If you want your sheets changed daily, your breakfast delivered to your room or even the reassurance of knowing the toilet has been sanitized, you may be a candidate for an overnight stay in one of the 48,000 properties that populate the U.S. lodgings landscape
But hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfasts aren't for everyone, especially in these economic times when a seven-day stay can cost four figures.
That factor coupled with the growth of the Internet makes the times ripe for exchanging or renting a home.
Home swapping, once conducted largely through snail mail and with catalogs, has gained momentum, thanks to e-mail and the ease of posting photos and descriptions online, but it's still a minuscule part of the market, said Michael Oshins, professor of hospitality administration at Boston University. "Will [home exchange] be a big driving force? Probably not. It will always be a niche player. For the hotels, that's not their major competitor. It's still each other."
But its devotees swear by it.
Scores of Los Angeles Times readers told us about their rental experiences, which can be arranged through formal organizations that may charge a fee (see reader recommendations at latimes.com/swap) or informally.
Stephanie Anderson of Ventura has swapped living quarters through Homeexchange.com for vacations in the Netherlands, Denmark, Scotland, Canada, Colorado, Washington state and California.
She estimates that she and her family have saved thousands of dollars on accommodations. And, she noted, exchanging with a family with kids also has some built-in bonuses.
"It's great to arrive and have books, toys, bicycles, snow gear, etc., to borrow," she said.
And the condition of her home upon return? "We have always returned to a sparkling-clean house."
Maureen Redfield of San Clemente became an accidental swapper of sorts about a dozen years ago. She and her family were staying at a bed-and-breakfast in Ireland and began chatting with a Swiss family. One thing led to another and they agreed to exchange homes.
The experiment was so wildly successful that it became more than a one-off experience.
"We did this for 12 years, staying in different homes for a month all over Switzerland and making friends of all the previous exchangers," she said in an e-mail. "We are such good friends that now we just come and visit each other, share in children's weddings, births, etc. It was one of the most rewarding (and cost effective) things we school teachers ever did."
