In 2022, I stayed in Paris for ten days without paying a cent. This small miracle was made possible by signing up to HomeExchange, the home-swapping platform made popular in iconic noughties film, The Holiday, where a highly-strung, heartbroken Amanda Woods trades her Californian mansion for a dreamy Surrey cottage belonging to the affable, also heartbroken Iris Simpkins. What my trip lacked in Jude Law, it made up for in every type of French carb under the sun.
I cosplayed as a Parisian again the following winter, this time for over a month, splitting my time between a sunlit studio in the fashionable Marais and a young couple’s apartment in the 1st arrondissement. By June of 2023, I’d taken myself off to the Dutch coast for a five-night stay courtesy of one very stylish family, whose mid-century apartment overlooking the North Sea arrived at a time in my life when I – not unlike a Victorian-era woman in search of convalescence – was desperate for untarnished air and all-consuming quietude. Each time I returned home, it was to a squeaky-clean apartment filled with handwritten notes and gifts from my fellow swappers.
For someone who is never not on the go, home swapping feels like cracking the code to life: traveling for weeks, sometimes months, without any ensuing financial ruin. It’s also a welcome alternative to expensive, IKEA-furnished Airbnbs, where cheesy platitudes hang on walls and increasingly unhinged chore lists and extortionate cleaning fees make one wonder if traditional hotel stays weren’t a better option all along.
Nothing kills the holiday buzz like paying through the nose only to end up stripping beds and emptying bins on your way out.
HomeExchange is by far the largest home-swapping community, with roughly 180,000 members worldwide, yet those after a more personal, bespoke experience will find it in platforms like Behomm and Kindred. Behomm was founded in 2013 by graphic designers Eva Calduch and Agus Juste, after the couple struggled to find like-minded people (and beautiful homes) on other platforms. “I remember I spent days searching and searching and searching for a home [for our family holiday] before I finally found an architect’s home that fit what we were looking for,” Calduch recalls.
It’s the first home-swapping community catering specifically to creatives and design-lovers, and it has remained intentionally small – with only 1,200 members – thanks to an invite-only model. Aspiring Behommers will need a referral to join, either via an existing member or by applying for one with the platform itself. Only 20% of submissions make the cut. “Being invite-only is very important to me in terms of security,” Calduch explains. “We have a strict vetting process, so you can’t just pay and register like you can on other home exchange sites.” Once accepted, members pay a €380 annual membership fee, and all exchanges thereafter are free.
From sprawling farmhouses in Normandy and colour-injected London townhouses to architectural marvels perched on cliff sides in Canada, Behomm’s listings all feel as if they’ve been lifted straight from the pages of Architectural Digest, which is, of course, the entire point. Calduch reviews and approves each home herself, ensuring a thoughtfully-curated selection of homes that align with her and Juste’s own design sensibilities. “We don’t want to define beauty, or say that ours is the universal standard,” she says. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. But we do select homes based on our own tastes.”
For Calduch, beautiful design isn’t necessarily about square footage or luxurious finishes (though a cursory look at their Instagram suggests it doesn’t hurt). “A home can be filled with second-hand furniture and still be beautiful,” she believes. “Likewise, expensive things don’t always equate to good taste. For us, good taste is much more important than space or luxury.” She shares the story of a family from New York who swapped their capacious townhouse for a 20-square-metre apartment on an Italian island. “They didn’t care about the size; they just wanted to wake up to the sound of the sea. That’s the beauty of Behomm—it’s contextual. It’s about what makes you feel at home.”
For many, the time-intensive logistics of home swapping are a major deterrent. (I can vouch that many hours were frittered trying to coordinate my aforementioned Paris escapades on HomeExchange). Behomm eliminates much of this friction with its intuitive filtering system, where members can refine searches based on their specific needs—like family size, children’s ages, or homes suited to singles or couples. Members are even able to find sustainable-minded swappers who only ever travel via train.
Behomm’s emphasis on community feels worlds apart from the transactional anonymity of other accommodation platforms. Members, including writers, creative designers, and artists, can signal their willingness to host fellow swappers while they’re still at home using the “Hospitality” badge or opt to meet up people visiting their city with the “Have a Coffee” badge. Connection is central to Behomm’s ethos and it clearly brings the couple a lot of fulfillment. “A family recently told us, ‘Behomm has completely changed the way we travel—it’s completely changed our lives,’” Calduch tells me. “Such stories are common, with members travelling more, forming friendships, and even celebrating life events like anniversaries together. It’s really touching.”
While Behomm offers a boutique, design-centric experience, Kindred casts the net wider, making home swapping accessible to more travellers. Founded in 2022 by Justine Palefsky and Tasneem Amina, they have over 60,000 members across 150 cities in North America and Europe, with plans to expand into Australia. “My co-founder Tas and I both love to travel and believe deeply that the human connection, education, and core memories you earn through travelling make for a richer life,” Justine explains. “We wanted to build something that goes beyond just swapping homes—it’s about creating a community where collective values thrive and paying it forward becomes the norm.”
Kindred welcomes new members with onboarding sessions, a free professional photography shoot, and a personal concierge to answer any questions. If Behomm feels like chatting with your (very design-savvy) family friend, Kindred is all business—albeit a values-driven one.
They operate on a give-to-get approach, where members earn credits by hosting others or referring new members to the platform. “The only way to earn credits is to contribute to the community,” Justine explains. “Members can’t purchase nights or credits, which ensures that only active participants benefit.”
Membership is free, but all stays include a $15–30 service fee per night and professional cleaning costs—covering both pre- and post-swap cleaning—paid by members but arranged by Kindred. Frequent travellers can opt for a Kindred Passport, a one-time $600 fee that waives all service fees for one year, regardless of trip length or destination. To ensure quality and trust, every member undergoes verification, and homes must meet minimum standards for safety, functionality, and comfort. Any concerns about damage or breakages are allayed by an automatic $100,000 damage guarantee, liability insurance, and a trip protection program for last-minute cancellations.
Over 90% of the homes on Kindred are primary residences, not investment properties, and hosting doesn’t generate cash, which helps avoid the displacement of locals and rising housing costs seen with short-term rentals. “Since you don’t make money by hosting, our model doesn’t incentivise businesses to convert residences into short-term rentals,” Justine says. “This approach ensures that travel enhances rather than disrupts local life.”
Kindred members are encouraged to set up a video call before confirming swaps, and many stay in touch long after their exchanges end.
Justine shares a story from a recent Kindred community dinner party in Lisbon: Canadian members who turned layoffs into an excuse to travel, taking a two-month road trip across the U.S. followed by a month in Europe, staying exclusively in Kindred homes. “They discovered cities and hidden-gem towns they wouldn’t have thought to visit otherwise, creating an experience they’ll cherish forever,” says Justine.
Cost-saving and community-building aside, both Behomm and Kindred speak to a larger trend towards more intentional, respectful travel.
In European cities like Barcelona and Amsterdam, where over-tourism has led to restrictions on short-term rentals, platforms like these offer a sustainable alternative by using homes that are already in use. “Home swapping is the most sustainable way there is to travel,” Calduch says. “You’re using assets that already exist.” Justine echoes this sentiment: “Kindred naturally limits the number of visitors in a given area as it facilitates stays between members, often for longer durations reducing the transient, high-turnover of mass tourism. We allow people to live a richer, more inspired lifestyle, but in a way that’s more conscientious of the world around us.”
Swapping also means inheriting a local’s perspective – from favourite cafés to under-the-radar neighbourhood spots. “Staying at a hotel, you’re often separated from the city that you’re in,” Calduch explains. “With home swapping, where there’s no money involved, it’s like having guests over for lunch versus charging them at the end. It creates an entirely different dynamic.”
Home-swapping platforms like Behomm and Kindred are also making slow travel radically more accessible, turning extended stays—once financially prohibitive—into a viable option. “People are saving on accommodation, which means spending more time and money in one place, eating at restaurants locals recommend and supporting local economies,” Calduch notes. “It’s better for everyone.” As a home swapping evangelical, I couldn’t agree more.
