Exchanging homes as a holiday...

What is HomeLink International?

HomeLink International is one of the largest and most experienced home exchange organizations in the world. Established in 1953, the organization now has 21 offices covering 50 different countries, meeting the home exchange needs of their 11,000 listed members worldwide.

The concept: The idea is that you swap your home with another HomeLink member for the duration of your vacation. You stay in their home while they stay in yours. You don't pay rent and neither does the other person. It's a free exchange, and we call it a HomeLink vacation.

Exchanging gives you a vacation base with all the comforts, space and privacy of home.


* AND A FAR BETTER VACATION *

Take a few days in London, two weeks in California, or a tour of Australia.
Exchangers are most interested in the location.
As one journal said about cottages and mansions, "size doesn't matter, as long as the place is right"

Some Advantages
No accommodation costs to worry about, you can spend your vacation budget on special treats. Swap with another member who owns a pet and you both save on kennel fees, and your pet will be happier too! Swap cars for the vacation and save on rental costs. Use each other's books, bikes, maps, games and toys for the children. You might even swap your golf membership.

Your exchange partners can give you local information on how best to enjoy their area, keeping away from the tourist traps. Explore their favourite sites and restaurants. Experience their local area as a guest rather than a tourist. You'll also find out about local baby sitters, doctors and other services. Our members take pride in making their exchange partners as comfortable as possible.

The key to the success of our program is that it is a reciprocal arrangement between like-minded people, ensuring a mutual respect for each other's property. And you can relax, knowing your own home is safe, occupied by caring guests rather than being left empty and a temptation to burglars.

A little more about HomeLink

HomeLink began in the USA in 1952 as an inter-college vacation exchange system for teachers. In the early years it was just a small organization facilitating coast-to-coast vacation exchanges for the staff of a few colleges.

Over the years it grew to become a worldwide organization, with a listed membership of around 11,000 which now includes just about every profession. Since 1953, HomeLink International has helped over 200,000 families enjoy a home exchange vacation.

HomeLink also qualifies as a non-profit, international organization within European Community law, and it is registered as such in Brussels. Its charter is to promote the concept of free vacation exchanges between members who register with any one of the 30 national offices

The HomeLink organizers are themselves experienced home exchangers. Their names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and email addresses are published in our home exchange directory.

How it works

Each year HomeLink publishes the International Vacation Exchange Directory containing thousands of individual 'listings', including photographs of homes. These describe the homes and vacation preferences of members seeking a home-swap vacation during the current year and they make fascinating reading! Members' addresses and phone numbers are included in each listing.

The directory comprises three books published between December and July. You can get all five books, and your listing appears in the next one published after the date you join. From any book simply select a few listings that meet your requirements and then make contact. Meanwhile, other members abroad will have seen your listing and will be contacting you. You'll be provided with step-by-step guidance on what to do during each stage of an exchange, and of course you can call your national HomeLink office at any time for more information or advice.
For our members' security, addresses and phone numbers are made available only to other registered members. Regular contact with our members enables us to monitor and safeguard the high reputation which our service has enjoyed over the years.
 
What it costs
Membership / Item 2007-2008
   
 
Fees in Euro
Regular-Listed 12-months
95
List-Web-Only 12-months
95
Regular-Listed + Web-Listed (10 photo free)
145
Home exchange Commercial
125
Photographs (10 max)
free

for information contac:

E. Dafnos
Wilkemaheerd 49
9736 BN Groningen

Tel.: + 0031 505419138

Chamber of Commerce 02068947 0000

Groningen
The Netherlands

lefteris@home.nl
 

Press Quotes

"There are several organisations which arrange home exchanges, the largest being HomeLink International which has 16,000 members in more than 50 countries"
The Times, England (January 1995)

"Philip and Carol Glatstein of Coconut Grove in Florida listed their home with HomeLink and discovered incredible adventures. Amongst their many exchanges, they went to Aix-en-Provence (north of Marseilles) where they were met at the railroad station by their exchange family with flowers. Next morning, they left with their kids for the Glatstein's house in Florida."
American Express magazine, Horizons, Fall 95

"The great, thick wish book of dream destinations in 50 countries arrived through the mail with a loud whump, just on the brink of Christmas madness. It was HomeLink International's eagerly awaited big catalogue. Then on a January morning a chug of the fax machine yielded a missive from a family in Portugal. We faxed back our request... they bit. Our honeymoon was planned."
Western Living (Canada), September 1995