If you like to explore hidden places, it’s great fun to get a taste of other people’s lives by trying a home swap holiday, writes Eleanor Bradford.
Now that Christmas is over but we’re still in the depths of winter, many of us will be planning our holidays.
I have three already booked, and they haven’t cost me a penny. It’s time to admit that my name is Eleanor and I am a home swapper.
Reading the latest trend forecasts for 2023, I was intrigued to find that home swapping is set to become the next big thing, as the pinch on personal finances continues.
According to the home-swapping platform we use, interest is surging, with a 25% increase in people signing up for a free trial, and a 76% increase in swaps over the last year. Their figures suggest that the average saving on a one-week stay in similar accommodation in a comparable area is £2,000.
We have been swapping houses with complete strangers for nearly four years now.
We pay a modest yearly fee to be listed on a website with other families who want to swap houses – the cost is well worth it to deter criminals and time-wasters.
You can swap when you like and for as long as you like; we choose couples or families who want to exchange houses for a week or two during the school holidays.
Having a home somewhere desirable is pretty essential, but the good news is that vast swathes of the north-east and Highlands fall into this category. We’ve stayed in gorgeous homes worth two or three times the value of ours, in the UK and in Europe.
Home swappers have to respect the community culture
The first thing everyone asks us when we tell them about our home swaps is: “Aren’t you worried that someone is going to damage your home?” But mutual risk and, therefore, trust is at the heart of home swapping: we are careful with other people’s homes and they are careful with ours.
We can go away knowing that not only is the house being looked after, but so are our pigs, chickens and ducks, which prove an added attraction to urban folk who fancy a taste of The Good Life. And we can usually even take our dog.
Of course, home swappers have to respect the community culture. We spend the week before departure giving the house a thorough scrub. Sofas are steamed, ovens scrubbed and cupboards wiped. It’s a pain in the backside at the time, but I dread to think what our house would look like without its quarterly deep clean. You could realistically hire a cleaner to do this and still save on holiday costs.
I lock away the one or two valuables I own, but leave everything else in place. If they want to try on my frocks, they can.
Most home swappers leave their bikes, surfboards and sometimes even cars for you to use
The advantage is that, when you arrive at your gorgeous new temporary home, you will find a cupboard full of herbs and spices ready for cooking, a bookcase full of interesting reads and, at several properties we’ve stayed in, even a grand piano.
Most home swappers leave their bikes, surfboards and sometimes even cars for you to use. You just treat everything with care, replace cupboard essentials, and refuel vehicles. Then you clean up before you leave, and return to your own lovely, clean home – garden watered and animals fed.
Every home has its quirks – and its benefits
When you take photos for the website, treat it as if your house is for sale. It will become someone’s holiday home, and that requires a thorough tidy-up.
All those repair jobs you’ve been putting off need to be fixed before the swap takes place. It’s not a fun holiday for your swappers if they arrive to find that the shower isn’t working and the wifi has gone down.
Everyone’s house has some quirks; I nearly knocked myself out on someone’s patio door once, and our stiff locks have resulted in a couple of snapped keys. But all you really have to do is write a summary of your house, along with tips about the local area.
We have had swap requests from all over the world. Our experiences have been entirely positive so far, and we’ve kept in touch with some of the people who have stayed in our home, even though we’ve never met in person. We’ve even swapped the same home two years in a row.
During our holidays, we have the advantage of knowing someone who is more than happy to recommend the best nearby cafes, walks and attractions to visit.
If you are someone who prefers to stay in certain hotels then home swapping may not be for you, but if you like to explore hidden places – and have a well-behaved dog (and/or family) – then it’s great fun to get a taste of other people’s lives, and to help them discover the beauty of this part of Scotland in return.
Eleanor Bradford is a former BBC Scotland health correspondent and now works in communications