Two weeks in Barcelona, one week in Tignes, another in Oléron, a long weekend in Annecy, another in Bordeaux… Anne-Sophie du Doignon lists the houses or apartments in which she has spent holidays in recent months, with husband and children, thanks to the HomeExchange platform. “We would never have been able to leave so much if we had had to pay for rentals. Now we only travel like that”explains this 42-year-old local public service executive, married to an engineer.
In return, she left the keys to her big pavilion near Lake Bourget (Savoie) – large garden, trampoline and above-ground swimming pool – to almost strangers. “Overall, people are respectful, there is a form of mutual trust”, she believes. Once, someone dropped the Pressure Cooker on the induction hob, which broke. It could be changed with the insurance of the site, the awkward family got away with a deductible of 100 euros. “We also had a problem with the trampoline net, but it was resolved amicably. »
The followers of this barter device are more and more numerous. HomeExchange, the market leader in Europe and America, headquartered in Paris, saw the number of its members jump 37% in one year. The site claims 98,500 members (a third are French), who pay 150 euros per year to have access to this device. No need to carry out the exchanges simultaneously. With a point system (the number of which depends on the quality of the house), it is possible to welcome people into your home, then use this virtual currency to stay with other members of the “community” in Saint-Malo, Bastia, Milan or New York.
“A history of social bond”
“People’s main motivation is economicexposes Maria Casado Diaz, a researcher in geography at the University of Bristol, who carried out a study on the exchanges of houses. And in these times of tension on purchasing power, going on vacation without paying for accommodation is particularly interesting. Then comes the search for an authentic experience, the desire to stay outside areas that are too touristy, to live a more local experience, to be less ultra-consumption. »
“People feel like they’re having a richer vacation experience. It tells a story of social connection at a time when people are looking for that., continues Vanguelis Panayotis, president of the firm specializing in hotels MKG. In 80% of cases, the exchanged house is a principal residence.
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