Home Exchange: A Growing Trend Among Today's Travelers Looking for Great Accommodations at No Cost? Try Trading Your Home. Spouse is unemployed, economy is shaky, school's out.... and you're overdue for a vacation?! This may be the year to travel the "home exchange" way.

Home exchange, one of the best-kept secrets in travel, has become increasingly popular in recent years. In fact, aficionados of home exchange believe it is the only way to stay. Simply put, you stay in their place; they stay in yours - and no money is exchanged. "When I first learned about home swapping, it's like .....

LYNDHURST, NJ - Home exchange, one of the best-kept secrets in travel, has become increasingly popular in recent years. In fact, aficionados of home exchange believe it is the only way to stay.

Simply put, you stay in their place; they stay in yours - and no money is exchanged.

"When I first learned about home swapping, it's like a light bulb went off in my head. " says Claire Pertalion, a member of the popular Digsville.com site since 2000. "Here I am, a self-confessed 'travelholic,' and I will never have to pay for a hotel room again? So far I've been to Paris and North Carolina, saving at least $4,200 in lodging and meals."

"Saving a ton of money is only the beginning of the story," says Helen Bergstein, founder of the Digsville Home Exchange Club. "The real payoff comes in the opportunity to stay in a home, enjoying a place as a local. You have more space than most hotel rooms can offer with amenities such as a full kitchen and the use of extras such as a home office, automobiles, sports equipment and toys for the kids."

Home exchange offers travelers a whole new world of opportunity. An art teacher in Chicago trades apartments with a financier from Milan; a retired couple from Boston exchanges their Cape Cod summer home for a loft in San Francisco. The possibilities are endless - and so is the flexibility to accommodate extra family members and special needs.

Why the surge in popularity? According to Bergstein, "the softening economy, the large number of secondary homeowners who want more out of their investment and the increase in independent travel" are all fueling the growth of home exchange.

The Internet, with dedicated websites such as Digsville.com, plays a key role. Travelers in general tend to be very computer savvy. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, over 64 million people used the Internet to make travel plans in 2002. Add in the fact that the average traveler's largest single expense is usually for lodging and it's no surprise that history's greatest communication tool would become travel's hottest matchmaker.

What advice does Bergstein offer the newcomer to home exchange? "Be as descriptive as possible in your home listing and establish 'do's and don'ts ahead of time. Most importantly, be flexible and open to offers - you never know what jewel of an opportunity will come your way."

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Digsville.com is dedicated to providing the most secure home exchange, peer-to-peer network in the industry today. For more information including demographic statistics and Helen B's 10 Tips for a Successful Home Exchange or to schedule an interview, call Helen at

551-655-2536 or email helenb@digsville.com.