Home Swappers: Issue 3
March/April 2000

http://www.homebase-hols.com

Home Swappers Newsletter is currently published six times a year to provide
information of interest to Home Base Holidays current and recent home
exchange members, enquirers and all who have asked to be included
on our mailing list. If you do not want to receive further Newsletters
please send us a message with 'Remove from mailing list' in the subject
line plus your name in the message:

mailto:homeexchange@btinternet.com

Topics Covered:
  1. Members - Accessing Website and Updating Listings
  2. Recent Prize Draw Winners
  3. Star in the BBC Summer Holiday Programme!
  4. Special Exchange Request - Ontario, Canada for Surrey, England
  5. Member Experiences - Extra Care When Exchanging Second Homes
  6. Renewals On-line - 10% Discount
  7. What the Papers Say About Home Exchange
  8. Changes to UK Telephone Codes
  9. Where's My Directory Listing?
10. June 2000 Directory Deadline - 14 May
11. Newsletter Contributions Wanted
12. Subscriptions

Members - Accessing Website and Updating Listings

Members who joined Home Base Holidays before 7 February should have 
received two notices about the need to re-set passwords the first time you visit 
our new website. Most members have now re-set passwords without problem 
but, if you have any difficulties, please contact us, giving your User ID number if
possible, and we will set a password of your choice (six digits or more) for
you. As members are now able to update information easily in their own
listings we would encourage you to visit the website and check that your
exchange offer information is correct. You will see a number of new tick box
options - add any that are relevant to your offer and click Continue at the
bottom of the form to update your listing. Click Memberlogon at:

http://www.homebase-hols.com/member.html

Recent Prize Draw Winners

If you are receiving this Newsletter you are also entered in our monthly
prize draws. Recent winners are:

December 1999 - enquirer, Steve Allen - a copy of 'USA by Rail'.

January 2000 - member, Marjorie Veneman - a copy of 'Your Child's Health
Abroad' (the Venemans are 'open to offers' for an exchange to their home in
Shropshire, England - check out their offer, HE5283, on the website).

February 2000 - member, Nicholas Hancock - a copy of 'USA 2000 - the Budget
Travel Guide' (the Hancocks, from Hampshire, England are looking for an
exchange to Florida in spring 2000 - check out their exchange offer,
HE7870).

March Draw -  the member or enquirer whose name is randomly drawn from the
Newsletter contact list on 31 March will also receive a copy of 'USA 2000'.

Star in the BBC Summer Holiday Programme - an Appeal for Help from Wendy Bowden

The BBC 'Summer Holiday' Programme is looking for a family in Britain who
are already thinking of taking part in a home exchange for this year in
America or Canada between May and August 2000, but haven't actually started
the whole process.  The family would be featured in a 6 minute film that we
are making on 'Home Swaps', as a new holiday concept for families abroad.
The piece would be for inclusion in this years series.  As its a Holiday
programme it will be following the British family in America and will
feature local attractions.  Please let us know as soon as possible if you
are planning an exchange that would be suitable and are willing to take
part.  The filming will take four days and should be fun.

Background information on programme:
"Summer Holiday" is the BBC's premier travel show and Britain's longest
running travel programme. "Summer Holiday" continues to attract a regular
audience of eight million viewers each week with a growing international
audience on the BBC's Worldwide satellite service.

It goes without saying that our coverage reaches a large audience and our
research has also shown that the programme's reports on holiday resorts
around the world plays a significant role in viewers' eventual choice of
holiday destination when they come to book their actual holiday.

If you think that you may be interested but would like more details please
contact either Wendy Bowden, Researcher, BBC 'Summer Holiday' programme on:
0181 752 5234 or email wendy.bowden.01@bbc.co.uk  OR Lois Sealey at 
Home Base Holidays: email: homeexchange@btinternet.com

Special Exchange Request - Ontario, Canada for Surrey, England

Attention Members in Guildford, Surrey or nearby - Mary McGrath of Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada, is looking for a swap in your area for summer 2000. Mary's
new two bedroom apartment is in an adult community which has a new sports
complex with pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and many other features which will be
available for your use free of charge. Only 45 mins by car to all the
attractions of Toronto and 50 mins to the US border at Niagara Falls. Many
places of interest within a short drive - and the current exchange rate is
very favourable to British visitors (£1 = Cdn $2.30). Check out Mary's
listing for further details (HE4440) or contact Home Base Holidays and we
will put you in touch.

Member Experiences - Extra Care When Exchanging Second Homes

Our first two issues included articles by long-time Home Base Holidays
member, Jo Piercey, on her first two exchanges from the small village where
she, husband Roger and three children live in Berkshire, England to San
Diego and Cape Cod. Even though having the ordeal of long-distance travel
with very young children before reaching the exchange homes, both exchanges
worked out extremely well. It wouldn't be fair, however, to suggest that
there can never be problems with home exchange and Jo's account of the start
to their third exchange highlights just how important on-going communication
between exchange partners is to avoid any glitches for either party:

'Well, as the second-home, primary-home scenario seemed to work out so
seamlessly the first time, we tried it again later that same year with a
newly married couple who owned a condominium on Myrtle Beach. On the 
whole, we made a mistake taking two long-haul flights in one year and, when we 
look back, we did have an enjoyable time, but my most palpable memory is
arriving at the condominium with two small children in the wee hours of the 
morning after a rather harrowing connecting flight on a tiny prop-plane. We were 
so grateful to put that key in the keyhole and couldn't wait to rest our weary
bodies. Instead, there was not a scrap of linens to be found. Not so much as
a tea towel to dry our hands!! We ended up sleeping in our travelling
clothes on bare mattresses and had to use one of our sweatshirts to clean
our face and hands! It was a hiccup in communication between our exchange
couple and their condominium agent and was sorted by the next afternoon, but
I still vividly remember shivering myself to sleep on that cold mattress
while I imagined our exchangers dipping into that bottle of champagne I had
left in honour of their newly wedded status. Grrrrr! If I learned anything
from this, it is how important clear communication is between exchangers.
Ask as many questions as you can. Do not leave any stone unturned. We did
have a good time in the end, but it was nothing compared to an exchange we
arranged with a family from Florida..... A description of the Piercey
family's exchange to their 'splendid Florida paradise' will follow in the
next Home Swappers!

Check out the Piercey's current exchange offer (summer 2000 US Easterm
Seaboard preferred) using HE1704 to access details on the website.

Renewals On-line - 10% Discount

On-line members receive renewal reminders just before their membership year
is over and can now renew membership on the website. We will acknowledge
receipt of your renewal, update and re-release your listing which will also
be included in the next print directory published to reach non-internet
members. Renewing members are charged the 10% discount rate of £35.80 for
internet membership (or £63 if you let us know you also want to receive the
three directories). The renewal function on the website has just recently
been introduced and will be further refined over the next few weeks.

What the Papers Say About Home Exchange

Home Base Holidays continues to receive excellent publicity particularly in
the UK press. Many members have taken the time to answer questions from
journalists writing articles, allowed photographers into their homes - and
even been filmed on their exchange holidays!

Just a sample - Home Base Holidays member, Richard Boutwell, was included 
in an article in the 'Sunday Times' on 16 January 2000. Richard, a retired
teacher from Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and his wife have swapped their large
country home for a 300 year old thatched cottage in Norfolk and a
refurbished former council house in Edinburgh. Richard is quoted in the
article, 'It's a perfect way to get to know another culture and real social
history. The properties were entirely different to those I live in normally,
but each had their private space and my wife and I were welcomed by everyone
we met.'

Check out the Jaffrey exchange offer for 2000 (south of England 3-4 weeks
July/August) using HE4087

Changes to UK Phone Numbers

From 22 April 2000 a number of areas in the UK will have new area codes in
their telephone numbers, a three-figure number beginning with 02. The cities
affected are Cardiff, Coventry, London, Portsmouth, Southampton and Belfast.
Since the new numbers have been recognised, we have been including 
telephone numbers in these areas with the new code. However, if you live in one 
of these cities and have a current home exchange listing, you may want to check
it out on the website and make the change to the code if needed. Remember to
click Continue at the bottom of your form to save any changes you make.

Where's My Directory Listing?

The simple answer, which is included in all information sent to enquirers
and members, is - in the first directory published after you joined.

Listings are included on the website as soon as you join to give early
circulation for your exchange offer. We also publish three directories
during the season (November, March and June), and each listing is included
in the next directory available. As members who choose the directory
membership option receive copies of all three editions whenever they join
during the year there is no need to repeat listings unless a correction is
needed. This makes it easier to check through each directory if you are a
directory member, knowing that each contains different listings. It also
enables us to keep membership costs much more reasonable than if we 
repeated the same listings in all three editions published in the same season.

June 2000 Directory Deadline - 14 May

The June directory is the final edition published for the 2000 season so, if
you haven't yet joined or renewed for this year but would like to arrange an
exchange in the next few months, do so before 14 May to ensure your listing
is read by non-internet members as well as those who will see your exchange
offer on the website. The June directory will include all listings, whether
you join as a directory or an internet only member yourself, for members
joining between 27 February and 14 May 2000. Later listings will be included
in the November 2000 directory, the first available for the 2001 season.

Join on-line, or if you prefer to complete a print form, send us your
mailing address and an information package will be sent to you.

Newsletter Contributions Wanted

If you have had a home exchange holiday we would be pleased to
receive your contributions for the Newsletter - short articles about
your exchange experiences and tips for those new to the idea of
swapping homes. Members' articles include links to current
listings to give added publicity for their exchange offers. We also
welcome questions from all considering home exchange for the
first time. Information on travel related websites or other travel
bargains which could be of interest to readers of Home Swappers
are also appreciated. mailto:homeexchange@btinternet.com

Subscription Information

Please invite your friends and colleagues to subscribe by forwarding
this Newsletter to them.

To subscribe, send us a message with your name and e-mail
address and 'Add to mailing list' in the subject line.

To unsubscribe, send a message with your name and e-mail address
and 'Remove from mailing list' in the subject line.

mailto:homeexchange@btinternet.com

Copyright © 2000 Home Base Holidays

HOME BASE HOLIDAYS, 7 Park Ave, London N13 5PG, England
tel: +44(0)20 8886 8752  fax: +44(0)20 8245 9532
mailto:homeexchange@btinternet.com
http://www.homebase-hols.com
1985-2000: 15th year providing a home exchange holiday service worldwide