Sunday Times 16th October 2011

By Siobhan Maguire

Sheila Doyle has a rush of panic every time she turns the key in the door of somebody else's home. She worries if the key will fit, if the code to the gate will work, or if the home on the other side of the door is in a state of disrepair and chaos, a tumbledown flat that is no place for her husband and two children. If it is, Doyle could be in for a fortnight of hell.
Welcome to the world of home swapping, where owners hand over their houses - and privacy - to strangers.

Doyle began home swapping in 2009, when her husband Mel Ó Cinnéide, a university lecturer, took a three-month sabbatical and whisked his family away to Paris. The trip was a success and proved a relatively cheap way to explore a European city. Doyle has since become something of a champion of house swapping. She has taken her young family - Eimear, 6, and Iarla, 5 - for fortnights in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, as well as a further week in Paris. She packs a welcome basket complete with homemade meals, hands over the keys of her archi- tect-designed home in Tara Hill, near the coast in Co Wexford, leaves her car at the airport for the family who will be taking over her home for two weeks, and keeps her fingers crossed.

"We are not people who think about germs or get squeamish about using another person's toilet or our children playing with other children's toys - even if you did think like that, after a day or two in a foreign city, in somebody else's home, you put all those things to one side and really enjoy yourself," she says. "We leave a clean and tidy home and we always return to it as it was left. "But the risks are far outweighed by the advantages. We have stayed in some
of the most fascinating properties which gave us a nice insight into how other people live. The house in Paris had a Wii games console, something we had never played, and a sauna. After two days living there, we discovered a home cinema in the basement.

The Amsterdam property had a dumb waiter, which the kids loved. "The notion of home exchange is not new. The concept dates back to the 1950s, but grew in popularity in Ireland during the 1980s and early 1990s. HomeLink, a British business established in 1953, has an Irish office with more than 500 members. While numbers dipped in the aftermath of the boom, this year has started to see a return to growth, both in the number of Irish people seeking swaps abroad and in foreign demand for holiday homes here. So much so that new British companies are making a beeline for Irish business with a view to rounding up as many homes as possible.

Some home exchange programmes charge for featured properties. HomeLink costs €100 for a 12-month online listing with one photo and €120 for the same period with 20 photos.

Irish owners could temporarily trade in their homes for properties in Costa Rica, Thailand, below, and Provence, bottom

Marie Murphy of HomeLink is a serial “home swapper” who has just completed her 16th exchange. "It wasn't quite a straight swap this time as we agreed to pet-sit for a couple who live north of San Francisco in return for the use of their lovely home for three weeks," she says. "They had a lovely little dog "Duffy" that was 17 years old and didn't want to put him into kennels, so they were delighted when we agreed to look after him. We really enjoyed thatand this helps to highlight the other ways one can holiday besides doing a straight swap."
Murphy says a renewed interest in Irish properties has come from Americans, Canadians, Germans, Australians and New Zealanders.

"More and more of our Irish members have family members living in the final two as a result of emigration over the last few years, so we hope to help meet New Zealand and Australian demand with Irish members, and help our members spend time with their families."There are risks in trusting an online home exchange. But good communication by both sides is necessary before any commitments are undertaken. "The most important thing is to feel comfortable,". "Other than that, there are the basics of being sensible. Protect your valuables - you must inform your insurance company. Think about how you treat a home exchange and another person's home, and have a friend or relative check on your place while you're away.

“But do enjoy the experience,” she says. “Home swapping is an amazing way to travel like a local and bag huge savings on holiday accommodation. Do it once and it could quickly become the only way you’ll travel.”

"I would recommend house swapping in a heartbeat," says Doyle. "You save money, you get to travel to destinations you would otherwise not be able to afford, and you experience areal of other cultures, cities and the way other people live, instead of going to a hotel. For the children, it's a real sense of adventure. "In Paris, we had a dog named Sushi to look after. Back in Wexford, the family staying in our home looked after our chickens. So there is a real sense of discovering new ways of living, and even new ideas for your own home based on how someone has done up their kitchen or designed a room.

"One time we even met the couple we were swapping homes with in the airport and that was so reassuring. We had swapped cars too so we had transport the moment we landed, and we
explored cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam on bicycles because that's how the natives do it. "You really do see a city in a different way. And we have always returned home to the house in exactly the same state as we left it - with the only difference being the thank you note left behind."

www.Homelink.ie

Irish Independent
By Caroline Allen

Your house is your castle - would you really like to have strangers invading your private corners? Well Maeve Binchy certainly didn't mind. She had the inside track when she tackled the subject of house swaps in her book, Tara Road. She swapped her Dalkey home with a woman in Australia, and the ensuing adventure provided a rich vein for a book and a spin-off movie.
The sense of connection was immediate, and the Dublin author says she knew her exchange host's secrets "very well, because I was living among her things. I knew the bills she didn't pay; I knew the neighbours who didn't like her; I knew that her husband used a hair-restorer. And she knew all those things about me. We met two years later and it was, really, like meeting an old friend. It was at that point that I said, 'I'm going to write a book about this'. It was an incredibly intense relationship".

Many householders will grimace at the very thought of complete strangers going through their 'stuff', rooting through their bills and their knickers drawers, reading private correspondence and helping themselves to some of that prized, 10-year-old malt hidden at the back of the drinks cabinet. There's the whole issue of valuables and how much access to give these unsupervised visitors. What if they spill red wine all over the new cream carpet, break the prized china or upset the neighbours with all-night raves?

Growing numbers of Irish people are swapping homes and figures show a 20pc increase in enquiries about home swaps here suggests that Irish homeowners are willing to take the chance. While the majority head to Europe (52pc) or America, there is demand for house exchanges as far away as South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, the latter being popular with teachers -- some of whom exchange homes for six weeks at a time.

Expectations
Portlaoise mum-of-two Martina Carew admits her "greatest worry was not 'will they wreck our house?' but 'will our home live up to their expectations?'" With husband Tim and children Christopher (nine) and Alice (seven), they swapped their Midlands home for an apartment in Bergen, Norway, and a house in Bern, Switzerland, in 2007.
"The level of trust in home exchanges is enormous and quite gratifying," says Martina. "Lots of people asked us if we were worried about our house being wrecked, but it's a reciprocal arrangement and a case of 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'," she says.

The Carews started with a serious clean and declutter before taking photos of theirhome to upload onto the exchange website.
Martina says that while their house didn't require serious maintenance work, they were "hyper about leaving it clean and tidy. I wanted to have everything perfect for the other famil, but with young kids around that's difficult -- you'll have just washed a floor when they walk over it. You put pressure on yourself, but this really was the only downside", she reflects.
"Trying to get the house ready and leave Portlaoise for a flight with two young children was somewhat stressful. Then again, we did return to a pristine home."
The responsibilities of borrowing a house would flummox most people. Anyone with young kids who has stayed with relatives in pristine homes will know that feeling of dread when you turn around to discover that they've left sticky fingerprints all over the new sofa or scribbled indelible marker onto the walls.
Recalling her first trip away, Martina Carew admits that they all had to adjust to living in a stranger's house. "For that first night, you're a bundle of nerves, but by day two you begin to relax. We also worried about how the people were getting on in our home, but the feedback we got from our neighbour who let them in was very positive.

"We did feel a responsibility that the other people would like the locality, as some people asked why house swappers would want to come to Portlaoise. However, being just over an hour's drive from Dublin is nothing to most tourists and we had great interest. The majority want to travel and Portlaoise is so central that they can use it as a base for the whole country, as well as enjoying the local amenities."
Veteran swapper

Marie Murphy is a veteran of 16 house swaps in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Canada and the US. This summer, she is off to Cape Cod for three weeks, at a cost of just €950 for air fares for herself and her husband. The American couple who are swapping their holiday home will come to Ireland in a year or two for their leg of the exchange.
"Everything depends on a high level of trust," says Marie, who runs the Irish leg of the Homelink directory and website. "It's like a close family and people try to help each other out. The other people are handing over their house too. You're in contact with them before you travel, and once you do your first house swap you get over this fear."

The key to a successful exchange is to be considerate and upfront, explains Marie. "Agree that if you use all of the washing powder, you will replace it before leaving. If using each other's cars, leave a full tank of petrol. People can be a bit shy about saying things, but effective communication will avoid misunderstandings. It's a nice touch to leave some food and flowers, as well as a small welcoming present."
She recommends asking plenty of questions and getting photographs to help avoid difficulties, and also the importance of spelling out the standards expected.

So, once you've cleaned up your act, do you also have to tackle those long-fingered DIY jobs? Every house has its little idiosyncrasies: the dishwasher that won't work without an energetic flick of the hip; or the backdoor key that sticks and needs a little jerk. Can you really send the prospective house swappers a 'snag list' for your house, or does everything have to be absolutely perfect, like a property from the pages of House & Garden?

Marie takes a sensible line. "You don't have to re-do your house from top to bottom, but if there is a bit of painting to be done then get the brush out," she says. "You could have a very old house with a lot of old things in it, but having it clean is the main thing." Most homeowners compile a guide to the workings of the house, ensuring that a wonky door or hi-tech appliance won't pose a problem.
If the grandeur of some of the homes on offer makes your abode seem very humble indeed, fear not. "Your house doesn't have to be palatial. A lot of Americans have lovely homes, but they're not necessarily looking for the same type of house," Marie says. "They like a bit of character and the feeling that they are being looked after."

It is always better to inform your company that you will have people staying in your home while you are away. If you are concerned about priceless family heirlooms and valuable computer/photographic/sound equipment, you can lock these things into a spare room or the attic. "If you're going to do that, you should tell the other party or it could create a sense of mistrust," Marie counsels.

Swapping homes for the holidays
Holidaymakers are seeking out interesting, cost-effective ways to travel. Home exchanges are a great way to live like a native while saving money, writes
Margaret E Ward

Holidays just aren't what they used to be - they're better. Independent travellers who want to live like a native New Yorker, artistic Indonesian or safari-owning South African can now do it in a very friendly, cost-effective way. Home exchanges - where you stay in someone's house while they stay in yours - are one of the most civilised ways to feel at home abroad.

If you'd prefer to get up close and personal, rather than stay in a soul-less hotel, try the route taken by hundreds of thousands of people a year and swap your home, or even your second home.

The international home-exchange movement, founded by teachers after the second World War, allows like-minded people to seek out possible exchanges through dedicated websites or annually published catalogues.

For €70 to €100 a year, you can place a listing of your property on a home-swap website. The private listing includes a photo of the home and an auctioneer-type description of its features, local amenities and distance from the city centre and public transport.

Website members from all over the world have access to the listing. If they like the look of your place, they'll email or phone you to see if you are interested. A typical exchange lasts two to three weeks but can vary from two days to years.

As a member, you can also explore the site and daydream about where you'd like to go next: a romantic weekend in Paris, a trip to Costa Rica, snorkelling in Bali or a long trip exploring the South American rainforests.

Usually, you'd need a hefty salary or inheritance to realise these travel dreams but, as a member of a home-exchange organisation, all these trips are only an email or phone call away. All you need is the plane fare, living expenses, and matching dates and expectations.

Since joining www.homelink.ie 10 years ago, Dublin-based Martine Maguire Weltecke, her husband, children and parents have seen much of the world. Germany, Paris and Ottawa are their most recent sojourns. They tend to do most of their exchanges in Germany. "My husband is German and, since our work is internet based, it's a good way of living abroad." The pair can do their jobs and live their everyday life while spending time with the German side of the family.

Home swap is not for everyone. Weltecke says that many people are put off by the thought of a stranger in their home but, she says, it's really not like that. You quickly get a sense of what people are like through the ongoing correspondence. "If you get a good vibe through the emails and phone calls, and listen to your instincts, you'll be ok."

If you're one of the lucky few that have a holiday home, you have even more options. Marie Murray, who runs the Irish branch of Homelink, says there has been a slight increase in the number of people offering a holiday home rather than their main residence.

It's handy because the home is always ready so there's no last-minute cleaning. "It also means the holiday home is being put to some use while also indirectly paying for their holiday abroad," says Murray.

Members with second properties also have the added bonus of being able to do a non-simultaneous exchange rather than having to co-ordinate exact exchange dates.

What about accidents in the home or theft? Anything that could possibly go wrong is usually covered by insurance. Cars can also be part of the exchange.

Traditionally, hosts leave guests a ready-made dinner on the first night and wine. Some members also leave a full fridge and a houseful of toys for any children

Holiday deals
By Carissa Casey


The silver lining to the current recession is that the travel industry is more desperate than ever to get hold of your cash, so there's plenty of bargains aboutsays Carissa Casey.
Blame it on the two-month monsoon that passes as an Irish summer but we pale-skinned Paddies are loath to give up our annual holiday in the sun.
Perhaps we need it more than ever this year, with those gloomy economic clouds continuing to sweep the country.


At the home swap site HomeLink, director Marie Murphy has seen a 20pc increase in advertisements this year. She estimates that opting for a home exchange can knock about €1,000 off the cost of a two-week holiday.
"The savings are incredible but that's not the only thing. If you have a larger family, you're not stuck in two rooms. You can get a garden, maybe a pool. If it's a family home there'll be children's toys in the house. Many families also agree to swap cars so that saves on car rental."

According to Ms Murphy, any house will do, so long as it's clean and tidy.
"Americans generally have large homes but don't expect that on this side of the Atlantic. They want convenience. There's not a huge amount of wear and tear on your house because people are out all day."
On the site, the Irish homes on offer range from a one-bedroom apartment to large detached mansions.
It costs €100 to advertise. An extra €20 will allow you to post up to 20 pictures.

The trick to finding a swap is to make contact with people in the area you want to go on holiday to. "You have to do a bit of work. If you want to go to the US, email people there who say they want to holiday in Europe. But check the profile. If you've small children don't go for the home of an elderly couple who might not want kids in their house."

Once contact has been made, both sides have to be fairly proactive. Ms Murphy recommends lots of emails, more photographs and a few phone-calls. The exchange agreement, when it's ready to be signed, is available on-line.
What are the risks?

According to Ms Murphy, there have been very few dissatisfied customers over the years.
"The types of complaints we get are where people were not doing enough with cleaning and tidying. Or you get the flip side, people who you just can't do enough cleaning for.
"There are definitely some people who just shouldn't do it. But most of the time, people have great experiences."

Viva las recessionistas
We've spent over a decade gorging on the spoils of a healthy economy, and we're not about to let our lavish lifestyles go without a fight. Undeterred by talk of financial doom and gloom, some wily women have figured out ways of striking a balance between frugal and fabulous.
Interview by Tanya Sweeney.

Claire Dempster, a mum of three from Shankill, Co Dublin, uses a home exchange service to go on holiday

'I love the idea of home exchanges because of the freedom involved. Resort holidays don't appeal to me, and I like getting the chance to become a part of a community when I'm away. When you move into someone else's home, you get a great insight into the area. The other great advantage is that you can end up in a house full of another family's toys, which is ideal if you have young children.

"We started off low-key, and went to Holland three years ago on our first exchange. We spent three weeks in this tiny village which was the Irish equivalent of Fermoy. Most of the locals were surprised we were so off the beaten track that they treated us really well. Since then, we've been to Toronto, Madrid, London, France and Austria. Right now we're looking for homes to exchange with in the US, Sweden and Denmark. The Austrian trip was especially brilliant because the woman we swapped with was an Ayurvedic yoga instructor and had an amazing studio within the house, which suited me down to the ground. The house we went to in Toronto had a pool, which the kids adored.

"On a home exchange, people often leave you information on where to eat and visit, and often they're places off the beaten track. Likewise, we leave a folder full of 'insider' information about Dublin and Bray.

"So far there have been no glitches... Once we got a huge gas bill after we swapped with a family in Madrid, but that's about it. When you're not paying for accommodation, it's hard to get precious about things like that. Before you leave, you have to get organised and clean the house. It's also good etiquette to leave clean towels and sheets, and a small meal, some wine and flowers for the family coming to your house. It's all done in good spirit so that the visitors enjoy their stay even more.

"The home exchange route isn't ideal if you're very guarded about your privacy, but I trust people not to snoop in my home. When I'm away I'm on holiday and can't be bothered to nose around. The upshot is that it's incredible value for money; the Austrian trip cost us around €500 for two adults and three children. The added bonus is that the kids get a real insight into whichever city we're in. I'm sure they'll bore of it eventually but right now they love it."

GETTING STARTED

	There are almost 14,000 listings across 70 countries on Homelink (www.homelink.ie). Upload your own house by taking photos and writing an honest description of your home (including facilities, amenities, etc).
	Be sure to write a comprehensive guide to running your house/car so that you don't get any unexpected emergency phone calls on your own trip. Include information on a local chemist, emergency doctor and transportation.
	At the beginning and end of your trip, book a cleaner and an afternoon flight to avoid a clean-up before a 6am drive to the airport.

House Swap Holidays - what are they all about?
From Aisling O'Donoghue at Baby Travel Shop

House Swap holidays are perfect for family travel and can be quite reasonable. They do take a lot of preparation and trust but by all accounts they are well worth it!

The swap system is very simple. You sign up with an agency such as www.homelink.ie you get access to all their members and their members get access to you, here you promote your house and you can view the houses on offer to you. You have to be aware that a house swap is based on mutual trust.

It costs around €100 to have your home listed with photos, for this it is shown on the swap website, the website has the advantage in being updated frequently which can make it very addictive research!

You need to decide what you want, when you might go, how many bedrooms it needs to have, location - city or country and begin your search. Once you find your ideal home you strike up communication with the owner of the house you are interested in and off you go.

A good point to note when searching "Exchange with a family with children of a similar age to your own - your children will have a whole new set of toys, books and videos; extra perks include local babysitters and playmates for your children."

Most websites list thousands of properties in many countries, so the options are endless and it is time consuming.

Costs:
Your flights and spending money!

Top 10 destinations

	Italy
	Spain
	Australia
	France
	England
	The United States
	Canada
	Switzerland
	The Netherlands
	New Zealand

Tips to consider:

	Make sure both sides know what the swap consists of be honest in describing your home. Include a auctioneer type description about rooms, garden and neighbourhood type, as well as how far it is to town or attractions such as a beach, river, amusement park, museums, etc.
	Be flexible in working out a schedule.
	Clean your home thoroughly before leaving home; clean the swap-home thoroughly, before leaving it.
	Lock away valuables.
	Post a list of emergency numbers (Fire, police, ambulance, neighbour, friend, relative and let those people know they're on the list)
	Post a list of maintenance issues: (bin collection day, plant watering schedule, how to run the washer/dryer/dish washer etc.)
	Put your post on hold for you at the post office.
	Leave a nice "welcome" supply of basics in the kitchen.
	If you're doing a car swap, clean it inside and out, leave a full tank of petrol and leave the swap car the same way.

In association with babytravelshop.ie