Swap and Stay: A Guide to the Leading International Home-Swapping Companies
Swapoffi
13 Jun
Whether you're familiar with home swapping or just discovering the concept, it's a tried-and-true idea that has stood the test of time for decades! In fact, Home Link, the pioneer, kicked things off back in 1953—almost 80 years ago, sparking a trend that has reshaped the way we vacation.
Traditionally, home exchanges have been all about house swaps between families - often including the family car - for an annual vacation. Home swappers tend to be loyal and use home exchange annually for a holiday with no accommodation costs, in different locations.
Fast forward to 2008, when Airbnb emerged on the scene, turning the concept of staying in other people's homes into a new norm.
However, you could argue that Airbnb has been a little too successful. Several cities, such as Barcelona and New York, have introduced legislation to curtail short term private rental accommodation, in a bid to protect locals. That’s another blog post for the future! For now let's get back to leading home swapping companies.
Home Exchange Companies
Swapoffi: Revolutionises the way travellers explore destinations by making it possible to exchange homes without any monetary transactions. But what really sets Swapoffi apart from other home exchange sites is its verification process, which ensures that every home offers a dedicated workspace and reliable Wi-Fi. This makes Swapoffi an ideal choice for digital nomads and remote workers. They can travel and continue working productively, without worrying about the fact that the internet is bad in their hotel, the cafe is too noisy for a team meeting, etc. Moreover, home swapping through Swapoffi comes at zero cost for members, allowing verified members to exchange accommodations without any financial transactions. Swapoffi is convenient and affordable, which makes it the perfect community for remote workers on the move.
Home Link: Established in 1953, they claim to be ‘The original’, international home exchange and have built a brand with a reputation for honesty. Home Link has 8,000 homes in 70 countries, with a focus on a traditional, non-commercial home exchange experience - "you stay in my home, and I stay in yours". They also have a network of local representatives in 20 countries for support.
Home Exchange: is a leader among the home exchange companies. Set up in 1992 in the USA, the new Home Exchange was formed through a merger with a French company ‘GuesttoGuest’ in 2018. Now they claim 100,000 subscribers in 130 countries with a home exchange finalised every 2 minutes.
HomeExchange recorded 225,000 home exchanges in the whole of 2022"
Love Home Swap: is a home swapping company that started in London in 2011, and was bought by Wyndham Destinations, A NYSE publicly listed company, in 2017 for a sum rumoured to be £40m or $53m.
Love Home Swap’s 2020 annual report states that they have 18K homes in 100+ countries in 6 continents.
In March 2023, Love Home Swap was acquired by competitor Home Exchange.
People Like Us: A relative newcomer to the international home swap market, People Like Us was founded in 2018 by an Australian couple. People Like Us cannot trade on longevity or quantity of homes like Home Link and Home Exchange, so have chosen a positioning of ‘the most trusted home exchange community’. With 4,000 listings, PLU has focused on building a private members’ group on Facebook with 27.5K people.
In June 2023, People Like Us partnered with Rotary International to provide a home exchange service to Rotary's 1.4 million members.
Other Free Vacation Home Exchange Sites
- Pet Sitting and House Sitting
- Founded in 2010, Trusted Housesitters lets people “discover free & unique homestays around the world, in exchange for caring for adorable pets. With 24/7 free vet advice, pet owners enjoy peace of mind with verified pet sitters and pet lovers. 120K members prove that pet-sitting and house-sitting are a great combination! Their social media feed is fun too with lots of cute animals.
Pet sitting suits people who love to travel, who love animals (hopefully!) and who might not have their own homes to swap.
- Stay on People’s Couches
- Couch Surfing targets backpackers on a limited budget. It allows you to stay in someone’s home for free – sometimes on a couch, sometimes in a spare room, depending on the property – and experience a city or country through your hosts’ eyes by maybe learning a bit of their language, meeting their friends or visiting their local bar.
Since it transitioned from a non-profit to a for-profit company in 2011, Couchsurfing has been struggling. Some of its members were worried that Couchsurfing would lose its founding ideals focused on giving and sharing.
Right now, it is more of a social network rather than an accommodation provider.
Pros and Cons of Each Type of Free Accommodation
- Home Swapping Companies
- To join a home swap community, you usually need a home to swap! If you are not a home-owner, it’s prudent to get your landlord’s approval. The majority of home swappers are home owners though.
Once you get past that significant hurdle, home exchanges can open up the world to you, thanks to free accommodation. Several international home exchange sites, including Swapoffi, allow members to search and filter for pet friendly options (in our case, you can choose from several pet options, including ‘happy to care for a pet’, or can ‘bring your own pet’, or ‘no pets please’! It’s your home so whatever you say, goes!
- Pet Sitting and House Sitting
- You benefit from free accommodation, but that comes with responsibilities. In fact, some pet sits come with serious responsibilities, including giving medication to pets, walking pets several times a day - which keeps you close to home, or minding more than one pet, including large animals such as horses. This may be a dream for some people but it is important to know exactly what you are taking on, if you sign up for pet-sitting.
Pet sitting and house sitting are best for real animal lovers, who like staying in or near the home, rather than using it as a base to travel. - Couch Surfing
- Couch surfing is best for those on a limited budget and who really want to engage with local people wherever they travel. Keep in mind that you won’t get much privacy and your host will be in the home whilst you stay there (they are in their bedroom; you are on their couch!) Accommodation is free and you will benefit from seeing how locals live, and if you are lucky, being invited out and about with them.
How Is Swapoffi Different From Other Home Swapping Companies?
Swapoffi is different to other vacation home exchange companies as we target remote workers, hybrid workers and digital nomads who all need a dedicated workspace or home office wherever they stay.
As the world’s first home exchange community for digital nomads, no other home swapping company offers this.
Everyone is welcome to join Swapoffi. Most of our members are solos and couples who work and travel as a lifestyle.With Swapoffi, you get the whole house to yourself, free accommodation with no hidden costs, AND no responsibilities for plants, pets or people!
Sounds right for you? Join Swapoffi today
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