FreeHomeSwap.com is a free exchange platform for house and apartment swaps whilst on holiday – and has been for over 25 years. Private individuals can list their home, holiday apartment or holiday home for exchange here and find swap partners in Germany, Europe and worldwide. Listings are free of charge; there are no membership fees.
We’ve been part of this since June 2000
The holiday swap platform has been in existence since June 2000. It began back then as the ‘Holiday Swap’ section on Ferienhaus-Privat.de, one of the pioneers of private German holiday home portals, which has been online since around 1998. Even back then, the rule was that placing an exchange advert was free of charge. The listings were sorted by country and region – from Germany and across Europe to North America, Asia and Australia.
Since 2010, the exchange platform has also been available at its own address, Fewo-Tausch.de – and in English at FreeHomeSwap.com.
The basic concept remains unchanged to this day: anyone wishing to swap their house or apartment for a period of time can place a free listing here and get in direct contact with other swap partners to arrange a holiday swap.
FreeHomeSwap.com at a glance
- Over 25 years’ experience – home exchange platform since June 2000, operating independently as Fewo-Tausch.de since 2010
- Temporary home swap and apartment swap – for holidays, a break or working from home in a different location
- Free listings, no membership fees – then as now
- Over 500 swap offers in 28 countries – with a focus on Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France and Italy
- Apartments, houses, holiday apartments, mobile homes and house-sitting
- Direct contact between swap partners – with no agency commission
- Originating from Ferienhaus-Privat.de, online since around 1998
The idea behind home swap
The idea is simple: two parties swap their homes for an agreed period. Whilst one family is on holiday by the Baltic Sea, the other stays in their apartment in the mountains – and vice versa.
Why people swap
- Holidays without accommodation costs: instead of paying for a hotel or holiday apartment, both parties use each other’s homes.
- Live like a local: a real apartment with a kitchen, plenty of space and a neighbourhood, rather than a hotel room – often with tips from the hosts on bakeries, the beach or walking trails.
- Ideal for families and pet owners: more space, toys, a garden – and in many listings, dogs are also welcome.
- Your home won’t be left empty: plants will be watered, the letterbox emptied, and sometimes the guests will even look after your pet.
- Trust rather than business: with home swaps, people meet on equal terms. Both parties entrust their homes to one another – and that is precisely what makes the swap so personal.
Types of exchange
- Simultaneous swap: Both parties swap during the same period.
- Staggered exchange: Ideal for holiday apartments and second homes – you stay at each other’s properties at different times.
- House-sitting: Someone stays in the property and looks after it whilst the owners are away.
How a holiday swap comes about
On FreeHomeSwap.com, you can list your home free of charge and specify where and when you’d like to travel. You can contact suitable swap partners directly. All other details – dates, key handover, arrangements – are sorted out between you personally.
Operator
Elke Plümer – PLÜMER INTERNET PUBLISHING – Contact: info@fewo-tausch.de · Legal notice & privacy policy