What we offer
Discover the Key to Staying For Free
Home Around the World is a gay owned and run house swap, guest and host service, based in London. Our worldwide members discover imaginative, and unique solutions to create perfect holidays in some of the world’s most popular vacation spots.
Home Around the World offers:
1 Home Exchanging
Your exchange partner stays in your home for an arranged period of time, while you vacation in theirs.
See the world for free and experience that sense of “belonging” you can only get from staying in a cosy home and walking in another’s footsteps. Many exchangers have second or vacation homes and in these cases, a non-simultaneous exchange, where exchanges take place at different times may be suitable.
No matter when you exchange, you always travel safe and secure in the knowledge that your home, your pets and plants are being cared for by another HATW member.
“I even exchanged my car, no more rental charges!”
2 Hospitality Exchanging
You stay with other gay people and you return their hospitality at a later, mutually convenient time.
If you are new to home exchange and are not sure about a making a direct home swap, hospitality exchanges are a great way to “test the waters” and see the world whilst making new friends along the way.
Many long-term friendships have evolved from hospitality exchanging.
“…I joined and two months later I had the pure pleasure of 2 great hospitality exchanges in Brooklyn and Chelsea. The guys and I had never met before, but we simply hit it off and the “Chelsea boys” came to Berlin last year. I will actually go NYC again this year and will stay again with my new found pals – HATW perfectly fits my way of living!"
Christoph from Berlin
“…thanks for running the website. It’s a great service and I’ve recommended it, with great success, to a few friends (both gay and straight). You do a good deed with this site! I’ve made friends in London and Sydney through it that have lasted long past a single exchange."
Ulrich from New York
3 Room Exchanging
Provides an economical way to travel, which is very popular especially with our younger members who may live in shared accommodation.
“As I don’t own my home, I thought I couldn’t home exchange, but by exchanging my room with a member in Paris during gay pride, I had a great holiday, and so did Pierre. He fell in love with San Francisco!”
4 House Sitting
Receive free accommodation whilst looking after other members’ homes, plants and pets when they are away.
You vacation secure in the knowledge that your home is being looked after by another member.
Another win-win situation, as both parties benefit.
“Last year I did a world tour. I looked after a house in Hawaii, worked for a while, and also house sat in Auckland, while the owner went on a business trip to Europe. And I fell in love – with Randy, the dog.”
5 Guests, hosts and Couch Surfing
Be a guest in another member’s home and make new gay friends, get an insider’s knowledge of the local scene and enjoy being a tourist, whilst living like a resident. Dinner and party invitations are never far away. Become the fascinating newcomer everyone is eager to meet!
Be a host and rent out a spare room in your home, at times to suit you and with conditions to suit you.
Need a couch? Members without a spare room may offer you their couch to sleep on. Taking your hosts out to dinner, buying wine and flowers may be all the thanks they require for their kindness in providing you with free accommodation for a couple of nights whilst you are passing through their city.
Living in another home is simple, it’s fun and as a member…it can be free!
6 Vacation Share
Tired of holidaying on your own and paying single room supplements? Would you like to share a hotel room or even a cruise cabin?
Travelling alone can be fun, but it can also be lonely at times and it is invariably more expensive.
Contact other HATW members with a view to splitting accommodation expenses and finding a travel buddy.
Use the Home Around the World hotels, guesthouse, B&B and vacation rentals sections to source some great gay lodgings where you can also receive HATW discounts. This new feature will be online in December 2009.
We provide the connections for you to make whatever arrangements work…just for you.
7 Live Around the World
Thinking of relocating to another country and want to experience it first? Or are you retired and now want to experience the joys of living like a native, not travelling like a tourist?
For members with the luxury of time on their hands, why not spend extended periods of time in another country?
Our Live Around the World service has been designed with you in mind, so you can either swap your home or simply stay with another member, who is just like you.
8 Friendship and Networking
Not necessarily looking to travel and exchange homes throughout the year?
Make easy contact with other members who are also looking to make new friends in your own city and around the world.
Cocktails? Dinner? Friendship? Business networking?
Whatever it is you are looking for, we’ll help you find someone, just like you.
Ready to become a member? Join HATW now!
