How to get an Exchange

This is the fun part, like visiting a travel agent and looking at all the brochures, reading the travel section in a newspaper, flipping through a travel magazine and surfing travel websites. Once you choose a home exchange network online you should be able to do advanced searches by location, number of bedrooms, activities and other factors. You will then have to reach out to see if the other party is interested too (not many, but some exchange networks will assist you in this process).

But what will they be interested in? This is vital, you need to both promote your home as well as proactively communicate to prospective traders. The following are helpful hints in getting an exchange.

• Pictures are worth a thousand words. Upload good quality pictures of your home. Think about what you would like to see when you visit a location. Living room lounge, dining area, kitchen, bathroom toilet and bedrooms are obviously great to start. Also feature any unique offerings you might have like a back yard / garden with outdoor furniture, a hot tub, a pool table or maybe the view from the deck. Investing in a quality camera, maybe with a wide angle lens, or having a few professional photographs taken will pay out dividends for you and gain interest in your property listing.
• Promote all the activities that are available around your area. Depending on where you are, an easy way might be to go to Trip Advisor and search for all the  activities and things to do in your city or region. Giving your potential guests information on all the benefits of visiting your location is a great way to entice them to trade with you. Some home exchange websites assist you by having a map of your location where you can add or highlight the local attractions on this map.
• Clearly communicate dates, type of accommodation, activities, location and how many people can visit. Keep your language simple and direct; remember that your exchange party may not have the same first language as you. Honesty is extremely important as the whole exchange world is based on trust. If you are interested, let them know. If you are not interested, let them know too. A timely and honest answer is what we believe you would like, do the same for others.
• Be flexible and realistic in both your expectations and  timing. The more you open your mind to possibilities of locations the more options you will have. Take advantage of the opportunity of using home exchange to explore somewhere new and different. Of course the more flexible your time, again the more likely you will quickly find an excellent trade opportunity. Last minute opportunities are frequently presenting themselves, some exchange communities feature them. If your time is flexible, you can benefit by swapping sooner rather than later. Of course if you are trading non-simultaneously, you have added flexibility of not having to swap at the same time, which is great. Be realistic in your trade expectations. Unless you are part of a Credits system (described earlier), you might not find a property that has the same space or amenities as your home, if it meets your needs then maybe you should still swap.
• Share something about yourself with your potential trading party. As mentioned earlier, home swapping is based on trust. When you share some information about yourself, others will be more comfortable with you and your home. Some home exchange sites now offer a Personal Profile section in their property listing. This gives you the opportunity to show a picture of yourself and share a little about your hobbies and or interests. People that add this information tend to get more trades. We would recommend only putting this personal information in the Members Only area, thus not on a public site, of course that is a personal preference you will make.

•  Confirm your trade agreement in writing. Including the dates of visits along with the names and contact details of both parties is a good start. If there are any extras (example: use of a car and or boat) or exclusions (example: basement of the house will be locked and out of bounds) they should be clearly stated in the agreement. Some house swap networks provide exchange agreements to their members to use. To help you, at the end of this guide, Appendix B, we have a sample agreement for your use. If you have any suggestions for further improvement on the agreement, we would like to hear from you.

We want you to be successful promoting your home and in finding the right location to visit. Using the above tips and hints will help you to successfully plan and agree an exchange perfect for you.