Consider a Home-Exchange Vacation

In response to an article called "Cheap Vacations for Families or Couples":
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/4752/cheap_vacations_for_families_or_couples.html

As you are planning a cheap vacation, have you considered a home-exchange instead of booking a hotel?

Home Exchange is a process of two families swapping their homes for awhile. Basically, you stay in their home while they stay in yours.

The exchanges are mostly done via an Internet search. Visit www.homeexchange.com and search for the country you'd like to visit. If you want to remain in the United States, select the state in which you'd like to vacation. Read about the different families and couples that are sharing their homes for an exchange. If you like one, send them an email. You will be asking each other detailed questions about the home and furnishing as well as the neighborhood and distances to attractions.

On the other hand, if you decide to post your own listing, you will receive inquiries from people from all over the world who would like to exchange in your home.

You need to send each other recent photos of yourselves, talk on the phone a few times, talk about your families and such, and also send pictures of your home. If you doubt someone, you can always request a referral from a previous person who home exchanged with that certain someone.

As a part of home-exchange, you both can agree on whether you'd like to be able to drive each other's cars. Too, you can even agree to take care of each other's pets and get acquainted to each other's friends. In addition, you don't even have to exchange your home! You can exchange say your yacht for an RV!

Now, here is the money-saving part. When you visit a home exchange website and sign-up, they ask you to pay a membership fee, which is usually around $60 a year. That $60 includes your listing, ability to contact others, and… UNLIMITED vacation exchanges to wherever you want to go, no other fees what-so-ever! That means you can exchange your home with someone in Chile for $60, and you can stay for as long as you and the exchange family decide!

A hotel room for one night may run you $150. Well, a week or month in the exchange program will only cost you a total of $60 (or whatever the membership fees are)!

Be smart about your valuables. If you're worried that someone may take them, hide them, lock them in a safe, or give them to a friend to guard while you're gone.

Before you leave to return home, leave your vacation home/apartment exactly the way you found it!

HomeExchange.com is a top-rated website dedicated to helping families and couples find a home in the places of their choice. I suggest you check them out if you are seriously interested in taking part in this cheap, smart alternative vacation program.

Carol Lahser from San Antonio, Texas stated "My husband and I recently returned from a 3 week exchange to Berlin, Germany. We exchanged our home in San Antonio, TX for a lovely 2000 square foot apartment centrally located in Berlin. The exchange went very smoothly and both families enjoyed the exchange very much. We kept in touch with the family in our home via E-Mail during the exchange. This is our 3rd exchange and we are very pleased. Looking forward to more great exchanges!"

Furthermore, Hanni from Seattle commented on HomeExchange.com as follows: "I have barely had my listing on for 5 days, and I have had already had offers from 4 people from very desirable locations. A castle in Southern Germany has been offered for 2 months, a 3 bedroom apartment home ACROSS THE STREET FROM CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan, nice home in the ritzy town of Wiesbaden, along with an Ocean View home at the Atlantic coast - Brittany, France. I just have one problem - which one do I choose!! Last year I had my home listed on another home exchange website and it took 6 months before anyone showed any interest. I looked at the member panel and saw that 44 people (in 5 days) have already viewed my home from all over the world. That speaks volumes for the amount of exposure your website has. It's world class! Plus, you offer such fast, personal service - I actually got you personally on the phone the two times I called. Thanks so much for offering such quality and savvy internet marketing tools."

Again, jump on the bandwagon and consider a home-exchange vacation! It can save you thousands of dollars!!