Home Swappers Newsletter: Issue 15
April/May 2002
http://www.homebase-hols.com
Newsletter Archive: http://www.homebase-hols.com/news.shtml

Home Swappers Newsletter is published bi-monthly to provide information on home exchange holidays for current and recent members of Home Base Holidays, enquirers, Newsletter subscribers and journalists. If you do not want to receive further Newsletters please send us a message with 'unsubscribe' in the subject line plus your name in the message:

mailto:homeexchange@btinternet.com

Topics Covered:

STOP PRESS:  British Tourist Authority 'UK-OK' Free Flights Competition

  1. Solo Traveller Exchange Story: England to Australia
  2. Recent Enhancements to Home Base Holidays Website
     (a) Newest Listings
     (b) Brief Listings - longer descriptions, symbols
     (c) Advanced Search Options
     (d) Last Minute Offers - Boost My Profile!
  3. Exchange Requests from Members in England
     (a) 16th Century wing of Manor in Devon
     (b) Edwardian house near Althorp, Northamptonshire
  4. Home Swap Tips - Home Exchange Offer Messages
  5. Host Homes Needed for Japanese Visitors
  6. April Membership Discounts
     (a) New Members - 25% discount until 30 April
     (b) Renewing Members - 40% discount
  7. Print Directories
     (a) June Directory Deadline: 25 May
     (b) Directory Option: Last directory season
  8. Home Swappers Archives
  9. Newsletter Contributions
 10. Subscriptions

STOP PRESS:  British Tourist Authority 'UK-OK' Free Flights Competition

For a FREE Interactive CD ROM  Giving Spectacular Regional Tour of Britain + 36-page Exclusive Brochure on Hidden Britain for Everyone simply call 0844 477 8366 quoting 'Home Base Holidays' (calls cost 5p a minute and should last no longer than two minutes). Alternatively you can logon to http://www.visitbritain.com/ukok . Offer only open to UK residents.

YOUR CHANCE TO FLY YOUR RELATIVES TO BRITAIN FOR FREE

We have joined forces with the British Tourist Authority to give UK subscribers an extra incentive to encourage friends and family who live abroad to pay a visit to Britain. Subscribers who send the four postcards included in the pack overseas will be entered into a national prize draw. 10 winners will each have two nominated relatives and their partners flown to the UK from their native country courtesy of British Airways.  The winner of each prize draw (and a UK guest of their choice) will join their overseas visitors at either an Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza or Holiday Inn hotel.

In addition, not only will the overseas winners receive complementary Brit Rail passes offering free rail travel during the stay, but also a free 15-day Great British Heritage pass which allows them to visit hundreds of stately homes, castles and gardens at no charge during their stay.  Details of how to enter the prize draw and full terms and conditions are available in the pack, which you can request for free by calling 0844 477 8366.  Closing date of competition is 15 April 2002.

  1. Solo Traveller Exchange Story: England to Australia

Many people think of home exchange as a family holiday, and indeed it is a popular choice for families with children. However, just as homes and locations vary enormously, so do our exchange members. John Quartermain provided the following account of his experiences as a solo exchanger in Australia in 2001:

'Last year, in August/September, I had my third solo trip in consecutive years to Australia. In the previous two years I had moved about, on a limited budget by coach and train, on the east coast from Sydney to Cairns. Being so impressed with the culture, variable climate at that time of year, lack of stress or over population, I wanted to return and this time decided to try home exchange.

I joined Home Base Holidays on the website and initially felt that being a solo traveller of a mature age with a two bedroom flat might put me at a big disadvantage as many members were families with large properties. However, considering these circumstances, I presented my flat in Nuneaton, Warwickshire as a good central base for exchangers to travel both north and south in the U.K. This attracted Carol and Ros from Barrack Point, south of Wollongong, N.S.W. who were travelling to various parts of the U.K. in a rented car.

After a short stopover in Osaka, Japan, I spent six weeks in Carol and Ros's two bedroom bungalow at Barrack Point. Their home overlooks the Pacific Ocean at the bottom of the front garden and this was an enjoyable experience as was travelling about the south coast in their car.

Solo travel had the added advantage of enabling me to become part of Australian life for a short time, developing contacts, pursuing common interests with local people and conferring on our different cultures.

Carol and Ros left a note when leaving my flat: "Thanks again for the use of your home. Although we spent only about a third of our time here, it's been a great base and very convenient."

I would like to arrange two exchanges this year in New Zealand - Auckland and Hamilton. I will possibly link up with the U.K. national billiard players who tour New Zealand every year. If my exchange offer is of interest please see my full listing and photos on the Home Base Holidays website using the reference, HE10841.' - John Quartermain

Visitors: use the Detailed Search facility, Find Listing by Member ID, to view John's offer, HE10841. Members: log on to the Member's Area.

Visitor Search:  www.homebase-hols.com/preview.shtml
Member Login:  www.homebase-hols.com/login.shtml

   2. Recent Enhancements to Home Base Holidays Website

Just after joining, new UK member, Gay Haines, sent us a delightful message starting 'I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun!' It is very pleasing to hear when members enjoy using the site to search the listings. We are always looking for ways to improve the site to make it as user friendly as possible. Getting feedback and suggestions for changes and  additions from members and site visitors is invaluable in helping us decide the features that are most likely to be useful while still keeping the site simple and easy to use.

Check out Gay's listing, HE12481 - a lovely detached 19th century coachhouse in Tonbridge, Kent plus a centrally located 1840 built London house.

Visitor Search (use Detailed Search to view by Member ID):
www.homebase-hols.com/preview.shtml
Member Login:  www.homebase-hols.com/login.shtml

     (a) Newest Listings

Both members and visitors can use the Detailed Search options to find when listings were added to the site within a number of different time frames. We now have a quick link to the newest listings both in the Member's Area and on the home page to encourage everyone to check out the latest offers often (contacting a new member soon after they join increases your changes of having your exchange offer accepted).

Visitors:  www.homebase-hols.com
Member Login:  www.homebase-hols.com/login.shtml

     (b) Brief Listings - longer descriptions, symbols

However you do a search on the site you will first see pages of brief listings (10 per page) to enable you to quickly check for the offers of possible interest. The description in these brief introductory listings  has been lengthened to give you a better idea of the home and/or location before you click on the town name to see the listing in full.

A list of the symbols used in the brief listings appears at the top of each search page:

New - member joined or renewed in the last month
Wheelchair - home has disabled access
Camera - one or two photos in the listing
Suitcase - current exchange request fulfilled
Glasses - still looking for offers

Visitor Search:  www.homebase-hols.com/preview.shtml
Member Login:  www.homebase-hols.com/login.shtml

     (c) Advanced Search Options

Use the link directly below the main search box, Detailed Search, to limit the results of your searches in a number of ways. One new search option is by type of exchange wanted by members. Although the majority of members are looking for direct home exchanges there are a number of options which can be selected and searched for:

Home Exchange
Hospitality Exchange
Weekend Exchange
Rental Offered
Long Term Exchange
Housesitting Offered
Housesitting Wanted
Bed and Breakfast Offered
Open to Offers

Visitor Search:  www.homebase-hols.com/preview.shtml
Member Login:  www.homebase-hols.com/login.shtml

     (d) Last Minute Offers -  Boost My Profile!

Two Home Base Holidays members both suggested a need for a way to increase visibility for listings which had been in circulation for some time if the members had not yet arranged exchanges. Although we could have easily enabled members to add their listings to the top of all relevant search pages whenever wanted, a mixture of the latest listings and re-added older listings did not seem an ideal solution. However a search is done, listings appear in order of registration dates with the most recent listings first. This is not to discourage
members from contacting members who joined some time ago but rather to be fair to all members - everyone has 'their time' at the top of searches.

Our programmer has just now fixed a small glitch on our new Last Minute Offers list, a separate search feature especially for members who need some extra visibility for their offers when time is getting short to arrange an exchange. Initially this search option is available only in the Member's Area but it will shortly be added to the main search pages for visitors' use too. Those who have been members for more than a week will see the link, Boost My Profile, in the Member's Area to add their listings to the Last Minute Offers list. In order that listings won't remain on this list long after they are no longer available, each listing is automatically taken off the Last Minute Offers list at the end of a month (you will see the number of days your listing has left on this search list each time you log on to the Member's Area). Members can, of course, use Boost My Profile for a further one month period if needed.

During the first four week period (during April) you may find a number of listings in the Last Minute Offers list that don't appear to be 'last minute offers' - this is the glitch now fixed and such listings will gradually drop off the list by the end of the month. To make this search facility of most use we are depending on members to use the Boost My Profile option only when their dates are genuinely close and they have already contacted many members to suggest exchanges without success.

Search both Last Minute Offers and Newest Listings often and contact all members whose offers are of interest without delay.

Member Login:  www.homebase-hols.com/login.shtml

   3. Exchange Requests from Members in England

Occasionally members contact us who are having problems finding a suitable exchange. We are happy to give extra circulation to their offers in this newsletter. Members, short of time before exchange dates, can now also add their listings to the new Last Minute Offers list (see 2d above). Please check out the following offers:

     (a) 16th Century wing of Manor in Devon - Open to Offers and Dates for both home exchange and weekend exchange. Recently restored house in a picturesque small town close to Dartmoor National Park, many sandy beaches and Cornwall. Accommodates six; children welcome. HE12396

     (b) Edwardian house near Althorp, Northamptonshire - France, Italy, Spain, Open to Offers for two weeks in August 2002. Experienced exchangers with two children offer their spacious home within walking distance of the historic town of Northampton. 20 minutes from Althorp, former home of Princess Diana, and well situated for visiting Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford, Warwick and London. HE3644

Visitor Search (use Detailed Search to view by Member ID):
www.homebase-hols.com/preview.shtml
Member Login:  www.homebase-hols.com/login.shtml

  4. Home Swap Tips - Home Exchange Offer Messages

The Guidelines on the website include information on how to arrange an exchange from making the first contact to preparing for your guests before you go away. As members contact each other directly (generally by sending email messages from the listings on the site) we don't often see the messages members send to others to suggest exchanges but very occasionally we do - and some of these could do with a few changes.

As you will likely be contacting several other members before finding an exchange partner it is ideal to prepare a standard message to copy in all the exchange offer messages you send out. However, think about the kind of message you would like to receive yourself. If a member has taken the time to address you by name and comment on what has attracted them to your listing, as well as offer to answer any questions you have about their offer (following this with their 'standard' information and User ID to enable you to quickly find their full listing on the site), it is likely that you will feel more receptive to considering their offer than if it looks obvious that the same impersonal message has been sent out to several other members.

One 'how not to do it': several months ago we received a complaint from a member to say that a number of members had not replied to her messages. On checking into this we found that not only had she sent her message to some members whose homes were clearly not suitable for her large family but that her message included no information on her exchange offer but only a number of demands on what she would need provided in the exchange home, concluding with the request that arrangements be made for her family of seven to be collected from the airport early morning. This is not the best way to create a good first impression!

Member Guidelines
www.homebase-hols.com/guidelines.shtml

   5. Host Homes Needed for Japanese Visitors

Navix, a Tokyo based specialist translation company, has set up an educational program to enable Japanese people to experience life in other countries. Navix are looking for houses and flats of a high standard in any country, plus home stay and bed & breakfast accommodation, for the participants. Although this is not strictly home exchange related, the ethos of the Navix project in promoting
cultural understanding fits well with the home exchange concept. We are happy to circulate this request and hope that some members and site visitors will be able to offer help.

There are four separate programs:
(1) mother and child studying abroad
(2) life experiencing program for couples aged 55+
(3) studying abroad (open)
(4) studying abroad (for aged 55+).

Navix needs the following:

(1) houses and flats for one month periods (rent paid according to standard of accommodation). Home stay and B & B could also be suitable.
(2) transportation of guests to and from airport (will be paid)
(3) support in Japanese

Ideally people providing accommodation and airport collection would also be able to offer support in Japanese. However, members of the local Japanese community will be recruited to provide this back-up support to visitors when this additional help is needed.

If you are interested in finding out more about the programs and the accommodation needed please contact Kumiko Imura at Navix:
mailto:imurak@navix.jp

   6. April Membership Discounts

     (a) New Members - 25% discount until 30 April

Hoping to arrange an exchange this year? As it can take some time to find an exchange and make your arrangements, it pays to join well ahead of the dates you want to exchange. Join by 30 April for a 25% discount on the internet option membership - in  time to also have your listing included in the June directory (see 7a below). The discount rate is £28.50. Check the rate of exchange for pounds sterling in another currency: http://www.oanda.com/cgi-bin/travel

Join Now:
www.homebase-hols.com/join.shtml

      (b) Renewals - 40% Discount on Internet Option

Listing expired? Log on to the Member Area to easily renew on-line (£22.80 only for internet option membership renewal):

www.homebase-hols.com/login.shtml

Forget your User ID or password? Contact us, giving your name and address, and we will forward this information to you:

mailto:info@homebase-hols.com

   7. Print Directories

     (a) June Directory Deadline: 25 May

Current season directories were published in November 2001 and March 2002. A final edition will be published in June 2002. If you are not already a current member, join by 25 May for immediate listing on the website and publication in the June directory.

www.homebase-hols.com/join.shtml

     (b) Directory Option: Last directory season

Home Base Holidays has published three directories each year since 1985. Indeed, until 1997, the first year members could join and search listings on our website, all members received directories and usually contacted others by mail to suggest exchanges. As internet access has become so widespread amongst members in the last two years the number of directories needed has dropped dramatically. The majority of members now prefer to search the up-to-date listings on the website (a cheaper membership option) and so we have reluctantly decided not to offer a directory service after the final edition for the 2002 season is published in June. We will, however, still be helping members without internet access by passing on enquiries received to enable
these members to continue to take part in exchanges.

   8. Home Swappers Archives

If you miss any issues of Home Swappers you can read back editions on the website:

http://www.homebase-hols.com/news.shtml

  9. Newsletter Contributions

If you have had a home exchange we would be pleased to receive your contributions for the Newsletter - short articles about your exchange experiences and tips for those new to the idea of swapping homes. Members' articles include HE reference numbers to give added publicity for their exchange offers. We also welcome questions from all considering home exchange for the first time.

Information on travel related websites or other travel bargains which could be of interest to readers of Home Swappers are also appreciated.

Happy Home Swapping in 2002

Lois Sealey

mailto:homeexchange@btinternet.com

  10. Subscription Information

We are very happy for you to forward Home Swappers to friends and colleagues who may be interested in home exchange but the newsletter must be sent in full. All Home Swappers content is copyright an  cannot be used in any form without written permission from Home Base Holidays.

To subscribe, send us a message with your name and e-mail address and 'Subscribe' in the subject line.

To unsubscribe, send a message with your name and e-mail address and 'Remove from mailing list' in the subject line.

mailto:homeexchange@btinternet.com

Copyright © 2002 Home Base Holidays

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HOME BASE HOLIDAYS, 7 Park Ave, London N13 5PG, England
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mailto:homeexchange@btinternet.com
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1985-2002: 17th year providing a home exchange service worldwid