ExchangeHomesBlog.com

Usually I try to keep abreast of the multitude of things being written on the web on the subject of home exchanging. On an average day I will find several new postings and if appropriate I like to spend a few minutes responding.

Recently I’ve become more than a little concerned by the number of of postings encouraging potential home exchangers to bypass the multitude of home exchange clubs now available to them and instead seek home exchange partners via CraigsList or CouchSurfing.com. The latter site is fundamentally a hospitality exchange network, it’s especially popular among students and young people in general traveling the world, but neither is a substitute for a good, reliable, established home exchange service.

In all the years Exchangehomes.com has been in business (22+), we’ve never received a single report of theft or vandalism or malicious damage. We’ve very occasionally had to deal with a situation where a member was let down at the last minute, but in all but two cases the cancellations were caused by accidents or totally unexpected illnesses. Each time we were able to “put out the word” via this blog, our newsletter and even specialized mailings to members in the area to which the let down family was planning to travel and were usually able to locate a suitable alternative.

In fact, on one occasion we were even able to help while we were living in California by doing a last minute swap ourselves with a family from Bristol.

The point of all this is to illustrate the very important fact that when you join a good, established home exchange organization you are essentially paying for much more than simply publishing you home exchange requirements. All of the “for fee” clubs offer a Customer Service and if they are anything like Exchangehomes.com they will pull out all the stops to help in an emergancy. On the other hand who is going to help you if you have an issue with a potential CraigsList home exchange partner?

Last year and already this year we’ve been contacted by folk who were under the impression that they had reached firm, committed agreements with people they had found via CraigsList, only to have them either cancel at the last minute, or even more despicable, simply cut off all communication. One had even changed his email address and phone number.

I fully expect a lot of people will interpret this post as being “sour grapes”, but that’s not the case at all. I believe I’m justifiably proud of the good reputation generally enjoyed by home exchanging and it concerns me when I see a very definite possibility of that reputation being compromised. Other clubs should feel the same way as well. By choosing not to stay in a hotel or rent a vacation home, potential home exchangers are already saving themselves a substantial chunk of change, so why begrudge the comparatively small fee charged by a reputable home exchange organization?

That fee even covers a full year’s membership and with just a little forward planning, several home exchanges can be arranged before it expires.

ExchangeHomes.com Home Exchange finally has a Resources Page in place containing links to several extremely useful travel oriented web sites. Should anyone click these links and make a purchase, ExchangeHomes.com will receive a small percentage. I plan to retain a mere 5% of whatever the page earns to cover administrative expenses and the remaining 95% will be donated to charities.

I believe that Home Exchangers are caring folk and I’m hoping that everyone will support this venture and help make it work.

In these early stages the list of companies is not extensive, but I hope to build upon it. As new companies are represented I’ll keep everyone updated.

Currently we are working with The Luggage Guy, London Pass, Paris Pass, Trails.com and Vacation Homes Rentals (yes, I know, a rental company—but they may be useful for last minute trips!).

The charities I would like to contribute to are:

•  Doctors Without Borders
•  CARE
•  Humane Farming Association

I will report on how the venture progresses on the Resources Page.

Many home exchanges also include a car exchange. Yesterday I came across this “Before You Go Vehicle Safety Checklist” by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It’s intended as a pre-vacation checklist for people driving their cars on vacation, but it occurred to me that it also works extremely well as guidelines for home exchangers prior to leaving their vehicle(s) for their exchange partners’ use.

• Tires — Check the air pressure in all your tires, especially the neglected spare. To get an accurate reading, check pressure when tires are cold, meaning they haven’t been driven on for at least three hours. In addition, take five minutes to inspect your tires for signs of excessive or irregular wear. If you find irregular tread wear patterns, it means your tires need rotation and/or your wheels need to be realigned before you leave.
• Belts and Hoses — Look under the hood and inspect all belts and hoses to make sure they are in good shape with no signs of blisters, cracks, or cuts in the rubber. High summer temperatures accelerate the rate at which rubber belts and hoses degrade, so it’s best to replace them now if they show signs of obvious wear.
• Wiper Blades — Examine your blades for signs of wear and tear. If they aren’t in tip-top condition, invest in new ones before you go.
• Cooling System — Carefully check your coolant level to make sure it’s adequate—or— if it’s time to have your cooling system flushed and refilled, have it done now. You’ll want to avoid your engine overheating.
• Fluid Levels — You’ll want to check your vehicle’s oil level. If it’s time or even nearly time to have the oil changed, now would be a good time to do it. In addition, check the following fluid levels: coolant, brake, automatic transmission, power steering, and windshield washer. Make sure each reservoir is full and if you see any sign of leakage, take your vehicle in to be serviced.
• Lights — Ensure all the lights on your vehicle are in working order. Check your headlights, brake lights, turn signals, emergency flashers and interior lights.
• Air Conditioning — Make sure that your air conditioning system is functioning properly, especially if you’re traveling with those who are sensitive to heat, such as children and seniors. If the air is not blowing cold, it’s a good idea to have the system repaired before you go.

Emergency Roadside Kit
It’s advisable to put together an Emergency Roadside Kit to carry with you. The kit should include: cell phone; First Aid kit; flashlight; flares and a white flag; jumper cables; jack for changing a tire; work gloves and a change of clothes; basic repair tools and some duct tape; a jug of water and paper towels; nonperishable food, drinking water, and medicines; and extra windshield washer fluid.

We’ve had a few issues lately with unhappy home exchange Associate Members, emailing to ask why their memberships have disappeared. They have attempted to log in and received a “Membership Not Recognized” error.

Since adding the Associate (free) level of membership, we’ve been stringent in our requirements that everyone using the option provides us with true and accurate contact information. The details provided by each Associate Member are physically checked by a human being, and any that appear to contain false information are immediately deleted.

I see it this way: every Full (listing) Member HAS to provide accurate contact information in order to pay for and display their home exchange offer. Any false details would immediately result in their payments being declined. We are now allowing Associate Members the privilege of initiating contact with Listing Members, but we definitely owe it to our paid members to verify the legitimacy of people using the ExchangeHomes.com to contact them. I don’t believe any paid member would argue with that!

There are other reasons why an Associate Membership could be removed. I will list them below:

1. The Associate (free) Membership hasn’t been logged into and used for a period of 30 consecutive days. We had to implement this programming when we found that the database was becoming bloated with literally thousands of “dead” listings. People were joining, sending out a few contacts, then most likely forgetting about their free memberships.
2. The Associate Member has attempted to do nothing more than “spam” listing home exchange members. Of course, with a programmed limit of only 5 emails for Associate Members, they may claim that spamming isn’t possible. Yes it is. Programming monitors all emails leaving the website for certain trigger actions and then alerts us. At that point we check the legitimacy of the emails and a human being makes the final decision.

Occasionally we receive emails and phone calls from potential home exchangers who are interested in joining ExchangeHomes.com, but are reluctant to do so because they cannot find their country included in the list of Countries, either in the Quick Search on the Home Page, or on the Detailed Search page.

If there is currently no listing for a particular country, then quite correctly, that Country doesn’t show up in either of the Country Search Lists. However, immediately a member registers their membership from a country not currently represented, and enters details for both the relevant continent and country on the Registration Form, when the listing is saved to our database, the country in question instantly appears in the Country List.

Similarly, we have been contacted by members and visitors to the web site who have been exploring the listings and noted one in an otherwise not represented country. They’ve returned for another look only to find that the country is no longer available in any Country Selection List. In this instance the listing they were watching has expired. Expired listings are immediately hidden from view and because of this, if they were the only listing from a country, it too disappears from any lists.

Of course, in all the high demand countries worldwide ExchangeHomes.com is well represented. Countries with no, or occasionally one or two listings are in locations very infrequently selected by the average traveler—even the most adventurous home exchanger!

I received this especially useful advice from a home exchange member last week and thought it would definitely worth publishing in this blog and sharing with everyone—

Do not forget to include travel insurance in your to do list before planning your home exchange vacation. Most people take travel insurance lightly and never discuss travel insurance in detail with their travel agents. It is important to know what your travel insurance covers you against in the event of any unforeseen situations which may subject you to a financial loss or otherwise.

Travel insurance covers different features and it is up to you to choose and ensure you are adequately covered. The first and most common is Trip Cancellation/Interruption coverage. Most of these policies cover cancellations due to weather, sudden illness, death and emergencies whilst at home or abroad.

Another common type of travel insurance is for medical emergencies. This type of coverage is particularly useful if you plan on traveling to underdeveloped countries, or for individuals with an on going illness that might require medical attention at some point during the home exchange. These policies will reimburse you for the cost of doctor visits, medication, and sometimes even medical evacuation out of the country. It’s best to check with your insurance provider regarding the details, as travel health coverage policies vary widely.

It is also possible to obtain travel insurance that will cover non-refundable tickets in the event that a trip has to be canceled for any number of reasons. Some coverage plans will sometimes cover missed connections as well, which can be a lifesaver in the event of a flight delay or over-crowded and/or confusing airport terminal.

For longer trips, or for frequent travelers, a comprehensive insurance package is probably the best value. These usually provide a wide variety of coverage, and some even allow you to choose what kinds of coverage to be included. Since it’s impossible to know what problems might arise during your home exchange, these policies cover all the bases so that you have protection against monetary loss in the event of nearly any emergency.

Many members successfully arrange home exchanges to include their pets. For a lot of families, caring for each other’s pets is an enhancement to the arrangement, especially if they have children. However, I cannot stress emphatically enough that no-one should ever demand pet car of their home exchange partners. Many people don’t like pets, have never kept a pet, and simply would not be comfortable looking after one. Not only that, if they have no experience with animals, it’s definitely not a good idea to expect them to suddenly care for one properly. Such an arrangement could lead to disaster.

Look at it this way, you’re already saving a small fortune on hotel or vacation rental costs, so if your exchange partners are in any way reluctant to care for your pets, either place them in a good boarding facility, or with more willing and experienced friends or family. If you opt for a boarding kennel, make sure your pet is current on all its required shots before you actually drop it off otherwise that could be another recipe for a last minute disaster!

Even if your home exchange partners are perfectly happy to look after your pets, it’s really not fair or realistic to expect them to be tied to your home throughout the duration of their vacation. Far better to set up an arrangement with a local professional pet sitting service so that they will be “on call” to your exchange partners and able to visit your home to feed and generally care for your pets should they take a day trip or stay away overnight.

Reputable pet sitters will be registered with either of the following:

•  National Association of Professional Pet Sitters
•  The Pet Sitting Directory
•  Care.com
• Pet Sitters

Regrettably, I have another request for a “rescue” home exchange partner. Member 4955 lives in Derrybeg, Co. Donegal, Ireland and has airline tickets to fly to San Francisco between July 30th and August 15th (when they will be moving on to visit friends in Atlanta) ,returning to Ireland on Sunday August 24th. Their home in Derrybeg will be available throughout that period of time.

The member states: “We were planning to stay in a hotel in San Francisco for a few nights and we are seeking accommodation on the West Coast (California if possible ) for the period August 2nd to 15th. The Exchange party could stay in our property in Donegal Ireland up to August 23rd”.

Although they are flying in and out of San Francisco, I’m certain this member and his family would be receptive to just about any exchange offer from the west coast in general.

County Donegal, on the west coast of Ireland is exquisitely beautiful (I’ve been there myself) and I’m certain it would provide a really memorable home exchange for a lucky family.

I will paste some pictures of the area below, and please take a look at this member’s listing. If you feel you can help, either contact him directly through his listing on the ExchangeHomes.com website, or get in touch with me.