Holiday House Swap Newsletter—January 2012

Previous Versions
 
In this issue:

• Season's Greetings
• How to minimize the risk of a problem exchange
• There's no excuse for not responding
• List your rental property on Sabbatix.com
• Now is the time to start looking for a 2012 swap
• Our Regular Reminders
  • Update your listing
  • New e-mail address?
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • A word of caution
  • Help us grow—tell a friend
  • Send Us Your Home Exchange Story
• Premium Membership
• Unsubscribe from our newsletter

Happy New Year!

We'd like to wish you and your family all the best for 2012.
 
And if you're planning a house swap in 2012, best of luck with your travel plans.
 
Tony and Anne Marie

A Perfect Home Exchange—Avoiding Problems

Problems with home exchanges are rare.
 
The most common issue reported has to do with different standards of cleanliness. If you have a serious problem with your exchange, you should discuss it with your exchange partner right away.
 
As we all know with any type of holiday sometimes things can go wrong. So how do you reduce the risk of a serious problem arising during or after a home exchange?
 
As any particular situation will always be unique, we've tried put together a broad list of tips and suggestions to help reduce the risk of something going wrong and have you enjoy a perfect home exchange.
 
Tips for a Perfect Home Exchange Holiday

Not Responding to a Home Exchange Inquiry is Rude

A frequent complaint we hear is that not everyone responds to a home exchange offer. It is always possible that an offer does not reach the intended recipient. For example, it ends up in the SPAM folder instead of the Inbox.
 
But more often it's simply because people find it difficult to say no and easier to simply not reply.
 
We encourage everyone to send a personal note declining an offer when not interested.
 
For those of you who can't be bothered sending a reply or for those who wish to maintain their e-mail address private, you can send an automated No Thank You reply.
 
Each offer you receive contains a link to decline the offer. If you are not interested in the offer, simply click on the link and confirm that you want to send a No Thank You reply. Because the e-mail is sent from 1stHomeExchange.com, your e-mail is not disclosed.
 
If you've deleted the offer, you can send the No Thank You reply from your Contact History in the member's area.
 
The Contact History also tracks who you've sent a No Thank You reply to and when it was sent.
 
Declining an offer is only a click away - it couldn't be easier - so no more excuses!

List Your Rental on Sabbatix.com

Do you own a secondary home (house, apartment, condo, cottage, ...) that you rent or would like to rent? Are you planning to be away for an extended period and are considering renting your primary home?
 
You can list your property for free on Sabbatix.com.
 
Sabbatix.com focuses on furnished rentals for both sabbatical (long-term) stays and for short holiday rentals.
 
Listing a home is a simple process of registering, entering rental details, selecting amenities and attractions, and uploading photos.
 
Please keep in mind that 1stHomeExchange.com is a home exchange website only and you are not permitted to advertise your rental on 1stHomeExchange.com.

Now is the Time to Start Searching for a 2012 Swap

Now is the time to start searching for a home exchange, if you would like to swap in 2012. With the ever increasing cost of travel and a continuing recession, a home exchange holiday is the perfect way to reduce holiday expenses. A home exchange holiday is no more expensive than staying at home!
 
Here are 4 tips to help you find a swap:

• Update your listing. An outdated listing will quickly turn off any potential exchanger.
• Include lots of photos. Photos show off your home and neighborhood and allow visitors to visualize themselves on holiday in your home. Many members skip offers that have no photos. So avoid being passed over and add lots of great photos of your home.
• Use our Advanced Search to identify the listings you are interested in. Try to be flexible with your destination and dates.
• Contact, contact, contact, … Unless you have the perfect home in the most desirable location, waiting for someone to e-mail you regarding a dream swap rarely happens. You need to be pro-active and initiate contact with others. This often means that you need to send out 20, 30, or more e-mails before finding someone to swap with.

For a complete list of home exchange tips see 66 Practical Home Exchange Tips

Take a Few Minutes to Update Your Listing

Are your desired destinations and dates up to date?
 
If you've concluded one or more exchanges, let visitors know by adding this information to one of the text boxes.
 
How about adding some new photos? (Photos are key to selling your offer!)
 
We now allow much larger photos on the pop-up photo album than was previously possible. Large, well taken photos help a visitor project themselves on holidays in your home. To increase your chances of finding an exchange, replace older small photos with recent larger ones.
 
And don't forget to:
 
i) tidy up before clicking away
 
ii) the first photo is the lead photo shown in the search results (so please don't start with the bathroom!). You can of course re-order (and rotate) photos after uploading them.
 
No plans to swap anytime soon? You may still be receiving inquiries but have no time to reply. By setting your offer to unavailable/concluded people won't be left wondering why you haven't replied.
 
Even if you have no plans to swap, an up to date listing increases the odds of receiving an interesting offer to which you can't say no to.

New E-mail Address?

If you change your e-mail address, you'll need to let us know. It's easy and automatic to update your e-mail address.

Forgot Your Password?

If you can't remember your password, try resetting it. Or e-mail us and we'll help you log on

A word of caution

A home exchange agreement is structured around the principle that you stay in their home while they stay in yours. A home exchange implies no up front payment. You should never be asked for or expect to receive any form of security payment.
 
You should be aware that if someone asks you for money, there is a high probability that the offer is a scam.
 
We recommend that you
 
1. NEVER WIRE FUNDS
 
2. NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION
 
Please keep in mind that the best way to avoid a scam is to get to know the people you are exchanging with through e-mails, telephone calls, reference checks, and possibly even meeting the other member upon arrival.
 
1stHomeExchange.com does not verify any of the listings on the site. We are not involved in the discussion/negotiation between members. You must do your own verification. For additional information, please see our Disclaimer.

Tell a Friend

Would you like even more home exchange offers to choose from? Tell a friend about 1stHomeExchange.com!
 
Word of mouth is the best way to build awareness regarding this vacation alternative.
 
If each member convinces one friend to list their home, we can easily double the number of offers on the site. The result, more choice for everyone.
 
We even have a Tell a friend form you can use.

Do you have a home exchange story you'd like to share?

Did you recently participate in an exchange? Tell us about your swap.
 
We also want to hear about any funny anecdotes and photos you want to share. With your permission we'll share them with other members via future newsletters.

Premium Membership

Not a Premium Member? If you are subscribed to the Basic membership, consider upgrading and get contact privileges to 19,000 home exchange listings in 150 countries. Learn more about the Premium Membership.
 
To subscribe to the Premium membership plan, simply log on and click Premium from the member's menu on the left side of the page.

And Finally

No longer interested in receiving future newsletters? Log on to the member's area; edit your profile and select I do not want to receive the e-mail newsletter or use our unsubscribe form.
 
If you have questions, please feel free to e-mail us.
 
Happy home exchanging!