CouchSurfing literally translated from English means “travel on sofas”. It is difficult to say why this particular phrase began to be used in relation to tourism. One of the versions is the opportunity, without getting up from the couch, to find a roof over your head in the exact place where you would like to travel. Over time, the concept of CouchSurfing has acquired a broader meaning, and today it is translated as “the hospitality community”. This is a relatively young concept of tourism (it is about 50 years old), which allows you to spend your holidays or vacations in other countries, at no extra cost, economically.
The idea to invite each other to visit at one time came to the minds of students. Young people thirsty for travel, acquaintance with their peers and their way of life in other countries, but always having no free funds, began to look for opportunities. At first, only students were the main audience for this type of travel. But over time, ordinary tourists joined them and appreciated all the advantages of such trips. The basis of Couch Surfing has always been hospitality and the desire to get to know the inhabitants of another country from the inside, as it were. Therefore, at first, advertisements, which were placed simply in newspapers, were in the nature of an invitation to visit, guaranteeing full or partial boarding and accompanying their guests on walks around the city. This travel option was called Home Stay. But time and experience bring their own rules and adjust the possibilities. Therefore, more experienced tourists decide not to bother the host party with unnecessary trouble, they are quite satisfied with only the provided accommodation for the duration of the trip.
Thus, a new direction in Couch Surfing appeared - travel based on the exchange of accommodation. It is noteworthy that the acquaintance of a wide audience with this type of travel began with the distribution of the Hollywood comedy "Exchange Vacation". Having seen clearly how you can relax thousands of kilometers away from your home simply by exchanging houses, many have decided for themselves in their choice. For more information, read our article Couchsurfing - a great way to find a free overnight stay abroad!
With the advent of the Internet, the times when offers for an exchange of housing for the period of vacations were placed in classifieds catalogs are a thing of the past. And the emergence in the 90s of Internet resources, inviting users to post offers and look for options for exchange, became a springboard for the rapid spread of this type of tourism among a wide range of travelers. The desire to live a few days as a "local" in a foreign country, to get acquainted with their culture and life from the inside, independently, prevailed over the standard package tours, offering excursion programs in a crowd.
HomeExchange.com is one of the convenient and popular websites, the priority principles of which have always been and will always be openness, politeness and respect. The service offers a two-way exchange of housing, therefore, before looking for a suitable option for yourself, you first need (after registration) to make an announcement about your offer.
How to write a compelling ad
Post some good photos and a video about your house or apartment (photos are the "face" of the ad).
The description of the accommodation should include the benefits of your offer. Tell us about all the sights and points of interest in your area. Give a special place in the description to urban and suburban transport (specify how it is easier and faster to get to the railway station or airport, to the central districts of the city, to important tourist sites).
When specifying the dates you have chosen for the trip, directions of exchange, give flexible information (+/- 2-3 days and options where you want to go). Try to provide extremely honest information, do not be misled by an inaccurate or unsaid description of your home (anyone does not want to buy a "pig in a poke" and subsequently be disappointed)
Having prepared and posting your proposal on the site, you can safely start looking for options that meet your wishes. And here it is important to know that the user of the Internet resource receives a free (guest) entrance to view offers after authorization. This makes it possible to choose offers, does not allow contact with the authors of the ads. The option of communication and correspondence with other project participants becomes available only after payment. A Gold account purchased for $ 500 allows you to use the resource for a whole year.
Home Exchange offers its users more than just a one-time exchange of two parties. If there is additional accommodation, users can offer accommodation of guests in their apartment or house on specific dates convenient for applicants, without coordinating this time with the period of their vacation. Sometimes you can find an option when one side offers free accommodation, while the other accepts tourists in his family, on the terms of the "hospitality society".
Taking into account the suggestions of users, Home Exchange makes it possible to find like-minded people on the site. "Topical" exchange is already being practiced frequently. Botanists, historians, divers, travelers with animals, bike tourists - everyone can find allies and provide useful information regarding interests.
The very decision to hospitably accommodate strangers in your home already speaks of the good nature and benevolence of the owners. Therefore, it is important to understand that the main criterion for this type of travel will be trust. Each applicant for an exchange option must, for their part, take care of the comfort and safety of their future guests.
Home Exchange. Golden exchange rules
Inform neighbors and relatives in advance. It's good if they know that on certain dates, during your absence, your friends will be living in the house. Prepare a list of required contact numbers that may be useful to the exchange partner (fire department, police, emergency assistance, ordering services, etc.).
Get organized before leaving someone else's home. Leave the apartment in the state in which you yourself saw it when you opened the door for the first time.
In a situation where your plans change, do not postpone notifications to your partner. Lead the dialogue on time so as not to disrupt the plans of other applicants. The Home Exchange offers a unique opportunity to discover another country from the inside: feel like a local, go to the market, shop, and drive to historic sites. And the indisputable advantage of this travel option will be savings.
A preliminary dialogue with the host party will help to save not only on housing costs, but also to find out the possibilities of budget entertainment and shopping, visiting exhibitions and museums on certain "economical" days, even about reducing spending on public transport. According to site statistics, HomeExchange members save more than $ 100 million annually. The annual membership fee (about $ 125) allows you to travel without restrictions and without additional fees, and also opens access to almost 50,000 offers from various countries. The third party in the person of HomeExchange acts as a guarantor of the seriousness and adequacy of the offers posted on its resource.
The exchange tourism option provides an opportunity to get not only significant savings in the travel budget, but also complete freedom of action. You can make new friends, or you don't even have to meet with the landlords, having previously discussed with them where to get the key.The only fear in such an exchange may be the fear of letting strangers into your home. Preliminary correspondence will help to overcome doubts. The more detailed and frank it is, the faster this barrier will be removed. It will be useful to remove valuables from the house during your absence.
HomeExchange. Resource facts
Today's HomeExchange owner, Ed Kushins, turned the idea of combining print and mail ads into a single "exchange" service in 1992. The advent of the internet allowed HomeExchange to be transformed into a social internet network and brought together people interested in sharing or sharing something. The novelty of the idea for travelers was that for the first time they were offered a travel option in which they could feel like a resident of another country.
Today, HomeExchange is available in 154 countries and 16 language platforms. Already 300,000 users have been able to spend their vacations on the exchange, 46% of tourists stay in guest houses for more than two weeks, half of them travel with children, and four out of five project participants have changed houses more than once. Since 2012, an additional service, HomeExchangeGold.com, has opened, allowing the exchange of luxury apartments.
Traveling through HomeExchange is a look at a foreign country through the eyes of a local resident, an opportunity to live in various apartments, flats and houses. Maybe next time it will be a castle?
