Are you ready to exchange your home? HomeForHome wants you to get the most out of home exchange, and to start on the right foot you need to consider things other than the advantages. Here we have some questions you may want to have answered before you accept any swap request:

Question Mark by Michelle Meiklejohn

1- What are the basic rules you want people to respect while using your home? We don’t want you to get bossy here, but it is perfectly normal to want some things discussed before accepting a home exchange proposal. Surely there are many things that come to your mind, so write them down to remember them later.

2- What are your expectations regarding housekeeping? Would you be willing to let your partner have paid help while you are gone? If they don’t want to clean during their vacations, it is probably a good idea to suggest an agency or person you trust to take care of the house.

3- Are there valuable items you don’t want accessible during the swap? You may want to draw your exchange partner’s attention to items that are really valuable to you and that you don’t want to get damaged. For example, a regular item, like a childhood toy may seem of little value when actually it may have sentimental value to you. Another good idea would be to keep your most valuable items in a safe place during the swap.

4- Have you considered your partner’s needs during their stay at your place? Little things do make a difference. For example, leaving enough space in the closets for guests to unpack their suitcases and have a more home-like feeling, having some food and drinks in the refrigerator for people to snack as they arrive, leaving enough toilet paper… Yes, little things like these.

5- Is everything working as it is supposed to? If you told your exchange partner you had a pool, but then it turns out it won’t be available because it needs repairs, then you need to let them know in advance so they don’t get disappointed. You may offer alternatives, like a laundry shop they can use if your tumble-drier broke down, maybe even offer to pay their laundry bill during their stay (as you would have to pay for yourself if you were staying home). Imagine how nice would it be if you received such an offer, it may not be an expensive gift, but it is certainly very thoughtful.

We will probably keep encouraging you to think about these small things that could make the difference in future posts, so write us and lets us know of any “little things” that made a difference during your previous home exchange experiences that you would like to share with other swappers.

Money by Danilo Rizzuti

Oh well… The economy seems to be struggling still, recovery seems to be taking a break in a distant location and we need to keep thinking about lowering our budgets and saving for rough times. As we have mentioned (maybe too many times now), home exchange is by far the best solution for a low cost accommodation during vacations and trips of any kind. With HomeForHome you can reduce this line of the vacation bill to a nice and round zero. Besides, it does not imply a cut in the quality of the place where you will be enjoying your time away from home, which would certainly happen if you opt for other inexpensive lodging deals.

Off season deals are also a good way to lower your vacation budget, for example, right now most European destinations should be uncrowded and probably prices are not as high as in the summertime. Another advantage of off season travelling is the reduction in the time spent waiting in lines at most attractions and tourist sites, which allows you to visit more places.

Adding to the savings, another option will also help you support your local economy: travel to a destination in your own country. By doing this, you will probably reduce the cost of transportation and also your money won’t leave borders. If you look around the web, you will find several resources that can help you find the right destination for you, but if you really want to get into domestic travelling we would like to recommend you Britain Express - UK travel and heritage guide.

Britain Express is one of the most complete online travel guides dedicated to the UK we have found so far (we are open to more suggestions, of course) and it covers anything from accommodation to specialized  travel services. Attractions, tourism guides, heritage information, events, photos, maps, trip planning tools, travel directory… You name it, it’s there.

So, take a moment to visit Britain Express and then come back to HomeForHome to find a swap match for your next trip to Britain’s best.