Home Exchange Review

Saturday, January 23rd

2021 Vacation Rental Site Reviews

Home Exchange

• Number of Properties: More than 400,000, in 187 countries
• BBB Rating: A-, not accredited

If you're open to considering accommodations that are completely different from a traditional vacation rental, Home Exchange could give you a novel way to see the country or the world. It's important to state upfront that this service involves trading a stay in your home for time in someone else's - hence the name "Home Exchange". Most people will either love or hate that idea, and if you fall into the latter camp we recommend that you consider the other vacation rental services in our review. On the other hand, if you're excited by the thought of having your lodging cost you virtually nothing and doing some reciprocal home-sharing, read on!

Over 400,000 Members

This platform represents the merger of two well-known home swap services, Home Exchange (started in the early '90s) and GuestToGuest. As a combined exchange company, it has exploded in popularity - going from 65,000 members at the time of our last review to over 400,000 just a few years later!

Enter Your Home's Info

Here's how it works. The first step is to create a listing on the Home Exchange site. It won't cost you anything, and it lets you gauge interest in your home/destination while browsing members' homes for the destinations and dates you're considering. Be sure to put your home's availability in the calendar, so that prospective visitors will know when they could stay.

Finding Available Homes

Next, the fun part: find available homes for where and when you'd like to travel, and start messaging the owners. Once you find a match that works, you'll need to become a paid member to finalize the exchange. A one-year membership costs $150 for unlimited exchanges. Home Exchange offers a guarantee, too: if you don't find an exchange during your first year of membership, they'll give you a second year for free.

Earn Reward Points With Every Stay

Since our last evaluation, Home Exchange has included a feature known as GuestPoints. This system makes it possible to share your home and stay in the destinations you want without it having to be a 1:1 swap. You'll want to read the FAQ to understand the nitty-gritty of how this feature works, but generally speaking it means that you can earn points when you have someone stay in your home, and then you can use those points to stay wherever you like. Your home's GuestPoint value is automatically determined by the Home Exchange site, and it factors in your location, your home's amenities, and so on.

Great If You Already Live In A Tourist Destination

Home Exchange is a great resource - for certain kinds of travelers. If you're single or a couple without children, and you have a reasonably nice home in a popular tourist destination (think NYC, LA, Miami, Vail or Park City during ski season), you will probably be inundated with offers to exchange. On the other hand, if you live in a rural area with few attractions, or you have a studio apartment in a not-so-great part of the city, you could find yourself with lots of places you'd like to stay but no one who wants to book your home. Additionally, many hosts prefer not to open their homes to families with children or pets.

Niche Market

In short, Home Exchange could be the right route for you, if you've got some flexibility and you want accommodations that are essentially at no cost. Lots of people don't even know that something like this exists, and since the service is trustworthy we give it high marks and a positive recommendation. However, because most travelers are looking to book specific dates and times for their vacation rentals, without the added obligation of having people they don't know stay at their house, Home Exchange stays in the middle of our rankings.