Love Home Swap: Home Exchanges with Style
Written by Harvey Chartrand, October 26, 2011
Half of all Canadians are tightening their belts and planning to stay home this Christmas season, according to a recently commissioned Home Swapping Survey by global market research company Research Now.
“In tough economic times, travel becomes a ‘nice to have’ and is often one of the first things people cut from their budget,” said Debbie Wosskow, founder of Love Home Swap (www.LoveHomeSwap.com).
Wosskow loves to travel. Yet one day about a year ago she realized: “It’s not viable to vacation with kids. I’d really like to take my house and put it somewhere else if I want to travel.” So she came up with the idea for Love Home Swap and it’s grown internationally ever since.
Debbie Wosskow
Love Home Swap offers an all-new version of an age-old tradition – enjoying free vacations through stylish home exchanges around the world.
According to Wosskow, Love Home Swap offers an initial four-week trial for only $1, after which full membership costs $159 a year for an unlimited number of home swaps. Access to the service’s Luxe membership level costs $299 a year and includes a dedicated Travel Team, personal Concierge support, and “Hedonist city guides”.
Wosskow’s publicist Jennifer Stewart told Ottawa Life: “We’re on a nationwide tour, asking Canadians to join Love Home Swap because there is a huge demand for people to swap with Canadian locations, but there are only 60 properties right now on the website from Canada.
“So we’re here to talk to Canadians about this trend in social travel. It’s not the typical ‘book your accommodations through a travel agent’ or ‘go online with your hotel’, but ‘reach out to other people, build relationships and travel’.
“You can save on average $2,000 in accommodation per swap, so it opens up a whole breadth of possibilities for the traveling world, especially in these difficult economic times.”
While only 50% of Canadians had heard of home exchanges, 49% said they would be interested in participating in one in the next year because of the cost savings, according to the survey.
“Love Home Swap is part of a revolution in social travel. Why book an expensive hotel or villa when you can stay in lovely homes for free and swap as many times as you like, wherever you like?,” Wosskow asked.
Home swapping was brought to the big screen a few years back in the popular film The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457939/.
Above and beyond accommodation savings, amenities that can skyrocket a vacation’s cost are often included in the swap, including cars, kids’ toys, sporting equipment, and internet access.
For more information, quotes, case studies, or images, contact:
Jennifer Stewart
613.401.1097
Debbie Wosskow, CEO, Love Home Swap
Debbie@lovehomeswap.com
1.877.778.8485
