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Digsville
Global Swops
Green Theme International
Home Base Holidays
Home Exchange.com
Home For Exchange
Home For Swap
Homelink
Home Welcome
International Vacation Home Exchange(IVHE)
Intervac
Jewett Street
Sabbatical Homes
-
Indicates CHECtravel Member Club
Digsville Ratings
Comment: Digsville is an incredibly good
home exchange club. Reasonably priced membership fees, outstanding
selection, well designed website make it my first choice for
house swapping sites. I’ve had three wonderful trades through
them. I recommend home trading and Digsville to all my friends
and to anyone reading this. I like your site, too, but the name’s
a little long!
Fred, US
Rating: 
Comment:
(1)Reverse search isn't very good - i.e you can't reverse search
for a particular area. So, for example, if I want to find someone
in California who wants to come to the UK (or better still
the UK Lake District) the reverse search will give me everyone
in the US who wants to come to the UK generally. Although
you can narrow the search with keywords (e.g. ski or beach) this never seems
to give very good results - there are a lot of areas in the US where you
can ski or where there is a beach!
(2)Re the rating system - whilst an excellent idea in principal I have never
been able to access a feedback rating (even when I know there should be one).
(3)The response rate and enquiry rate is much lower than with other clubs I am
registered with.
Katt, UK
Rating: No Houses
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Global Swops
Ratings
Comment: Excellent Homeswap site - that deals
with private /council and housing association and holiday exchanges. Allows
up to 5 photographs - and unlimited text. Friendly and
helpful customer service. Open to new suggestions. Search
options for finding swappers wanting to move to your area. You
won't have to waiste your time with forums here. Brilliant
site - highly recommended!!!
Chantei, UK
Rating:
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Green Theme International
Ratings
Comment: The
most user-friendly home exchange site - and I have tried them
all. We have done nine exchanges from Northern Ireland to Malta
and I'm currently writing a book on our home exchange experiences.
Heather
Eldridge, Australia
Rating:
Comment: A great site, offering
excellent customer support. Will definitely join again, and recommend
the club to others.
Alison, England
Rating:
Comment: We have made many exchanges and
rentals through this website.
In particular we like the ease of browsing, the photo layout
and the fact that there is a short description of the people,
their careers and interests. It helps us feel comfortable that
we are corresponding with like-minded folks.
Ann Buffum, United States
Rating:
Comment: We performed 3 home swops with this
Club, all three were 100% success. Everything is well explained.
If something is not clear, there's immediate assistance.
Louise COLETTE, France
Rating:
Comments: This website is very user-friendly. You
can browse extensively before joining, which enables you decide
in advance if the exchanges on offer are likely to be suitable
for your needs. There is a joining fee of 25 GBP pa, so
only serious exchangers will join. The site offers helpful
advice on how to make the HE experience successful, and produces
a quarterly newsletter. The site is multilingual. There
is clearly a human being behind the site, making sure that all
is going smoothly. All 3 of the exchanges I have done
were highly satisfactory and I thoroughly recommend the organisation.
Caroline Lurie, Australia
Rating:
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Home Base Holidays Ratings
Comment:
Competent cooperative Club management with excellent base
of mainly European exchangers.
D Ditto
Rating:
Comment: Great site and we have had several exchanges
around the world and all have been great.
L Phillips, New Zealand
Rating:
Comment: Excellent site with user-friendly access and the ability
to review and change your details. Can submit many photos, which help to indicate
the quality of the offered accomodation and the surrounding area. Any problems
are dealt with immediately and fairly. There's also a Newsletter which makes
very interesting reading and disseminates members' experiences.
J Lazelle, France
Rating:
Comment: I belong to 3 "home Exchange"
groups and have found HBH to be the best! All the information on
how to get started, how to set up an agreement, how to enjoy your
holiday with with the least amount of stress was there to read.
I didn't have to go to 30 different places to find what I needed.
Plus, they have an extensive list of exhanges all over the world!
P.
Henderson, USA
Rating:
Comment: My husband and I researched different
home exchange companies online last year after a friend told us
that we could travel cheaper by exchanging our home. We had always
wanted to spend a summer abroad with our 1 1/2 year old. We looked
at different sites and chose this site for a number of reasons-we
were able to check out some homes on there before joining so we
had an idea of the kind of people that registered with them, many
of our questions were answered on the site as far as the logistics
of home swapping, and the price to join seemed very reasonable.
After we got on we sent out about 12 inquiries to different families
about their availability for that summer. Almost everyone responded,
and those who did were so nice-it was really exciting. We ended
up setting up two exchanges- one in Houten, Holland for 2 weeks
and one in Hamburg Germany for about a week. The people were great,
the homes were amazing and our home was well cared for by our guests.
This site gives lots of online advice/support/online newsletters
to it's members and shares great stories. I even got the idea to
start a new business while doing the Hamburg exchange! (www.babybernstein.com)
We love it and hope to do an exchange every year!
L Hedge, USA
Rating:
Comment: I love this site! I have been a home exchanger for
quite a few years and this is my favourite site because of the wonderful choice
and the well managed site. It's easy to navigate too. Also it has a useful newsletter
with helpful contributions from members.
D. Barry, Australia
Rating:
Comment: I have liked Home Base Holidays a lot. There are many
listings in the area I want to travel: the UK. I like the way the site is organized
and the information about exchanges that are included. It is easy to find your
way around the web site. And especially I have enjoyed the administrative support
from Lois Sealey. She has been terrific. She is prompt in answering questions
and giving help. She seems like my new "best friend."
Nancy Robb, USA
Rating:
Comment: We have had 3 extremely successful exchanges, have
a 4th in May and our 5th in September. We have also provisionally agreed another
in the Autumn of 2008. Have always found Lois Sealey at Home Base Holidays extremely
professional and very helpful.
People are always interested in our home exchanges
and we have no hesitation in recommending Home Base Holidays.
James Halley, United
Kingdom
Rating:
Comment: We have been members of Homebase Holidays for 9 years
and have exchanged successfully many times through Homebase Holidays.
Lois is especially helpful and the website is one of the clearest and easiest
to use.
Mark Mullins, United Kingdom
Rating:
Comment: I have been a member for about 10 years and have found
it easy to use, reliable and very supportive.
Roger Gilbraith, UK
Rating:
Comment: This site was value for money. We arranged a very successful
exchange between Sydney Australia and London UK over Christmas. We were able
to enjoy having family and friends for a very English Christmas lunch in a huge
three storey semi close to central London.
The site is easy to view and is well
set out.
Vince Dore, Australia
Rating:
Comment: I have used Homebase Holidays for over seven years
now and found it a great club to use to arrange an exchange. As a family we usually
exchange 2-3 times a year and we have found it a great way to see the world.
I also noticed when comparing this site with some other popular exchange organisations
what great value for money Home base Holidays offer to put up your listing. Highly
recommended.
Joanne Roberts, United Kingdom
Rating:
Comment: I have just renewed my membership for a further
2 years. This was by the far the easiest website to use and add my details
to.
I am able to post up to 8 photos on there which is very generous.
We had a great exchange experience a couple of years back. Looking forward
to more now we have settled in France and have a house to exchange again.
Kathy Gower. France
Rating:
Comment: Have had several very succesful exchanges
with Homebase.
A. Murray, England
Rating:
Comment: We enjoyed a wonderful holiday in
England by using HomeBaseHolidays website. We found someone to
swap with us within the first month. They were experienced swappers
and helped us with all the details by e-mail in the months prior
to exchanging their home with ours. Next year it's Italy and
after that... who knows? Home exchange is the only way to go.
Shirley Lester, Canada
Rating:
Comment: I would highly recommend Home Base
Holidays because of the fast number of available exchanges. I
am new to this game but am delighted with the two wonderful
exchanges I have had. I exchanged in Australia for 6
weeks and then for two weeks in Colorado.
I came from both exchanges feeling that the people whom I exchanged
with were indeed friends for life.
The bask you get from Home Base Holidays is second to none. It
is a very professional company.
Celia Gaffney, Ireland
Rating:
Comment: We have arranged 3 exchanges thro'
this club & are actively looking for nos.4 & 5, at the
time of writing. Very clear pics & descriptions & easy
to use.
Martin Irving, England
Rating:
Comment: We have enjoyed three successful home swaps to Australia
- Perth, Sydney and Queensland.
We found this website very clear, easy to understand, well laid out, and have
had no problems whatsoever with the company.
Can only recommend that people do their homework before committing to an exchange.
Write, phone, send photos and personal details of themselves, their town, their
county etc. Transport, entertainment.
Mrs. D. Brider, England
Rating:
Comment: We have had four wonderful holidays so far with another
planned for Christmas. The homes have all been of a good standard and we have
enjoyed meeting our fellow swappers. The site is easy to use and I have been
very impressed by the helpful attention we have received from Lois Sealey who
manages the site.I would have no hesitation in recommending the site to friends
and have done so for a number of people.
Jan Naish-Wallis, New Zealand
Rating:
Comment: Excellent value for money and very user-friendly
website.
M. Martin, UK
Rating:
Comment: Have been a member of Home Base Holidays for nearly
6 years and completed over a dozen exchanges during that time.The website undergoes
regular upgrades and improvements, and now allows up to 8 photos. Communication
links to potential exchange partners are quite good, as is the amount of information
available on posted properties. The emphasis isn't on luxury sites (although
some of the homes in which I have stayed have been quite luxurious), but rather
on the personal connections one can make during the exchange process. The members
newsletter is also quite informative, as are the links on the website. Very
highly rated!!
Carolyn Cavicchio, USA
Rating:
Comment: We have made 3 exchanges through Home Based Holidays,
all of which worked out excellently. We have never failed to find a good exchange.
The people on this site all seem extremely nice.
Nathaniel Beck, USA
Rating:
Comment: After 8 swaps we can highly recommend
the Homebase-Hols swap site and also the quality of the
folk we swapped with. Both homes in each swap were left
immaculate and all parties were happy with the arrangements
made. Even the cars included in the exchanges were often
a wonderful surprise!! We highly recommend Homebase-hols
and are happy to answer any queries to potential swappers.
Maureen Poulton, Australia
Rating:
Comment: This swap club is very cool as it keeps You- the member
-up to date with all the latest informations and advice about
the world of home exchangers.
Miriam Cassar, Malta, Europe
Rating:
Comment: Lois Sealey and
her team at Homebase Holidays knows a thing or two when it
comes to home exchanges; certainly the format of the site
and the monthly requests for people to participate in various
enterprises makes me feel like one of her team rather than
just a subscriber who does homes exchanges about twice a year. The
monthly newsletter is full of information for the first home
exchanger to the more experienced and I like the way Lois
is always contactable and I always get a reply which make
it much more personal than dealing with some huge organisation
who just wants to take your money!
Glynis
McCauley, Scotland
Rating:
Comment:
None
John
Kennet, UK
Rating:
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Home Exchange.com Ratings
Comment:
Good:
*Lots of members 15,000ish- I think the largest club (but it would be nice
if they had a counter system like homeforexchange where you can see the number
of listings by country,region,etc). *Very strong in North America/Australia
*We have had plenty of really lovely offers from Australia/Canada/US but not
so many in Europe (where we spend most of our holidays).
*Plenty of space for extra photos.
*Good value when we joined at US$60
*Good reverse search (ie for people looking to come to your city/state/region)
* My partner really likes the freeform sections where people say a bit about
themselves and I agree that it is easier to spot a family that you might make
a good exchnage with but this only really applies if you are looking for an
exchange where peoples first language is English. There are other languages
available and listing is posted in your own language with the option for the
reader to translate.
Not so sure:
*I'm not yet confident about how up to date the listings are- I have a suspicion
which could be unfounded that some out of date listings in good locations
are left "live" when the subscription has expired.
*The date search isn't very good- lots of people don't have any dates or because
their dates are "old" they no longer show so could be difficult
looking for school holiday swaps
*They urgently need to sort out the regional listings- at the moment US/Can/Aus
are by province but other countries are just listed all combined. This can
make it difficult in a country with lots of listings like say France to arrange
to go to a particular region. I emailed the club about this and they replied
promptly and said that they are already looking at it.
*Although there is an "available now" button (which I don't think
turns off automatically when you have a swap) there is no "hot" section
for last minute exchanges which most people would find very helpful
K.Culley,
UK
Rating:
Comment: The best selection, easiest navigation
- I have tried to find a better or at least equal club but can't!
Louise Kistner, Sweden
Rating:
Comment: Not as convenient as Intervac. If you have plenty
of time to spend finding description of Exchange party, good
!
Gilles Pelletier, Canada
Rating:
Comment: We're new members as of January 2008,
having done one previous exchange through Home for Exchange. We
find the larger membership and higher registration fee (perhaps
indicative of a more serious exchanger?) generating greater response
from potential exchangers. The daily update from areas where a "watch" is
requested is a nice amenity too. Yet, we're amazed at the number
of members that do not respond at all, even with a no thank you.
Is there a way to know when their site was last updated to have
a clearer sense of active interest? The addition of a map to show
property location would also be most helpful. We like that feature
on Home For Exchange. A huge bonus of Home Exchange is the latitude
of pictures and captions. Nice versatility in arranging/rearanging
pics as well.
Know Your Trade ... thanks for your vigilence and overviews of exchange options,
and flagging those that are suspect.
Joan Cybela, USA
Rating:
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Home For Exchange Ratings
Comment: This site is relatively new but has phenomenal
growth. The user interface for providing information is quite good and permits
you to post many more photos about your home and area than other sites. Many
of the members of Home Base Holidays also seem to be members on this site,
as well.
P Richards, USA
Rating:
Comment: For the moment I have to say that all my request are
unsuccessfull.
V. Marson, France
Rating:
Comment: We have joined Homeforexchange.com last August(2006)and
have had many enquiries and are going on our first exchange to Toronto this
autumn.
We find the website a doodle to use and the support team very helpful,an added
bonus is that it is a very pleasing to the eyes website too,with many pictures
per listing and enough space to write a decent overview of each property.
Sebastien
Aubry, France
Rating:
Comment: We've found this club to be excellent. Good
response rate, easy to use, reasonably priced and with a responsive
owner. We love the voucher scheme (and have used it to
introduce a number of friends to the home exchange concept). We
think the prioritising of listings to those with photos / active
members (i.e. those logging on regularly) is really good. This
club (imho) is better than some of the big name and more expensive
clubs.
Kathlyn Gadd, UK and France
Rating:
Comment: This site gets easier to use each
time I use it. It has been the most successful for us in arranging
exchanges over the last 3 years.
David Kent, Canada Rating:
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Home For Swap Ratings
Comment: We just came back from a swap of 3
weeks in Bali, it was a wonderful experience ! the customer service
of the website have been very helpful guiding us organizing the
swap.
L. Sellona, Spain
Rating:
Comment: We are satisfied with this website, we
didn't pay any fees, because it was still free. We swapped twice
since we registered on the website, once in PAris, and once in
Canada.
It has great options like video of the homes, and google map.
Greg, USA
Rating:
Comment: Nice website, very clear and very well organized.
The option of seeing videos of the homes is Wonderful!
Liliz
Rating:
Comment: We specially enjoyed to watch videos
from the properties , it s a great option to visit the homes.
The customer service speaks spanish and english so we were able to talk in spanish
( our first language).
Nicole, USA
Comment: Currently living in Paris, I used this website twice to exchange my
apt with foreign members, once in the US and one in Spain. I was very happy with
it and I'll continue using it in the future.
Stanislas Rohmer, France
Rating:
Comment: The best web site for exchange!
Dauchez, France
Rating:
Comment: facile et fiable, à recommander d'urgence
Saison Family, France
Rating:
Comment: Very easy and useful
de La Mettrie, France
Rating:
Comment: Great club!!!
LANIOL, France
Rating:
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Homelink Ratings
Comment: Guarantee fund 2500 Euro available for german subscribers
Over 100 search criteria available at extented search function Phone help
Heit, Germany
Rating:
Comment: I have been a Homelink member since 1990. It has a
huge data base and I have never had trouble making a variety of exchanges.
L Kahn, USA
Rating:
Comment: We had two exchanges with excellent results.
I am still in touch with our Paris contact for possible future
exchanges. Everyone that I dealt with was great, and the apartments
were both amazing.
K. Coady, USA
Rating:
Comment: None
S. Cooke, New Zealand
Rating:
Comment: This organisation is very helpful and even has an insurance
for all its members in Belgium.
D.Van Kesteren, Belgium
Rating:
Comment: The HomeLink Club with most members in
Norway! Helpful organiser answering all possible questions.
Arne
Haukeland, Norway
Rating:
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Home Welcome Ratings
Comment: Great site, best i have seen. And
totally free.
Dave Ridel, USA
Rating:
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International Vacation Home Exchange
(IVHE) Ratings
Comment: Within the past year I joined
IVHE and had my first trade experience. I was apprehensive
of using a home trade service in the past and I wasn't sure if
this type of service would work out for me. Not long ago,
I had my first trade in my home in Honolulu. I was incredibly
impressed with the details that went into the trade agreement
contract between myself and the other party. I enjoyed working
with Hannah, she was easy to communicate with and helped with
any questions that I had.
The trade went smoothly and now I have
credits to use for a future vacation! Thank you for providing
this service! Sandy Simonian, USA
Rating:
Comment: I really liked the idea of collecting points towards
an exchange as it gave excellent flexibilty for when and where
to go. My first trade happened very quickly and everything went
very well. I loved the fact that there was a friendly feeling about
all the communications and felt comfortable in trading with a professional,
well run organisation. I am now looking forward to this years exchanges.
Pat More, UK
Rating:
Comment: Through the help of IVHE I had people from Qatar in my
house on Koh Samui,they had a fantastic time and this year I am
able to stay in a house in Bali and still have some credits left,great!
Gerry, Thailand
Rating:
Comment: The Staff at IVHE are always very prompt in answering
any questions and are most helpful in arranging an exchange to
suit your needs. We had a wonderful exchange in Europe, with everything
going so smoothly from the directions on finding the apartment
to the security code to enter the apartment. The apartment was
everything that had been shown on the IVHE site and more. As we
prefer a non simultaneouse exchange the IVHE Exchange suits us
perfectly. It makes exchangeing so easy when you do not have to
E-Mail individual"s to request a one on one exchange.
Keep up the good work.
Jill Hart, Australia
Rating:
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Intervac Ratings
Comment: I have been a member of Intervac since 1990. Due to its huge data
base, I have never had trouble making acceptable exchanges.
L. Kahn, USA
Rating:
Comment: *Very strong in Europe especially France, Sweden,
Spain. Good also for transatlantic exchanges. If you are from
Australia or NZ I expect you will be deluged with offers are
Intervac are not so strong in that part of the world.
*Every update puts you in the updated/new column for 7 days so
if you are actively seeking an exchange you will get a lots of
hits and hopefully offers
* A good "last minute" database- you can put your listing
on if you want to travel in the next few weeks and it will automatically
be removed after 3 days unless you refresh it.
*The hits pages shows how many hits you have had in the past
14 days and from which countries so you can see if you are targeting
effectively.
*Listings show the date last updated so you can see how current
they are.
*Listings automatically expire after one year unless you renew
so no old listings
*I believe that in some countriea (the US for instance)have a
money back guarantee if you don't make a swap
*The listings are brief which can be frustrating but encourages
people without much English to post and makes them a lot easier
to flick through.
*Only one photo so you better make it a good one (many members
post a link to a webpage with more photos).
*Many members are very experienced swappers so look for a wide
range of destinations.
*We are newish members but have already had a lot of very good
offers (and agreed 2 off season exchanges). We are in the far
South West England but have received a lot of interest from across
Europe.
*Price is in the mid range but at least you know that if people
are paying they are serious about exchanging.
K.Culley, UK
Rating:
Comment: Very good experiences (7) with Intervac.
Convenient Internet Site.Responses rate is ± 15 %. Not bad compare
to other Groups.
Gilles
Pelletier, Canada
Rating:
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Jewett Street Ratings
Comments: I have to say, when
we joined Jewett Street I was a little skeptical - site was beautifully
presented but obviously relatively new (and still offering free
listing) so we didn't hold out hope of getting many enquiries. How
wrong could we have been. The response rate to our listing
there has been great and we have one definite exchange already
being planned (New York) and another two possibilities for next
year - both fab locations and houses.
The support from the site has been great too.My only wish list would be for a
'favourites' list and a contact history.
Kathie Gadd, UK and France
Rating:
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Sabbatical Ratings
Comment: Sabbaticalhomes.com is a unique service that links academics and those
that simply wish a sabbatical together. The site offers names and email addresses
for those interested in everything from housesitting to full fledge renting.
The owner is helpful and available for help and the members are direct, responsible
and ready!
I have used it a number of times to rent my home and look forward to it.
C. Perlman,USA
Rating:
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