How Home Exchange works (I stayed FREE in Paris!)

In the past two years, I’ve stayed in gorgeous houses and apartments in all these places for free:

Paris. Madison, Wisconsin. Calaveras county, California. St. George, Utah (near Zion National Park). Lake Almanor, California. Salt Lake City.

Free?? Really. How?

By exchanging our home. When I tell people we participate in a home exchange site, they often have lots of questions. Mainly: How does home exchange work?

So today I’m going to share with you how house swapping works, how to get started swapping your home for vacation stays, and how to figure out if home exchanging is for you. If you like what you see, go ahead and join a home exchange program and start staying for free!

How home exchange works

House swapping has been going on long before any home exchange sites got into the business. At its most basic level, you stay in someone else’s home, and they stay in your home.

My preferred home exchange site: HomeExchange.com

Our family’s house swapping experience has been through the home exchange site, HomeExchange.com. I highly recommend it! With HomeExchange, you can do a simultaneous, mutual exchange, OR, you can use the system they call GuestPoints. With GuestPoints, you receive points for hosting people in your home, and you can use those points to pay for stays in other peoples’ homes. Personally, we almost always do GuestPoints exchanges, rather than simultaneous exchanges. They’re just easier to arrange.

Belonging to HomeExchange costs $220 per year for new members. Is HomeExchange.com worth it? To me, very. This year alone, I have probably saved more than $2,000 by staying in exchanges.

Other home exchange programs

I haven’t tried any of them, but there are lots of other home swap sites, such as ThirdHome, PeopleLikeUs, Noad and Inervac Home Exchange. I am also seeing a lot of advertising for a newer service called Kindred. If you’ve used any of these companies, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. There are also a number of Facebook groups where people talk about home exchange sites and even arrange swaps.

How to get started swapping your home

I’ll describe the process for HomeExchange.com, since that’s the home exchange site I’m familiar with. Once you set up an account, you’ll upload some photos of your home and fill in some descriptions. You give your house an inviting name, like “Cute Wisconsin cottage.” Next, you share what guests would love about your home and neighborhood. Then, input the number of bedrooms, size of the house and amenities.

Then you fill in a calendar of what dates your home is available for. You can indicate whether you want to do only mutual swaps, only points exchanges, or if you’re open to anything.

You also set the “price” for your home in GuestPoints. Based on the number of bedrooms and the neighborhood, HomeExchange gives you a recommended price.

When we started home swapping, my biggest motivation was having someone in our house to feed our cats while we traveled. On your home profile, you can indicate whether you have animals that need feeding or plants that need watering.

It’s time to stay for free!

HomeExchange gives new members 500 GuestPoints to start with. This means you can stay in someone else’s home before you host anyone yourself. This can give you a feel for what’s expected when you, in turn, become a host.

To find somewhere you’d like to stay, type in your desired location and dates on the web site. It’s just like searching for an Airbnb. When you find somewhere you want to stay, send the hosts a message introducing yourself and requesting to stay. Ideally, they’ll get back to you and either accept the exchange or let you know it won’t work.

How staying in a home exchange works

Staying in someone else’s home is a little different from staying in an Airbnb or hotel. In my experience, there are two types of properties listed on home exchange sites.

1. Primary homes. When you stay in someone’s primary home, expect a more intimate experience than a rental property. The home will be full of the owner’s possessions. You may be sleeping in the homeowner’s own bed. They may or may not have cleared out a drawer of their dresser, space in the closet, and space in the cupboard for your food. You’ll probably see family photos on the walls. Be gentle with their possessions! In a primary home, it’s not uncommon to be asked to feed a cat, water plants or take in the mail.
2. Secondary homes. Staying in a secondary home through HomeExchange is often closer to an Airbnb experience. Some HomeExchange participants use their second homes as rentals as well as for swapping. Others exclusively share their property through exchanging. Staying in a secondary home, you’re more likely to find empty drawers and closets for your things.

What’s expected of you as a guest

1. You can bring a gift. Unlike renters, home exchange guests often bring a small gift for their hosts. (Personally, I usually bring a gift mainly when staying in someone’s primary home, because I know the owner might not visit a secondary property after my stay to receive the gift.) Something to eat from your own home region is a common gift. Other exchangers feel a note of thanks is sufficient.
2. Leave the home as clean as you found it. With Airbnb, a cleaning fee is routine and you may only be expected to do minimal cleanup before checking out. With home swapping, it’s essential to discuss the departure expectations with the host. Some hosts offer the opportunity to pay for a cleaning service in their listing. But many simply expect guests to clean the home before departing. (Personally, I prefer to pay a cleaner. Without a cleaner, I tend to spend hours on check-out day cleaning. I kind of overdo it. Then again, my perfectionism has probably contributed to my perfect 5-star rating as a guest.)
3. Treat the host’s home with utmost respect. More than with a rental, take care to safeguard the host’s possessions and finishes. Notify them immediately if anything gets broken.
4. Be flexible. During stays of more than a day or two, it’s not uncommon for hosts to need to enter their homes to retrieve possessions. This would be unheard of with an Airbnb, but I’ve had it happen several times with HomeExchange.com. I don’t love it, but I’ve found that it’s just part of the deal.
5. Don’t embarrass your host. Remember that you may be observed by your hosts’ neighbors. Don’t be loud. Don’t be super obvious about unpacking and packing — not all swappers have told neighbors that they participate in a house exchange program. Don’t smoke right next to the neighbors’ yard. I’ve had at least one host ask me to introduce myself as a friend if asked, rather than as a home exchange participant.
6. You may be expected to take care of plants or pets. Of course, this should be agreed upon in advance! I have stayed in a number of home exchanges where I am asked to feed the cat, scoop the litter, etc. Sometimes I am offered a discount in exchange for this care. We ask our own HomeExchange guests to care for our cat.

How hosting a home exchange works

Staying places for free is the fun part. Hosting a house swap can be a little more stressful. But the more you do it, the easier it gets. Here are the steps I go through once I’ve accepted an exchange request and it’s time to vacate:

1. Make your home inviting. I usually do a major declutter before hosting an exchange. Go through every room putting things away. Move items that can’t be put away — like that half-finished project — to a hidden area like the garage or a closet.
2. Clean. I try to have my housecleaners visit right before hosting, so the house is spick and span. Whether you’re doing it yourself or hiring a service, make sure that the bathrooms are clean, there are fresh sheets on all beds, the floors are swept and mopped, and of course that all dishes are done. Personally, I know our home will never be perfect — it’s too lived in. So I don’t go so far as washing the windows or wiping down the walls. But I do my best.
3. Make space. Empty a drawer in the dresser of each bedroom, and make a little space in the closet. Leave space in the fridge and freezer for the guest’s food.
4. Protect your own things — and your privacy. Put away anything you wouldn’t want your visitors touching or looking at. Valuables, financial documents, your diary. We use a small safe to lock up sensitive documents. Some people keep one room or cabinet locked or off limits.
5. Stock up. Make sure your home has toilet paper, dishwasher detergent, etc. You don’t necessarily have to provide enough for a long stay, but most places I’ve stayed do. A lot of people leave coffee as well.
6. Provide instructions. Your HomeExchange profile will have some info about your home. But a lot of people print out or email more details, like how to work the TV and climate control, where to find things, any rules, etc.
7. Leave a gift. Not required, but I often leave a bottle of wine and a snack for guests to enjoy upon arrival. The last home I stayed in left us wine, snacks and even a treat for our dogs.

Answers to your questions about home exchange programs

Now that I’ve explained the basics about how house exchange sites work, you may be excited to get started. But you still have questions! Let’s answer some of the typical questions about home swapping.

1. How safe is home exchange? Some friends think I’m crazy for handing the keys — or the entry code — to my house to strangers as part of a home exchange program. Personally, I feel safe, and here’s why: Home exchange sites typically have some type of identity confirmation. HomeExchange.com allows you to become a “verified” user by uploading your driver’s license. Beyond that, I usually choose guests who have been longtime participants with reviews from other hosts. In the end, I feel like having someone from a trusted community in my home may be safer than leaving my house empty.
2. Are home exchanges a good idea? There are pros and cons to swapping homes. In the end, it comes down to your personal preferences. When I first stayed in a stranger’s private home, I will admit I had trouble relaxing. I remember lying awake at night, thinking, What if the home owners show up right now? After the initial couple stays, I thought maybe home exchanging was not a good idea. But as I swapped houses more, I got used to the feeling of sleeping in a stranger’s bed. I began to really love home exchanging. Now, home exchanges are my preferred way to travel.
3. What if the home owner cancels your exchange? Imagine: You’re on the plane, about to land in a foreign city at the height of tourist season, when you get a text: The home owner has canceled the exchange. Nightmare! How are you going to find a last-minute place to stay? Fortunately, HomeExchange.com has a cancellation policy. If your host cancels at the last minute, you can email sos@homeexchange.com, and they will try to arrange another exchange for you. If they can’t, they’ll reimburse you trip change fees or lodging fees, up to a limit. I have also seen people post in home exchange Facebook groups trying to arrange last-minute exchanges for themselves. No matter what happens, you will get your points refunded if your HomeExchange.com host cancels.
4. Can you exchange just part of your home? Yes! For our home, we have hosted in just our guest suite, which is like a mini apartment. We’ve done this while we are home as well as while we were away. HomeExchange.com also offers something called a Hospitality Exchange, where guests stay in a bedroom of your home while you’re there. If you want, you can welcome guests to eat with you as well.
5. Do you meet the people you exchange homes with? You can! Sometimes, hosts are waiting to greet you and show you around upon arrival. Other times, you arrive to an empty house with a lockbox or entry code. One of my favorite home exchange memories is when a couple returned home and offered to drive our family to the train station that evening. Then they invited us for dinner and even taught us to play bocce on their backyard court. It was so special!
6. How much should you talk with a potential exchange partner before agreeing to swap? That’s up to your preference. A lot of people like to Facetime or Zoom before agreeing to an exchange. Others simply exchange a message or two or even just accept a swap request with no questions asked.

Hit me with all your questions about how home exchange works! With eight years of house swapping experience and 23 home exchanges under my belt, I can probably answer any home swap question!

Note: This post contains my “invite a friend” link to HomeExchange. If you sign up and list your home through my link, we can both earn 250 Guest Points.