'We are arranging to go to Vancouver in the spring. This will be our second exchange after a very favourable one in Rhode Island.

Home swapping is such an ideal holiday - you get to meet neighbours etc. and really feel part of the area that you are staying in. It offers a completely different holiday experience at a fraction of the cost of booking hotels and yet we are given the trust and freedom to use somebody's home as our own. As such, I believe that we have an obligation not to let each other down, even if unforeseen problems such as illness arise after money has been expended.

When the Canadians approached us (there are three of them in the party), they had already purchased their airline tickets and then thought about finding accommodation. They made it very clear when they contacted us that the exchange had to be those dates and we have agreed to them.

With our first exchange no monies were paid out until both parties bought their airline tickets on the same date. This was about 4-6 weeks before the visit. However, in this case, the Canadians have already spent out money and they need reassurance. We will not purchase our own tickets until much nearer the time but have offered the following in the (hopefully) unlikely event that we will be unable to travel to Canada:

1. To make our house available by moving out
2. We will pay for a rental property for our exchange partners if unable to leave our home

There will be no problem at the Canadian end as they have two houses between them so our accommodation is guaranteed. To rent a house would cost us in the region of £500 - which may seem like a lot of money - until you consider how much more a normal holiday would cost if you have to pay for accommodation and car hire (all inclusive with home swapping!!)

Long live Home Base Holidays - the idea is great!' - Connie Pearce, Wiltshire, England (photo above of Connie's garden).

'Having arranged a successful exchange and settled into planning mode, we were devastated to find that our exchange partner was obliged to withdraw for personal and unavoidable reasons. We were not exactly on short notice, but living as we do in one of the world's most remote locations (Perth, West Australia), arranging a new one was never going to be easy.

GUESS WHAT? A couple with whom we had previously communicated remained in touch, commiserated, and started an impromptu intelligence network to advertise our plight. Friends were contacted; unable to help but they contacted friends who were interested. We were put in touch and three weeks later we had another exchange up and running. Planning was renewed and now we are all set to fly.

In the meantime our UK Samaritans have arrived in Perth to take up residence in their exchange home close by, broken bread with us and a new network is established. Their swap partner is now at their home in the UK and, having previously visited with us, agreed to allow us to share the use of his vehicle to help get his exchange partners, (our Samaritans) established and find their way around.

Our advice to disappointed exchangers? Keep up communications. Our thanks to Peter, Dorothy, Steve, Jim, Betty and especially, HOME BASE HOLIDAYS.' - Patrick & Patricia, Perth, Western Australia

Editor's Note: I hope that those new to the idea of home exchange don't get the impression from the first two articles in this issue that swapping homes is fraught with problems. Most home swaps go to plan without a hitch. However, the writers of both articles show how careful planning, regular communication and good networking ensure that even in the very rare instance when an agreed exchange can't go ahead as planned, it is only a matter of 'ripples in a pond' as Patrick so aptly put it when sending this report.

When I introduced our home exchange weblog in the last issue of Home Swappers, it was all very new and there was a fairly small number of articles ('posts') and comments on it. In the last two months the weblog has grown considerably and already has quite a wide variety of posts, often added as a result of correspondence with a Home Base Holidays member, in the hope that the topic covered will be of interest to other home exchangers too.

A weblog (or blog) is presented like a diary on the Web, in chronological order with the most recent post showing first. The home exchange weblog is organised in a number of ways. On the left-hand side you will see a list called Recent Posts - click any you are interested in to go directly to that post. Under this is a list of Recent Comments; click the link to the post and then the Comments link at the end to read any comments on a particular post.

You can add a comment to any post you read on the weblog (click the Comments link below the post) and, provided it is relevant to the content, your comment will be kept. To help prevent spam it is necessary to include a valid email address when leaving a comment. Links to websites, unless relevant, are removed. However, if you are a Home Base Holidays member, you can add a (visitors) link to your listing to give your exchange offer extra publicity. If you need any help adding the correct address to your comment please get in touch and we will add it for you.

As well as being arranged in date order, posts are also included on the right-hand side under an appropriate Category heading (some posts are indexed under more than one Category). Categories include: General Home Exchange Information, Home Base Holidays, Home Exchange Articles in the Press + TV/Radio, Home Swappers Newsletter, Media Requests, Tourist Information: Local Views on Home Swap Locations.

All posts are also archived by month so, on the date of publoication of this newsletter, you will see links to posts added in September, October, November and December 2004. The weblog also has links both to the Home Base Holidays website and to other weblogs and sites, including weblog directories.

Some of the posts on the weblog will also be referenced in articles in Home Swappers (see the next two articles below as examples) but there is much more on the weblog than can be covered in the newsletters so do check it out if you haven't already or if you haven't visited the weblog for some time. As we seem to have a particular 'communications' theme going on in this issue, you might like to read a post I wrote on the importance of good written communication after reading the UK best seller (punctuation!) book, 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves'.

Kim Macleod, whose home in Bishopbriggs, Scotland, is available for exchange (ref: HE14803) wrote:

'I wonder about using this (the weblog) as a means to find out tourist info on locations - get the locals' view points on why you should visit their area? A bit more than the details that you hold against the property? I am always searching the net to get more details on prospective swap areas. Most times I want to do this before responding to home exchange offers as I wouldn't want to get someone's hopes up on an exchange unless I thought the area was interesting. This would allow travel buffs like me to write a piece about my area with links to other tourist sites.

We have just received an offer for an exchange to Canada for next year that I am hoping will work out. I just love this - you never know where you can end up. I wish I could work less and holiday more - but then don't we all.'

Note to Home Base Holidays members: anyone can add a comment to a post but, if you would like to provide more information on your local area to help persuade others that your home is in a great location to visit, please send us your short article (and links to any useful tourist websites), with the message subject, 'Weblog Post'. I will add a new post for you with an appropriate title to draw attention to your area and exchange offer.

This is the enticing introduction to a recent attractive exchange offer in Savannah, Georgia, HE15996:

Location to "Forrest Gump" and many Hollywood films. Horse drawn carriages, brick roads, live oaks draped in Spanish moss. Our home in the historic district two miles from the heart of town, one of the most romantic cities in the world.

With so many new films made every year, there are also a growing number of film locations all over the world. As being able to visit a location where a favourite film (or TV programme) was made can add an extra interest to a home swap holiday, any such local information can be useful for members to add to the descriptions of their area attractions. Check out the full article on the weblog (direct link below) for ideas on where to find information on movies that may have been filmed in your area.

October 25th was an exciting day for us as our brand new shiny design for the Home Base Holidays website was launched.

Over the last three years we have concentrated our website development on the primary functionality of the site - home exchange listings information and layout, making browsing the listings as easy as possible, increasing the number of ways search results can be displayed and/or restricted to give the most accurate results, developing new features in the private member area of the site.

Although the listings part of the website will always be most important, it was time to smarten up the information pages too (a bit like spending lots on doing up your house and finally getting around to painting the front door!) What we hope has been improved most in the new design is the ease of finding the information you are looking for on the site. The navigation links in the left hand column remain the same on all pages (apart from the individual newsletter pages and the search pages). These navigation links are listed under headings - Home Exchange Search, Members, Visitors and Further Information. The main links are repeated along the top of the page and in the Quick Jump Menu, along with a new Site Map page. The Site Map mirrors the headings and links in the left column but expands on these with descriptions of the information you will find on each page plus additional links to other pages on the site for further information.

When closely involved with a project, it is always difficult to know for sure if what seems very clear and logical is as easy to understand by someone using the site, perhaps as a first time visitor not familiar with the home exchange concept. We've had some very positive comments and always welcome your feedback.

Stop Press: we have just had a new Advanced Search option added, search by the number of people in the exchange party (No. in exchange party), thanks to the suggestion of a Home Base Holidays member. This option should help restrict search results to listings with exchange parties of a size your home can comfortably accommodate, especially useful if your home is small.

London member, Josh Golding, HE3829 wrote:

'I have just read in the newsletter about the new references available tick box, which I basically think is a good idea. We have done three exchanges now, two of which went extremely well and I'm sure our exchangers would give good references.

The third went pretty well as far as the exchange was concerned, although we overlooked some things we weren't happy about, including a number of mechanical problems with their car.

I do think exchanges involve a lot of tolerance and open-mindedness, and I chose not to make a fuss about it. However, after the exchange, our exchangers tried to charge us for one of the faults with their car, and made a couple of other (to my mind) petty complaints; at which point I confronted them with the problems we'd had. Much of this could have been prevented with better communication up front, and I put it all down to experience. I wouldn't give them a good reference, and they might feel the same way.

My question is, would ticking the reference box require us to make references for all our exchanges available?'

Editor's Note: Ticking the Exchange References Available box means that you have a reference from at least one previous exchange, not necessarily all, that you can provide to future potential exchange partners. As for providing references, you decide whether you want to write a reference for a member or not (bearing in mind that you may not be given a reference if you don't feel able, or are unwilling, to provide a good reference in return). You may prefer to agree to answer questions on your exchange experience from other members directly rather than provide a reference letter for past exchange partners.

Josh continues: 'On a more general note, our experience with the exchange this summer did make me think about the whole philosophy of home exchanging. I think for most people who do it, while it may be a cost-effective way of having a holiday, its real pluses are the opportunity to be more truly embedded into a community, and to have an insight into how other people live; and to be willing to open your own life and home up to others. Fortunately, this means that most people who are interested in exchanging, as I can gather from the many friendly and interesting emails I get, are curious and open- minded people looking for a different experience. Some people, however, may only see it as a cheap way of having a holiday or visiting family (and actually, if I had followed my instincts just from our email correspondence, I would have realised that was the case with our exchange partners this summer). There's nothing wrong with using an exchange to be near friends or relatives but maybe you should publish in the newsletter an informal 'Code of Conduct' that sets out some of the basic ground rules and courtesies expected of both parties in an exchange, particularly for first time exchangers, who don't really know the ropes or know what's expected of them.'

Editor's Note: although there is already much information included on the website on arranging exchanges (particularly the Guidelines), in newsletters and now on the weblog too, do send your suggestions for points to include in a succinct list that could form a useful starting point for new home exchangers and a reminder list for all on their responsibilities to others when arranging exchanges.

If you live in the UK, or can receive Channel 4, look out for this new prime time series on home exchange holidays, starting Thursday 2 Dec 2004 at 8.30 pm. Home Base Holidays members will be featured on exchange in the first programme of the series.

Joanna Jackson, from Bodmin, Cornwall, (view exchange offer HE13667) had contacted Home Base Holidays in early September:

'This is to let you know that we have just finished filming our house swap with a couple in Poissons, France (listing HE13854) along with Maverick TV. We had a great time and, as it was our first swap, a real experience.'

Joanna offered to write an article for Home Swappers on her family's first swap, especially on what it was like having a film crew recording much of the experience and her detailed account of the filming (and lead up to it) will be included in the February/March 2005 newsletter. Check out some quotes from Joanna's article on the weblog (link below). Joanna concluded:

'On the last evening we all had a great Indian takeaway together and reflected on what was a very pleasurable experience - our first, and probably only, brush with reality tv!

And if you want to know how we got on in Champagne, tune in on Thursday 2nd December to Channel 4 at 8.30pm and see if it really was "home from home"! We have no idea what it will be like - we were, after all, filmed for about 15 hours for 15 minutes of fame - or notoriety...'

Editor's Note: Although this is the fourth series of 'Home from Home', this is the first to go out in an evening prime time slot. Maverick TV, which produces the series, was very concerned to have participants who would come across well on TV so, whatever the programme is like on 2 December, Joanna will at least know that her family were 'chosen' as suitable. If any other members took part in this series, please let us know so we can look out for the programme featuring your exchange too.

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. Important: if you don't want quotes from messages you send us (or your name or a link to your listing) possibly included in a newsletter or on the weblog, please make this clear when contacting Home Base Holidays.

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