Want a free holiday? Tips for a successful house-swap

The summer holidays are coming, and so are exorbitant accommodation prices.

If you’ve left it to the last minute and don’t fancy paying peak accommodation dollar, don’t despair. There’s still plenty of time to land a sweet coastal or city pad (or anything in-between) – and enjoy a Christmas break for virtually nothing.

Made glamorous by Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet many moons ago in The Holiday, house-swapping has reached new heights in recent years. The rise of Airbnb has been a major contributor, having normalised the concept of opening up your home to strangers.

Bee Cogger, has 83 house-swaps under her belt. The now 65-year-old took to the concept in 2000, long before it had reached the internet. About eight years ago, she joined website HouseSwapHolidays.

She and her partner Derek Smithson regularly trade their Sunshine Coast house for jaunts in Australia and overseas.

This year alone they spent a chunk of time in Europe, including house-swaps in Rome and Florence, and enjoyed free accommodation in Sydney and the Gold Coast.

“Sometimes you get something similar (to your place), sometimes you get the complete opposite,” says Ms Cogger, who admits she was extremely worried before her debut house-swap.

Bee and her husband Derek at a house-swap in Phuket.

But so far it’s been smooth sailing, and Ms Cogger says there have been some beautiful homes along the way, including a three-storey house with a pool in France, and another in Banff, Canada.

Aside from the price of registration – about $60 for HouseSwapHolidays – and paying your usual bills, the experience is free, says Ms Cogger.

Sometimes it may also include the use of a car, and free pet-sitting.

Aussie House Swap has 1600 members on its books. About 90 per cent live in Australia or New Zealand.

“Most of them are homeowners,” says founder Nick Fuad. “We do allow renters if they get their landlord’s permission, but 99 per cent of them are homeowners, so that boosts the ages up to mostly 30-plus.

“You have the families who want to go for the cheap holiday, you have the retirees who are happy to go on longer holidays or on several throughout the year … and you get the singles and couples.”

Mr Fuad says house-swapping is particularly popular among young families, who often lend each other things such as toys, bikes or prams.

Then there’s the fact you can use the kitchen, saving on restaurant bills. “I don’t mean to blow the house-swap trumpet, but it’s such a money-saver.”

When Bee enjoyed a house-swap in Hampshire, England, they also got to use the car.

Mr Fuad recommends taking your time to know the person or family you hope to swap with, so everyone feels comfortable.

“We recommend at least a couple of weeks, but in saying that, some people do it in a day.” Mr Fuad says there is always a flood of sign-ups before Christmas and Easter.

He says the bulk of listings are for anything from one to three weeks, and you don’t necessarily have to trade like for like.

“Most people are just happy to try different areas. It’s not necessarily the house that’s the attraction,” says Mr Fuad.

Sydneysider Sue (who’d prefer not to use her surname), her husband and their little boy recently traded their two-bedroom townhouse in Five Dock for a five-bedroom house with a swimming pool in Port Macquarie.

“It was with a family of five and they really wanted a certain week to do a marathon in Sydney,” says Sue, 38. “We got to have that beachy, coastal getaway and they got their city time.”

Sue said they swapped phone numbers early on and got to know each other. It all went off without a hitch, and Sue and her family returned to a spotless home.

“It was a really good experience. I’d probably do it again,” she says.