You to my house and me: the ‘homeexchange’ or the barter that lowers a trip | Guide the traveler 2025

Miguel and Emma knew the exchange of houses a couple of years ago through friends. This way of traveling attracted them – which began to become popular in 2006 after the success of the film The Holiday-, more economical and with a collaborative philosophy, based on bartering: two parts agree to live one in the house of the other during a certain holiday period. They were reluctant to put some complete strangers in their home, located in a residential area of Almería, next to the sea. That is why they decided to sign up for the Homexchange platform, in search of security. “We are guided by the valuations that users make each other; I think it is a very useful tool,” says Miguel. There are several platforms and travelers of house exchange – Homelink, Guardian Home Exchange, Intervac, Kindred, in Australia, Aussie House Swap, to name a few.

Home Exchange is one of the leaders, with 200,000 users in the world, 30,000 of them in Spain. Its members complete a profile, open an account, which is verified, and pay 160 euros of annual subscription. They are already prepared to start registering exchanges. To the traditional or reciprocal – I go home and you come to mine, on the same dates – it was joined, in 2018, the one that occurs in exchange for points, called Guest Pointsthat they win to offer the house and then redeem to be able to stay in others without the need to coincide in the time of the exchange. New users receive, as a gift, an initial package of 1,050 Guest Pointswhich give to stay between five and seven nights, calculates Pilar Manrique, spokesman for Home Exchange in Spain. “It is a way of losing your fear, seeing how it works, how the hosts receive you and how everything develops,” he explains.

Miguel and Emma’s first exchange was reciprocal, with a family that lived in the center of Madrid. The next, already with points, took them to Bilbao, while an Alicante couple went home. Now they have been with a lot of work that prevents them from traveling for a few months, Miguel laments. That is why they have decided to register their second residence – a apartment – and offer it when it is empty, to accumulate Guest Points For his future getaways. This formula is growing within the platform, although, according to the data provided by the company, 63% of households that make it up remain first residences.

An owner proposes an exchange to another, which can accept or not; There is nothing mandatory. Being on a platform provides coverage if, after closing the deal, something twists. Homeexchange, for example, allows cancellation due to force majeure. In that case, the assistance team looks for alternatives similar to the family that has seen its canceled plan. “If it is not possible, we offer financial compensation to assess whether you want to continue your trip staying in a hotel,” says Manrique. If damage to a house occurs, which is one of the greatest fears of those who venture to this modality of accommodation, the platform has stipulated a kind of franchise: if the cost of repair is less than 500 euros, the guest must be assumed. “If it is very serious, our damage guarantee intervenes,” Manrique clears. “If the data serves, in 2024, the percentage of unforeseen exchanges was 99.7%,” tries to reassure the platform spokesman.

Miguel and Emma have never happened to them bad, quite the opposite. “They have been very good experiences,” he concrete. They have even transcended the pure physical exchange of two homes. It is common for hosts to prepare a detail for their guests, as some typical product of their land, and that they return the gesture leaving, in turn, a gift when they leave. It is also very normal for the owners of the destination house to exercise local guides in their territory, offering practical information – public transports, nearby supermarkets – and clues beyond those who would give any travel guide: ID to this restaurant, enjoy great views from this place, this activity is very cool to go with children, visit this museum, this natural space or this beach.

Raquel, who has been exchanging for houses for 10 years, made his first barters from Miami (USA), where he lived at the time. He broke the fire with accommodation in North Carolina, with fireplace and views of the Great Smoky mountains, although he acknowledges that he spent the trip back with the uncertainty of what he would find when he opened the door of his home. “Everything was impeccable,” he emphasizes. “People are careful and respectful,” he insists. When he had to receive, at first he wondered, “but has someone really been in my house?” A Canadian family with three children left, as the only trace of their passage, a little tomato in a kitchen tile. As a guest, she has stayed in an apartment on Fifth New York Avenue with a roof and uniform goalkeeper. And in a colonial style mansion in Cayo Bone, Florida.

“Depending on how the house you offer, and where you are, you will receive exchange proposals,” says this user. Since he lives in the Madrid town of Boadilla del Monte, she and her husband travel more through Europe. A couple of summers ago, in Nice, the owners of the house they chose explained that there was a train line to go to a well -known beach, a fantastic mussels beach and a neighborhood in which to get out of the tourist circuit. On another occasion, in La Rochelle, they were addressed by a man, a child of the Spanish civil war exiled in France, who invited them to a coffee. “This modality allows you to go to less known and massive areas; the experience is more authentic,” says Raquel. Even so, he thinks it is not for everyone. “The key question is: Do you care that someone touch your things or sleep in your bed? If the answer is no, go ahead!”

Without a good presentation there is no treatment

“If I receive a message that puts’ Hello, to your house from 28 to 31, available? According to your experience, the human connection is key for the agreement to move forward. The more information is offered, the easier the other party will be made to make the decision to accept the proposal. Are pets admit? Is housing suitable for children? Are there toys or a travel cradle? Does it offer air conditioning, do you have a piano, plants to water? “In the Wasaps and previous conversations are known a lot to families; There we can see if we are the profile we are looking for, and confidence is generated, ”says Miguel, another user who gives much importance to that personal approach.