Steemers.
I am currently writing a book about how my wife and I escaped the rat race at age 37, took our 4 kids aged under 9 out of school and traveled around the world via the sharing economy homeschooling and world schooling along the way.
Here is a sneak peak at a chapter about how we started home swapping, since then we have swapped over 60 times into more than 15 countries across 4 continents.
I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you want to learn more.
Have an awesome Sunday
Dan
www.princesoffthegrid.weebly.com
Chapter 4 - The Sharing Economy.
“As people’s access to the internet grows we’re seeing the sharing economy boom - I think our obsession of ownership is at a tipping point and the sharing economy is part of the antidote for that.” - Richard Branson
The presenter on CTV Ottawa Consumer news announced that over two million Canadian’s had tried it in the last year, and would consider doing it again!
I was watching a youtube clip and no, it’s not what you think! I had been searching the internet for alternative ways to travel and stumbled across the consumer study report which introduced the concept of home swapping via the sharing economy.
The clip cut to Debbie Wosskow, a British entrepreneur who had been inspired by the film ‘The Holiday’ starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslett. After watching the movie, an idea sparked in her mind to set up her own home swapping company. She was a single mother of two who loved to travel, but found the usual experience of hotel rooms weren’t working anymore. She had been left huddled in the corner of her hotel room with the TV turned all the way down, eating room service each night after the kids had fallen asleep too many times.
Hardly comfortable, and hardly a holiday.
In the clip she explained that the average cost saving for a holiday using her home swapping service was into the thousands of dollars per trip as families exchange their homes and sometimes cars. It also opens up the opportunity to take trips to parts of the world that you might not have even considered before as the company was global and growing.
I needed more information, I Google searched Debbie’s name and watched more and more clips from her press junkets out of the US, Australia and the UK.
The message was clear: Home swapping was on the rise and it was a unique and affordable way to travel. We were at the cutting edge of a huge change in collective thinking.
Services like Airbnb and couch surfing were catching the attention of people who wanted and needed a change to the usual travel experience.
The travel industry at large was about to experience a huge awakening.
“Amandla Awethu!”
“Power to the people!”
Little did I know at this point of early home swapping researching that we would end up swapping over 50 times across four continents into more than fifteen different countries, all via the sharing economy for two and a half years straight!
Many of you reading this book are home owners, of which, many are also likely to own a second home. To those lucky enough to be in either position, you cannot underestimate the power you hold in your hands to the fellow traveller. Hell, even if you are renting you can still host home swappers, couch surfers or helpX volunteers offering their services in exchange for a roof over their heads. You can still become part of the travel community and get exposure to many people from all walks of life who inspire you with their stories and free energy.
I have talked at length about home swapping with many people along our journey and have inspired some to try it themselves. However, the majority remain skeptical and fearful, unable to overcome trusting another human being in their home.
How far has humanity fallen?
How often have you ever vandalised property or stolen something of value to somebody else? I am assuming never! So why, then, would you assume the complete opposite of somebody else?
Why has society fallen into this protective state of not trusting anybody around us?
Many would argue that it is the fault of mainstream news media, which is now basically controlled by a very few, very rich individuals who care nothing about us or anyone else, and even control our politicians.
Whether this is true or not, this fear of the fellow human being who is out for themselves, looking to take something from you or screw you over is prevalent in society and really needs to be addressed.
Honestly, people are amazing, just give them a chance to prove it. I guarantee that you will be bowled over by the kindness you receive in return for simply asking somebody for help.
When was the last time you stopped and asked somebody for directions?
Try it. Watch the response on that persons face and feel the sense of gratification they get when you say thank you and smile at them. If you still have your doubts about humanity, read on! In just a minute we’ll discuss some of the bigger questions I get about home swapping.
For now, consider that one of the great benefits of the sharing economy is that you are not only the recipient of others’ generosity, but you are also one of the generous individuals restoring others’ faith in humanity.
“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
- Anne Frank.
It was recently reported that the average British family spends up to two months' salary on their summer holiday break, a good percentage of that cost being spent on accommodation. This seems crazy!
You will be happy to know that home swapping provides another way.
You can leverage your own house or holiday home and travel to other wonderful destinations and stay in the most amazing houses, villas, flats or apartments. And all of this for free if you’re willing to allow other people to stay in your house in return.
This is exactly what we did and still do with the aforementioned www.lovehomeswap.com, and it has proven to be an awesome experience.
Home exchange is not a new concept, but like most other businesses, social networking on the internet has bought it a whole new lease of life.
Listing your home on the site is easy and, best of all, free. Yes FREE. All you do is upload some pictures of your property with a description about the house and yourselves, hit the upload button, sit back and wait!
Needless to say, the better the pictures and the more descriptive the narrative, the more interest you will get, so put a little effort in early.
One key caveat is that once you connect with people that are interested in swapping with you and are ready to start exchanging dates and details etc., you will have to become a paying member of the site. The basic package is all one needs to get started and is just 12 Pounds per month. We still use this package and have enjoyed excellent service from the team in charge of our account. At 144 pounds per year for a membership, that is a hell of a saving on your accommodation fees!
After just two weeks of being listed we had received two swap requests — from France and Switzerland — and had been shortlisted by three other members and received over 30 views.
However, there are, of course, many questions that people want answered before they start sharing their homes. Let’s drill down into the main objections I hear from people when I mention home swapping to them.
"But what if they just trash your house?”
This is the first question people ask us when we tell them how we are travelling.
Let’s be totally honest here, things are going to break from time to time and accidents will happen. Luckily, whilst we have stayed at other members homes, we have only ever had to deal with a dropped glass, plate or bowl (perhaps plural). In those situations, we simply emailed the owner and let them know what happened and where we can buy a new one to replace it. They always come back and say something along the lines of “Don’t worry about it, it’s a glass. Who cares?!”
There was also the time a shower hose broke, it was no fault of ours, it had just come to the end of it’s life span. I emailed the owner, explained what happened and asked where the nearest DIY store was. I had it fixed in no time.
We have had situations in our home that have left some small damage too, but again, that all just comes with wear and tear and is to be expected. For the most part, we have found that folks in the home swapping community are far more respectful than paying renters. In fact, after talking to many of the members, we have found that this feeling corresponds with lots of people’s experiences on the site.
It comes down to a question of psychology, when people pay to rent a property they feel a much greater sense of ownership, whereas a home swapper feels a huge sense of stewardship. The home swappers mindset is completely different, they feel a connection to the person they are swapping with as they have already had lots of contact with them leading up to the swap, plus they feel a sense of responsibility to keep the house clean and in good working order.
We always do a full clean of the house prior to departure and leave a welcome home note to the owners. We have always received nothing but good responses and have been happy with the way our property and belongings have been treated too.
I guess as humans we are just trained to fear the worst, but let's take a step back and actually think about it. The people you have conversed with are also paying members of the site, they are already like minded people, with similar ethics and outlook on life, just a little extra faith in humanity is all that's needed. People don’t want to ruin your things and they aren’t going to steal from you either!
If you are interested in more of the chapter, let me know in the comments ;)
Dan