exchangeaway is a website that unites a worldwide network of members who want to offer their house or apartment for a house swap holiday and visit other members’ properties in return.
Holiday house swapping with exchangeaway is a cost-effective way to travel. There are no accommodation expenses involved, and staying in an exchangeaway member’s property allows you to experience a destination through the eyes of a local. You’ll benefit from their insider knowledge about their neighbourhood, and also enjoy all the comforts of staying in someone’s home. Many exchangeaway members also develop lasting friendships and arrange return swaps or even end up holidaying together.
Partial membership of exchangeaway is free, but to contact other members and arrange house swaps you will need to become a full member, at a cost of £16.95 + VAT per quarter. Full membership continues until the recurring quarterly membership fee is cancelled. exchangeaway members are not allowed to charge for the use of their property, but you will be responsible for your travel costs and incidental expenses such as travel insurance, car hire, holiday spending money etc.
There are two different membership levels: partial membership and full membership.
Visitors to exchangeaway (those who have not registered any of their details) can search the site and view thumbnail listings and full property details. Click here to register as a member.
Partial members who have registered their details but not paid for full membership of exchangeaway can browse the website, search for properties, save their searches and register their own house for free. Partial members can receive emails from exchangeaway members, but will not be able to read or respond to these emails, or send emails to other members. In other words, you will not be able to arrange a house swap as a partial member.
Full members can search properties, save their searches and register their own house. They can also read and reply to messages from other exchangeaway members, and initiate their own email contact with exchangeaway members. This enables full members to arrange holiday house swaps. Full membership costs £16.95 + VAT per quarter. Full membership continues until the recurring quarterly membership fee is cancelled. Click here to become a full member now.
You don’t need to be logged in to search exchangeaway, but you do need to log in to view your saved searches, upload or make changes to your property listing, and read and respond to your exchangeaway emails (subject to full membership). Also, when you're logged in, only those members wanting to visit your location will be returned in search results. When logged off, all houses will be displayed without any filtering for whether members' preferred destinations match up to your location.
Don’t be put off by the thought that your home is too small, remote or average to list on exchangeaway. Our members have very varied requirements, and while some prefer large and luxurious properties, others are actively seeking small city centre crash pads or lived-in family homes. There could be an exchangeaway member looking for a house exactly like yours – all we ask is that you describe your property accurately to allow members to make an informed decision about whether it meets their needs.
The more information you provide about your property, the better. Your property description is the first opportunity to sell your house to other exchangeaway members, so be specific. As well as using the check boxes to highlight your property’s features, please fill in the text fields to describe the property’s style and additional features, and to tell members a little about yourself. exchangeaway house swaps are based on trust, so include as much detail and personality as you can.
Yes. Properties which have photos and a video alongside their listing are more likely to attract interest, so please use the photo and video upload to give other members an insider view of your property and introduce them to yourself and your family. You can upload a maximum of 10 photos and one video. Please ensure that you hold the rights to any photographs and videos uploaded. See tips on shooting videos.
No. When you set your search criteria, we will do our best to only alert you to properties that match your requirements, but not all of the houses will necessarily appeal to you. You are under no obligation to accept any house swap – we simply ask that if a member contacts you about an exchange property that isn’t suitable, you are courteous when you decline their offer.
No. We do not allow exchangeaway members to charge other members to stay in their property. The benefit is in arranging a reciprocal swap, which allows both parties to enjoy a cost-effective holiday.
If your availability changes, simply update your availability calendar. You may also decide to archive your property until you have specific dates in mind, which will prevent it from appearing on other members’ searches. If you have already begun the process of arranging an exchange and your availability changes, please contact the other member direct.
Your transport arrangements are your own responsibility. exchangeaway will not make recommendations or arrange any transport on your behalf. If you are arranging an exchange, the other member may be able to give guidance on (for example) the closest airports/stations, but you should not assume that they will do so.
If you can’t find a mutually convenient time to exchange, you may need to search again and find an alternative member to swap with. Alternatively, you may agree to make other arrangements for the duration of the other member’s visit, for example by going on holiday or staying with relatives (a non-simultaneous exchange).
If you want to temporarily remove your property from appearing in searches, you can move it to the archive. You may decide to do this if you are not currently interested in arranging a house swap. You can reactivate your listing at any time. To archive your property, check the box on your My exchangeaway page.
Login and click on Import contacts within your My account dropdown list.
Only full members can send emails to other exchangeaway members. Click here to become a full member <link>. If you are a full member, just click on the link to contact another member on their property listing page.
If you are a partial member, we will notify you when you receive a message from another exchangeaway member, but until you upgrade to full membership, you will not be able to read or respond to their email. You can upgrade to full membership here <link>.
When you contact another member through exchangeaway, the email you send will automatically contain a link to your own property listing, which the recipient will be able to view.
When you wish to contact an exchangeaway member, click on the 'Contact this member' link and a standard message will be created for you to send. This email simply states you are interested in their property and will also contain a link to your property listing, including your availability calendar. You can edit the text that appears in the email to include specific comments or questions about the exchange property or information about your house, but keep it simple at this stage.
This could be because you have contacted a partial member who has not yet upgraded to full membership, and so cannot respond to your message. If you have emailed a partial member, we will notify them and encourage them to upgrade their membership so they can read and respond. If you are not receiving many messages from potential house swappers, try editing your listing to make your property more appealing, for example by providing more detail, changing your photos and video, or offering more flexibility with your availability. Remember, too, that the more members you contact about potential exchanges, the more replies you’re likely to get.
Link to example property
Use the search tools to explore the vast number of exchange properties on this site. You can search in as much or as little detail as you like. You can save up to four searches at any one time, and can edit your criteria as often as you like.
We will only show you properties that match your requirements and belong to exchangeaway members who are interested in your destination. If you aren’t seeing many properties, try changing your search criteria to include broader terms, or widen your availability dates and set your preferred destinations to ‘open to offers.’
Once you have found a property that you are interested in, you can add it to Your Favourites. We will then save the details so that you can revisit the property whenever you log in.
When you log into exchangeaway and go to My Profile, you will see a list of all the properties that you have marked as favourites.
Go to My account, where you will be able to see details of exchangeaway members who have viewed your exchange house since your last visit, and those who have added your house as one of their favourites.
Generally, the less specific you are in your requirements, the more properties will be available to view. If you are open to a range of different properties, features and areas, you will have more choice. If, however, you have firm requirements and don’t wish to be notified about properties that don’t exactly match your criteria, please be more specific when you set your search terms.
Members you have already contacted will have a flag against their property details.
Holiday house exchanges are built on trust, so take the time to build a relationship with the other member in advance. We suggest that you get to know each other by both email and phone to help you establish the other person's integrity. We are all very good at reading other people, using our own judgement. You will find that home exchangers are very friendly and honest; this will become apparent as you email and talk. We have also worked very hard to provide all the tools possible to allow members to show how genuine and friendly they are, making it very easy to spot high quality house swaps. Remember, you will also be visiting the other member’s home, so both of you will want to make the arrangement a success.
No – your personal details are confidential and will not be published on the site. You can disclose your personal details as and when you feel you have built up a trusting relationship with the other party.
Although you should have built up a trusting relationship, be sensible before leaving your home. Remove or lock away any items of particular worth or sentimental value, or anything that you don’t want your home exchanger to see or use (such as passports, car keys etc). It is also useful to write down instructions for any equipment that may prove difficult to operate, such as washing machine or Jacuzzi – this is not only considerate to your exchanger, but also limits the potential for accidental damage.
If theft or damage occurs, first discuss the incident with your exchange partner, who may be unaware of the loss and willing to make amends. If you are unable to resolve the situation, we suggest that you report the loss or damage immediately to your home insurer and, if necessary, to the police. Please note, we strongly recommend that you have comprehensive home contents and buildings insurance before exchanging your property, including accidental damage.
exchangeaway accepts no liability for any theft, loss or damage resulting from a holiday house swap arranged through this site. We strongly recommend that you have full home insurance before arranging any swap, and also talk to your insurance company to ensure that you are adequately covered for the duration of the exchange.
In the first instance, please speak to your exchange partner about your disappointment, remembering to be courteous at all times, and give them the opportunity to explain and rectify the situation. You can also rate and comment on their property to alert other members to potential problems. If you feel that a property description is misleading, you can also report the property to exchangeaway using the link on the property listing page.