Vacationing in a home away from home

Getting into another culture
Ironically, most home swappers are professionals or well-heeled retirees who could easily afford to travel in style. What lures them to home swapping are the three Cs: comfort, convenience and curiosity.

"The nice thing is, you have a home base," Costabel says. "If you're in a country for a month, it's very easy. You can unpack and you can go for a weekend somewhere and stay in a hotel for a night or a long weekend and then you come back to your house and everything is where you left it.

"And you have everything else you need like a kitchen, washing machines, a car and TV. Even the humblest home is going to be way better than a hotel room, except for room service."

Home swapping also tends to immerse you in a culture, rather than strand you in the tourist areas. Some swappers even prefer hospitality exchanges in which you each host the other in your homes, a great way to explore a new place with your very own tour guide.

"Things happen. You see things and you go places that you wouldn't normally go," Costabel says. "In the south of France, maybe you can't get something in the town of Nice so you stay in a little house in the hills, in a very small traditional community. It's a very different experience from Nice, yet you jump in the car and you're in Nice in five or 10 minutes. People live all over; everyone doesn't live on the banks of the river Seine."

Many families also have found home swapping the solution to vacation frazzles.

"People with children will try to exchange with other families with children. That way, you have all that child equipment there waiting for you instead of getting on United with a playpen and God knows what else. All you've got to do is get there. Beyond that, it's just the normal living expenses," he says.

Even the family menagerie sometimes gets a holiday. Animal lovers often prefer to swap pets, which receive not only personalized care, but a reprieve from the kennel in the bargain.

Fears of a home swapper
Home exchanges first took off 50 years ago in Europe, where most people take vacations in August and it is relatively easy to mix and match Spain for France for Portugal. But Americans vacation year-round and most of live in locations that are only seasonally attractive.

Plus, let's face it, Americans aren't as comfortable as Europeans are about sharing space with strangers.

Despite the late start on this side of the Atlantic, home swapping has been growing steadily in the United States. The Internet has provided a big boost, making it much easier to peruse listings, find a match and work out the details via e-mail.

But just because it's easier than ever to find a holiday home away from home, swapping isn't right for every traveler. Most of us might readily agree to vacation for free in someone else's home. The choke point comes when we have to turn over the keys to our car and castle.

A big worry: What if something happens while the visitor is staying in your home? Normally, your home and car insurance policies will adequately cover any damage caused by your guests, although it's best to check before exchanging.

The unofficial guiding principle is, do unto another's home as you would have them do unto yours. Still, some first-timers get the jitters.

"Some people look at it and say 'wow, that's great, where do I sign up?' Others think well, you'd have to be totally deranged to give your house to strangers," Costabel says. "There's not a whole lot of middle ground. I don't even bother trying to talk anyone into it. If you need talking into it, you should go talk to a travel agent."

Dealing with the details
Once you've decided to exchange homes, it's time to work out the specifics. Home exchanges are generally simultaneous; that is, they occur at the same time.

Swappers often arrange to meet in passing. The Vail party, for example, will pick up the South Beach visitor at the airport, they'll have dinner and exchange keys. The next morning, the South Beach guest will drive the Vail party to the airport (in the also-swapped car, of course). Once in Florida, the Coloradans will head to the beach in the condo owner's car they retrieved from the airport lot.

So what's the downside?

"The big potential problem is that your exchange is with another human being and things can change in that person's life that are beyond anyone's control and may force them to cancel an exchange. You've got your tickets bought, you're all ready to do an exchange and somebody dies or gets sick. There you're kind of stuck," says Costabel.

"In that circumstance, we help to find an alternative. We have some internal bulletin boards for last-minute exchanges."

Second-home solution
While most swappers synchronize their exchanges, non-simultaneous exchanges can be arranged when everything but the time frames click.

Those non-simultaneous instances set Bernie Bloomfield to thinking. "We think home exchanges are a terrific idea, but the problem with them is you have to find someone who wants to use your home and someone who is willing to exchange the same week you are," he says.

So in 1997, Bloomfield created The Vacation Exchange, in which members may only exchange second or vacation homes, no primary residences allowed. (Most exchange services insist on the opposite; you only exchange your primary residence.) Bloomfield's company also allows indirect exchanges, so if a vacationer doesn't like where an exchange counterpart is located, he can receive an exchange credit and use it elsewhere.

Bloomfield screens his properties carefully and asks members to evaluate exchange accommodations to help him tend his flock. He says his members appreciate the comforts of luxury properties at a fraction of the cost.

About the only people who aren't excited about the home-exchange option are those in the travel industry. After all, they can't collect their commissions from the ether.

"A travel agent may know about a hotel, but they could not possibly know about a vacation property because there are thousands of them. The travel agent in this case is out of the loop."

If Bloomfield is correct, travel professionals may continue to be left out. He says once you try vacation exchange, you may never need a travel agent again.

Jay MacDonald is a contributing editor based in Mississippi.