If you own your own home, you should consider home exchange for your next vacation. Suddenly thousands of holiday homes are available to you in exciting, foreign lands. You and your family can travel abroad and keep all the comforts of your own home. The principle is simple ? you find a trustworthy family that wants to switch houses with you. The other family comes to your domicile and watches over it while you watch over theirs. It is an ideal arrangement. Instead of leaving your house empty and exposed to burglars, you have free house-sitters as well as a free place to stay in the destination of your choice. Think of all the money you will save in hotel bills, which would be the most expensive part of your trip by far.

When doing a home exchange, make sure that you select trustworthy guests. It is important to get to know your visitors beforehand, and to let them get to know you. This way, everyone is comfortable and can enjoy the vacation. The home exchange program is not like renting a time share or a holiday villa; no money changes hands but you also incur more risk. This is why it is essential to know all the details of the exchange. Where is the house located? Will you have use of the family car? Will there be enough bedrooms? Will the electricity be turned on? In turn, you need to fill in the visiting family on the details of your house. Let your visitors be surprised by the great view from your back porch, and not by a broken refrigerator. Keep in mind that if you are traveling with children, you should probably find another house where children dwell. This will ensure that you do not have to travel with a lot of toys or childproofing materials like electrical outlet plugs. Make sure to send lots of photographs before the big exchange. You want to advertise your home's amenities. Do you have a pool? A washer and dryer? Are you within walking distance of a grocery store or shopping mall? Write a travel guide and a brochure about your house. If the arrangement works out, maybe the visiting family will want to come back and loan you their home again.

Why would someone else want to stay in your house? Just remember, your home is going to be exotic to someone else. That perfect little villa in a charming village in France is just a boring old home to the French family that lives there, but it is your ideal vacation spot. And your tiny New York City apartment might be perfect for the country dweller who wants to live the American nightlife for a week. Your home is someone else's holiday. Use this to your advantage. Find somewhere you have always wanted to visit but did not think you could afford. Search out homeowners in the community who would be willing to exchange their residences. Then go through the screening process carefully. Before you know it, you will be vacationing rent-free in your destination of choice, while a responsible family watches your house.