HOME EXCHANGE CLUB FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOL NETWORK

We stay in your home, you stay in ours!

For years adventurous travellers have exchanged homes for their holidays, but internet accessibility now means that home exchange is one of the fastest growing holiday experiences in the world.

Exchanging homes allows travel with a difference!

Enjoy the luxuries of living in a home. Staying in a home means you can have a properly equipped kitchen, toys for kids, entertainment systems, etc.

Experience the local culture from the perspective of somebody who lives there. You can ask your host in advance for specific recommendations to suit your taste- e.g. for restaurants, shopping and things to do. Some hosts introduce their guests to a local friend who can be of help during the stay.

Save money. There are no hotel bills or expensive villa rental costs. Some people also agree that their guests can use their cars, in which case there are no car rental charges.

Your own home is not vacant in your absence. Insurance companies generally prefer people to have guests staying at their homes than for their homes to be left empty.

Your guests can water plants and take care of pets for you while you're away, if you agree it with them in advance.

Different types of holiday exchanges:

Holiday Exchanges are usually for 1-2 weeks and, with the exchanges taking place at the same time, they are the most common type of exchange. Sometimes the exchange partners are not able to co-ordinate their travel so they can meet in person, but in other cases a meeting is possible at the beginning or end of the holiday. For example, Caroline and her family had wanted to go to Canada for a long time … (see more)

Short Break Exchanges are exchanges which generally last from
2-5 days, i.e. a weekend or extended weekend. They are an excellent way for people to have inexpensive city breaks away. For example, Stephanie, a Club Member living in Melbourne, had a wedding to attend in Brisbane in two months' … (see more)

Long Term Exchanges are exchanges which last more than a month People sometimes use these exchanges as extended holidays, but these longer exchanges are also used for:
- Sabbaticals, as commonly taken by teachers and professors for an academic term or year. For example, John is a professor in California with his wife Jenny and their daughter Mia, who … (see more)
- or Business, when accommodation may be needed for a set length of time and a hotel is not desired. For example, Sarah is
a consultant, working for herself in Glasgow, Scotland. She was … (see more).

Non-Simultaneous Exchanges, those which take place at different times from each other, can allow more flexibility with holiday dates and are sometimes organised if one of the exchange homes is a second home. For example, Peter normally rents his Swiss ski chalet out during prime ski season. However, when he was contacted by … (see more).

Hosted Exchanges involve one party visiting the other home when the owners are there, then reciprocating at a later date. Both parties receive the benefit of having a local guide without having to pay for accommodation. For example, John and Marion live in
New York City and they wanted to visit their daughter's family in Florida … (see more). 

Caroline and her family had wanted to go to Canada for a long time. While looking at the exchange homes listed in Ontario, she saw a home she liked whose owners wanted to visit England. Caroline "requested an exchange" and suggested that she and her family might be interested in exchanging either at Christmas or in the following July. She highlighted some advantages that the Canadian family might enjoy by staying at her home in London. John received this message in Canada by email via the Club and he looked at the link to Caroline's home. He replied directly to Caroline by email and said that his family were interested.

Caroline and John emailed each other a few more times, querying dates, exchanging detailed pictures and describing more about their homes and families before Caroline telephoned John. They finalised some details and agreed to exchange homes for two weeks in July. John confirmed all of the details in an agreement which he signed and sent to Caroline. She signed it and sent John a copy.

The following summer, Caroline flew into Toronto with her family. John and his family met her at the airport and, after introducing themselves, they exchanged keys before John's family caught their flight to London.

Caroline and her family spent two weeks in Canada. They explored Toronto and spent a weekend in Montreal - she was really pleased because she felt she could splurge on the Montreal hotel as she was not paying for her Toronto accommodation. They also enjoyed some excellent restaurants, based on John's recommendations.

John and his family were equally happy. Caroline's London home was not large but it was extremely comfortable and full of character - and John knew that accommodation in London was notoriously expensive. Her house was in a great neighbourhood and John's family loved the local shops and pubs. They were also able to leave the majority of their bags at her home when they made a few overnight trips outside of London to explore the English countryside.

Both families were delighted with the arrangement. 

Stephanie lives in Melbourne and she had a wedding to attend in Brisbane in two months' time but she didn't feel like staying in a hotel. She looked at the listing of exchange homes and she found an apartment and a house in Brisbane that appealed to her. She contacted both owners via their listings and she asked whether they would be interested in a weekend exchange for that particular weekend. She made sure that she highlighted the convenient location of her apartment in Melbourne. The Brisbane apartment owner responded and said that he was unable to exchange that weekend but the house owners, a retired couple, were interested and they sent their phone number to Stephanie in their email back to her.

Stephanie spoke to Murray and Carol about the house and they discussed further details for the weekend. Stephanie also confirmed that she would be happy to feed Murray and Carol's cat.

Stephanie altered the example exchange agreement and signed it. She then scanned it to her computer and emailed it to Murray and Carol. They printed it, signed it and mailed a copy to Stephanie.

Both parties enjoyed their weekend away. Murray and Carol were pleased to be able to catch up with friends in Melbourne without having to have to stay with them, while Stephanie found Murray and Carol's house to be lovely and spacious - far more comfortable than staying at a hotel. 

John is a professor in California with his wife Jenny and their daughter Mia, who attends a private girls' school. John had the opportunity to spend several months working with a colleague in Edinburgh so he and Jenny looked at accommodation and schooling options.

Via the network, they found a teacher in Edinburgh who had indicated that she was interested in a long-term exchange so they contacted her. Aileen and her author husband Gordon had originally intended to spend two months away over the summer holiday, but she thought that the opportunity was too good to miss. She and John emailed at length about the details and she asked her school if she could take unpaid leave for a year.

Aileen and John both consulted their solicitors to ensure they had covered all eventualities and eventually a contract was signed. Both parties purchased their outward journey plane tickets and sent each other copies of them to give each other peace of mind that each party was serious about the venture. Both parties prepared thorough "About the Home" binders which included all instruction manuals, service numbers, list of minor quirks, etc.

John and Jenny weren't used to driving a standard shift car so they were leasing cars for the year. They were, however, letting Aileen and Gordon use their cars in California and insurance had been duly arranged. In return, Aileen and Gordon had arranged for John and Jenny to be able to use their Memberships at the Golf Club and the private gym. Mia was looking forward to spending a year at one of Edinburgh's private girls' schools.

Dates had been organised so that John, Jenny and Mia arrived in Edinburgh the day before Aileen and Gordon left. Aileen and Gordon met the family at the airport and drove them to the house and that evening they got to know each other a bit more and they heard more about some of the local friends that each would be able to contact. Aileen and Gordon left for California the next day. Both parties loved their year away. They found that having introductions to each other's friends helped them settle in very quickly, and each party found it very easy to move into another home instead of renting a property and organising furnishings and comfort items. Aileen and Gordon made lots of trips, visiting Yosemite and San Diego, skiing in Tahoe as well as venturing further afield to Mexico and British Columbia. John, Jenny and Mia loved Edinburgh and Mia settled in to her school very well. They also loved getting away on weekends and they found that not only was there a lot to see and do in Scotland and England but that many places in Europe were just a short flight away. 

Sarah is a consultant, working for herself in Glasgow, Scotland. She was accustomed to travelling with her work, but when she was offered a six month project in London she decided it would be best to move down there for that period of time. She considered renting an apartment, but she didn't want to pay for two places at the same time.

Sarah had done a holiday exchange in the past, which had worked out well, so she checked to see whether she could potentially do a longer term exchange. Tim, a London-based artist, was always interested in spending periods of time away on trips looking for new inspiration and he had indicated that he was interested in long-term exchanges as well as holiday exchanges on the Club site. When Sarah contacted him, the two decided they would exchange their apartments for the duration of Sarah's project.

Both Sarah and Tim enjoyed the experience of living in their new cities and being based in a home environment - and as both of them had introduced their guest to a couple of local friends, they settled in much quicker than they otherwise might have. The two now exchange apartments every few months for weekends away. 

Peter normally rents his Swiss ski chalet out during prime ski season. However, when he was contacted by Suzanne for an exchange, he said to her that there was a vacancy for a week in 3 weeks' time when she and her family could stay. In return he would be happy to stay at her place in Southern France.

Given that she would require heating, electricity, logs for the fire and snow clearing for the road at the chalet while he would only require minor amounts of electricity in the summer location, it was agreed between the two parties that 7 days in the winter location was equivalent to 10 days in the summer location.

After agreeing the details of the exchange, Suzanne went skiing with her family in Switzerland, staying at Peter's chalet. The following summer Peter and his wife travelled to Nice and spent 10 days at Suzanne's home while she and her family were away elsewhere. Both parties were happy with their exchanges and they are planning on repeating the exchange next year. 

John and Marion live in New York City and they wanted to visit their daughter's family in Florida to see their grandchildren. Their daughter's house was not large enough to accommodate them comfortably so John checked to see if there were any potential exchange homes nearby. He was in luck - there was a home in the next town.

John contacted the owners through the site to see whether they would be interested in having a trip to New York in October/November and exchanging homes (he mentioned how lovely the autumn colours were at that time of year). Gill and Tony emailed back immediately, and were apologetic. They would love to have a trip to that area of the country, but Gill would not be able to get away from her internet business at that time of year. They did, however, suggest that they had plenty of space in their house and that John and Marion were welcome to stay with them in return for an exchange in the future.

John and Marion discussed the idea and emailed back to say that they could be interested. After some conversations on the telephone it worked out that John and Marion stayed with them for ten days. John and Marion spent a considerable amount of time with their family but they were also free to do some sightseeing - and Gill and Tony gave them lots of tips of things to see and do. Gill had lived in that area of Florida all her life and her stories made the local history "come to life".

Gill and Tony had been given the option to go to New York and stay at John and Marion's place either on their own or as guests. Given the friendship that had developed, they ended up going as guests. They visited in February and received a far warmer welcome and introduction to the city than a hotel could have offered.