Help the home exchange community by participating in our survey. We’d love to put together a look at how home exchange actually works. The short, anonymous survey asks such questions as how long it takes to arrange a swap, how responsive others are to offers etc.

The more participants we get, the more we all learn.

To participate, click the Survey link.
To see the results so far click the Results link.

A frequent question from people (especially reporters) curious about home exchange is “How many home exchangers are there?” We always reply that it’s hard to know with any accuracy given the propensity of swappers to join more than one home exchange agency and the agencies themselves, inventing new ways to get as many listings as they can.

One way is by offering a no cost, limited membership option. In most cases, this option allows a swapper to list his/her home and only receive offers from fully subscribed club members. No swap initiations are permitted. We know of several agencies that use this model. Some allow interaction between swappers, but charge a fee when the swap gets solidified.

But the question is: Is this fair? It is a great idea for people who aren’t sure about home swapping and want to sit back and see if they get any attractive offers. It also works if the club is diligent and makes sure that their “free” members fill in a complete listing. But is this policy fair to the “paying members”? Since finding a swap partner is not always the easiest thing in the world and can in fact be very time consuming, do swappers want to waste time with people who may or may not respond? How will they know if the person is not interested and has decided that their offer is not good enough for him to become a full member?

Then there is the issue of the clubs that are not diligent (which holds true for some totally free clubs as well). There is nothing worse than having an agency proclaim that they have over 5000 listings, only to find that 4000 of them are incomplete, with no pictures or worse yet, no description.

This idea of a “no fee” limited membership appears to be working since at least a half dozen clubs have begun using this free hook. Allowing the general public an opportunity to sample the extraordinary world of vacation home exchanging at no financial risk may seem appealing to the uninitiated. But I’m not sure it’s in the best interests of the seasoned and experienced home exchangers in general. What do you think?

My partner, Leslie, and I run KnowYourTrade and belong to about fifty home exchange clubs. Leslie lives in a great two bed/two bath apartment overlooking Richardson Bay in Tiburon. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, it’s, in a word, spectacular. Multimillion dollar McMansions and starter castles dot the green tree covered hillsides. The view from her huge deck is almost worth the astronomical rent she pays and it’s only about twenty minutes by car to the middle of downtown San Francisco.

I occupy a tiny (500sqft) studio loft on top of Russian Hill in the middle of the best part of San Francisco. My claim to fame is that Michael Douglas (yeah, that one) lived here when filming Streets of San Francisco back in the seventies. My place is eclectic (but in a good way) and ideal for one couple who want to be on a very quiet street and yet right in the center of the action. As to value, my loft is about twice the size of the cheapest rooms at San Francisco’s most expensive hotels (starting at about $450/night) that are just four blocks away on Nob Hill.

As a result of all this, Leslie and I get a great many exchange offers. On average about 7 – 10 each week and they run the gamut from extremely appealing to what the Army calls a Whiskey – Tango – Foxtrot situation.

On the appealing side, I was once offered a trade for a 4 bedroom five bath, multi story, 4000 sqft. Hacienda with an Olympic size pool, 5 acres of grounds right on the beach on the Pacific Ocean and, BTW, it came with a cook and house keeper. Remember, this is for my tiny Russian Hill loft. It took me slightly over three seconds to make a decision there.

One of Leslie’s high points was a trade for a Martha’s Vineyard type of Cape Cod house with the private driveway, the formal gardens, short walk to the Atlantic, etc. That swap was a little closer to equal than mine, but a long way from equivalent, nevertheless.

As to the turn downs (and, as a matter of simple courtesy, we ALWAYS reply to all offers) naturally, with all the traffic we receive, there are many. We have several standard form letters (that we’ll share with you in a later blog post), some in several languages, which we modify to suit the individual situation. However, one email exchange truly stands out among several WTF situations:

To me: Hi, We will trade houses with you from June 12 to June 23. Will need transport from airport with return. (This was followed by a listing link)

From me: Hi, I noticed that your listing does not have any images of your home. Also there is very little detail as to the residence, the features, etc. I really can’t make a decision without more information. Thank you, Joe

To me: Why do you need images?

From me: Hi, I never consider trading without seeing pictures. Cheers, Joe

To me: Here is a picture (link to the city’s website). You provide towels and toilet paper?

From me: This is a joke, right?

To me: We are serious. We paid for the listing and we want to trade with you from June 12 to June 23. You have a listing. Why won’t you make a trade?

From me: It seems that you may be unclear on the concept of home exchange. Just because you purchase a membership in the home exchange agency does not mean you must trade with any other paid member.

To me: You are wrong. If you pay to list, you must make a trade.

From me: I’m sorry. I have a trade already planned for those dates.

To me: Why did you waste my time? I don’t think you are being honest. Who are you trading with?

From me: (I gave the name and address of the owner of the home exchange agency)

To me from the owner of the home exchange agency: Hi Joe, I just received the strangest email from XYZ. Did you cancel on them?

From me to the owner of the home exchange agency: (I explained what had transpired and included copies of the emails. She replied with a smiley face and wrote that she’d take care of it.

Two weeks later I received the following email: You are right. You don’t have to trade. So, do you want to trade from June 12 to June 23? Will need transport from airport with return.

I do so enjoy the world of home exchanging!

Hi Joe

Back from the Land of Oz!  
Loved the Great Barrier Reef just as much as when i was there in the 90’s.  I did scuba dive once this time.  Noticed it was not as pristine as before, sadly.  The great New Year’s Eve fireworks in Sydney you will see in our pix, soon, plus some very odd animals.

Have another reason to add the to “why do” home-exchanges.  Port Douglas, Queensland was a sleeping resort mainly for boaters and divers in 1992.  Now, it has become over-built with hotels, giant condos, nightspots, Gucci shops, empty retail space and an excess of trinket shops.
 “A home exchange is environmentally friendly, does not alter the local growth rate, is economical for the community and allows tourists to leave a much lighter footprint.” You may quote me on that!

I did not send any holiday greetings this year , but belatedly I wish you a great New Year! Hope we both can find time to do something fun in S.F. together soon.

A big hug, Katie

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment that has a king sized bed and a twin bed. Yet I can honestly say in my listing that my apartment sleeps five. How can I do that? It’s easy. i have two perfectly comfortable portable beds fondly known as “gypsy beds”.I can attest to their comfort as I have slept on both of them many times. They’re a great way to expand limited sleeping space. I do, of course tell potential exchangers that two of my “beds” are not really beds. So far there have been no complaints.

Last summer is a good example. I swapped my apartment for a home in Cape Cod. The exchangers were coming with their son and daughter-in-law and two small children. Since the parents of the infant planned to have the infant sleep with them and bring sleeping arrangements for the toddler, only one gypsy bed was needed. But then, at the last minute, the exchangers asked if they could bring their 90 year old mother. I was a bit hesitant, mainly because my apartment is a bit small for 5 adults and 2 children. However, since it really was a last minute emergency, I relented. I left both gypsy beds for them. The exchangers were grateful and surprisingly comfortable.

On another exchange with my two children last summer, we swapped to a two bed home. Since none of us wanted to share, guess what we brought!

Three cheers for gypsy beds!

InventedCity, Know Your Trade’s March Treasure of the Month, has been in business for almost 20 years. Throughout this time, it has maintained its high standard of integrity, setting a fine example for the entire home exchange community. InventedCity is a founding member of the First Home Exchange Alliance, an organization that pledges to ensure high standards of service and privacy to members. Being a member of this organization also allows them to share listings with three other agencies.

InventedCity has received one of the highest ratings in Know Your Trade’s rating system. With its emphasis on security and its policy of listing both the join date and expiration date on all listings, members can be assured of finding a good swap partner.

The recent redesign, with a clean, simple interface has made an excellent agency even better. Congratulations to InventedCity!

Would you like to know how? Learn from the Professor! Click here… http://homeexchangeuniversity.com/2009/11/5-keys-to-maintaining-sanity-while-traveling-with-kids-part-1-before-departing/

There are now three home exchange clubs and one home exchanger assistance service that provide some form of insurance for the home exchanger. This effort represents a quantum leap forward for the home exchange community and the millions of travelers who avoid home exchanging for many of the reasons covered to various degrees by these insurance plans. However, the coverage provided by these policies differs dramatically from one organization to another. 

HomeExchange.com, the largest and one of the best known home exchange clubs in the world, is also the latest to offer insurance protection. Provided through brokers working with the Lloyd’s of London syndicate at no cost to members, HomeExchange.com insurance offers a maximum of $2,250 ($2,500 less $250 deductible) coverage to all members exchanging with other HomeExchange.com members in the event of “illness, injury or death” causing the cancellation of the exchange. It is unclear whether the policy covers both home exchangers or only the “uninjured party.” It would seem that if you happen to be the exchanger whose immediate family member trips and breaks their neck, you’re out of luck for any reimbursement by the folks at Lloyd’s. There is also a $10,000 property and contents damage package for home owners with their own policy in place (renters not included). See details here. 

HomeLink International, the oldest of the world’s home exchange agencies, has a somewhat different approach. First of all, the “plan” is offered only to US and Canadian members, so far as we can tell. Secondly, it is not so much an insurance policy as it is a self insuring fund. A $25 premium is paid sometime during a calendar year and on December 31 the fund is divided up among the claimants “on a pro-rata basis” with a maximum ceiling of $5,000. Furthermore, the coverage seems to contingent on the exchange partner’s inability to fulfill the exchange agreement and does not cover illness, injury or death on the part of the “insured.”Also the self insurance funds may be separate for the US and Canada. See details here. 

HomeforExchange.com, a Dutch based home exchange agency with over 12,000 listings worldwide, has what they call “Accommodation Insurance.” This is quite clearly a form of coverage solely for the uninjured exchange party and meant to supplement accommodation costs and not non-refundable expenses such as airline tickets, rental cars, etc. So if the other guy, say, breaks his leg and can’t make the swap, HomeforExchange.com will pay you from $50 to $90 a day depending on whether you’re traveling alone ($50) or you brought your eight relatives with you ($90). If you decide to cancel your trip altogether (did you ever try to find a hotel room in Paris for $50/day?), then you’re out of luck for any “out of pocket” expenses. Premiums for this coverage range from $4 to $7.20 per day and, from what we can tell, must be paid within six months of the proposed exchange. See details here. 

CHECtravel.com is not a home exchange club. Its members come from many home exchange clubs and, in fact, include several from those agencies listed above. They join for many reasons including the increased level of safety and security CHECtravel provides through the organization’s address verification, mediation services and, of course, Travel Guard home exchange insurance available exclusively through CHECtravel. Unlike the others, the CHECtravel plan covers both exchange parties. In other words, if you enlist in the plan and have an accident that prevents you from making the trade, you’re covered. If your exchange partner gets sick, you’re covered. And for up to $10,000 with no deductible! If you break something in your exchange partner’s home, you’re covered for up to $1,500 with no deductible! There’s also $20,000 in supplemental medical coverage, baggage loss and trip delay coverage and even $50,000 emergency medical transportation. Coverage starts at just $15 and is 5.3% of your total non-refundable expenses. The policy covers all members of the insured exchange party. Trips must originate in the US or Canada. See details here.

It is clear that these four organizations, HomeExchange.com, HomeLink International,  HomeforExchange.com and CHECtravel.com represent a high point in the home exchange business. These clubs and service organization care enough for their clients’ welfare, often at their own expense, to protect them from unforeseen calamities in their home exchange experience. KnowYourTrade salutes them and looks forward to the day when all home exchange agencies will follow their exceptional example.

Global Home Exchange, this month’s KnowYourTrade Treasure of the Month, exemplifies the excellence displayed throughout the community of CHECtravel member agencies. Among its many outstanding features, Global offers viewers and members an industry high of nearly 100% images with its well over 2,000 home exchange listings. It also provides its members access to an additional 6,000+ home exchange listings through a shared database with its partner home exchange clubs, Exchange Homes, Echange de Maison (Another-Home) and Homeforswaps.com.

Global allows search options to the city level plus advice and templates for traders. Reverse search is to the state level. An internal messaging system keeps track of offers. Customer support, as you would expect from such a high quality home exchange club, is very responsive.

There are four different membership choices including a special for beginners, and either a year or lifetime membership for those in the know. Global Home Exchange! Try it; you’ll most certainly like it!

This week I realized the difference between a banana republic and an Islamic republic: bananas!