In 2006, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swapped homes in romcom The Holiday and took house swapping to a mainstream audience. Such trust might have seemed a fanciful Hollywood notion to some, but those who’d been doing this kind of reciprocal holidaying for years were just surprised that Diaz left her holiday home without having hoovered.
House swapping, where you exchange homes for a holiday, is a fast-growing trend. UK-based company Love Home Swap saw an 82% rise in new UK members last year, and similar enthusiasm has been shown on other sites — the number of exchanges finalised on rival Home Exchange, which lists properties across 187 countries, grew by 79% in the same period.
But as a concept it’s actually been around since the 1950s — the oldest home swapping organisation, HomeLink celebrated its 70th birthday this year, having started when enterprising US teachers on the east and west coasts decided to swap houses during the holidays. HomeLink UK representative Caroline Connolly has home swapped since her children were small. For her, the appeal is in the personal connection: “If you want a house go to Airbnb; if you
