Knok - 1 of 5 Featured House Swapping Sites that help you travel like a local.
We recently wrote about vacation rental Kid & Coe homes with "fully stocked" kids rooms, and how it's really important to feel relaxed as a family when you travel. We now would like to introduce house swapping! A truly "my casa is your casa" way of travel.
When our second son was born, it sort of struck us that in a few years when both kids are over 2 years old we will be paying for FOUR people every time we fly! Hmm... we pondered that for a minute or 60. Right, so there goes 3K out the window before we even REACH our destination. Then there is accommodation for 2+2, food and entertainment. Let's just say, I'm doing breathing exercises right now to ward off a panic attack. Enter: house swapping. You exchange homes (and possibly cars) for your vacation with someone else. Much more economical, not to mention being able to stay in a fully stocked functional home.
Having someone you don't know stay in your house is a scary concept at first, but think about it, the other person is probably just as nervous as you are to leave all THEIR stuff. In a way, it is comforting that mutual trust is required. Imagine switching houses with friends? Or how about good friends of your friends? Less scary right? Well, the companies we found make house swapping a bit more warm and familiar for us with their concierge services. They all have a yearly membership fee, and with some for an additional fee they can actually help to match you with another swapper.
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1 - HomeExchange.com $135/year (95.40 Euro)
This company was featured in the movie "The Holiday" and has been around since 1992. They have a huge variety of destinations and homes. A customer service rep comes on to chat with you as soon as you get on the site so it makes it friendly and easy to get started.
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2 - Intervac.com
These guys have been around since 1953! Year membership costs $110 (79Euro) and includes personal assistance from a local representative. Intervac has representatives in many countries that I imagine you can bug with all kinds of questions and hand-holding requests. They also have options for discounted rentals if someone is making their second home available.
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3 - lovehomeswap.com
The cost of membership is $200/year (144 Euro), and premium concierge service will run you about $360/year (264 Euro). It includes many extras like: consultation and matching, personal key exchange, flight and restaurant bookings, airport lounge entrance, and city guides. Yes, it's expensive but I personally believe that this price will encourage only those very serious about doing an exchange to participate.
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4 - knok.com (top image)
Knok is a new house swapping site focusing on families. It has a feel of being in a club. With a price tag of around 500 Euro/year for a "Weekend tripper" option and a 1,300 Euro/year for a "Vacation tripper" option, it's indeed an expensive club. What's different about this is when you sign up and pay your fee you can immediately book either a 4 day weekend or an 8 day vacation. You "unlock" more days if you make your home available for stays when you're not there, thus making house swapping a bit more flexible since you don't necessary have to wait to match up with a family that wants to go on holiday exactly when you do. Also an upfront fee like these will probably ensure you're dealing with other families that are very serious about this form or travel. Another interesting feature is a user sourced guide of kid friendly places and things to do, and it is free.
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5 - behomm.com
Behomm is a special exchange place for creative people. These are homes where people, how shall I delicately put this, with heightened design sensibilities, like art directors, photographers, artists, designers, architects would feel right at home. I know this is exactly the kind of home exchange our very own, creative director, Mu-Hsien would enjoy! Her home is indeed Architecture Digest worthy.
This isn't for everyone, you have to be a person who really feels comfortable trusting your own instinct and ability to assess another person without having met them. I've hired people over skype and they've turned out to be great choices so I do feel like I could be comfortable in this situation. I think if you can organize this experience to make yourself feel confident, imagine the benefits! You get to live in a REAL, actual house of someone in the country you're visiting! In a real neighborhood where other "normal" people live. This is the ultimate, "live like a local experience." I imagine it's also a chance to potentially make interesting new friends.
I'm inspired! Hey, perhaps the next generation of this travel experience is to swap not only your house and car but your friends too! Come stay at my home and my friends will take you out!
{ To get more of a feel for what house swapping entails take a look at Magan's of Mapping Magan, interview with someone who has been house swapping for 6 years now. }
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