Home swapping and why these people love living in others’ houses: it’s free, convenient and great for families
- With Covid-19 travel restrictions ongoing, many looking for a change of scene have turned to swapping homes with like-minded staycationers
- Swapping can work out much better than a hotel or rented accommodation for parents with young children who exchange with similar families
With travel bubbles proving about as robust as soap bubbles and the thrill of hotel staycations beginning to pall, savvy Hongkongers are taking to holidaying at home. Or rather, at someone else’s home.
Relatively simple to organise, almost free and eminently sociable, home swapping could become this summer’s dominant holiday trend.
Either by following up on word-of-mouth recommendations or, more usually, browsing online, swappers – families, couples, singletons – match up mutually agreeable dates and accommodation, pack their bags and set off for a mini adventure that’s a blend of brand new and reassuringly familiar. High-rise dwellers get to relish a taste of slow island or country life, while rural residents can play the city slicker for a weekend or longer.
Australian teacher Dilan Abeynarayana and his wife, Abigail, set up one of the most popular sites, Hong Kong House Swap (Non Commercial), on Facebook in February.
“We came to the conclusion that travel out of Hong Kong wasn’t going to open up any time soon, so we might as well holiday here,” says Abeynarayana, who lives with his family in a three-bedroom village house just outside Sai Kung, in easy reach of beaches and hiking trails.
