TRADING PLACES

EVER DREAMT OF TRAVELLING TO A NEW PLACE AND LIVING LIKE A LOCAL WITHOUT PAYING A HEFTY HOTEL FEE? HOME-SWAPPING PLATFORMS HELP YOU DO JUST THAT

- BY SMITA TRIPATHI

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 ₹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, globetrotting professionals, and those who prefer experiences over hotel loyalty points.