Is Home Exchange Safe?
Swapoffi
18 Apr
Home exchange accommodation when travelling has been around since the 1950s. People swap homes with each other instead of paying for accommodation, so it's all free. Home exchanges are usually organised between members of home exchange platforms, rather than done on an individual or one-to-one basis. The only money home exchangers pay is the membership fee that each home exchange platform charges. Annual membership ranges from €100 - €200. So even if you swap for just one night, you're already in credit for the rest of your vacation or travels for one year!
Sounds great, right? So why doesn't everybody home swap instead of paying to stay in Airbnbs, hotels, hostels, campsites, private rental or any other form of accommodation?
People new to the idea of home exchanges usually ask, ‘is home exchange safe?’ Let's look at the factors influencing home exchange risks:
Factors Influencing Home Exchange Safety
If you want to reduce home exchange risks, read on:
- Verification Process
- Profile photo
- Communications before you swap.
- Pics of your Home
- Reviews
When you join a home swap community, like Swapoffi for remote workers and digital nomads (as all homes come with a workspace and wi-fi); you have peace of mind that all members are verified. But it’s important to understand the difference between real verification and light screening.
All swap communities vary in terms of the verification process depth each goes to. This can be a laborious and manual process for home exchanges so you can see why some cut corners in this area, or completely outsource their verifications.
Swapoffi, for example, has a four step verification process that requires a passport or national photographic ID to verify the person, and a mortgage statement, or similar, to verify the home. Then, they manually match the name of the person with the swap property to ensure a match. Next, Swapoffi verify images of the home to check that it is fit to serve as a workspace or home office (or two!) plus a bill from the internet provider for that home address to verify Wi-Fi.
Other home swap communities only conduct what they term ‘a light screening’. Light screening usually refers to verifying that the e-mail address exists and possibly the location of the home, not to mention that light screening is usually outsourced to a third party.
When looking at home swap communities, the first thing you should look at is their verification process.
When you see a profile photograph of a member of a home swap community, check that their personal identity has been verified by the home exchange. See above. The profile pic is important because members want to see who might be staying in their home. Homes in popular destinations often receive multiple swap requests, so this is another reason that people should use a profile photograph and tell the community something about themselves.
Community is at the heart of home swapping. Most home swaps are reciprocal - although some can be one way - so people communicate with each other to ask questions about anything you might want to know. These can be questions about the home or the home office, or the neighbourhood, or access to get into the home, or distance from the airport or train station - anything! These can also be video calls. So, before any homeowner accepts a home swap request, you already have a sense of the person who might be staying in your home through your own communications with that person. This can be the best way to minimise home exchange risks. Remember you do not have to accept any swap request.
Each swappers’ full profile in a home exchange includes pictures and descriptions of their home. By viewing these, you can get a sense of how people live, and if their home appeals to you.
Note that there is an understanding in home swap communities that you are staying in real homes, not paid-for accommodation. This is one of the many charms of home swapping. You get to live like a local, not like a tourist.
We all know the power of reviews, whether it's choosing restaurants, deciding on what movies to watch, or selecting paid accommodation. Reviews are very important in home exchanges too, for travel safety and to minimise home exchange risks.
Each time a home swap takes place, both swappers are asked to provide private and public reviews. Private reviews are shared only with each other to suggest improvements from the ‘guests’ perspective. Public reviews are provided to help other members of the community choose homes and destinations for requesting a swap.
If swappers get negative reviews in a home swap, it’s safe to predict they will not be accepted for future swaps and may also be asked to leave the home swap community.
Reviews are a wonderful way of checking whether or not your home exchange is safe!
Tips for Ensuring a Safe Home Exchange
- Use reputable home exchange platforms like Swapoffi
- Robust and In-house Verification Process
- Thoroughly research potential exchange partners
- Establish clear communication and expectations
- Lock away your valuables
- Ask your Neighbours to check
- Damage Deposits
- Insurance
- Cross over dates
Read the About Us section of a website thoroughly. Safe home exchanges will tell you about the ownership of the company, the background of the founders and / or management, year of establishment, and more.
We have covered this in detail above but it's so important that it is worth reiterating here.
Read the bio of the person you would like to swap with. Ensure you are happy that their identity has been fully verified so you know they are a real person!
Reach out to the person you might like to swap with. Ask for an informal chat. Ask all the questions you want for your peace of mind.
It is normal in home swapping to secure your valuable and sentimental items in a locked closet, or even lock an entire room. Everyone understands. If you lock a room that then becomes inaccessible to swappers, make sure your home profile is clear about this. For example, if you have 3 bedrooms but you lock one for your own storage, your home profile should say you have 2 bedrooms available to swappers, and not 3.
If you have any concerns, you could ask a family member or neighbour to pop along to your home to introduce themselves to your swapper guest.
Some home exchanges offer damage deposits, usually €0 - €500 to cover any accidental damage or theft. This may be held, or have a pre-authorisation in place by the home swap community to resolve, in the unlikely event that both swappers cannot come to an amicable arrangement.
Included in some annual home exchange memberships is insurance to cover anything that could go wrong during a home swap, including guest liability insurance. Expect your home swap community membership to increase in price, depending on the extensiveness of any cover. Note this is different to your usual home insurance protection. It can be put in place only for the swap duration.
If you are still concerned about the safety of your home exchange, you could have a crossover day or night with your fellow swappers. This is unusual but can happen. That way, you get to meet them in person in your home before you set off later that day or the following day to travel to stay in their home.
Conclusion: Is Home Exchange Safe?
Whilst this blog post touches on all the negative factors to ensure home exchange safety, rest assured that many of safe home exchanges take place each year. The market leader, Home Exchange, claims a home swap takes place somewhere in the world every 2 minutes on their platform.
Due to the largely reciprocal nature of home exchanges i.e. you are staying in my home whilst I am staying in your home, trust and respect are high, another factor to travel safely.
The review-led nature of a home exchange encourages good behaviour as just one negative review or comment will drastically reduce your chance of being accepted for another swap.
In today's connected world where travelling is the norm, and where many people can work remotely, accommodation is often the most expensive part of any trip. The greatest benefit of home exchanges is free accommodation, closely followed by the power of the community. Like-minded people stay in each other's homes and share local tips to maximise the travel experience and to travel safely.
So, to answer the big question: “Is home exchange safe?” It is if you choose your home exchange provider carefully, secure any valuables you might be concerned about, engage with prospective swappers before accepting a swap.
And, if you’re looking for a home swap that is fully verified and one that is fit for work - then give Swapoffi a try! You will save money on coworking spaces as well as rent, as all our homes come with at least one workspace plus Wi-Fi, and it's all verified.
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