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Rise Of Trust-Based Travel: Inside The World Of Home Swapping

What happens when you swap homes with strangers? A travel movement built on trust, not transactions—much like my experience with a Spanish couple at my Paris home

Home Exchange involves staying at a local's house while travelling, instead of a hotel. Photo: Sourced
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The idea of exchanging homes sounds beautifully simple. You stay in mine, I stay in yours. Exchanging homes or hosting someone in your home often creates the kind of fond, lasting memories that go far beyond travel—they’re built on empathy, connection, and shared humanity. The most meaningful travel experiences aren't always about exotic places—they’re about the human connections we make.  

It is a story that begins not in a faraway destination, but at home. As someone who has swapped homes across continents, from a sun-drenched riad in Marrakech to design-forward apartments in Copenhagen, you’d expect my favourite memory to involve palm trees or panoramic cityscapes. But the experience that truly stayed with me, the one that reminded me why we started HomeExchange in the first place, came not when I was a guest, but when I was a host. 

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