Housing exchange tourism. How to exchange apartments while traveling in other countries?

Concept

What is this type of tourism?

As a branch of tourism, it appeared relatively recently .

The formation and origin of this movement took place in Europe, and today this type of recreation has become popular throughout the world.

If you are an avid traveler, but have never tried this type of vacation, we will reveal the meaning of such tourism.

When you come to a travel agency or register on a special website, you need to choose an interesting option that suits you in terms of description, appearance and location.

Next, the task is to contact the owner of this property. On your own or with the help of a tour operator, you need to communicate with your opponent, ask questions and find out the nuances and ask questions of interest. In exchange for the rest period, your living space is offered.

If you value your premises more expensive than what is offered, you can offer an additional payment. It can also be installed by your opponent.

If your opponent is not interested in your offer, he can offer to stay in his house for free or for the provision of some services, for example, cooking or cleaning.

In addition, if there are no thoughts of traveling in your immediate plans for the future, you can still list your accommodation on the appropriate resources as subject to exchange during the trip, and you may receive offers from interested parties.
This way you can choose the appropriate option.

These buildings often look completely unreal and phantasmagorical, reminiscent of extraterrestrial objects and, in general, anything but houses. They are located in unusual corners of the planet, and some of them are even included in the Guinness Book of Records. The largest, the smallest, fabulous, famous, which brought fame to their owners and creators or, on the contrary, abandoned.

The most important thing is that all these houses are truly residential and functioning, comfortable for even a whole small family. Our list includes amazing houses that you definitely didn’t know about before.

1. House among boulders (Portugal)

In general, boulders are not uncommon in Portugal. And houses made of stone, built in the style of medieval castles, too. But this piece of architecture looks very unusual. It seems that there was a house in a field, and the wind brought stone tumbleweeds, which pinched the house, got caught and remained standing like that in all its corners.

Another association of such a structure is with a sprout breaking through stones and asphalt. Be that as it may, the house looks very unusual, like a very spectacular attraction. Meanwhile, it was created for very practical reasons. Everything interesting and ingenious is simple. There are wind farms nearby. And the owner of the house rightly believed that he would build a dwelling to which the authorities would provide electricity from wind turbines without any problems. And he and his family will enjoy life in the mountains far from the bustle.

But it turned out differently: electricity was never connected to the boulder house, but it attracted the attention of onlookers, and then tourists from all over the world. People began to annoy the owners of the house so much, wanting to take pictures and inspect the house in an unusual style, that the creators had to leave their house. So this stern beauty stands among the most beautiful landscape, abandoned. Despite everything, it looks surprisingly harmonious.

2. Dancing House (Poland)

Probably, the architect of this mansion was inspired by Gaudi, famous for his smooth lines, asymmetry and unusual approach. There are absolutely no right angles in the building; all the lines are intricately curved. The house is either floating or dancing. If you look at it for a long time, you can get a feeling of intoxication (or is there something wrong with your eyes?).

The house is relatively modern, built at the beginning of the 2000s, the creation of two European architects (Zelevsky, Shotinsky). They managed to perfectly fit the building into the architecture of the historical part of the town of Sopot. And the nearby shops and restaurants have only benefited from this proximity, because thousands of tourists flock here every year on excursions for the sake of unusual shots in a charismatic place. In fact, the architects admit that they were inspired not by Gaudi, but by the drawings of the country's famous children's book illustrators.

The house looks interesting during the day, but at night when illuminated it is simply magical. For some time, a children's writer and a popular artist in Sweden lived there. Now in the dancing house there are shops and cafes on the ground floor, and the second floor is occupied by studios of famous radio stations. Those who get inside note that despite the bizarre architecture, the inside of the house is very comfortable and quite functional.

3. Transparent House (Japan)

It is unclear what inspired the builders of this residential building. After all, Japan is so densely built that there is nowhere for an apple to fall. And residents are looking for a corner of peace and harmony, buying a couple of beds on the roof of a skyscraper or relaxing in special boxes. But the residents of this house, it seems, are on the contrary - extremely sociable extroverts and do not like to be alone.

So, the unusual house is completely transparent, has three floors and many apartments. To make residents feel social, but somewhat separate, each apartment is positioned with a height shift relative to the other, like separate levels. The structure of the house itself resembles a tree with branches.

However, there are many such modern and unusual structures in Southeast Asia. Thus, an architect from Kyoto (and editor-in-chief of a magazine, a website about modern architecture and construction) built a house with transparent facades for his own family. Some of the other elements of the house are also transparent, and the glass is covered with thick but light white curtains. The interior is also designed in a minimalist white style, which is typical for Japan.

4. Hobbit House (UK)

Everyone who has seen this house at least once in their life immediately remembers the famous movie saga. Located in Wales, the eco-house truly looks like a secluded forest hobbit home. But, oddly enough, during construction, the father of a large family and photographer Simon Dale did not think about Tolkien’s film at all. Lack of finances prompted him to resort to tricks. The family did not have the money to build a traditional English country cottage. This is how the idea arose to dig a room under the hill. The entire arrangement cost 3,000 pounds sterling, which is a little more than $6,000 (one average salary in the United States).

How was the house built? With the hands of the head of the family, of course! The ceiling and walls are supported by stone and thick branches from crumbling. All materials are 100% natural and created by nature itself. The family receives electricity for life from solar panels. The house is autonomous and fully self-sufficient for maintenance. In addition, the housing turned out to be unusually warm thanks to the backfill principle and a thick layer of earth and vegetation on top.

Such a house does not disturb the environment and is a real dream from a fairy tale. One can only envy Simon's children living in an eco-friendly house.

5. House “planet” (Emirates)

Emirates love to create the best things in the world with the motto: faster, higher, stronger. This house cannot be compared to the glory of skyscrapers, gated ski resorts or singing fountains of the UAE. But such a residential building will definitely not remain aloof from everyone’s attention. Moreover, in 1993 it was included in the Guinness Book of Records.

The structure, with a diameter of 20 m, is a sphere, analogous to a model of the Globe (or a very large globe). Inside there are several floors, 6 bathrooms and 4 bedrooms. But overall, this is also the most luxurious, grandiose and comfortable mobile home. After all, it is designed for the UAE Sheikh to move around the desert with maximum comfort. You have to visit all your subjects in different Emirates.

6. House of Bubble (France)

This house looks like a set for a modern action movie or a film about extraterrestrial civilizations, like Avatar. Exotic, creative and a little funny. The thing is that there are no right angles in it at all. Only circles and ovals of ideal parameters form a house with an area of ​​more than 200 square meters. Structurally, each “bubble” is a room or other premises. All of them are connected to each other by tunnels.

It’s not funny at all if you find out how much this creative project cost the owner, Pierre Cardin. The world-famous fashion designer hated right angles, and considered the geometry of a circle to be the ideal figure. Taking these requests into account, his good friend Anti Lovag designed a custom house from ultra-modern materials in the south of France. Inside, all furniture and other interior items also have a predominantly oval, rounded shape and smooth “flowing” lines.

7. House “portal” to another reality (Italy)

A private house in Italy was created not only for a large friendly family, but also for frequently visiting acquaintances. After all, his owner is very hospitable. You go to her site, and you may not find the same house, it fits so perfectly into the natural space surrounding it. And if you have watched modern films in the spirit of adventure fiction, you will definitely appreciate the architecture. It seems that all you have to do is approach, extend your hand, and the mirror surface of the façade itself will draw you into another reality.

Here are just some of the features of this building. In fact, in front of you is not one, but two houses connected to each other. One for the hostess, one for the guests. It was created according to the design of the architect Peter Pichler, who worked with Zaha Hadid. The walls of the house are finished in black aluminum, the ends have windows of unusual shape, and the full-size facades are glazed with mirror panels. The house itself is raised above the ground and rests on special platforms, creating an indescribable visual effect of soaring and fantasticality.

8. The narrowest house in the world (Poland)

The width of this house is no more than 70 centimeters. It seems that he was squeezed in one night by high-rise buildings that suddenly appeared on both sides. But the impression is deceptive: this tiny house is squeezed between two buildings in the center of Warsaw. It was created for a writer from Israel based on a design by Jakub Szczesny. Despite its very modest dimensions (from 70 to 120 cm in different parts of the house), it has everything you need from a shower and toilet to a kitchen with a separate dining room and even a dedicated office.

The architectural structure is very unusual both in appearance and functionality. Its basis is a steel frame, which relies on the city heating system (it is very close, at the base of the house). Meanwhile, the city authorities initially gave permission for construction only as an art object, and not as a full-fledged residential building. However, living there is inexpensive and quite comfortable. Ask Etgar Keret, who lives here.

The house has rivals who can compete for harmony. These are also real residential buildings no more than a meter wide. One of them is located in Brazil and the other in England. Paradoxically, the house in Brazil was also originally created as an outbuilding to the main residence. But as always, the main thing is to start, and then the owners get the hang of it and build the second and third floors. So the whole family moved into a narrow house, and began renting out their old one. In England, the narrow red brick high-rise building was originally determined by its location near the railway tracks.

9. Space house

By the way, there are more unusual houses in England. Nowadays it’s hard to surprise with space design, but in the 1960s, houses that looked like spaceships were a hit. Humanity had just begun to explore space, and against the backdrop of the first successes, there was extraordinary interest in the topic. Thus, Finnish architect Mati Suuronen created a whole complex of easily assembled and mobile houses, repeating the design of an alien flying saucer.

Hundreds of pieces were sold around the world instantly, and the owners became the most advanced and creative people of their time. The body, made of plastic, weighed only 500 kg, and such a house could be installed anywhere. But the trend did not develop. At that time, plastic products were very expensive. And furniture manufacturers did not want to rebuild their production and create special furniture with round shapes, because this is much more difficult than producing standard rectangular wardrobes and beds.

So the Futuro project became history, and only one house has survived to this day. London artist Craig Barnes saw it on his trip to Africa and fell in love at first sight. And having restored it, he brought it to the UK. Let's say it was worth it!

10. House car

Another unusually shaped building belongs to practical Germans. Architect Markus Vogreiter paid tribute of love and respect to the world's favorite legendary car model, the Volkswagen Beetle. The iconic car has long caught on with car enthusiasts, many of whom consider it literally their second home. These words inspired Marcus to create a creative masterpiece.

The house looks very compact in appearance (like the car itself), follows its smooth curves and has all the smallest details. However, even they are functional. For example, the “headlights” became windows in the bathroom, and the exhaust pipe works like a house hood.

The two-story house is residential and very spacious. The architect's parents lived on the first floor, and he lives on the second floor with his family. To make the retro style complete, all the furniture and furnishings in the interior were recreated as they were in the 1970s, when the Beetle was incredibly popular.

Do you want to penetrate the most hidden corners of unusual and interesting houses in the world with their special traditions and unusual realities? Watch the reality show "House Swap". There are real feelings and emotions, boiling passions here! And of course, there are a variety of houses all over the world, the structure and order in which are as different as the families living in them with their own way of life and traditions.

Advantages and disadvantages

What are the advantages and disadvantages of such tourism? Despite the fact that this direction is quite new, many already see significant advantages . They are as follows:

1. The opportunity to immerse yourself in the entire environment of a new city or state.
2. Favorable living conditions in contrast to renting a hotel or hotel.
3. New acquaintances and contacts for the future.
4. Not expensive.
5. Possibility to pay by staying in your own apartment.
6. Increased time spent away from home, in contrast to tourist packages.
7. The ability to independently plan your vacation.

But, despite the huge number of positive aspects, there are also disadvantages . As a rule, they are as follows:

1. Housing is provided to unknown people.
2. This type of tourism is not yet recognized as official, but is developing as a subspecies.

Therefore, in a number of countries, in case of violations of rights, it is difficult to prove the harm caused to the tourist. For example, they kicked me out of the house.

Who is involved in the exchange

The most ordinary people, mainly, of course, from America and Europe.

Mobile, easy-going, those who are not afraid to live in a foreign country as a homeowner and a full participant in a foreign society.

Those who are not afraid to let a complete stranger into their territory, into “their fortress”.

Students, couples and just single vacationers.

Basically, these are people who are not interested in a seal holiday in a sun lounger with all inclusive, or a reality varnished for tourists. They are interested in seeing real life, immersing themselves in real life and the real environment of a foreign country.

Methods and forms

There are several ways to exchange housing for a vacation, which is acceptable in this type of legal relationship.

Rent. The conclusion of this agreement bilaterally , that is, two agreements, provides for the following consequences. You rent out your home to a specific citizen, for which he undertakes to pay a certain amount.

The opponent also draws up a corresponding normative act that is recognized as an agreement. Thus, it is possible to move into an apartment with equal rights.

In addition, in a travel company you can draw up an agreement with your opponent.

This agreement is not provided for by the legislation of our country, but takes place in a number of foreign countries.

In addition, this will be the only evidence that you were in a legal relationship with your opponent if the rights are violated.

In addition, the so-called third party also takes part in this agreement. It may be a travel company or an agent, but it is she who must certify that this agreement has been concluded between the parties.

Procedure for temporary barter with apartments or houses for the holiday period

Step-by-step algorithm of actions

The exchange procedure is completely simple , you just need to make sure you don’t miss anything.

1. You need to register on the selected home exchange site (or better yet, on several).
2. Take high-quality photographs of your apartment (house), you can also add photos of the surrounding space.
3. Describe your home in detail and colorfully, and it would be nice to add a description of your city here.
   Important! You should definitely tell about all the interesting places and attractions located in your area. Pay attention to city transport.

   All the advantages of your proposal must be indicated.

4. Then you can wait for responses to your proposal or look through the available options yourself. If you are interested in any offer, write to the owner.
5. Once the desired option has been found, it is necessary to discuss with the owner of the apartment the conditions and terms of use of this housing, sign an agreement and exchange keys.

Concluding an agreement with someone who responded to the offer

There are two main types of agreements that are usually concluded during the temporary exchange of houses or apartments:

• lease contract;
• temporary exchange agreement.

Our experts have prepared useful materials describing how contracts are concluded correctly when exchanging land plots, real estate, and residential premises between owners.

Nuances

1. The lease agreement must contain specific information that you are renting out your home - to whom and for how long, and this citizen undertakes to pay you a certain amount of money.
   This agreement must be bilateral, that is, and exactly the same rental agreement is drawn up by the owner of the apartment you like. As a result, you exchange apartments on absolutely identical terms.

Attention! The contract can be drawn up according to a standard template, or it can be in any form; you can specify any necessary clauses.

2. An agreement on the temporary exchange of houses in Russia is not provided for at the legislative level (it works in foreign countries), but in court, if necessary, it will serve as evidence of the very fact of the exchange.

Required documents

The documents you will need when drawing up the contract are:

• passports (both sides);
• documents confirming ownership of this apartment.

Peculiarities

Usually one of the most common methods is used:

• exchange keys in person;
• transmitted through neighbors.

You can, of course, agree on some key exchange option that is more suitable for you.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with how to properly conduct an exchange transaction for real estate such as:

• apartments and houses;
• land;
• residential premises received under a social lease agreement;
• apartments located in different cities;
• Reservations and various real estate for a car.

Where to look for options?

Today, finding housing of this format is not a problem at all. At the same time, this can be done either independently or with the help of a travel company.

As a rule, beginners and cautious people use verified addresses provided to them by tour operators, and those who love adventure themselves storm the Internet resources in search of advertisements.

Services overview

We offer several popular and effective resources to help you choose the best option:

1. www.obmendomami.ru is the largest site that will help you find housing options both within the country and abroad. In addition, you can independently contact your opponents and learn valuable information from them.
2. my-holiday-exchange.com is another very good resource, which mainly hosts offers from Europe.
3. homelinkru.org is an international club where not only the best offers are collected, but also advice and ratings for each specific participant are given.

There are also other resources for searching for housing options, including English-language ones.

Everything in the film is true!

Olga Kuznetsova, Moscow

I watched the movie “Exchange Holiday” - everything is clearly shown there! My husband and I each exchanged apartments with our colleagues at one time or another. Recently, the economic situation in Russia has changed, the financial situation of our family has become more complicated, but we still have the desire to travel. Accordingly, house swapping is seen as an opportunity to save money and at the same time gain a new experience while meeting new people and their lifestyle.

We registered on the site in March 2014. We haven’t sent out the letters yet, but we have already received two offers from Italy, two from Spain and one from Cyprus.

Previous exchanges were with familiar people, our friends. The usual method of communication is correspondence. For clarity, the letter was accompanied by instructions in pictures - how to get to the house from the metro, what the entrance and staircase look like, what key to unlock what, how to use household appliances, etc. In the future, I plan to use video instructions - you can upload it directly to YouTube and send the link.

Everyone is happy. The desire to come to Moscow was expressed by people who have already been to Russia, have some connections here, or Russians living abroad.

Procedure

When exchanging apartments for travel, you must first contact your opponent and carefully discuss the issues of interest, and you also need to pay attention to the dates.

After this, you must definitely propose drawing up an agreement . First, one side fills it out, having previously read the terms, then the other. If the parties are satisfied with everything, an electronic signature of each of the counterparties is placed.

Of course, drawing up an agreement is a big hassle; you can do without it. However, in this case, the tourist is not protected by the law of any state, especially if he travels outside our country.

After that, you can safely pack your bags.

However, it is better if the procedure for drawing up an agreement is carried out by a tourist operator . Of course, you will have to overpay for this, but on the other hand, you can completely escape from legal worries and think about relaxation.

Possible risks

The overwhelming number of exchange participants are worried about the safety of their property. Typically, tourists living in someone else's house carefully handle the owners' belongings. Only about 1% are dissatisfied with the state of their home after returning home. The administration of popular resources is taking action against sloppy tourists and thieves.

And yet, troubles sometimes happen. They are often associated with breakdowns of household appliances and broken dishes . In an effort to maintain good relations, many exchange participants themselves offer to reimburse the cost of the damaged item.

Although extremely rare, more serious incidents do occur.
There are known cases when the irresponsible attitude of tourists led to fires and flooding of housing. By insuring your property before leaving, you can protect yourself from negative consequences of this magnitude. Reference . When looking for the right option, you need to carefully study the profiles of the participants and always read the reviews of previous owners . This will help reduce the risk of making the wrong choice.

Features and nuances

When exchanging apartments between cities for a vacation within Russia, you are protected by the laws of our state . Therefore, draw up a rental or rental agreement with your opponent on a bilateral basis.

This agreement will allow you not only to spend time traveling, but also to be sure that you are reliably protected.

What are the features of such tourism with foreigners? When concluding an agreement with foreigners , seek the help of a tour operator.

Also, be sure to talk through some points of interest and nuances several times. The fact is that due to differences in language and perception of certain phrases, you may not understand each other the first time.

Culture Go Go

Сulturegogo.com was founded by travelers and English teachers Francesca Luca and Tim Arnaudi from the UK. Their site connects people who want to learn the culture of the state from the inside, and also practice their language knowledge. Anyone receives a free room in a host family and food. As well as a large cultural exchange, travel to the sights of the country and that same language practice. In return, the guest usually helps the hosts in everyday household matters. However, membership to the site costs from 3 to 12 pounds sterling per month, depending on how long you want to stay on the site.

Where to begin

If you decide to participate in a house exchange, it is worth registering on one or more sites dedicated to this type of vacation. Here are the most popular ones:

• Digsville: Members in 55 countries, 60% of them in the US.
• Exchange Homes: Members from 60 countries, mostly UK. By the way, many British people are ready to change houses during the 2012 Olympics.
• Green Theme International: for fans of ecotourism. There are especially many participants from the UK, Spain, Italy and France.

Registration is paid and is issued for a certain period or indefinitely. For example, at Global Home Exchange you can set up a permanent account for $99.95 or an annual account for $49.95. Registration for several months will cost even less.

How to save money on a destination

Sochi, Anapa and Crimea are some of the most popular destinations in the summer of 2021. You can still buy inexpensive tickets there, but good hotels at reasonable prices have already been sold out. What remains are expensive five-star hotels, VIP boarding houses with exorbitant prices, or guest houses in remote areas.

Savings should be within reasonable limits, without compromising the quality of your vacation, otherwise you are unlikely to enjoy your trip. Therefore, you should not choose dilapidated housing in a popular resort. Instead of popular destinations, make your choice in favor of the least popular cities.

To choose a place, determine for yourself the criteria of what is important to you to get: the opportunity to swim, nature, children's entertainment. Here's what you can replace it with.

After that, go to a website that searches for cheap flights, such as Aviasales or OneTwoTrip. In the “from” line, indicate the departure city, and in the “to” line, select the “anywhere” option and enter the desired travel dates. The search engine will select profitable destinations taking into account ticket prices.

For example, from Moscow from May 17 to May 30, it is profitable to travel to Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Vladikavkaz, Stavropol and five other different cities with a ticket price of up to 6,000 rubles per person. All of these cities meet the criteria in the table: they have natural parks, swimming lakes, children's entertainment and hotels with a swimming pool at reasonable prices.

Home exchange is available to everyone

Many people mistakenly believe that only lucky people living in popular tourist destinations can change houses. Actually this is not true. Of course, the owner of a small house in the Czech province will receive fewer offers than the owner of a penthouse in New York, but he will not remain completely unnoticed. Surely there will be some family with children who will want to spend their holidays in a quiet rural area.

You shouldn’t feel complex if your house doesn’t look like a luxurious mansion. Sometimes it happens that very rich people want to take a break from boring luxury. For example, the owner of a villa in Florida, Shirley Fogge-Piazza-Freeman, enjoyed her vacation in a small Parisian apartment. She met all the neighbors and, according to her, felt at home.

A similar story happened to Anne Hoddinott, a firefighter from San Francisco. She did not at all expect that the owner of a mansion with five bedrooms and three bathrooms would want to come to her modest home, but that’s exactly what happened.