BEST HOME EXCHANGE SITE EVER?

HOLY COW! You've got to see this site. And I'm not just saying that because they give this blog a nice plug:

http://www.knowyourtrade.com/index.htm



More info to follow when I've had a chance to explore it in more detail.

Know Your Trade Launches!
December 17th, 2006

KnowYourTrade.com, a web site dedicated to explaining, supporting and advancing the home exchange industry, launched on December 15, 2006. My partners and I have been working for months, researching all the home exchange clubs that we could find. Though experienced home exchangers, we have learned a lot from reading articles, blogs and of course, the web sites themselves. There have been many new clubs launched recently which makes the market quite competitive. I have seen some of the “oldie goldies” make changes to their sites (maybe because of the new competition?) I find myself rooting for some of the clubs with smaller memberships in the hopes that when the dust settles they can grow and thrive.

My goal with this blog is not to post every day about home exchange. here are several excellent blogs that already do it. Most are affiliated with a club, but Home Exchange Travels is written by a prolific, independent home exchanger who covers all topics. It is a good place to go if you are interested in daily blurbs. The goal at the KYT blog is to inform you of changes and news in the home exchange industry.

Stay tuned as KYT grows!

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MORE HOME EXCHANGE DEAL-BREAKERS

OK, so your swap partners have given you an unpleasant surprise. You agreed on certain terms. Now they reveal that they will be bringing twice as many guests as you are comfortable having. That's a home exchange deal-breaker. What are other such no-no's?

Before we discuss this, let me make clear that I am not refering to changes that inevitably occur as we firm up our travel plans.


Our last exchange was a wonderful Thanksgiving swap in the deep South. Our swap partners were amazing and their home was just gorgeous. It was our first "perfect ten" exchange of the 30 we have completed.

While we were hashing out the details, we wrote to our swap partner several times about changes in who we proposed to have with us in her home. She did the same as her guest list changed.

The difference between what we did and the nasty surprise we are concerned about is we asked for permission before making each change. We did not simply announce, or try to conceal, additions to who would be in her home.

Being up front and treating all new proposals as requests, not finalized facts, shows you are a respectful, responsible exchanger.

We have been discussing the most egregious sin: adding guests without permission. What are some other home exchange conventions which should not be broken without prior permission?

It is standard that you are responsible for your guests. That means they cannot arrive at the exchange property before you. If you need to cancel your trip it is absolutely inappropriate for your guests to come instead of you. All pet care should be agreed to up front. No surprising your swap partners with Fluffy at the last minute. Bringing pets into the exchangers' home without permission is a real breech.

If your home suffers changes that make it less attractive than described in your listing you must tell your swap partners in advance. That includes unexpected renovations in progress or loss of amenities offered like access to a vehicle or second home; utilities like cable tv; features like a pool or exercise equipment, and so on.

The point is that successful home exchange is all about communication. Be up front about all changes to keep your swap partners happy. Your attitude should be that being offered the use of someone's home is a sacred trust. You are borrowing on the condition that you keep it in perfect shape and use it respectfully.

Your respectful actions are crucial to the health and happiness of our entire home exchange community. One bad exchange can have repercussions that harm all exchangers, most of all you: swap clubs will cancel your membership for inappropriate behavior.

Please let me know if you have had problems with unexpected changes by swappers. Next time we'll discuss what can be done if issues like this arise.

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CORRAL THAT EXCHANGER

Earlier I wrote about my dismay when a swapper surprised us with a final guest total that was higher than we had mutually agreed. A reader of this blog wrote in response:

Anonymous said...

This also happened to me twice.

I think some homeexchangers do this deliberately, as it occured after we bought our airline tickets.( 6 people instead of 2 )

Your swapping partner know very well that you won't decline.

That is one of the annoying things but you can't really do anything

Before I go on, I need to point out once more that reliability is centrally important in home exchange. You should contemplate cancelling an exchange only if the swappers are flagrantly flouting prior agreements you've made or common sense home exchange tenets.

In other words, if your listing says "no smokers or pets" and your exchangers ask "do you have ashtrays and dog food, or should we bring our own?", you're within your rights to cancel. But feeling uncomfortable about swappers is usually more subtle.

I'd also like to address the idea that "nothing can be done" once plane tickets have been purchased. Almost every airline will issue a credit, usually good for one year, for tickets cancelled before take-off. Waiting to arrange another exchange without losing your airfare is better than tolerating swap conditions or partners that make you nervous.

In one of the rare instances I had to cancel an exchange, a couple who lived off the beaten track told us something that seemed very odd: they had just cancelled their internet, phone and satellite TV services so we should make sure to bring books and cell phones.

Not knowing if my cell phone would work reliably in her area made me uncomfortable. I travel with two toddlers and their 84-year old grandfather. What made me more nervous was the fact that they needed to cancel all of their utilities, and just weeks before our exchange.

Were they experiencing financial problems? Perhaps they were simply contemplating joining a strict religious order. Regardless, it smelled fishy and I cancelled the swap.

Coming up: what if the problem is more subtle?

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WHEN TO PULL THE PLUG

You've been emailing your exchange partners for months and are excited about next summer's trip to their town. They live in a large apartment which is perfectly situated near their town's most interesting attractions and best restaurants. You've agreed to a one-week swap and have worked out details such as car swap, mutual pet care and how to exchange keys.

Then you review the terms as your understand them and find out you and your swap partner are not on the same page. You thought they were having weekend guests but they expect their friends to stay the entire length of the exchange. Or you become uncomfortable with their communication style -- maybe they take weeks to reply to your emails. Or perhaps they never sent those interior photos they promised despite your repeated requests.

For whatever reason you're starting to get a funny feeling. It seems petty but don't worry, it's not. Home exchange is based on trust. If you are starting to feel that you cannot trust your swap partners you should listen to that feeling. If you do not, you will be uncomfortable the entire time you are swapping.

But it's also uncomfortable to just cancel on someone with whom you have been building a relationship, however dysfunctional that interaction seems to be becoming. What can you do to ensure you feel good about this swap again?

We will explore specific responses to this situation in a future post. Stay tuned!

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CAPACITY

How many exchangers can your home comfortably accomodate? Our limit is six but since there are only three adults in our swap party we prefer to swap with two, or at most four, adults. We have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. While we also have a sofa bed in our large living room and could theoretically sleep eight, we prefer not to do so.

Our home is just over 1700 square feet. We find it comfortable for our family of two parents, one grandparent and two small children. Swappers usually want to invite guests on exchange. Since we live in Manhattan, where there is a lot to see and hotel rates are obscenely high, there is a big temptation for swappers to pack our apartment with friends and family. We have been asked to host groups as large as 12!

Having too many people in a home gives the place a bit of a college dorm ambiance. We often get offers from parents with four to 6 children as hotels are not an attractive option for large families. If there are more than three children in the family we usually decline based solely on the sheer number of people involved. It is difficult for parents to properly supervise so many small children.

We arranged a swap with a family who had said they would have four adults, with two more staying only two nights of the 2 weeks we are making available to them. Having four people here is a comfortable number, and adding two more for only a weekend was fine with us.

When we met them for key exchange we asked them who would be here which days. It turns out their fifth and sixth friends would be coming for the entire length of their stay.

Surprises can be fun but not in home exchange. I have never forced exchangers to sign a contract but this swapper made me reconsider. Failure to adhere to agreed upon numbers of guests is the kind of thing that makes me uncomfortable about potential swap partners. There were other red flags that began to pop up which worried us even more.

At what point is it ethical to pull the plug on a swap based on concerns which arise about swap partners? We've been thinking a lot about this. I'll share my thoughts in a future post. Click the comments link below to share yours.

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THE YEAR IN HOME EXCHANGE

Today marks the end of the first six months of this blog. After the first month people somehow found there way here and we have enjoyed one thousand hits per month since then. As I write this, the five-thousandth reader has just clicked on. Thanks to everyone for their kind words of encouragement, especially the wonderful Ed at HomeExchange.com, Helen from Digsville, Lois at HomeBase Holidays and Nadege of SabbaticalHomes (see links to their excellent clubs at right).

Home exchange has been building in popularity since the first teachers decided to swap during their summer vacations in the 1950's. 2007 is sure to mark an explosion in new home exchangers due to "The Holiday", a new movie which features a home swap.

People always want to mimic celebrities and things they see in the movies or on television. But that's not why exchanges are set to skyrocket this year. New people are going to come to home exchange in droves because they will hear about swapping for the first time.

Upon becoming aquainted with the concept of home exchange some people say "no way!" But others are instantly intrigued and want to learn more. This is the group whose interest in home exchange is going to be kick-started by "The Holiday" whether they go to see it or not. They will read the reviews in their local newspapers, hear about the film from friends and, in many cases, be raring to give home exchange a try.

That means that 2007 will be both exciting and dangerous for the home exchange community. We are going to have a huge influx of newbies.

All of us who have swapped before have a responsibility to maintain the integrity and health of our home exchange community. We all need to nurture the new swappers who will strengthen our ranks. Tune in next time to find out what you can do to help.

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