We’ve been bagging free holidays for SIX years but it’s a little more stressful than most people think | The Sun
WITH the cost of living crisis making everyone hold onto their wallets a little tighter, one woman has revealed a nifty hack to bag free holidays for the family.
Taking to social media, Betsy explained that it’s a completely different concept to Airbnb but works just as well.
Sitting in her car with her family, she told viewers: “So our family is headed out on our 50th home exchange. We have been exchanging homes for about six years.
“We’ve never had a single problem. Exchanging homes is a totally different vibe than Airbnb. Essentially, we work with an agency, we work with HomeExchange but there’s lots of other good agencies.
“Then you just look for homes much like you would look for somebody to date on match.com.
“If both parties agree, you just create yourself a free vacation.”
read more fabulous stories
I’m a mum & I turned my Airbnb side hustle into £1.7million business
I’m single and I want child-free flights – they ruin my summer vacations
She then went through some of the pros and cons of taking part in a home exchange.
Starting with the negative aspects, she said that while you might find going on a regular vacation a little stressful, there’s added pressure when you have to get your own home ready for guests at the same time.
There could be valuables and items you need to lock away and keep secure or items that you need to clean out from your closets, too.
She went on: “Now most people that have been doing this for a while have a house manual. But the first time you do an exchange you have to create something to explain to people how certain things in your house work.
Most read in Fabulous
I fat-shamed another mum at soft play – but she started it
I hid from neighbours but privacy fence means I can hang washing out in my pants
We went shopping just in the kids' section of Primark but we're not small women
I'm a 'body-fish' – people love my pretty face but say it's a shame about the rest
“Also you come back to a really clean house. The only reason my refrigerator is as clean as it is is because we do so many home exchanges.
And besides the obvious benefit of getting a free holiday, one of the top positive aspects of doing a home exchange is the friendships that you make, she said.
“We have made some of the greatest friends through exchanging homes,” Betsy explained. “There’s something so special about the host helping getting us acquainted with the neighbourhood and our other needs.
“We were in Paris once and got unexpected cold and rainy weather and the host left hats and mittens and raincoats for us to use.”
While TikTok user @betsyonthego admitted that taking part in a home exchange “isn’t for everyone” it works well for people who want to travel without breaking the bank.
She added that while it helps if you live in a touristy location, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t as people are always looking for places to stay in the run up to an event like a wedding.
People were quick to comment on the video as one person said: “So cool! My husband and I exchanged in Europe & the US many times in the late 2000s. Only 1 issue & they fixed it immediately.”
Betsy replied: “Mellissa! I absolutely love this! Thrilled to hear that other people have had as much success as we have”.
Read More on The Sun
Headteacher reveals why parents SHOULD let kids miss school to go on holiday
I love my body hair…trolls say it’s unhygienic & assume I smell bad but I’m hot
Another person wrote: “Currently on a home exchange (organized through friends, no agency). Reco putting everything in writing! Dates, agreeing on cleaning rates, rules!”
“It’s the holiday movie IRL!!!!” another posted, to which Betsy responded: “Love that movie”.
Source: Read Full Article