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Member report: Hands off the prawn kebabs
(unless they're in your home swap agreement!)
"After five years of Home Base Holidays membership and some 20 swaps, only two things have ever irritated me: the time we spent an hour following the instructions for the TV only to phone our exchangee and be told it was broken; and the time someone ate the prawn kebabs from the freezer. So if that's the worst that's ever happened this house swap thing is pretty stress free isn't it?
Now, the kebabs only annoyed me because we hadn't agreed to swap freezer contents, so the lesson is to be very specific about what's in the deal. We find that agreeing to provide each other with the basics makes a lot of sense: toilet rolls; tea, coffee and sugar; washing up liquid and detergent; an initial supply of milk; basic store cupboard ingredients such as salt, pepper, table sauces. Then you might like to swap a loaf and some butter, or jams and marmalades. We've even swapped entire first meals. Don't go buying things especially. Just agree that you can each use what's there. Even if something's within bounds, do replace it if you use it all up. The basic rule of thumb is: if you're not sure, don't use it. We have found over the years that we have changed our brands of several things; last summer we came home from a swap and upgraded the gravy granules!
When we went to Spain one April we were asked if the visitors could use our macs and umbrellas. April 2011. A heat-wave in London, a very late start to Spring in Spain! Sharing hairdryers too saves on packing.
And now you know why, if you swap with us, I am likely to ask, 'Does your TV actually work!?"
Sandra N (View Sandra's home swap offer in London)
Editor's note: We enjoy receiving Sandra's contributions for the newsletter as, along with great tips based on her home swap experiences, she always sees the funny side of things.
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London exchange
Central location - a few blocks from Lord's cricket ground.
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Beautiful Tallinn
Tallinn is a jewel! Visit Estonia's beautiful capital city.
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Seattle swap
Luxury high-rise in the heart of downtown Seattle.
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Lonely Planet: 'Travel for All' project questionnaire
Kerry Ascione from The Trusting Traveler, and author of an upcoming book on home exchange, 'Have Home Will Travel', is doing research for a new Lonely Planet project, 'Travel for All'. The purpose of the Lonely Planet project is to provide information on making travel (including home exchange) more accessible for individuals with disabilities. Kerry has asked for feedback from Home Base Holidays members who have had at least one home swap and have also indicated that their homes have disabled (wheelchair) access.
If you or a family member needed wheelchair access and/or had other special needs in homes you have swapped to, or if your own home has suited (or could suit) other exchangers' access needs, we would be delighted if you would spend a few minutes completing the relevant questions on the form (deadline: 28th February 2014):
Click here to start questionnaire |
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Member tip: Long stay travel insurance for the over 70s
"Both being over 70, we experienced a lot of difficulty in arranging travel insurance for a stay of 179 days in Australia. If any other UK exchangers experience the same problem, we found a company Redwood Travel Insurance that would cover us for up to a year. They were very helpful and covered the medical details there and then."
John & Vivienne W (Kent, England)
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Exclusive promotion to members: join second site for free!
 This exclusive promotion to all existing and new Home Base Holidays members allows you to claim a complimentary one year membership to an additional home swap site, Global Home Exchange, based in North America. To take up this offer, send us an email to info@homebase-hols.com with the subject line "Global offer" and a note of the password and any special requirements you would like set. |
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Happy Home Swapping!
Home Base Holidays | 7 Park Avenue | London | N13 5PG | Tel: +44 (0) 20 8886 8752
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