Earlier this year I wrote about my luck finding a one night Easter house swap in London. I stayed with a family that lives close to Heathrow airport for the night before my flight home. I found myself with a one night layover in London again this October. So I reached out to the same family to see if they might want to host me for a night again.
I had a lot of fun on my last house swap with these folks because they were home during my stay. I don’t typically end up with hosted home exchanges. But when I do they have consistently been really nice. Home exchange people seem to really go above and beyond as hosts! And I enjoyed spending an evening hanging out with my London hosts.
They responded quickly to my request for a stay in October letting me know I was welcome to use their home but they would be away during my visit. The discussion was quick because we already knew and trusted one another. My hosts said they would leave the keys with a neighbor for me, and that I would be in the same room I had used previously.
I already know how to get to their house from the airport (and back) via the Tube. And I even have a good running route I found on my last visit if I’m inspired to get in some exercise after my long flight. To me this is comforting. While I enjoy discovering new places, there is some stress involved in negotiating a new system of public transit and finding a new place of lodging. For this layover in London it may not be my home, but it will feel like home.
Awesome , another example of how Horizon could be used to facilitate home stays with existing trusted contacts 🙂