Home-swapping platforms are helping travelers to live like a local without paying a hefty hotel fee

It all began, at least in the cultural imagination, with a Christmas rom-com. In The Holiday, Cameron Diaz leaves her gleaming Los Angeles mansion, trading places with Kate Winslet’s picture-book Surrey cottage. Both women step into unfamiliar homes, and unfamiliar lives. What then seemed an irresistible Hollywood whim has since become real.

Today, Indian travellers can also swap their homes. With the arrival of HomeExchange, the world’s largest home-swapping platform, the fantasy of trading one’s home for another’s—be it a Parisian loft, a Swiss chalet, or a beachfront villa in Thailand—is now a practical and possible way to travel.

The Concept

For an annual fee of Rs 7,500, members can access a global portfolio of over 360,000 homes in 155 countries. The exchange involves no financial transaction between the guest and the host: you offer your home and stay in someone else’s. The more you host, the more you can travel—making it especially attractive to value-conscious families, globe-trotting professionals, and those who prefer experiences over hotel loyalty points.

For first-time users, the process resembles setting up a dating profile on the HomeExchange app or website. The members create listings with photographs, location details, and description of amenities. Emmanuel Arnaud, the platform’s CEO and Co-founder, says, “Members must complete home profiles before initiating contact to eliminate ‘ghost homes’. Once the profile is live, you begin your search: filter by city, style, or dates, then reach out to other members. Exchanges may be direct (simultaneous swaps) or non-simultaneous, using a system of points. Members earn points by hosting guests which can then be redeemed for stays elsewhere. The platform also offers a premium tier, the Home Collection, which features luxury properties for $1,000 a year. Home Collection only has around 2,000 listed homes.

While you may not be very comfortable handing over your keys to a stranger, the safeguards are reassuring. HomeExchange operates as a members-only community, where each participant is both a guest and a host. Intensive communication precedes an agreement, bolstered by reviews, ratings, and clear expectations.

“It’s a closed community, because to be on the platform, you have to have some property listed,” says Arnaud. That closed loop builds a sense of trust. The reassurance extends to protection: property damage coverage of up to $1 million ensures even the most carefully chosen objets d’art are safe. On the other hand, if you land at someone’s house and there are problems with the place like poor Wi-Fi, plumbing etc, HomeExchange will put you up in a hotel, ensuring that your holiday is not wasted.

HomeExchange is aiming to integrate 3,000 to 5,000 Indian homes within the first year. As of now, it has 130 members and 700 listings, clustered in metro cities—Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru —as well as perennial favourites like Goa, Jaipur, and Dehradun.

Early adopters are young, tech-savvy professionals looking for immersive ways to explore the world. Unlike Europe, where the community skews toward middle-class families, or the US, where it leans upper-class, India’s pioneers are digital nomads, software engineers, start-up founders—all eager to explore beyond the confines of hotels.

Arnaud sees India as a natural candidate for expansion. “Airbnb’s market penetration will work as a catalyst for increasing HomeExchange adoption here,” he adds.

House swapping, while suddenly fashionable, is far from new. The concept dates to the 1950s, when enterprising American teachers on opposite coasts swapped homes for their holidays. HomeLink, the pioneering organisation, is now in its 73rd year. There are also unofficial ways of swapping houses like Facebook groups, but an official platform provides more security for your home. Over the years, what has changed is the scale and the technology. What was once a niche for retirees or professors has become an option for families, couples, and digital nomads. With the rise of remote work, the ability to “live elsewhere” for a stretch—while still logging into Zoom—has only increased the appeal. Swaphouse, another platform to exchange homes, was launched post Covid by a couple based in Amsterdam, especially for those looking to work remotely. It has around 2,000 members globally, including in India. It’s a free platform and works like HomeExchange, except that you sign up using your LinkedIn profile and the most important thing to emphasise is your Wi-Fi speed. Another platform, People Like Us, set up in 2018 by a couple in Sydney, is present in 120 countries, including India. They offer a 30-day free trial and then charge $159 annually. Their site currently has around 15 houses from India.

Back in 2006, Diaz and Winslet’s swap seemed pure fantasy. In 2025, for Indian travellers, it is becoming a new reality.

@smitabw