JULIE Williams has travelled all over the world in the past 12 years – but she’s hardly spent a penny on accommodation.
The 61-year-old, from Devon, and her husband, Peter, 77, have watched turtles laying eggs near the Great Barrier Reef, and swam with giant manta rays.
They’ve sailed around the Caribbean, seen wombats in the wild and landed on a New Zealand glacier in a private helicopter.
Experiencing some of the most incredible sites on earth like these usually costs a fortune in accommodation costs alone.
But Julie and Peter, who live in a three-bed house in Devon, have hardly spent anything.
Instead, they’ve embraced home-swapping – staying in other people’s homes around the globe for free, meaning they are paying only for the flights.
“Because of how much we save on hotels, we’ve been able to afford to pay for some incredible excursions,” Julie said.
“They’re the kind of experiences money can’t buy.”
Having stayed in many luxury homes, as well as more normal family houses, Julie reckons she and Peter have saved around £150,000 over the years, but have still stayed in some luxury homes.
“We’ve had places with swimming pools, tennis courts, even a vineyard,” she said.
Speaking to The Sun just days after a three-month trip to Australia, Julie says she only paid for eight nights’ accommodation, when they were ‘in between’ home swap properties.
The couple registered with the site HomeExchange 12 years ago for around £60. Though the annual fee is now £180, you can still save a fortune, like Julie and Peter.
She said: “We just thought we’d give it a go, as the cost was probably less than we’d have paid for one night’s accommodation.
“Our first trip was to the Caribbean, where we did three exchanges including sailing round St Maarten and St Barths with the owners on their yacht. We had to pinch ourselves.”
People using HomeExchange can do different kinds of swaps.
Two families can swap their homes, at the same time or on different dates.
They can also use Guest Points to stay in a different house – or country – altogether. You get the points when you sign up and then each time people stay in your home.
You can also host people when you’re there, which Julie and Peter regularly do.
HomeExchange reckons a family of four saves £2,000 a year on accommodation costs by using the site.
Home swapping tips
You can do an informal home swap with friends or through a Facebook group, but for security you’d be better off opting for an organised site.
Trust is at the core of home swapping, so you have to be happy to allow strangers you’re your house.
It’s best to lock away valuables and check with your home insurer.
Some websites, like HomeExchange, offer protection in case of damage or a cancelled booking.
HomeExchange says 99.7 per cent of exchanges happen without incident.
It has a calculator to work out savings compared with paying for a two-star hotel.
It suggests a family of four could save around £1,400 on a week’s trip to Barcelona, or £1,100 on five days in New York.
More than a third of those who swap via Home Exchange are families, a quarter are empty-nesters and 13 per cent are single.
Julie, who works in hospitality in Devon, uses the quiet winter months to jet off with Peter, a retired sales director.
They often visit Australia, where Julie’s son Will, 36, has been living for the past five years, travelling for up to three months at a time.
In total, they have done more than 140 home exchanges to different parts of the globe, holidaying in Australia, New Zealand, Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Caribbean, as well as the UK and Europe.
The furthest they’ve travelled is to the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
They do have to pay for flights, but are happy to do several stop-overs to get the best deals.
“By staying a long time when we get there, it makes the price of the flights better value,” Julie said.
She finds the best deals by scouring sites like Skyscanner and Jack’s Flight Club. She also signs up to airlines to hear of special offers and uses their loyalty schemes to save more.
She and Peter try to be flexible with their travel dates, to take advantage of cheaper flights.
What should you look for in a good travel insurance policy?
- Medical expenses – A good policy will give cover of £1million or more for travel in Europe and £2million or more for the USA
- Repatriation service – The costs of getting you back to the UK for medical reasons should be covered automatically by your policy
- Cancellation and curtailment – A good policy will cover you for £2,000 or more if you have to cancel or shorten your holiday
- Missed departure – Covers additional accommodation costs and travel expenses up to £500 or more if you miss your flight due to circumstances out of your control
- Delay – You’ll usually be covered for £250 or more if your travel plans are delayed due to circumstances out of your control
- Baggage cover – Covers you if your baggage is lost, damaged or stolen. Look for policies that have cover of £1,500 or more.
“Living in other people’s houses means we can also save on eating out and explore local supermarkets instead.
“The owners often leave a booklet of information, which means we get to experience it like locals, which can also be a cheaper way to do things.”
The couple lived in Italy for 15 years and had no problem exchanging their home with a pool, which also had a self-contained annexe.
After moving back to the UK two years ago, they worried that there wouldn’t be such a demand, but they’ve found their converted barn in rural Devon is also popular.
“People want to go to different places for different reasons, so you don’t have to have a great big property with a swimming pool.
“Lots of families do it. It’s great for them to be able to find somewhere to stay which is set up for children, with all the equipment they might need.”
