HOW DOES HOME EXCHANGE WORK?
New members find out about the concept of home exchange by referrals from experienced home exchangers and through various promotions by INTERVAC's organisers in their countries.
To become a member one submits a standard application form (online forms are available) to your country organiser including a listing fee and a photo of your residence (a photo of your home is worth a "thousand words"). Country organisers collect and submit listings to the Editor who compiles INTERVAC catalogues for distribution to members world-wide. We also operate a leading-edge online system through our website.
INTERVAC listings contain a clear description of each residence, its family, and where and when they would like to travel. Personal preferences such as no smoking or no pets are noted in the listings.
Once listings are available by catalogue or online, members contact each other directly to start a process that may lead to an exchange. It takes some initiative and work to make an exchange happen. INTERVAC facilitates the home exchange process by compiling and publishing home exchange listings - but we do not arrange exchanges for members.
Typically a family would make and receive several offers. But this varies depending on where you live, your residence, when you want to exchange, etc. Exchanges of hospitality (ie. members agree to exchange visits in each other’s homes) or longer-term exchanges between retired people or university staff are also possible.
Some members are very specific about where they want to go, and some simply specify "open to offers" meaning that they are flexible and willing to consider any interesting offers. Exchangers report that their best holidays occurred in some of the most unexpected places around the world.
We provide a checklist for organising a home exchange. We also encourage the exchanging families to co-sign a letter confirming the details of their exchange. But INTERVAC's responsibilities extend only to publishing the listings.
A high degree of trust and integrity has been associated with INTERVAC members over the years. Due to the caliber of people involved in home exchanges, this unique concept based on trust between two families has worked very well since the early 1950's.
