HomeExchange.com launched a new program allowing owners of small inns, guesthouses and boutique hotels to list their empty rooms for exchange. The exchanges will benefit owners of these businesses who can trade their empty rooms for simultaneous or non-simultaneous lodging for their own travels. This feature doesn’t actually sound new to me, I don’t think there’s anything stopping people who run a lodging business from listing it on a home exchange website when it’s not being rented. In fact many people rent out properties on sites like Airbnb and also list the same places on home swap sites.
The real “innovation” for HomeExchange.com is apparently in the free advertising they are offering to these small rental lodging professionals. As their press release explains: “In contrast to private homeowner listings, professional members may choose to include property website addresses in their listings. This allows HomeExchange members to find and reserve as paying guests as well — in high season, for example. In these cases, all financial transactions take place directly with the accommodation provider, as HomeExchange never gets involved in paid bookings.” It appears these hotel owners are paying the same annual fee as regular members ($150/year) but gaining the added benefit of advertising for their property.
On the one hand, I like the idea of home exchange sites attracting more members. The more listings, the better chance I have of finding a swap that matches my needs. But on the other hand, these inns and hotels will most likely not include standard home amenities like kitchen and laundry facilities, and I generally want these features in a home exchange. And where I really benefit from rentals being included in home swap sites is with points-based exchanges, something HomeExchange.com doesn’t offer.
The HomeExchange.com press release explains: “The opportunity for industry professionals is two-fold: free accommodation in 150 countries in exchange for their empty rooms; and the chance to promote their properties to a targeted audience of enthusiastic travellers seeking authentic and ‘off the beaten path’ getaways.” HomeExchange.com doesn’t explain how they will vet these hoteliers to ensure only “off the beaten path” lodging is offered.
Here’s a bit more from their press release on HomeExchange.com’s motivation for this new offering: “We started talking to B &B and boutique hotel owners who had spontaneously registered on HomeExchange.com and realised there was a strong demand. Unoccupied rooms are great opportunities to exchange with both private homeowners and professional peers,” explains William Heinzer, European Director at HomeExchange. “Our mission remains to facilitate exchanges. In no way are we moving towards rentals. We’re simply bringing our community quality exchange offers where they will be warmly welcomed and providing professionals with a unique tool to utilize unsold inventory. Everyone wins.”
Interesting. Is there a greater risk that someone with an ongoing business with empty rooms to rent would become an undisclosed middleman for home exchanges, for a profit? If so, might this have a greater risk of exchanging your property with unknown, un-vetted, 3rd party travelers?
I don’t see how they could make a profit off of home exchange since the swap is, by definition, free. I suspect the only profit to be made is if someone loves the BnB so much they decide to return for a paid vacation at a different time.