§ Accommodation

Home exchange

also called home swap · house swap

Two households swapping homes for a period so each stays free in the other's place.

Right, in plain English

Two households swapping homes for a stretch, so each stays for free in the other's place. It cuts your lodging cost to nothing if you have a home others want to stay in. It relies on trust, matching timing and usually a membership platform. It differs from housesitting, where you stay in someone's home in return for looking after it or their pets, with no swap of your own place.

Someone with a flat in a city others want to visit swaps homes with a family abroad for a few weeks, and both stay rent-free. It only works because their dates lined up and each trusted the other with their home, and because they had a desirable place to offer in the first place.

Why it matters

Saves lodging cost if you have a place others want, but requires trust, timing, and often a membership platform.

Commonly confused with

Housesitting

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