Home Base Holidays: helping arrange Home Exchange Vacations for over 25 years!

 www.homebase-hols.com                                                                                                                     July 2012 (issue 87)

Cottage Home Exchange Featured Home Exchange

Corsham, Wiltshire, England      


Located in quiet village conservation area, this beautiful, detached, C17th Cotswold farmhouse sits on a glorious half acre walled gardens with stunning rural views.

Exchange request: Open to offers

 

Click here to view this home swap offer... 

 

More home swap offers
Home Exchange Sri LankaHome Swap BrazilHome Exchange LondonHome Swap Australia

"We've had several fantastic swaps and we want to swap for the month of August 2013 - anywhere considered!" 


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How to Home Swap

Home swap tips and pointers  

 

Shown below are some basic tips and pointers on arranging your home swap. A more detailed list along with a home exchange agreement template can be found in the How it Works section of the website.

 

Finding your perfect home swap:
  • Be proactive! contact a good number of members with 'feeler' messages regarding a potential swap. Keep an eye out for new offers and contact any that look of interest. Please also respond to all messages you receive - even if just to say that you are not interested in the exchange offer at this time.   
  • Add photos: listings with photos always attract more interest than those without.
  • Last Minute Offers: Looking for a home swap within the next month? Add your home to the Last Minute Offers section. Also keep an eye out for new Last Minute Offers. 

 

 Preparing for your home swap:

  • Clean, clean, clean: it should be taken as said that both homes will be clean and tidy for guests and left in the same condition at the end of the swap.
  • Create a reference folder: Create a welcome folder for your exchange guest with useful information e.g. local attractions, useful phone numbers, transport info, household how-to's, pet care, etc. This can be kept for reference by future guests.
  • Insurance: Inform your home insurance and, if agreeing a car swap, car insurance company well before your departure date.
  • Smokers / Non smokers: If you are a non-smoker exchanging with a smoker you may want to include a condition in the agreement that your exchange partners smoke only outside your home.
  • Pets and plants: If you have agreed to accept pets as part of the exchange make sure to clarify any do's and don'ts with your guests. If you have agreed to provide pet or plant care make sure you know exactly what is expected before you arrive.
  • Vegetarian? If you are a vegetarian and don't want your pans used to cook meat - add this to your exchange agreement.

 

Do send us your tips and suggestions: anything you would have found useful before you had your first exchange. We'll add the most useful tips to the guidelines and address particular issues in future newsletters and on the blog. Send us your suggestions... 


Home insurance: recommend an insurance company?  


Home InsuranceHousehold insurance policies generally remain valid when homes are occupied by non-paying home exchange guests (most insurance companies acknowledge that a lived in, cared for, home is much safer than a home left empty). However, a few members (only in the UK it seems) find that their insurance companies refuse to provide cover, even for an additional premium, during an exchange. It is important to stress to your insurance company that you are not letting your home and that your guests will be looking after your home while you away. Otherwise, the staff member taking your call may assume you are letting 'strangers' stay in your home.  

 

It is very difficult to recommend particular companies when either policies on home exchange guests may change or, perhaps more likely, different staff give different answers, or some members may assume too much knowledge of the home exchange concept when contacting their insurance, thus causing alarm and a negative response. For this reason, we like to keep our list of 'home swap friendly' insurance companies updated on an on-going basis. Very recently, a member has reported a good experience when switching her household insurance to the Co-op.  

 

If you have swapped homes recently, and can recommend the company that provides your household and/or car insurance, please do let us have the name of the company. To show our appreciation for your useful feedback, your membership period will be extended by three months.  


...more home swap offers
Home Exchange CanadaNew York Home SwapHome Swap SwitzerlandHome Swap Notting Hill

Last chance: 2012 Olympic home swaps 

 

We still have new UK members joining, especially in London, who hope to arrange an exchange during the Olympics. With the Opening Ceremony on 27th July, there's less than a month to arrange an exchange. There are still plenty of opportunities, and lots of London offers, but don't delay and risk disappointment.  

 

See our special London 2012 Olympics home exchange information here.

Cut out expensive hotels and you can save thousands on your vacations

 
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(only £29 for 1 year) 
Welcome to Christina! Our new, 2nd representative in South Africa

 

Home Base Holidays South AfricaWe are delighted to welcome our latest Home Base Holidays rep, Christina Steyn, particularly as she is promoting home exchange in a country increasingly popular as a home swap destination. All our reps are enthusiastic about home exchange and have helped spread the word and answer questions from enquirers in their countries.  

 

See Christina's contact details and do get in touch if you have any questions.  

 

See the full list of Home Base Holidays reps worldwide... 


Members offer: join second home swap site for free!

June - August: members can join 2nd home swap site for free 

 

If you are a current Home Base Holidays member (or join during June, July or August 2012), you are offered complimentary one year membership to a second long established home swap agency (based in Canada). To take up this offer, contact us (subject line: Free home swap offer). Contact us to sign up to the free offer! 

 


Travel Writer's Handbook

Competition: Tell us a (home swap) story!

Last chance to win the Travel Writer's Handbook

   

We're still looking for your special (short) home swap stories for the competition to win a copy of the latest edition of Travel Writer's Handbook.

See the May issue of Home Swappers for details. Send your entry to info@homebase-hols.com with subject line, Story Competition, by 30 July 2012. We'll announce the winner of the guide in the August newsletter.

 

Everyone's a winner who sends a story as, when published, your story will include a link to your exchange offer for extra publicity. And, as an added incentive, all members whose articles are published receive 3 free extra months' membership.


Quick Links

Further Info

Newsletter Contributions:
We are always pleased to hear from members and subscribers and to receive contributions for the newsletter and blog - short reports on your exchange experiences, tips you feel would be useful to those new to the idea of home swapping and any questions you have on home exchange.
 
Copyright:
All Home Swappers content is copyright and cannot be used in any form without written permission from Home Base Holidays. However, please feel free to forward the newsletter (in full) to friends and colleagues who may be interested in home exchange (use the Forward Email link below the newsletter).
Happy Home Swapping!

Home Base Holidays | 7 Park Avenue | London | N13 5PG | Tel: +44 (0) 20 8886 8752 |  info@homebase-hols.com