you" email exchanges (we are looking forward to our London exchange in July and are already in contact with a couple in Quebec for next year.) But I think it would be a benefit to be able to get references from previous exchangers who are still members of Home Base Holidays or to have a star rating as on online auction sales sites. As I type this I guess there is nothing to stop asking previous exchangers if they would give email references and if okay it could be included in the listing that a member/s reference is available on request.'

Funnily enough I had discussed the very points Cathy raised recently with colleagues, having had a similar suggestion of possibly introducing a rating system from first time exchanger, Connie Kain, some time ago. Connie had suggested that a voluntary feedback system might be restricted to positive or constructive comments and that, if a member was listed as an experienced exchanger but had no positive feedback, this might be very telling.

The reasoning behind an exchange rating or reference system is excellent. It would be lovely for members who have been responsible home swappers to have good ratings or reports from previous exchange partners added to their listings as that really would be a good endorsement. The problem I think that could happen in some cases is that a miss- match might occur, say an overly fussy housekeeper (probably with no children to mess up the house!) exchanges with a busy family whose home may be comfortable but fall short of her (his?) exacting standards. In that instance it would seem really unfair if the fussy one gave a less than favourable rating when the family home might be considered perfectly fine by another family with similar priorities and standards. We would then have to police listings, checking comments and/or ratings, and probably receive complaints from members that ratings given to them were unfair and should be deleted - yikes!!

Auction sites deal primarily with fairly simple transactions between buyers and sellers and a rating system works very well in such situations. Home exchange is generally a much more complex transaction with the most successful swaps involving a combination of not only matching offers in terms of location, homes that are suitable, dates that fit but also whether the members discussing the possibility of a swap feel, through their correspondence, that they actually like each other and have similar priorities and standards. Many members who have had successful exchanges describe the 'gut feeling' they had that an exchange would work well, the 'good or not so good feelings' about members that Cathy describes. Pinning this down in rating an exchange in a way that would be meaningful to other members with different personalities and expectations could be problematic.

Although the rating system idea is 'on hold' for now (I'd love to get your feedback on this), in order to encourage members who have had exchanges to both offer to provide references and to ask for them, and, in turn, to offer references to possible future exchange partners, you will very soon see another tick box option on the membership form, 'References available from previous exchanges'. It will take some time for most members who have had exchanges to tick this option if applicable but, hopefully, this will gradually happen and then, as Connie had suggested, it might be telling if any members listed as experienced exchangers didn't also indicate 'references available'.

See Cathy's exchange offer in Auckland, HE12437, (Cathy's article on her first exchange was published in the April/May issue of Home Swappers) and Connie's listing in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, HE13988

Any Comments? Contact Lois

Founder of the new online travel service, Take the Family, Andy Cook said:

'Family holidays don't have to be just bucket and spade, although the best ones still often are. Nowadays families can do pyramids and sphinxes, lions and tigers, whales and dolphins and even bungee-jumping and white-water rafting. Whatever their needs, we aim to become the first place every parent should visit.'

'We developed this service because we found as parents that there was a real gap in the market for a comprehensive, online, family-friendly holiday Website,' said Andy. 'When you've been given seat 12c on an aircraft and your kids seats 16e and 17f, you know there has to be a better way! That's what we're trying to create.'

Visit Take the Family

It is important that members taking part in home exchanges give due care to insurance issues in advance. As home swapping becomes more and more popular, insurance companies should be more aware that some of their clients will be taking part in exchanges.

We have been contacted by Ben Seal, Zurich Insurance, who is in contact with journalists at the 'Daily Mail' and 'Telegraph' UK newspapers. The journalists are looking for case studies, as real-life examples, for articles on home exchange and insurance issues. Ben writes:

'Perhaps you have had an insurance claim turned down because it was during a house swap? Or you were not aware you had to tell your insurers of the house swap before going on holiday? We are open to suggestion should you have a suitable story relating to household/contents or auto insurance.'

Ben will be writing a general article with tips on home insurance for home exchangers for a future issue of Home Swappers.

Interested in Being a Case Study? Contact Ben Seal

 

Newsletter Contributions: We are always pleased to hear from members and newsletter subscribers and to receive contributions for the newsletter - short reports on your exchange experiences, tips you feel would be useful to those new to the idea of home swapping and any questions you have on home exchange. Please incude 'home exchange' in the subject line when contacting us as messages with no subjects (or dubious sounding subject lines!) or unexpected attachments may end up in our spam folder and deleted unread.

Reading this on the Website? Use the newsletter subscribe link to add your email address and receive the newsletter regularly. If already on the list but not receiving your copy by email, there can be a number of causes:

• Incorrect email address - let us have your correct address
• Add our email address to your address book or 'white list' for accepted messages
• Check your spam folder before deleting - spam filters often block legitimate email along with the spam

All Home Swappers content is copyright and cannot be used in any form without written permission from Home Base Holidays. However, please feel free to forward the newsletter (in full) to friends and colleagues who may be interested in home exchange (see Forward Email link below newsletter).

Home Base Holidays, London, UK 1985-2004: 19th year providing a home exchange service worldwide

Contact Lois Sealey, Editor, Home Swappers Newsletter

email: homeexchange@btinternet.com

phone: +44(0)20-8886-8752

web: http://www.homebase-hols.com