Home Swappers: Issue 4
May/June 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. Home Swappers Archives
  2. Member Login and Renewals On-line (10% discount)
  3. Monthly Prize Draws
  4. Special Summer 2000 Exchange Requests:
      (a) Vancouver, Canada - SW London/Surrey, UK
      (b) Surrey, UK - Somewhere Hot Near Water!
      (c) The Netherlands - UK Seaside (wheelchair accessible home)
  5. Member Experiences - Dream Exchange to Florida
  6. Travel Insurance for UK Members
  7. Exchange Guidelines On-line + Member Home Exchange Website
  8. Home Base Holidays Members on TV!
  9. Travel Donkey Website - Weekly Prizes
10. The Traveller's Companion - Selected Travel Guides and Maps
11. June 2000 Directory Deadline - 14 May
12. Newsletter Contributions Wanted
13. Subscriptions

Home Swappers Archives

If you miss any issues of Home Swappers you can now read back editions on
our website:

http://www.homebase-hols.com/news.shtml

Member Login and Renewals On-line (10% discount)

Login using your User ID (HE + a 4 or 5 digit number) and your password
exactly as set:

http://www.homebase-hols.com/login.shtml

Members may find other members' listings by their HE numbers and you will
see a number of HE references in this newsletter.

When your membership is due for renewal you will be directed to the renewal
form when you log on. You are able to update your offer at any time but may
particularly wish to review your listing on renewal. Renewal rates are at a
10% discount: Option 1 - internet only (£34.20); Option 2 - internet +
directories (£63); Option 3 - additional for a second listing (£13.50).

Recent Prize Draw Winners

If you are receiving this Newsletter you are also entered in our monthly
prize draws. The most recent winner is:

March 2000 - member, Cynthia Moth - a copy of 'USA 2000 - the Budget Travel
Guide' published by Thomas Cook Publishing. Cynthia and family (HE5564) from
East Sussex, UK, have arranged a summer 2000 exchange to northern California
and we hope the book will be useful for the family while in California.

April and May Draws -  the member or enquirer whose name is randomly drawn
from the Newsletter contact list on 30 April will also receive a copy of
'USA 2000'. The May winner (draw 31 May) will receive a copy of the 'Ulysses
Travel Guide to Canada'.

Special Summer 2000 Exchange Requests

Vancouver, Canada - SW London/Surrey UK

HE8321 - We have a large Edwardian 4-bed house in Kitsilano, the heart of
the west coast port of Vancouver, surrounded by no less than 7 beaches! My
husband and I and our 7 year old daughter would like a swap in the SW
London/Surrey area (particularly anywhere near Kingston upon Thames) for 3-8
weeks this summer. Time is of the essence - so if you are interested please
don't delay! Check our listing and contact Karen Stainer & Brad Carpenter by
e-mail, fax or phone.

Surrey, UK - Somewhere Hot Near Water!

HE4175 - Desperately Seeking Swappers! We are Paul and Judy Stafford from
Kingston-on-Thames. Our family has  had 7 happy swaps - all to America - and
we can say with every confidence that all our guests have enjoyed the house,
location and neighbourly hospitality! Due to work we are a bit late
arranging this year's holiday and are therefore VERY keen to hear from
anyone who would like to exchange with us this summer 2000. Imagine sitting
by the Thames - a stone's throw away from our pretty Victorian house - at a
local pub, sipping your ale while watching the rowers glide past. The
children are frolicking in the park with all their new friends and you are
planning tomorrow: maybe a walk along the towpath to Hampton Court Palace; a
cycle ride in Richmond Deer Park; a riverboat cruise for a picnic in Kew
Gardens; a 17 minute train ride into the centre of London to see a show. If
any of this appeals to you, please check out our listing and contact us by
phone or e-mail. We look forward to hearing of ANY interesting offers -
preferably hot and near water of some kind.

The Netherlands - UK Seaside (wheelchair accessible home)

HE4169 - The How family home, five miles from Utrecht, has been specially
adapted for wheelchair users. The Hows can manage on an exchange holiday
without all the special facilities in their own home but do need to be in a
home that is wheelchair accessible. The family of four would like an
exchange in July or August anywhere in the UK near the seaside. Their own
home is ideally placed for visiting the delightful city of Utrecht and is
only one hour from Amsterdam. Check out the full listing with photo at
HE4169 and do contact Angela How by e-mail or phone if you are interested
and think your home could be suitable.

Member Experiences - Dream Exchange to Florida

Our first three issues of Home Swappers included articles by long-time Home
Base Holidays member, Jo Piercey, on her first three exchanges from the
small village where she, husband Roger and three children live in Berkshire,
England to San Diego, Cape Cod and Myrtle Beach. The following is Jo's
account of the family's fourth exchange to Florida:

By the time we exchanged in Florida we were pretty experienced at cleaning
houses and turning over stones (Jo's suggestion for new exchangers - 'Ask as
many questions as you can. Do not leave any stone unturned.'). It was a
fabulous exchange with a couple who had two sons. Their home was beautiful
and it included a swimming pool, jacuzzi and the use of a small motor boat.
They also owned a much larger boat and, although we couldn't take it out,
they had arranged for a friend to come to us and take us fishing. He came
three times and on each occasion we caught our own dinner and grilled it as
the sun set over the back garden. I say this because the back garden
happened to be the Intercoastal Waterways and the sun is particularly
beautiful when it sets over water. My son, all these years later, still
occasionally asks me when we are going back to 'The Pink House' as it is
affectionately known! I do hope they had as good a time in our humble
cottage as we did in their splendid Florida paradise.

Check out the Piercey's current exchange offer (summer 2000 US Eastern
Seaboard preferred) using HE1704 to access details on the website.
Note: the Pierceys have very recently moved but are still located in
the village of Cookham Dean.

Travel Insurance for UK Members

You are advised to ensure you have adequate travel insurance before taking
part in a home exchange holiday abroad. When buying insurance it is
important to realise what will and will not be covered by any travel
insurance policy.

Just as you cannot claim expenses such as fares for any type of holiday you
book if you simply change your mind about going, so too with a home exchange
holiday. If you have been careful when making your exchange plans (including
buying your tickets at the same time as your exchange partners and
exchanging copies as a reassurance of both parties' committment to go ahead
with the exchange), you should have little cause to worry that your partners
will cancel a confirmed agreement but the small element of risk has to be
accepted.

You must be able to provide medical evidence that you or a family member is
unable to travel or that there is serious illness or a death in your
immediate family that prevents you from travelling in order to claim on any
travel insurance policy.

Most travel insurance policies only provide cover for you, not your exchange
partners, having to cancel. Some companies will provide the same cover
should your exchange partners need to cancel, again of course, for a valid
reason. You may want to check this out and decide if the extra peace of
mind, knowing you can claim costs in the unlikely event of your exchange
partners having to cancel for a genuine reason, is worth any additional
cost.

Although it is advisable to shop around for the best flights and fares as
well as travel insurance, many UK Home Base Holidays members have over
several years appreciated the personal service provided by independent
travel agency, Spear Travels. The agency offers members a substantial
discount on travel insurance from Ketteridge, an insurance company which
does provide the additional cover mentioned above for exchange partners.
Please note that this discount can only be offered when a member also
purchases another service such as air tickets or car hire through Spear
Travels. Contact Derek Adams at Spear Travels with details of your
particular flight and insurance needs (mention Home Base Holidays):
stokespear@aol.com  or tel: 01782 411006.

Exchange Guidelines On-line + Member Home Exchange Website

'Guidelines for a Successful Home Exchange Holiday' is now available on our
website for reference as you make your exchange arrangements:

http://www.homebase-hols.com/guidelines.shtml

When first contacting other members to suggest the possibility of an
exchange it is very useful to send an information sheet with more
information on your home, family and local attractions than it is feasible
to include in your listing. The Guidelines include an example of a member
information sheet  (Home Swappers: Issue 1 includes another excellent
example).

Andrew Sadler has surpassed the information sheet idea by producing a great
website based on his family's exchange experiences. Andrew's website is not
only a colourful diary of the Sadler family holidays in the USA but also
gives detailed information on how the exchanges were arranged, costs
involved and practical suggestions for other exchangers. We would be
delighted to hear of any other member home exchange websites. Do visit
Andrew's attractive site:

http://homepage.dtn.ntl.com/a.sadler/exchange/

Home Base Holidays Members on TV!

London member, Robert Hendra (HE5115), has recently taken part in two TV
programmes - Robert was filmed on his exchange to New York by Carlton TV for
the 'Property Show' shown in London/SE England on 20 April and again for the
'Simply Money' programme on Sky Digital 27 April. Another Londoner, long
time member Michael Pearl, a writer who arranges several exchanges each
year, (HE1691) also took part in the Sky Digital feature. A special thanks
to both of you.

In addition to TV, members have also been talking about their exchange
experiences to journalists writing articles in newspapers and magazines.
Recently, Erica Moody (HE4100) has been quoted in the 'Birmingham Post' on
22 April and Joan Hopton (HE3158) will be featured in the June edition of
'Choice' magazine, discussing her experiences of exchanging within the UK.

If we miss an article you have been included in please let us know - you
will be sent a £7 discount voucher for every media appearance and can use
this at any time to reduce your renewal subscription fee (plus reference to
your listing in a Home Swappers newsletter). Being based in London it is
natural that it is the UK media which often features Home Base Holidays but
we are keen to reach as many potential home exchange members worldwide as
possible to increase the choice of exchange offers for all members. If you
have media contacts anywhere that you feel may be interested in a home
exchange story - or would like to write an article based on your own
exchange experiences, do let us know. Also get in touch if you have had an
exchange and are willing to be added to our media contact list.

Travel Donkey Website - Weekly Prizes

There are literally thousands of travel websites and we are always on the
look-out for any which have information that could be useful to members.
Travel Donkey is a start-up which appears to be quite an original concept -
the aim is to develop a large database of unbiased travel advice based on
travelogues submitted by visitors to the site. As an incentive to encourage
visitors to complete a travelogue form weekly prizes (Sony Play Stations,
compact hi-fis, etc) are given for the best travelogues received each week.
As Travel Donkey is still in its pre-launch stage now would seem an
excellent time to submit a travelogue (on your home exchange holiday??) to
have a good chance of winning a prize for your efforts:

http://www.traveldonkey.com

The Traveller's Companion - Selected Travel Guides and Maps

Home Base Holidays has teamed up with The Traveller's Companion, an
independent mail-order travel bookshop based in Inverness, Scotland, to
offer guides and maps that have been carefully selected as the best
available, concentrating on the most popular home exchange destinations.
Home Base Holidays members will be able to order publications with no added
postage charge. Check out shortly for the announcement and link to the new
travel books page and regular special offers:

http://www.homebase-hols.com

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