Would You Swap Houses to Save on Hotel Expenses?

SavvySugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:30:45 -0700

House swapping was never something that crossed my mind until I watched Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet merrily swap abodes in The Holiday. Cameron's character (Amanda) got to stay in a cozy English home while Kate's character (Iris) spent a week in a decked-out Los Angeles pad, and in the end everyone got exactly what they wanted. I made a mental note to peruse Craigslist to see what was out there the next time I traveled, but the fact is the idea hadn't come up again until I read an interesting article from Budget Travel.

Frequent traveler Joanna Goddard is a big proponent of home swapping; she's exchanged her Manhattan apartment for stays in other people's homes all over the world. She and her traveling partners have been able to stay for free in often expensive cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, and more. Joanna admits that, at first, it was difficult to imagine other people using her towels and sleeping in her bed, but once she became friendly with them over email she became comfortable with the idea.

Would you ever consider checking out the Housing Swap section on Craigslist instead of searching for a hotel deal?

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