Goedemorgen neighbour: How house-swappers are changing the world of travel

West Aussies are holidaying on the cheap across the globe via house swaps, with families also switching cars and even social circles.

The house-swappers are saving thousands of dollars on accommodation by foregoing hotels and Airbnbs in favour of property exchanges.

Semi-retired North Perth couple Kate and Sam have done six exchanges through Aussie House Swap since 2015, including three during an extended family visit in Sydney, where they stayed in upmarket Balmain, Surry Hills and Avalon.

The pair returned from four weeks in Barcelona this month, and have also used the program to holiday in Helmond, in The Netherlands and Devon, England.

“By house swapping, we have been able to explore some amazing parts of the world that we would never have thought of visiting,” said Kate. “We have discovered three places that we really loved.”

Sam said it was enjoyable to get off the tourist track, immersing themselves in neighbourhood life and living as locals do.

Their visit to The Netherlands had proven one of their most seamless journeys, with the pair picking the Dutch couple up from Perth Airport and taking them back to their inner-city home, before leaving on their own flight to Holland hours later.

They were fortunate to arrive in the city of Helmond for National Neighbour’s Day, enjoying a street party which helped them forge friendships with the local residents.

At the end of the exchange, Kate and Sam drove the Dutch couple’s car to meet them at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, before swapping keys and continuing their own journey by train.

The pair were also delighted with a recent month-long stay at an apartment in Barcelona, another city they had never previously thought to visit.

The exchange saved them more than $5000 in accommodation costs. “We simply would not have stayed there that long had it not been for the house swap,” she said,

But while their experience has been overwhelmingly positive, many online stories complain of exchanges gone wrong.

Most complaints involve dirty homes, and occasional household damage, broken appliances and dead gardens.

The pair conceded many friends had baulked at the thought of letting a stranger stay at their home with their valuables but they did not consider it an issue.

“I feel confident in knowing people are going to look after my home just as I am going to look after their home,” she said.

“We’ve had people do lots of work in our garden and there is usually a bunch of flowers on the table when we return,” she said.

She said there had never been any extra payment for utilities, like electricity, but a system could be organised between hosts if desired. Similar negotiations could cover pets, smoking and other variables.

Home-owners need not need to feel like they had to have a resort-style home in order to make a swap. In fact, most properties the pair had stayed in had been fairly regular homes.

But they had made a point of choosing exchange properties that were close to amenities, like public transport.

And while the pair had always organised simultaneous swaps, it was possible to exchange at different times.

And swappers need not leave the State borders.

West Perth apartment owner Diana Yanez said she and her partner swapped their abode for a Dunsborough property for a long weekend.

She said the pair organised the exchange a month in advance, and would not have holidayed had they been forced to rely on “expensive” hotels.

The Department of Consumer Protection said it had not received any complaints about house swaps.