ADVERTISEMENTI can picture it now. Jude Law turns up on the front door of the twee yet crammed English country cottage I’m visiting – while Kate Winslet discovers all of the smart home tech of my colossal Hollywood mansion.
In the event you’ve seen the film ‘The Holiday’ this festive period, it’s easy to be drawn into the fairytale of home-swapping. I like the concept this kind of travel experience can attract friendship and perhaps even love.
As I gaze out my window over the grey winter skies and unabating rain (we’ve got a word for this in Scotland – ‘dreich’), the film gets me considering:
Could someone, somewhere within the sunshine, really be willing to swap their lovely interior-styled-to-perfection home for my overcompensating-centrally-heated home here in the awful midwinter of the Scottish countryside?
And realistically, while opening up our homes, does home-swapping inadvertently help us open our hearts to strangers? Or is that just the stuff of Hollywood?
Home-swapping with heart: Give an evening, get an evening
“Home swap listing sites have existed for a very long time, but for a long time, home swapping remained area of interest,” says Justine Palefsky, “because with none curation, services or quality assurance, these sites didn’t deliver the experience most individuals must feel comfortable swapping their real home.”
That’s why Palefsky and her co-founder Tas arrange Kindred, otherwise referred to as the modern-day The Holiday.
This home-swapping network operates on a ‘give an evening, get an evening’ model, where you should use credits to book your next home-away-from-home. Essentially, it’s almost free accommodation if you travel.
Began in San Francisco just 4 years ago, Kindred now has over 50,000 homes across 150 cities in Europe and North America.
“My co-founder, Tas, and I each like to travel and imagine deeply that the human connection, education and core memories you earn through travelling make for a richer life,” explains Palefsky. “Nonetheless, we felt that the travel industry was evolving in a direction that was a far cry from this experience.”
Different to most big short-term rent providers which have turn into a way for hotels and furnished apartments to advertise their property businesses slightly than meet latest people, Kindred is a members-only site, which implies you’ll be able to only view all of the cities and properties on offer for those who list your house.
“We found most travel accommodation to be expensive, increasingly impersonal, and transactional, while often making a burden on the communities it was speculated to serve.”
That’s why you’ll be able to’t just dip in and pay for nights on Kindred. At once, 90 per cent of the homes on the platform are primary residences slightly than investment properties.
This manner, members have aligned incentives and a shared empathy that wouldn’t be possible on a pay-to-stay marketplace,” Palefsky says.
The concept, after all, is entirely based on trust: to permit strangers to return and live in your house when you’re not there is unquestionably brave.
ADVERTISEMENTWould these fellow members keep my proud jungle in my front room watered? Would they make certain outdoor shoes are kept off my cream carpets upstairs? These are the concerns that spring to mind.
What’s more, I’m a curious soul. I believe that if I were let out in another person’s home without them being there, I can be rifling through wardrobes and under-the-sink cupboards, attempting to get a greater sense of the owner – before I even unpack.
That’s probably why there are a ton of guides and a code of conduct all members adhere to. In the event you violate the policy even once, you’re out of the community.
‘Radically cheaper’ accommodation in Europe
What’s also good is that, unlike Airbnb, the listings are fully curated and checked, so that you won’t have any unexpected and unhappy surprises. Each latest member also has their government ID verified before they’ll go on their first trip.
ADVERTISEMENTThe platform offers what’s called a full-service experience, which, hurrah, includes coordinating cleansing before and after the trip to “remove any uncertainty” concerning the condition of the property at any given time – so I don’t must worry about my plants or carpets. Plus, there’s 24/7 concierge support and comprehensive host and trip protection.
With all those reassurances, I start looking for the catch. Surely it’s a giant fee?
A fast check under the pricing page and, in comparison with the same old costs you rack up at a hotel or other booking platforms, I’m surprised to see that you just only should pay a small one-time service fee as a bunch or cleansing fee as a guest. This is usually around $140 (€ 134) for a seven-night stay in top European cities – and it’s not way more for those who’re searching for an prolonged stay for that popular digital nomad experience.
Palefsky sees home-swapping as “deeply human and radically cheaper” and asserts that it’s more empowering than “disruptive to locals in high-demand areas”.
ADVERTISEMENTTravel beyond the same old hotspots in Europe
Within the last three months alone, over a 3rd of all trips booked on Kindred were to European locations – and the platform has seen a 1500 per cent increase in homes accepted onto the platform in Europe from 2023 to 2024.
While all the standard destinations are there – Paris, Amsterdam, London, Berlin – there are many off-the-beaten cities too, including Novi Ligure in Italy, Graz in Austria or Tallinn in Estonia.
Signing up mostly out of intrigue, I find some incredible listings, reminiscent of a cottage in Braga, Portugal, that borders a national park and overlooks a serene lake, a beautiful traditional picket home in Figeholm in Sweden and a up to date country homestead in Ordina, Andorra.
As I quickly check where’s best for winter sun in Europe, I’m drawn to a unusual stay in Palermo, Sicily: an awe-inspiring four-storey former convent that has been decorated with unique textiles throughout – since the anonymous host is a rug designer.
ADVERTISEMENTGiven my aforementioned love for soft, deep pile carpets, I can imagine the host and I’d get on brilliantly, and before I understand it, they’d be recommending the perfect off-season nearby beach for me to get some rays.
Is it possible to make friends through home-swapping?
Actually, one in every of the pulls of Kindred is that local know-how that only someone who lives in a specific neighbourhood would know.
You’ll find much thoughtfulness on the platform – very similar to the early days of Airbnb.
One member, I’m told, often writes songs to thank hosts for his stays, while one host arranged a surprise light show experience for her guest in Barcelona after learning that they were travelling solo.
ADVERTISEMENTThis concentrate on local experiences can be likely why nearly all of those interested in the home-swapping platform are millennial distant employees who’ve the flexibleness to travel while working.
Most Kindred members stay per week, but some “power users”, Palefsky tells me, have been known to rack up credits to enjoy 40 to 80 nights a yr.
But Palefsky says, “It’s also an excellent option for families, retirees and those that are simply searching for more accessible and unique travel”, adding that families are the fastest growing demographic.
Kindred is now starting to host in-person events and dinner parties where members can come together so you’ll be able to meet like-minded members. And, inside the app, you’ll be able to then request direct swaps, which, I’m confident, is how I’m going to fulfill a Jude Law lookalike on my next festive home swap.
ADVERTISEMENTI’d higher pack some mistletoe…
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