7.    Why should I choose Place to Place Home Exchange for

       my.Australian holidays?

16.  I do not think my home is special or in a popular location.

       Will I be able to exchange my home?

It costs $50 for a year and $75 for two years to be a member on Place to Place. If you wish to do International Home Exchange as well, where you will be listed on our parter site too, it costs $60 for a year, and $95 for two years.  You need to sign up as a member to list your property, and select the option you prefer. You can browse the listings for free to see if there are any suitable homes for you to exchange with before you sign up.

Home exchange is where two different households exchange residences for an agreed period of time.

You can exchange your home by registering as a member on the site.  When you identify a home you wish to exchange with, you contact that person via email to show your interest in exchanging homes and for which dates.  The other party will reply to your query and state their interest in the exchange.  You may need to negotiate a time fame to suit both parties.  

If you are unsure, you can visit the listings and determine if there are any members you wish to facilitate an exchange with before you register. The Free Ebook outlines more detail on the process of home exchange.

Hospitality exchange is where one party stays with another party for an agreed period of time.  Often the hospitality exchange will be reversed in the future.  This type of exchange gives you the opportunity to meet new people, and can often be valuable if you are both interested in exchanging but the dates do not suit to exchange simultaneously.  

Some long term friendships have developed from this type of exchange.  Notably, you will need to ensure you have enough room for the other party to stay in your home if you are going to host a hospitality exchange.

There are a number of ways you can exchange your home.  The main types of exchanges I have identified are:

1) Straight exchange - you come to my home and I go to your home at the same time.  You may arrange for family, friends or neighbours to provide the initial greeting and keys.  This can be seen as similar to staying in a bed and breakfast arrangement, without paying for it.  You may not find chocolates on the pillow, but then again......

2) Hospitality exchange - I come to your house while you are living there.  You come to my house while I am still at home. A good way to make new friends.

3) Combined exchange - I arrive at your home, you are still at home for a day or two, you show me around, we get to know each other a bit, I give you my keys, you go to my home, I come home while you are still there, give you back your keys, we catch up and get to know each other a little bit more..... or a variation on this.  It is all up to you.

Realistically there are a number of ways you can organise planning your exchange and getting to know each other; via email, over the phone or by writing letters. 

In some cases you may only need to communicate a small number of times, whereas in other instances, there will be more communications to confirm and ensure everything is organised properly.  It is all up to you to ensure you have a smooth, fantastic and enjoyable home exchange.

• Free Holiday Accommodation
• Opportunities for short breaks or long term exchanges
• Customer support via email and telephone
• A home away from home
• A place to relax and enjoy
• Great possibilities for retirees to travel
• Ease of travel and holiday fun with your children
• Travelling alone can be more enjoyable
• Pet minding opportunities
• Travel with your pets
• Garden minding
• Save on eating out
• A variety of accommodation and locations available
• Opportunities to find the beauty and local attractions of new areas
• You will have more money available for entertainment and doing the things you love
• Hire a cleaner for a week or two while on holiday
• A chance to meet new people and make new friends

We are dedicated to providing the service that our clients expect to the best of our ability. Members or visitors can contact us directly by phone or email to make enquiries about our service and what they can expect.

We offer you the opportunity to register your home for one or two years so that you may experience a valuable travel experience where you can enjoy some luxury without excessive costs on accommodation and sometimes car hire.

We also offer you information on festivals around Australia so that you can make the most of your time away and plan your trips accordingly.

Place to Place Home Exchange is not a rental service; it is a home exchange service. The only cost to members is the membership fee in order to advertise your home for exchange. You will need to negotiate with your exchange family the cost of any bills, such as electricity, gas, water and telephone calls. You will often agree to keep the use to a reasonable amount and just pay your own household bills on return.

If you feel you have used an excessive amount of a particular service, you may negotiate to pay the other party some money to cover the cost. If in the unlikely event that something is broken within your home, the person who caused the damage will be responsible for paying, repairing or replacing the item.

Home Insurance

Your home insurance policy should cover any problems that may occur in the home, as per your insurance policy. When you exchange your home you are inviting someone into your home so they are generally viewed as a guest in your home. Your normal home insurance should cover an accident or theft from an external party. If you are unsure, contact your insurance agency to confirm the details of your policy and what you are covered for. Generally, insurance agencies would rather someone is occupying a home for security purposes than have a house left vacant while you are away on holidays.

Travel Insurance

As with any trip, you must decide if you wish to take out travel insurance. Travel Insurance allows you to protect relevant aspects of your trip, such as the cost of airline flights in the event of cancellation, lost luggage, rental car protection hire, and medical protection.

Vehicle Insurance

If you are going to exchange vehicles your car insurance policy will generally cover anyone driving the vehicle. You should check with your insurance agency before you agree to exchange vehicles and add any additional drivers to the policy if necessary for the period of the stay. Check any age requirements of the drivers as per your insurance policy.

We are not aware of any reports of theft from home exchange members. Although there is never any guarantee in any situation, you can always minimise risks of any problems by securing your valuable items to avoid accidental breakage.  The important way to view the situation is that your exchange party will have the same concerns as you, and they will also want to ensure their house remains safe.  Bearing this in mind, you will both be careful and mindful of each other’s property. 

You will also make sure you are happy with the arrangements by appropriately communicating with your exchanger before an agreement is formalised.  This will give you the opportunity to understand the other people’s lifestyle, occupations and values to ensure you are happy to exchange.  We would expect that you will find that your home will be in the same condition as you left it.  People who are attracted to home exchange usually have similar values regarding respect, understanding and the enjoyment of sharing their own homes with others for a mutual holiday exchange. 

A Home Exchange Agreement can be used to confirm the arrangements made between home exchangers which is signed by both parties.

We have created a Home Exchange Agreement in the Free Ebook for you to use if you wish. You may also wish to obtain references from your potential home exchangers as these can be reassuring.

This is entirely up to both parties. Only exchange your vehicle if you feel comfortable to do this. Read the section regarding whether you need to take out additional insurance for vehicle exchanges.

With the savings on accommodation, hiring a vehicle may also be a viable option. Alternatively, you may find both parties drive to their home exchange if the distance is not too far.

Yes. Weekend exchanges are a great way to have a short break. Check for members who have indicated they would like to have a weekend exchange.

Pet lovers will often be happy to look after your animals for you while they are staying at the location. Sometimes it is a joy for people who do not have their own pets but enjoy the company of other animals. Consider looking on the member profiles to see who would be willing to mind pets. You will need to clearly discuss such an arrangement with your exchange family and ensure both parties are happy. People sometimes use an exchange home for a base and will not want the responsibility of looking after pets, even if they would normally be happy to do so.

Sometimes people will allow you to bring your own pets to their home when you are exchanging providing you follow any restrictions they impose. You will need to have clear guidelines if this is going to occur.

This will depend on the arrangements you make with your exchange family. Often a relative, close friend or neighbour will assist by meeting the exchange party. Sometimes you may meet your exchangers at the airport or at one of your homes before departure. Alternatively, you may choose to leave a key in a prearranged location.

You will be surprised by who will want to stay in your location or home. You should be completely honest about your home, highlighting the advantages of your home and the area that you live. Sometimes people will want to stay near relatives, or near a particular festival, which may be near where you live. Other times, people are just happy to get away and may find your home suits them perfectly for what they want to do.

Once you have confirmed all arrangements and the dates are booked, flights details or travelling itineraries are exchanged, and an exchange agreement has been signed. Keep in touch up until the end so that everything runs smoothly.