Eco-friendly Travel: Home Exchange

June 16, 2010 - PRLog -- Responsible travel doesn't mean you have to compromise on the enjoyment of a holiday or the quality of the accommodation used. There are many environmentally-friendly travel options which allow you to vacation in comfort:  Home exchange is one such option.

Home exchange, where you stay in someone else’s home and they use yours, is becoming more and more popular as a means to get away for a holiday or weekend.  Where both parties are exchanging their main homes, the “swap” occurs at the same time and does not involve any additional accommodation, facilities or staffing.  
Some people use a second home for exchange, swapping weeks when it would otherwise be sitting vacant.  Exchanges which involve second homes don’t necessarily have to be done at the same time, and are easier to negotiate around each party’s desired dates.  Home swaps for these holiday home owners provides an ideal way to benefit from an under-utilised resource.  

Dianne Stewart, Managing Director of the online home exchange company Homes-Club International, says, “Home exchange means that already- existing property resources are used more effectively.  This is of particular benefit in scenic locations, to protect them from over-development.”

She continues, “Skilled trades people have “bartered” their services for years, cutting out administration, middlemen, and significant costs.  Professionals are realising that they too can return to this basic barter system by trading their most valuable asset – their home.”
Staying in somebody else’s home means people can immerse themselves in the local customs and culture, offering a truer picture of the local lifestyle and interactions with the environment than would be gained from staying in a hotel.

Home exchanges don’t have to involve flights.  Many people exchange homes and apartments within their own country for weeks or weekend breaks away… to the benefit of all without increasing greenhouse gases.
Homes-Club (http://www.homes-club.com) has a wide variety of homes available – from mansions in India to eco-friendly yurts in Lanzarote!

For further information please contact Sophie Carter or Sandra Wright:
info@homes-club.com
01908 217672

Notes for editors
Homes-Club International is a growing home exchange network which helps current and past parents, pupils, staff and governors of independent schools to exchange their main or second home with like-minded people around the world.  
Exchanging homes significantly reduces the cost of a holiday and offers a unique experience at the same time.  Homes-Club, recently featured in Country Life and The Sunday Times, is developing rapidly, with exchange homes in more than 25 countries around the world.

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Homes-Club International is a home exchange network which helps current and past parents, pupils, staff and governors of independent schools to exchange their main or second home with like-minded people around the world.