Current Issue

Home Sweet Swap

Home exchanges are a novel way to live like a local when you travel. Here, three veteran home swappers who launched their own companies discuss the financial rewards of an exchange vacation.

By Patti Verbanas

Inside Story

Home swapping has been in Helen Coyle Bergstein’s blood since childhood. For three summers, her best friend’s family exchanged their home near Manhattan with a family who owned a farm in Quebec — and invited Bergstein to join them. “Ten years later, when I was living in Hoboken with my daughter and on a limited budget, I remembered these wonderful summer experiences and placed an ad in the Cape Cod Times to find a family who would be interested in exchanging their home with mine. We did that for years, and I was hooked!” After Cape Cod, Bergstein began swapping her apartment for a “great farmhouse in the Catskills — one large enough that we often brought another small family with us.” Seeking more opportunities, the passionate home exchanger turned to national companies but was discouraged by their “cumbersome” catalogs. That’s when she decided to start Digsville, her own home exchange company, online. “I figured the Internet could take home swapping to a whole new level,” she says, “and turn this once-sleepy industry on its head.”

Helen Coyle Bergstein

“The dollars-and-cents reason for choosing a home exchange for vacation is easy to figure out: You don’t pay a penny for your accommodations. But what people don’t realize is that often the exchange reaches beyond dwellings to include pet care or use of cars, which rewards swappers with additional savings. In addition, you’ll save by eating many of your meals at home. Our unique service is matching housekeeping styles — we don’t want to have Felix Unger staying in Oscar Madison’s home!”
Helen Coyle Bergstein, Founder/Caretaker, Digsville, Digsville.com
Founded 1999 | 3,000 members | $44.95/year, unlimited swaps

Ed Kushins

“People are now looking at home exchange as a viable alternative for any out-of-town accommodation need, including reunions and weddings. Groups can stay in a large house together rather than spend money for hotel rooms. Home exchange is not a financial transaction in which you’re renting your property; it’s a club for members who want to exchange their homes with one another. So your exchange partners should be considered invited guests and covered in that way by your homeowners’ and automobile insurance. The conditions of coverage vary by policy, so check with your provider. ?We are unique in that we offer free trip cancellation insurance, underwritten by Lloyd’s of London. Most trip cancellation insurance kicks in when you have to cancel. ?Our insurance kicks in even if your exchange partner has to cancel.”
Ed Kushins, President/Founder, HomeExchange.com
Founded 1992 | 29,000 members | $99.95/year, unlimited swaps

Allan Miller

“The economy has driven many people to opt for ‘staycations.’ That term typically describes staying at home, but participating in a home exchange broadens this concept to include the ability to travel anywhere in the world lodging-free, which is a tremendous financial gain. We specialize in vacation property exchanges and perform searches for our members rather than having them do it themselves. Like other companies, we provide documents that can be used as exchange agreements between members. These documents tend to make people who are performing their first or second exchange more comfortable. However, after exchanging a few times, members feel comfortable enough to make the swap with a verbal agreement.”
Allan Miller, Vice President/Founder, The Vacation Exchange Network, Whippany, thevacationexchange.com
Founded 1997 | 1,500 members | $39.95/year (first year waived) + $250 per direct exchange; $500 per indirect exchange

Current Issue

Home Sweet Swap

Inside Story

Helen Coyle Bergstein

Ed Kushins

Allan Miller

Further Reading