ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — For many travelers, the biggest roadblock to seeing the world is their budget. But some Northeast Florida residents have found a creative way to make their vacation dreams come true, without paying for a place to stay.
Debra Silbar, a St. Augustine local, is one of them.
“When we moved here in 2021, we started doing a lot of home exchanges and really traveling around the world,” Silbar said.
Silbar uses an online platform called HomeExchange, which allows people to list their homes and swap them with others in destinations they want to visit.
“I’m planning a trip to Venice in March. My dates are really flexible,” Silbar said. “We’re working right now on another home exchange in Mexico City.”
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The concept is simple: travelers can swap homes to see and stay in their dream destinations.
Travelers choose between a reciprocal exchange, where two homeowners swap homes directly, or a non-reciprocal exchange, which uses a point system. If a host doesn’t want to stay at your home, you can offer GuestPoints, and each home has a nightly value for using them.
For Silbar, the connections she has made are just as valuable as the savings.
“We found a great home exchange partner in Philadelphia. His name’s Bill, we’ll text, we’ll call. He’s coming here in just a couple weeks, which will be really fun,” she said.
Bill, who has used HomeExchange to travel the world, says the experience goes beyond free lodging.
“It’s a different, more cost-effective way, plus you’re meeting people that live there,” he said. “You’re staying in a local place instead of a hotel and you’re gaining knowledge from that person about where to go, where the great restaurants are, and hidden gems for music.”
Safety is also top of mind for Silbar, who always meets her exchange partners virtually first.
“I won’t do an exchange and have somebody here unless I’ve met them visually online and had a conversation,” she said. She also recommends a video tour to see exactly where you will be staying.
HomeExchange provides insurance coverage for its members in case something goes wrong, though Silbar says she has never needed it.
According to its website, HomeExchange charges an annual membership fee. The platform says renters can participate too, as long as they have permission from their landlord.
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