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What is the best way to use the
KYT database?
KYT has created a database of all the
home exchange web sites. (If you know of any that we have missed,
please let us know.) Our database can be browsed by categories
or searched according to certain criteria. Choose the method that
best suits your needs.
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Why use KYT instead of individual home exchange sites?
Know Your Trade knows about all home exchange sites. We have no
agenda other than to simplify the process of choosing a home exchange
and to create a community for all home exchangers to share, regardless
of country or particular home exchange membership.
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Why do you call yourself a community of exchanges?
Know Your Trade is interested in building community. Sharing ideas
in the forum, rating
clubs, and using each other’s bookmarks
are ways to achieve that goal.
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Does KYT have an affiliation with any home exchange club?
Know Your Trade has no affiliation. We have joined as many clubs
as we could so that we can rate them in every area possible, including
member areas that are not always visible to visitors.
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How do we determine ratings?
The criteria are listed on the ratings
tab. Please take a look and feel free to offer any suggestions.
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How can I add my experience as a home exchanger?
KYT welcomes your input. Just go to the ratings
page and input your ratings and comments about your present home
exchange. Or share your thoughts and ideas in our forum.
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What are social bookmarks?
Social bookmarks are a fairly new concept. Bookmarks are stored
online and are available for use by all members. Although online
bookmark, or favorites storage has been available for years, recently
bookmark sites have added more sophisticated tools, such as tags
and annotations. We have decided to use Diigo
on our site because we like the ease of use.
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Why does KYT have a Forum?
A Forum is a great
place to interact. We have found that shared experiences are often
more valuable than those found in a book or static web site. Forum
topics, as all other parts of KYT, are open for your input.
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General Questions About Home Exchange
What is home exchange?
Swapping homes is an idea that has been around since the 1950s.
It has evolved from a catalogue based system to an almost exclusively
web based one, although a few sites do still use catalogues. Home
exchanges usually involve a mutual exchange of homes for an agreed
period of time. Many swaps are done simultaneously, but some are
non-simultaneous. Most of the time the arrangements are made by
the traders, though some of the sites assist in arranging a trade.
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Why should I join a home exchange?
The three most compelling reasons to become a home exchanger are
money, space, and an opportunity to "live like a local".
Money:
At least 20 percent of a travel budget is spent on lodging. This
goes much higher, of course, in prime locations. Restaurant bills
are decreased or even eliminated, if desired. Some exchangers
even throw in an automobile.
Space:
Who wouldn't want more space in an accommodation, especially if
staying in one location for more than a day or tow. Added bonus:
Often families exchanging with other families leave toys and bikes
for the exchange family to use.
Living like a local:
Often in a home exchange one becomes immersed in the neighborhood.
There are many stories of children making friends with neighborhood
children. The last time we were in Paris , we got to know the
local shop owners. It was a great opportunity to experience a
slice of Parisian life, outside of the usual tourist attractions.
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Is it safe to let a stranger stay in my home?
All home exchange clubs state that it is extremely rare to have
any problems during a home exchange. On digsville.com,
I found this statistic, "An international, vacation home
exchange survey, polling over 1,000 home exchangers from the United
States and forty other countries, returned a finding of not one
case of theft. Even incidents such as a party consuming bottles
of wine and not replacing the same, were few and far between."
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Home Exchange Club Site Features
Do most home exchanges require membership?
All sites require membership. All do not charge a fee, however.
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What is the difference between an open and closed system?
Does one have an advantage over the other?
Open systems are those that allow visitors to view and contact
listings. Closed systems only allow contact by members of the
home exchange site, although viewing listings and photos is usually
permitted.
Both have advantages. In an open system, listers can be contacted
by visitors as well as members of the site, thus opening a wider
avenue for exchanges. A closed system guarantees that members
can only be contacted by other members, thus offering some measure
of security.
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Can I browse sites even if I am not a member?
Most sites allow visitors to view listings and photos. Only a
very few sites require membership for browsing.
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Is there a way to tell if listings are up to date?
It varies from site to site. Some sites have a latest listings
area on the home page, others have the date of membership, expiration
date, or last update noted on each member’s listing. Some
sites have no indication.
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Do most sites allow photos?
Every site allows photos. The range is immense. Some sites only
allow one photo which must be emailed in; some require them to
be reduced to a very small size, while others allow unlimited
pictures, panoramic or even movies.
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Are there different kinds of home exchanges?
Yes, there are many different kinds of exchange sites. Some are:
•
•
•Vacation or second home
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Is my contact information visible to people browsing the
site?
Most sites hide contact information. Some do have lister’s
information available to members, while others include the email
address only for direct contact. Still others provide no direct
contact,
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Are there home exchanges
created specifically for certain groups?
Yes, we have found sites that are geared towards people with disabilities,
gay/lesbian, religious groups such as Christian, Jewish, Latter
Day Saints, teachers and sabbatical exchanges.
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Is there a home exchange club that KYT considers the cream
of the crop?
KYT has rated all the home exchange clubs based on specific criteria.
However, the only way to really find the best is to get your input.
Tell us which sites you like and don’t like and why.
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Why are there so many different kinds of home exchange
club sites?
The answer to that, in one word, is competition. As Gypsy Rose
Lee famously said, “You gotta have a gimmick.” New
sites are coming into being. Everyone is trying to crawl to the
top of the heap. Some of the gimmicks will work, others not. Time
will tell.
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Should I join more than one home exchange club?
If time and budget permit, it may be beneficial to join
more than one club. For example, if you have a particular destination
in mind, it may help to join one that is based in that area in
addition to one of the larger ones. Or join one of the newer clubs
that has unique features to help it grow in addition to a more
established club.
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