Home swapping, also known as house exchange, is a type of arrangement whereby both parties agree to exchange each other's homestay. Since no monetary exchange is involved, collaborative effort is required. Home exchange covers a variety of residency types, such as holiday homes, apartments, houses, etc.
It may include the exchange of the entire house or just one room. The length of swap varies from a couple of days, weekends, and even several months. However, short-term house exchange is in huge demand. These days there are dedicated home exchange websites where you can explore plenty of options across the globe. They generally charge nominal fees.
A home swap deal is divided into two categories, one is the simultaneous exchange, and the other being the non-simultaneous exchange. The former includes an agreement, where you swap each other's property for a specific period, While, non-simultaneous exchange, you can reside in their accommodation, but the other family will not come to live in your property.
The home exchange concept also has a myriad of perks over the conventional hotel stay. A few of the key benefits include house swap is free, convenient, and a tremendous opportunity to explore.
The History of Home Exchange
The originating footprints of the home exchange take us back to 1953, when Intevac International, a group formed by European teachers who wanted to travel around the globe during the summer breaks, at economical costs. In the same year, Vacation Exchange Club in NYC was created by teacher David Ostroff. The biggest landmark year was 1999 when the growth of the home exchange industry was at 15%-20% per year.
