A few months back, I wrote a post on MatadorPulse offering advice for stretching your travel dollar. Since accommodations are often the most expensive part of a trip, one of my recommendations was to look into alternative lodging. Today’s traveler has tons of creative lodging choices, from traditional hosteling and couchsurfing to home swapping.

My own favorite is home swapping.

The benefits? First, you have all the comforts of home: a kitchen, a bed not slept in by hundreds or thousands of people, and amenities and utilities that won’t cost you extra, such as internet service. Second, since you’ll be in a residential neighborhood rather than a zone designed especially for tourists, you’re far more likely to get a local feel for a place by home swapping. Third, you’ll meet really interesting people who know their area well and will be happy to give you insider’s tips. Want to know where the best market is? The laundromat? Budget transportation options? Your home swapping partner will usually be happy to clue you in.

Admittedly, home swapping is not for everyone. There are many travelers who feel uncomfortable moving in, even if temporarily, to someone else’s private space. And plenty of people worry, as one person who responded to my post did, whether home swapping is safe.

Yet with some common sense and planning, concerns about the potential downsides of home swapping can be minimized. Here are some tips:

1) Decide where you’d like to go, where you want to stay, and investigate local home swap options. Although there are lots of home swap websites that offer fee-based memberships, I’ve used craigslist exclusively and have always had great experiences. I click on the city where I want to travel, select home swaps, and see what’s currently being offered.

2) Don’t rush. Once you’ve identified some potential swaps, send an inquiry and start getting to know the person offering his or her property. What does he/she do for a living? Has he/she home swapped before? What is the specific offer and what are his/her expectations for the swap? Be sure to get an exact location as well, and request photos if they were not provided in the initial post. Take your time: you’re going to be staying in this person’s home and vice versa, so you want to get to know a bit about the person who will be in your private space.

3) Consider asking for references. I rarely ask for references because I’ve generally “read” the other person and either gotten a good or bad vibe about them already. Bad vibe folks get cut off; good vibe folks have generally provided enough information to make me feel reassured about the swap. But if you’d like, ask for references.

4) Make the swap official. Swap dates can be concurrent (meaning you’re in the swapper’s home and they’re in yours on the same dates) or not; the arrangements depend upon your respective travel plans and schedules. Either way, it’s a good idea to exchange all contact information (names, home and mailing addresses, e-mails, cell phones, emergency contact information) in writing and to complete contracts as well. The contract should absolve the host party of liability in the event of some sort of injury while protecting the host from damages or losses of property. Sample contracts can be found online.

5) Stay in touch. Once you’ve established a home swap relationship, foster it. Home swappers tend to be like-minded folks with similar interests. By nurturing your relationship with your swapper, you’re likely to benefit from future swaps and other inside travel information.

Have you home-swapped? Are you interested in it or wary about it? Share your thoughts below!

Photo: alykat (creative commons)