In recent years, a new trend has gained momentum among travelers seeking more affordable and authentic accommodation alternatives: house swapping. Instead of relying on traditional hotels or platforms like Airbnb, many tourists are choosing to swap homes with strangers, a creative solution that not only reduces travel costs but also fosters human connections and promotes more sustainable tourism.
Lauren Shaw, a New York resident, is an example of how this practice can transform the way we view travel. Passionate about travel and winter sports, Shaw has always dreamed of exploring different ski resorts around the world. However, the high cost of accommodations in these destinations—already expensive by nature and inflated by the rise of short-term rentals—has always been a barrier. Moreover, the idea of renting out her own apartment to strangers through traditional platforms never appealed to her. “I never felt comfortable listing our apartment on a rental platform,” she confesses. “I have friends who had terrible experiences with guests and little or no support from the platform’s team.”
This is how she and her partner discovered house swapping as a viable solution. “We love traveling, and this possibility allowed us to do it much more frequently, since accommodation is usually the most expensive part of a trip,” she explains. Shaw also highlights the sense of responsibility that comes with this type of arrangement: “Since you also need to open your home to stay in someone else’s, there’s an implicit commitment to take care of their space as if it were your own.”
Kindred, the platform Shaw is a part of, exemplifies this growing movement. Launched in 2022, Kindred now has 75,000 members in 150 cities across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Western Europe. Its model is simple but innovative: instead of direct financial transactions, users exchange nights of accommodation. “More than 90% of the homes on our platform are the primary residences of the hosts, meaning they are actually their homes for most of the year,” explains Justine Palefsky, co-founder of Kindred. “Here, members exchange nights, not money, so there’s no buying or selling stays for cash.”
Kindred users only pay a service fee per night—which ranges from $15 to $35—and cleaning fees after the stay. This model makes accommodation about ten times cheaper than traditional short-term rentals. In addition to the significant savings, the proposal also addresses important urban concerns. “It was essential to create a system with a more conscious impact on cities,” says Palefsky. “I grew up in San Francisco, an extremely expensive place, and I always wondered, ‘How am I going to afford the same quality of life my parents had?'”
This concern is not isolated. In several cities around the world, the rise of short-term rentals has caused tensions between locals and tourists. Platforms like Airbnb are often criticized for contributing to gentrification and the shortage of affordable housing. In New York, for example, the approval of Local Law 18 in November 2023 imposed strict restrictions on renting out entire apartments through Airbnb. Now, only properties where the host resides during the stay can be listed, and all must be registered with the city hall—under threat of hefty fines for non-compliance.
Barcelona has also taken drastic measures, announcing plans to ban short-term rentals entirely by 2028. The decision came after years of protests against excessive tourism, which not only drove up property prices but also altered the social fabric of the city, pushing out residents and small businesses in favor of tourist accommodations.
In this context, house-swapping platforms emerge as a sustainable and ethical alternative to mass tourism. Emmanuel Arnaud, CEO of HomeExchange, another giant in the sector, reinforces this idea. “Our proposal is the opposite: everything can be shared. There is another possible world, one that is not based solely on money. Even your most valuable asset, your home, can be shared. And if everyone shares, we can open up an incredible array of travel opportunities.”
Founded more than 30 years ago, HomeExchange started as a physical catalog before moving to digital. Today, it has over 200,000 members in 150 countries and records an annual growth rate of 50%. In 2024, it recorded over 460,000 exchanges. Many know the platform from the movie “The Holiday,” where the characters played by Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swap homes during the holiday season, experiencing life-changing adventures.
HomeExchange’s model differs from Kindred’s in its membership structure: users pay a fixed annual fee of $220, which allows them to make an unlimited number of exchanges throughout the year. This simplicity encourages continuous use and strengthens a community based on trust and collaborative spirit.
Esmond Fountain, a comedian and storyteller from New York, discovered Kindred at a user event and ended up traveling to London with a friend he met through the platform. “It’s not just about traveling affordably; the sense of community has transformed my life,” he says. Barbara, a HomeExchange user, shares a similar sentiment. “House swapping has greatly enriched my life. I’ve made friends around the world, visited places I never imagined, and learned how people truly live.”
These stories highlight the emotional and social value of this form of accommodation. Beyond financial savings, house swapping offers more authentic experiences and fosters connections that would be unlikely to form in a hotel or rented apartment. The experience goes beyond traditional tourism, offering genuine cultural immersion and, often, lasting friendships.
But the benefits don’t stop there. For lawmakers concerned with mass tourism, house swapping can be a viable solution to mitigate the negative impacts of overcrowded tourist destinations. “If 100% of people who currently rent properties short-term were swapping homes instead, there would be no overtourism, because the number of accommodations available would be the same as that of residents,” argues Arnaud. “If there are people living in the place, we’re not adding more tourists. The total number of people stays the same.”
In a time when cities around the world are struggling to balance tourism growth with the preservation of residents’ quality of life, initiatives like Kindred and HomeExchange offer a promising alternative. They not only democratize access to travel, making it more affordable, but also create a more conscious and collaborative tourism model—truly an antidote to the predatory tourism that threatens many urban communities.
House swapping, once seen as a niche solution, now stands out as a viable and advantageous practice for an increasing number of travelers. In an increasingly connected world that is more conscious of its social and environmental impacts, this may be the next big revolution in the travel industry.
