| "At the beginning of August, we visited the island of Madeira off the coast of Portugal. We arranged a home swap with a family's lovely large villa on Madeira while they stayed in our apartment in central Rome. We invited family members from Portugal to fly or take the ferry to Madeira to join us. There were 13 at one point and then we reduced down to five." |
The above quote was from a recent trip report of a home swap Holiday between a couple with an apartment in Rome and a Family with a villa in Madeira. What was striking about the trip report was the size of this exchange party - 13 is a lot of people to accommodate! However, from the trip report it sounded like it had been a very successful exchange and there was a lovely reply from the Madeira family that confirms this. Therefore, I am sure in this case it had all been agreed in advance that the family in Madeira were happy for the Rome couple's extra family members to stay in their home during the exchange.
Inviting extra friends or family? If you do plan to invite any friends or family members to join you during a home exchange, it's crucially important to get the home owner's permission while in the early stages of discussing a possible exchange. Even if a home is large enough, with enough bedrooms to accommodate an extended party comfortably, never assume that it will be alright to invite extra guests without seeking permission first - doing so would be breaking the trust that is crucial to happy, successful home exchanging.
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Use the Home swap search on the Home Base Holidays website to narrow down your search to properties large enough to accommodate your family. As mentioned, make sure to confirm details (including ages of any children) of everyone in your exchange party with your hosts before agreeing to the swap. |
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Join Home Base Holidays: start home swapping Looking for a much needed break? Arrange free holiday accommodation by choosing to swap homes rather than book hotels or holiday rentals. View the latest home exchange vacation offers then sign up to Home Base Holidays. |
