#homelink house swap

[homelink01]

HomeLink: Trusted Global Network for Unforgettable Home Swaps

HomeLink opens the door to a world of diverse accommodations and a welcoming global community. As a trusted platform for home exchange, HomeLink offers an array of options to suit your preferences, allowing you to experience new destinations authentically and affordably. By joining this community, you become part of a like-minded group of individuals who share a passion for travel, cultural immersion, and creating meaningful connections worldwide. With HomeLink, unforgettable adventures await as you exchange homes and explore the world with the comfort and familiarity of a home away from home.

[homeswapsblog]

HomeLink: One of the Greatest Travel Companies Ever

HomeLink is one of the greatest travel companies ever. A small, safe, and well-regulated house swapping platform for many years. HomeLink has been connecting travelers to quality homes since 1959, making it one of the longest-standing organizations in the home exchange industry. Homeswapping is a fantastic concept. It allows families to travel and vacation all over the world on a budget. HomeLink offers the safest and simplest house swapping process, as well as the best features to ensure a smooth journey.

[wolfliving]

Stacey and her repertoire of IoT gadgets

*Better her than me, boyo

A look back at smart devices I have loved By Stacey Higginbotham

Last week, I was pretty hard on the state of the smart home. And so this week, at the prompting of one of my Twitter followers, I decided to take a look at all of the connected devices that I have tried over the last five years and share what works for me, in particular how various devices have fared in my home over time. If you're looking to upgrade a few of your in-home devices, or have a specific use case, below is a list of products, each of which I've spent my money on and have owned happily for more than a year. Maybe you'll find something to gift to your mom or dad this month or next for Mother's or Father's Day. — If you own your home, go ahead and rip out those switches and replace them with something better. This is me swapping out switches in my bedroom. Image courtesy of S. Higginbotham. Let's start with lights. While you can visit this story for my take on the switches vs. bulbs debate, in my home I use both. I have tried dozens of connected bulbs — from fancy LIFX bulbs to basic GE connected bulbs — and so far my favorites are the second-generation Philips Hue color-changing bulbs and Lutron switches. Note that both of these products require a smart home hub such as the Wink 2 or SmartThings. Which I don't mind, because the hub enables me to link these products to HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon's Alexa whenever I feel like it. People who hate hubs will likely want to avoid these particular lights and switches, though. I also use the Hue motion detectors to turn on and off bulbs in my closet, toilet room, and laundry room. But again, I don't have strong feelings either for or against the necessary sensors. I also use smart plugs liberally for lamps and holiday lights. Inside the house, I use three WeMo outlets (one is the energy-monitoring Insight switch) and a Z-wave outlet from SmartThings' first smart home hub kit.  I've had one of its outlets for six years and it still works. Outside, I use four Jasco's Z-wave outlets. I love them because they enable my holiday lights to turn on without me having to go out into the cold. Speaking of hubs, if you get serious about this whole smart home plan, you may want to consider getting one. I use both the Wink 2 ($99) and the SmartThings ($85) hub. And for 90% of you, I'm going to recommend the Wink 2 hub, both because it's the easiest to work with and because it has better uptime. SmartThings is for those of you who want to program custom apps, download drivers to increase functionality of your devices, and generally spend a lot of time customizing your smart home. If you aren't excited about spending a few hours every few weeks customizing your smart home automations and changing devices, the SmartThings hub is not for you. In the home security and access category there are so many contenders that it's tough to pick just a few. However, based on my criteria of owning it for more than a year and spending my own money on it, I'll start by recommending the Chamberlain MyQ garage door opener ($80). Not because I want to open my garage door from my app instead of the HomeLink function in my car, but because I can set it to tell me when my garage door has been open for more than 10 minutes. I also gave one to my in-laws so they could confirm their garage door is closed as they drive away from their home. As a bonus, the MyQ links up with the Wink 2 hub, which enables the door opening to be used as a trigger to turn on my porch lights after dark. I've had the MyQ since 2014 and I've so far had to change the battery in the sensor once. The other access technology I get the most questions about are door locks. I've tried a great number of connected door locks, but the one I own is the Kwikset Z-wave lock. It's located on the door that leads into the garage. Admittedly, I rarely use the connectivity; my family likes it largely because of the keypad. I highly recommend keypad locks. I change the battery on the lock about every six months, and every four months when it's super cold (the cold sucks batteries dry). The only place I don't have a connected lock is on my front door; the locking mechanism on it is weird. It frustrates me to no end, though, because I'd love to ditch my key. As for home security, I'm not terribly worried about break-ins. I have two Netgear Arlo cameras I set up inside and outside to capture any weirdness when we leave town. I used to have a Netamo Welcome camera set up to monitor the home's inside, but now I forgo that extra step since I have a dog sitter whom I assume appreciates privacy. I've also had a doorbell camera for the last year, but I wouldn't recommend that particular device to anyone. Which is a shame, because I do think a good doorbell camera is nice to have. Now onto thermostats! I've tried half a dozen of them and currently have the Kono, from Lux Products, installed downstairs ($80 on Amazon). I find it to be a good budget thermostat. I don't like some things about it, such as its refusal to pre-cool my house to the set temperature ahead of schedule, but the CEO told me that customers hated that feature because it cost them more money. Prior to the Kono, I had an Ecobee Si ($167) installed and loved it as a cheaper version of the more glamorous Ecobee 3 and 4 thermostats. It also provided the outside temperature on the face, which was awesome. Upstairs, I have a second-generation Nest thermostat, which has worked for years and does save me a bit of money. All of my thermostats are connected to my smart speakers. I also have motorized shades made by Somfy in my living room, stairway, and bedroom. Those I've hooked to the Wink hub using a proprietary controller made by Somfy. Somfy makes a new one now, but I haven't tried it. It supports far fewer channels, so I'd need two to do what I can currently do with my one older one. I linked my blinds through Wink so I can schedule them to open in the morning and close once the sun starts shining in. And speaking of speakers, one of the first things I put in my newly built home in 2012 was a set of Sonos speakers for every room. I still use them, although my daughter prefers to use the Amazon Echo. I have half a dozen variations of Alexa around my home, including the Echo Show. I don't get a ton of use out of the Show's video screen, but my daughter loves it. I have also taken to calling her on it when I'm traveling, and she's a huge fan of that. I have the Google Home, too; I use it for asking many of the tougher questions that stump Alexa. I still prefer Alexa to Google Home, but I'm trying it every few months to see if that's changed. And it has gotten significantly better. Also on the entertainment front, I have a Harmony home hub made by Logitech. For $99, I connected my TV to Alexa and Google Home, so sitters, my parents, and anyone else can turn on our TV with a voice command. Otherwise trying to figure out which HDMI channel you're supposed to be on and which remote to use is too confusing. I have not tied my lights or anything else to the Harmony hub, although it can act as a control for those devices as well. Instead I use software from Yonomi to create movie time commands that make a variety of connected devices work together without me having to shout at Google or Alexa for 10 minutes. Finally, let's move on to the kitchen. There, I only have one beloved connected device: my June oven. This is a connected oven that has weight sensors in the feet, a camera, a temperature probe, and the smarts to recognize the food I put into it. Based on the data it collects it knows what I am cooking, how much of it there is, and when it is cooked through. At $1,495, it's pricey, but it also acts as a second oven and can do everything from cooking a whole chicken to making toast. I find it's less awesome at baking breads or cakes, but the salmon, roasted broccoli, and even the toast it makes is amazing. We use it daily. I'm sure I've forgotten a device or two that I truly do love, and I have dozens more devices that haven't found a permanent place in my home yet, but the ones I've listed are tried and true smart home devices. If any of them fit a use case you have, you can feel comfortable buying them. In the meantime, I'll continue to try out stuff so I can update this list with more devices that might interest y'all.

[homelinklove-blog]

Home Exchange

[nightmare-afton-cosplay]

Never Pay For a Hotel Again: Savvy Travelers Swap Their Homes Instead

iStock; realtor.com

Vacations are supposed to be relaxing. But by the time you’ve booked your travel, found the perfect place to stay, and then forked over a small fortune for that fancy hotel or Airbnb stay, the getaway has become more stressful than it would have been to just stay home.

That’s why more people are turning to home swapping. Again.

The practice of home swaps began in earnest back in the 1950s. But now it’s been given a new, gig-economy-type makeover, making it easier then ever for wanderlust-ridden folks to pull off. Over the last decade, a slew of home-swapping websites, like GuestToGuest and Love Home Swap, have cropped up. These sites allow travelers from all over the world to connect and arrange stays in fully furnished homes, in some cases equipped with gourmet kitchens, pets and even a car—without exchanging a cent (most sites charge an annual fee). That’s the premise of more than 70 home exchange websites, which allow homeowners (and renters, with permission from their landlords) to trade their homes for days, weeks, even months at a time.

The only catch: Participants must allow strangers to vacation in their own residences. Are free accommodations in far-flung locales worth a stranger sleeping in your bed, soaking in your tub or thumbing through whatever you haven’t locked away? For some thrifty folks, the answer is a resounding yes.

The practice has allowed retired social worker Gerri Molettiere to live abroad for free, doing 20 exchanges in nine countries since 2010 in Spain, Costa Rica, Iceland, and Ireland through HomeExchange.com. The site charges a $150 annual fee.

Listing a home for swap is a lot like listing a home for sale: You post pictures of your place on an exchange website, along with some info about your home and yourself. Then you browse other homes and correspond with their owners to negotiate swap dates and details.

Trades might be simultaneous, where each participant swaps homes for the same period, or delayed, with one set living with the other as guests in a spare room or guest house. Some sites, such as GuestToGuest, allow swappers to exchange points instead of visits in their homes. Members earn points for hosting travelers and can use them when they stay in someone else’s home.

To many, it’s a more immersive way to experience a new place.

“I like being in a house because you slow down your pace,” says Molettiere, 67. “You take your time and enjoy where you are.”

Gerri Molettiere swaps her Colorado home for accommodations all over the world.

The oldest of the swapping companies, HomeLink USA and Intervac, were founded in 1953, long before the internet. Back then, members would have to browse catalogs of homes and write actual letters (sent through the post office!) to arrange exchanges. The web, obviously, simplified the process.

GuestToGuest, founded in 2011, is now the largest platform, boasting a network of more than 413,000 homes in 187 countries. It purchased its biggest competitor, HomeExchange, which has more than 65,000 listings in 150 countries, last year. (The sites are still run separately.)

But size isn’t everything in home swapping—and specialty sites abound. Some are tailored for those in certain professions, such as airline employees (Airline House Exchange) or teachers (Teacher Home Swap). Others have age or religious restrictions. And then there are sites for folks seeking homes near ski resorts (IVHE.com), or in certain countries.

Would you let a stranger sleep in your bed?

Frequent home swappers Syd and Joie Galloway on a trip to Siesta Key Beach, FL.

Syd and Joie Galloway

But while the new online process may require less effort, there’s an old-fashioned stumbling block to home-swapping for many folks: the fact that a total stranger will be using their space while they’re not around.

But unlike Airbnb or other pay-to-stay websites, the people signing up for exchanges have some skin in the game—namely, their homes and possessions.

“The only way to participate in this is to offer your own home to other people, and so it tends to attract a very honest, respectful clientele,” says home swapper Andrew Rich, 60, of San Francisco. Most sites offer insurance, and can also arbitrate disputes.

Then there’s the fear that swaps will fall apart—perhaps at the last minute.

Syd and Joie Galloway, a Washington, DC-based couple in their 70s, estimate they’ve done more than 140 home swaps over 30-plus years, and only once did an exchange fall through. They called their swap partner shortly before their scheduled trip to Hawaii, and found out that her husband had just died. The Galloways contacted HomeLink, the swap service they were using.

“In no time, at all they found us another host and exchange in Oahu, HI. … We ended up exchanging with that family four times,” says Syd Galloway.

But while people have relatives to visit and weddings and conferences to attend all over, the reality is that those living in big cities or hot vacation destinations are more easily able to arrange swaps.

“I could live in France for the next year if I wanted to, because so many people there want to stay at my house,” says Betsy Hicks, a self-employed 52-year-old with a centrally located, two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco.

A new way to make friends

The pleasures of home swapping may extend beyond the vacation itself. Something about staying in someone else’s home really creates a bond—and for many swappers, the relationships they build are an essential part of the appeal.

“We stay in close contact with our partners during the exchange and that’s part of the fun too, seeing them enjoy your area,” says Weston.

The Galloways keep a scrapbook of their travels and the folks they’ve met along they way. It comes in handy when they hear from them again, sometimes a decade later.

As Joie Galloway says: “You should see our Christmas card list.”

The post Never Pay For a Hotel Again: Savvy Travelers Swap Their Homes Instead appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

from https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/home-swapping-services-for-travel-on-the-rise/

[funanddraconian]

Don’t worry that you’re causing a housing crisis on your vacation at socially and environmentally responsible tours, volunteer travel, short- and long-term rentals listed below from low-end to high-end pricing. 

Get $100 to host, or camp or glamp in cabins, yurts, treehouses, boats and more

Get $100 to try new HipCamps. 

Get $100 if you host or $10 off if you rent on HipCamp.  

Getaway cabins

AlterExperiences, BookOutdoors, CampSpot, FabStayz (queer-friendly), GetMyBoat, Houfy, Petite Retreats, Tentrr, GlampingHub, Glamping, Glamping Hotels (Columbia), and RV resorts like Go Camping America, KOA, and Thousand Trails 

Government parks like California state parks and national parks in the USA

NuMundo directory of eco lodges and experiences Europe: Canopy and Stars

Tours, volunteer travel & lodging

Vegan or vegetarian:

Animal sanctuaries, vacation rentals, glamping, homestays

Happy Cow and Veggie Hotels and B&Bs

Veganic farms. They use no slaughterhouse byproducts.

If you can splurge, Intrepid Travel, VegNews and VegVoyages will take you on tours.

Animal sanctuaries 

More socially- and/or environmentally-responsible:

Responsible Travel.  It was started by a professor.  See why others say they live up to their name.  

Intrepid Travel

World Expeditions

Global Exchange Reality Tours

Tribes Travel

Green Tortoise bus with beds: one-way and tours

Sierra Club’s volunteer trips

Free room and board, such as in grass-roofed homes, yurts and more yurts, if you volunteer half a day or more at World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)

I didn’t list cruises because sometimes even ethical ones generate gallons of hazardous chemical waste each day, according to Friends of the Earth. 100 million gallons of petroleum products from cruise ships seep into our oceans each year. They also create air pollution because they use a lot more power than container ships and even when they burn low sulphur fuel, it’s 100 times worse than road diesel. 

Get $50 to rent or $100 to host a camper van

Outdoorsy: Sign up with this link.

RV Share

Free home swaps, retreat centers, hostels, hotels & short-term rentals

Global lodging (free-$$$):

Search for “retreat center” in Google Maps or at Retreat.Guru

House-sit mansions and more for free-ish: Kindred, HouseCarers, Housesitter, Trusted Housesitters, House Carers, Mind My House, Nomador, Rover

Free home swap in people’s homes per the NY Times: Stay for free at without reciprocally having to home swap: CouchSurfing, HomeExchange.com, Guest to Guest, Servas International, HomeLink 

Traditional home swaps: Intervac

Private rooms and bathrooms, or shared rooms in hostels, such as Hostelz

Deals for hotels (many of which have a lot of character): Groupon, LivingSocial

Responsible Travel

UnusualHotels like one shaped like an anus

Inspected bed and breakfasts (B&Bs): type your location in this search for inspected B&B’s, or type the name of any lodging in this search for “business license”

USA & Canada:

Stay in Fair Hotel unionized hotels.  Most hotel workers live in poverty. Fair Hotels pay workers above minimum wage, provide affordable healthcare and a retirement pension.

Global, green-ish lodging ($-$$$):

World map of affordable, unusual, green places to stay including animal sanctuaries

Hostelling International

TripAdvisor green hotels (click and type your location)

Retreat Finder

FarmStayPlanet and Farmstays.  Some have slaughterhouses.  So don’t bring me!

Kimpton hotels

Le Meridien, Marriott, Sheraton, Westin and other Starwood Hotels

Members of the Green Hotels Association

Eco Hotels of the World

Global, certified, green lodging ($$-$$$):

Audubon

California Green Business Programs

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Green Globe

GreenKeyGlobal

GreenKey.Global

Green Seal

Other green business programs (type your destination in this search)

Long-term rentals

Sites that verify units, owners and/or renters:

EasyRoommate

Rent.com: sort by reviews from tenants and more

Lovely: submit an application and pay your rent through the site

Zumper: safely and securely submit your credit report

HotPads

CA Bay Area: Home Match interviews senior homeowners and home seekers. In some cases, accommodation can be provided in exchange for services, such as driving to the grocery store or lending a hand around the house.

Other sites:

Craigslist: you can even search by “X miles from zip,” wheelchair access, and animals

Sites where it costs owners to pay to post so ads are mostly large apartment complexes.

Apartment Finder (which includes Apartments.com, ApartmentHomeLiving, Move, and Doorsteps)

Zillow

PadMapper

Compare units by area average and median prices:

Rentometer

Get more beginner and advanced green travel tricks, such as cheaper, more ethical transit.

Share to create a more equitable, green world via these posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Last updated April 25, 2024

[stepsindigital-blog]

Home Exchange and House Swap Holidays With HomeLink

[davidoespailla]

Never Pay For a Hotel Again: Savvy Travelers Swap Their Homes Instead

iStock; realtor.com

Vacations are supposed to be relaxing. But by the time you’ve booked your travel, found the perfect place to stay, and then forked over a small fortune for that fancy hotel or Airbnb stay, the getaway has become more stressful than it would have been to just stay home.

That’s why more people are turning to home swapping. Again.

The practice of home swaps began in earnest back in the 1950s. But now it’s been given a new, gig-economy-type makeover, making it easier then ever for wanderlust-ridden folks to pull off. Over the last decade, a slew of home-swapping websites, like GuestToGuest and Love Home Swap, have cropped up. These sites allow travelers from all over the world to connect and arrange stays in fully furnished homes, in some cases equipped with gourmet kitchens, pets and even a car—without exchanging a cent (most sites charge an annual fee). That’s the premise of more than 70 home exchange websites, which allow homeowners (and renters, with permission from their landlords) to trade their homes for days, weeks, even months at a time.

The only catch: Participants must allow strangers to vacation in their own residences. Are free accommodations in far-flung locales worth a stranger sleeping in your bed, soaking in your tub or thumbing through whatever you haven’t locked away? For some thrifty folks, the answer is a resounding yes.

The practice has allowed retired social worker Gerri Molettiere to live abroad for free, doing 20 exchanges in nine countries since 2010 in Spain, Costa Rica, Iceland, and Ireland through HomeExchange.com. The site charges a $150 annual fee.

Listing a home for swap is a lot like listing a home for sale: You post pictures of your place on an exchange website, along with some info about your home and yourself. Then you browse other homes and correspond with their owners to negotiate swap dates and details.

Trades might be simultaneous, where each participant swaps homes for the same period, or delayed, with one set living with the other as guests in a spare room or guest house. Some sites, such as GuestToGuest, allow swappers to exchange points instead of visits in their homes. Members earn points for hosting travelers and can use them when they stay in someone else’s home.

To many, it’s a more immersive way to experience a new place.

“I like being in a house because you slow down your pace,” says Molettiere, 67. “You take your time and enjoy where you are.”

Gerri Molettiere swaps her Colorado home for accommodations all over the world.

The oldest of the swapping companies, HomeLink USA and Intervac, were founded in 1953, long before the internet. Back then, members would have to browse catalogs of homes and write actual letters (sent through the post office!) to arrange exchanges. The web, obviously, simplified the process.

GuestToGuest, founded in 2011, is now the largest platform, boasting a network of more than 413,000 homes in 187 countries. It purchased its biggest competitor, HomeExchange, which has more than 65,000 listings in 150 countries, last year. (The sites are still run separately.)

But size isn’t everything in home swapping—and specialty sites abound. Some are tailored for those in certain professions, such as airline employees (Airline House Exchange) or teachers (Teacher Home Swap). Others have age or religious restrictions. And then there are sites for folks seeking homes near ski resorts (IVHE.com), or in certain countries.

Would you let a stranger sleep in your bed? Frequent home swappers Syd and Joie Galloway on a trip to Siesta Key Beach, FL.

Syd and Joie Galloway

But while the new online process may require less effort, there’s an old-fashioned stumbling block to home-swapping for many folks: the fact that a total stranger will be using their space while they’re not around.

But unlike Airbnb or other pay-to-stay websites, the people signing up for exchanges have some skin in the game—namely, their homes and possessions.

“The only way to participate in this is to offer your own home to other people, and so it tends to attract a very honest, respectful clientele,” says home swapper Andrew Rich, 60, of San Francisco. Most sites offer insurance, and can also arbitrate disputes.

Then there’s the fear that swaps will fall apart—perhaps at the last minute.

Syd and Joie Galloway, a Washington, DC-based couple in their 70s, estimate they’ve done more than 140 home swaps over 30-plus years, and only once did an exchange fall through. They called their swap partner shortly before their scheduled trip to Hawaii, and found out that her husband had just died. The Galloways contacted HomeLink, the swap service they were using.

“In no time, at all they found us another host and exchange in Oahu, HI. … We ended up exchanging with that family four times,” says Syd Galloway.

But while people have relatives to visit and weddings and conferences to attend all over, the reality is that those living in big cities or hot vacation destinations are more easily able to arrange swaps.

“I could live in France for the next year if I wanted to, because so many people there want to stay at my house,” says Betsy Hicks, a self-employed 52-year-old with a centrally located, two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco.

A new way to make friends

The pleasures of home swapping may extend beyond the vacation itself. Something about staying in someone else’s home really creates a bond—and for many swappers, the relationships they build are an essential part of the appeal.

“We stay in close contact with our partners during the exchange and that’s part of the fun too, seeing them enjoy your area,” says Weston.

The Galloways keep a scrapbook of their travels and the folks they’ve met along they way. It comes in handy when they hear from them again, sometimes a decade later.

As Joie Galloway says: “You should see our Christmas card list.”

The post Never Pay For a Hotel Again: Savvy Travelers Swap Their Homes Instead appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

Never Pay For a Hotel Again: Savvy Travelers Swap Their Homes Instead

[mrbobgove]

Top Tips for Traveling Alone

Whether you love solo travel or just lack a dive buddy, no one likes the extra fees often facing travelers who claim a room for themselves. Termed a ‘single supplement,’ this additional fee tacks on anywhere from 10 to a whopping 100 percent of the standard room rate to your bill if you don’t meet the double-occupancy guidelines. Here are our eight top tips for traveling alone and avoiding the dreaded single supplement on your next dive trip.

Travel with a dive shop

Sign up for a group trip and avoid the ‘single’ part altogether. Dive shops often offer group trips to tropical locales like the Bahamas or even far-flung destinations like the Maldives. They’ll also pair you up with a good dive buddy. Though your local dive shop remains an easy first choice, you’re not limited to businesses in your area. Many dive shops also offer out-of-state divers a chance to join their trips.

Share a room

Land-based properties usually require a single supplement unless you’re in a shared room. Often designed for backpackers, these rooms generally house at least two travelers and sometimes many more. You’ll share bathroom facilities but enjoy access to a kitchen, which can also cut down on your meal costs. We adore the Agnes Gateway Hotel on the remote island of Munda in the Solomon Islands, which offers a variety of rooms including these types of budget rooms. The property also houses the award-winning Dive Munda.

While some resorts offer shared rooms, you’ll have more luck on the water as this is usually a standard liveaboard option. Since you’ll be bunking with one to three other divers, a guaranteed dive buddy is a part of the package. While the cost may seem high at first glance, remember that the fee includes the room, all meals, and the diving. These liveaboard rooms can range from bare bones to luxurious. One of our favorites is the Arenui Boutique Liveaboard, which not only offers elegant shared rooms, but some of the best diving in Indonesia.

Link up with a dive group

Online groups are often looking to add divers to their roster for a trip. Search social media and Google, joining every group you can find that piques your interest. Whatever your dive passion, you’ll discover a group and a trip to suit you whether you prefer wreck diving, budget travel, or a remote excursion.

Join a solo traveler-site dedicated to divers

Pair up with a buddy on a network that caters to single divers (i.e., divers not in a relationship) or buddy-less divers (i.e., divers in a relationship without a dive buddy). You can connect with a travel companion to book a trip together, join a diver on a trip already booked, or post a trip looking for someone to join you. Two good sites include Single Divers and Singles Who Scuba.

Look for last-minute rooms

Some hotels and resorts offering last-minute rooms won’t ding you with a single supplement. Sometimes, they just want a full house, so look for trips and rooms available in the next 30 days Better yet, if you’re flexibile enough, look for the next two weeks. Sometimes, you can snag a steal even at a lavish resort.

Ask for a discount on rooms far in advance

Conversely, other hotels and resorts prefer to establish advance bookings and offer discounts for dates far in the future. While this occurs less often than cheap, last-minute rooms, we secured a bungalow at a South Pacific resort a year and a half in advance, minus the 35 percent single supplement they usually include. We also paid the current year’s rates and not the following year’s price raised by inflation. 

Negotiate

A number of hotels and resorts will negotiate if you contact them directly instead of relying on a travel site. Always ask for a discount even if none are listed, particularly during the off season or the shoulder season. They may waive the single supplement, offer a discount, or furnish extras such as free nitrox or equipment rental. The worst they can say is no. 

Enjoy a home stay

Consider a home share or home exchange. At home-sharing sites, such as Airbnb and HomeAway, you’ll pay a nightly, weekly, or monthly fee to rent a room in someone’s home or rent the entire house. Some properties equate to the price of a hotel, but some are incredibly cheap.

At home exchange sites such as Intervac and HomeLink, you’ll pay a small annual fee, around $100, to the home-exchange company and then you’ll swap homes with someone for the length of your vacation. Instead of paying money, you exchange free accommodation.

Bonus Tip: find a place so cheap the fee doesn’t matter

Don’t forget that some places remain cheap enough that a tacked-on single supplement won’t hurt too much. We’ve found this more consistently true in spots like Mexico and Indonesia, so a search in these locations could offer up a bargain trip.

The post Top Tips for Traveling Alone appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.

from Scuba Diver Life https://ift.tt/2J4t04Z

[new-style-notes]

So findest du die perfekte Reiseunterkunft

Das wichtigste an einem schönen Urlaub ist die Unterkunft. Stimmt die, dann kann eigentlich nicht mehr viel schiefgehen. Entsprechend schwierig ist es den richtigen Ort zum Übernachten zu finden. Diese Plattformen können dabei helfen:

Variante Hotel

Was braucht ein geeignetes Hotel? Der Preis muss stimmen, es sollte zentral liegen, gut erreichbar und sauber sein. Um die Lage zu beurteilen lohnt sich ein kurzer Blick auf Google Maps, TripAdvisor bzw. Yelp helfen herzufinden, ob das Hotel auch hält, was es verspricht. Preislich kann man teilweise noch etwas erreichen, wenn man die Ergebnisse auf einer Metasuchmaschine vergleicht (zum Beispiel Kayak oder Trivago).

Variante Privatwohnung

Die grösste Vermittlungsplattform für Wohnungen ist natürlich Airbnb. Hier findet man alles vom Luxuspenthouse bis zur WG. Es hat auch immer wieder spannende Empfehlungen wie die schönsten Baumhäuser, Windmühlen, Leuchttürme etc. Ausser Airbnb, gibt es noch die Plattformen Wimdu und 9flats. Die sind genau gleich, tragen einfach einen anderen Namen.

Variante Abenteuer

Wenn das Budget sehr knapp ist, der findet auf Couchsurfing Übernachtungsmöglichkeiten für lau. Allerdings sollte mit weniger Komfort, dafür mit tollen Partys gerechnet werden. Ähnliche Angebote heissten: joomla.servas.org, globalfreeloaders.com und hospitalityclub.org.

Variante Arbeit

Alternativ zu Couchsurfing gibt es auch die Option seine Arbeitskraft anzubieten, um dafür Kost und Logis zu erhalten. Diverse Plattformen haben sich auf House Sitting spezialisiert. Zum Beispiel housecarers.com, mindmyhouse.com und caretaker.org.

Wenn man sich nicht scheut, seine Hände dreckig zu machen, dann ist WWOOF  (World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) eine mögliche Anlaufstelle. Die Plattform vermittelt weltweit Arbeitsplätze auf Biobauernhöfen. Im Gegenzug kriegt man ein Bett. Und wenn es mal etwas längerfristiges sein soll: Workaway vermittelt Volunteer Stellen. Im Gegenzug kriegt man Kost und Logis.

Variante Tauschen

Ein paar Plattformen bieten auch die Option das Eigenheim zu tauschen. Love Home Swap, Homelink und HomeExchange gehören zu den etabliertesten.

Variante Historisc

Für Ferien innerhalb der Schweiz ist die Webseite «Ferien im Baudenkmal» sehr empfehlenswert. Wie es der Name suggeriert werden dem Verfall ausgesetzte, historische Bauten leicht restauriert und vermietet sie als Ferienwohnungen. Da finden sich ein paar ganz hübsche Häuser mit dabei…

Adrian

[homelink01]

Unite and Explore: Join the Vibrant Global Community of HomeLink Home Exchange

Since 1953, HomeLink has been a pioneer in the home exchange industry, offering a trusted and reliable platform for travellers seeking authentic and affordable adventures. By joining HomeLink Home Exchange, you become part of a vibrant global community, connecting with like-minded individuals who are eager to swap their homes and explore new destinations. HomeLink is a user-friendly platform; you can easily communicate with potential exchange partners and finalize your travel arrangements hassle-free. The site also offers helpful resources and tips to maximise your home exchange experience. Say goodbye to expensive hotels and embrace the freedom of living like a local in your dream destination. Discover the joy of sharing and embark on an extraordinary journey that will create lasting memories.

[homeswapsblog]

HomeLink allows you to experience the world more authentically by living like a local.

The most credible, secure, and mutually trustworthy community HomeLink is the most well-known house-swapping organization, allowing you to travel with the comforts of home. There is never a dull moment in such a beautiful world. Travel forces us to step outside of our comfort zones and discover, taste, and try new things. Exchanging homes is the best way to learn new things. We get to know people from different cultures, escape reality, unwind, and discover new things. HomeLink provides the location of your choice.

[custkings-blog]

When You Should Think of Replacing Your Garage Door Switches

A remote-control carport entryway opener is a convenient minimal electronic gadget that makes it conceivable to get into the carport without departing from the auto or hurling up the substantial entryway yourself. The opener remotely sends an infrared or IR to flag to a recipient that triggers a switch, prompting an electric engine to open or close the carport entryway. Prior to any carport entryway remote works effectively it must be within the predetermined scope of its IR signal sending quality. Carport entryway remote controls are convenient and pervasive. They are the "key" that a large portion of us use to get in and out of our homes. They cause few inconveniences, are anything but difficult to settle when they do, and can be supplanted at little cost.

In any case, what, precisely, would it be a good idea for you to do when your remote control switch neglects to play out its obligation? Or, then again where do you look when you require a swap for the remote? Or, on the other hand, when would it be a good idea for you to consider supplanting the entire carport entryway opener? On the off chance that it is inside range yet at the same time does not work, there are approaches to settle it.

Great inquiries all of these. Here are a few responses to inquiries regarding repair, replacement and updating your carport entryway remote.

Check the Batteries

The most widely recognised reason for carport entryway remote control disappointment are feeble or dead batteries. To make sure that the batteries are constantly great, utilise name-mark quality batteries rather than rebate brands. Likewise, despite the fact that utilising rechargeable batteries is earth amicable and financially savvy over the long haul, they just put out roughly 1.2 volts rather than a soluble battery that puts out 1.5 volts. In this way, a remote control with two rechargeable would just get 2.4 volts when it is intended to keep running on 3 volts of energy. This 25-percent absence of energy may truly bargain the range and viability of the remote control unit.

Carport Door Remote Not Working?

At the point when the divider mounted switch works, however, the remote does not, you most likely need to either reinvent the remote or supplant the battery. An ideal approach to reconstructing the remote is to check the manual for guidelines. On the off chance that you don't have a manual, you can likely discover on the maker's Web website

Most essential carport entryway openers require only a couple of straightforward phases to program. Regularly, you hold down the open switch on the remote while squeezing and discharging the programming switch, at that point discharge the open switch when the carport entryway opener light goes ahead. On the off chance that you have a HomeLink carport entryway opener, modifying the settings are relatively more convenient.

There are a few issues with carport entryway remotes that appear to resist solutions. Once in a while, people find that their carport entryway will open all alone. You may be sitting in the family room, or away from work, and the entryway all of a sudden, you hear the opening sound emanating from your carport area. The explanation behind some of these interesting events may astound you.

It appears that the legislature (at any level) can utilize an indistinguishable radio frequency from carport entryway remotes for crisis purposes. During the time spent utilizing that recurrence in a zone, carport entryway openers adjacent can be incidentally opened freely.

Check the Battery Contacts

Filthy, worn or wet contacts within the battery case repress the electrical current of the batteries from completely achieving the circuit board within the remote control. On the off chance that the contacts look stained, set or are wet, they should be dried and cleaned before any battery can effectively control a remote control. Contacts can be cleaned with a fine-coarseness sandpaper, as 400-coarseness or fine steel fleece.

Clean the Eyes

The plastic covering over the IR unit on both the remote control and the getting unit is known as the eye. This "eye" permits the IR to flag to go through it in both transmitting and accepting. Eyes can be wiped off utilizing a delicate soggy fabric. Most remote eyes are made of plastic that, albeit impervious to scratching, move toward becoming scratched if rubbed against metal, grating strands or dropped onto the ground. The plastic can be cleaned utilizing particular plastic cleaning substances, yet in the event that the IR eye on a remote control is seriously scratched, set or gouged, there might be no response but to get another one.

Reset the System

Remote controls and collectors are like little PCs. At times, a reset is expected to reboot the circuit loads up in both the remote control and the recipient. A reset is proficiently affected by expelling the batteries in the remote for around 30 seconds and re-introducing them. A reset on a recipient is proficient by unplugging the unit from the divider attachment for a session 30 seconds and then at that point connecting it back.

Carport Door Remote Apps

Yes, there is an application for that. In any event, there is right now one for the iPhone. I have probably applications will soon be accessible for other cell phone working frameworks that enable you to open and close your remote with your gadget. It can be Exceptionally helpful, yet make a point not to lose the telephone or if you are someone who leaves it just about anywhere, make sure you lock it.

Security Concerns about Garage Door Remotes

Many individuals go into their homes frequently through the carport, not the front entryway. Why? Since it's more advantageous. You move toward the carport, hit a switch on the remote, stop in the carport, at that point go into the house through the passage entryway in the carport.

Accommodation is pleasant, yet once in a while, it can reverse discharge. Incidentally, criminals happen to like going into houses through the carport, as well. Why? Since it is regularly a great deal more advantageous. This is particularly genuine when you leave a remote in an auto stopped in the garage or in the city, and much more so when that auto is opened. Once the awful person gets his hands on your remote, he's only a single tick of a switch far from getting into the house.

Carport Door Safety

Children love to play with anything with a switch that, when hit, gets something going. Carport entryway remotes fit that definition. Yes, it's fun, yet it is additionally perilous. To limit the perils that carport entryway remotes stance to kids, the International Door Association has assembled a straightforward well-being program called D.O.O.R. Safe. Look at the exhortation, and build up a propensity in your family unit that youngsters are not permitted to play with carport entryway openers.

Carport Door Remote Replacement

In the event that you've lost or broken a remote, it is anything but difficult to discover a replacement. Contact the producer of the carport entryway opener, or shop online for a replacement. You will require the model number of your opener. On the other hand, you could consider getting an all-inclusive carport entryway remote (see beneath).

All-inclusive Garage Door Remote Replacement

Sky link and others producer carport entryway remotes that can be modified to work most carport entryway openers. These remotes are reasonable and simple to discover on the web and in stores.

The producers of carport entryway openers don't especially like the makers of all-inclusive remotes. One of the previous, Chamberlain, really sued Sky link with an end goal to shield them from offering their all-inclusive remote in the United States. Chamberlain kept up that the widespread remote was a security danger, yet it appears that what they truly implied was that it was a benefit risk. The courts did not bolster Chamberlain's exertion.

Supplanting the Garage Door Opener

There's no motivation to give a tricky remote a chance to propel you to supplant the entire carport entryway opener. Remotes can be repaired and supplanted. So, there are many good motivations to supplant the carport entryway opener. Security and well-being are at the highest priority on the rundown. Early models of carport entryway openers could be opened with remotes in the hands of criminals watching the lanes.

Fresher openers have codes that are considerably harder to copy.

[homelinklove-blog]

Home Exchange

[passportinfo]

Budget Travel: Skip the Hotel and Sleep Cheap!

In the first article in our series on budget travel, we looked at low cost airlines, which can help you get to your destination for as little cash as possible. After air tickets, the next biggest line item in your travel budget is accommodations. Depending on the length of your trip - and your taste in hotels - you could easily spend more on your accommodations than on your airfare! If you’re looking to maximize your trip and minimize your expense, we’ve got some alternatives to hotels that may save you some dough.

Rent a Room or Apartment

Vacation rentals are nothing new, but the internet has made it easier than ever to rent a room or a whole private home instead of booking a hotel. AirBnB is one of the best-known ways to rent a place for your next trip. On their website, you can search for rentals in destinations all over the world. You’ll find lots of options, from large luxury homes to shared rooms in small city apartments. AirBnB is far from your only option, though. Other websites like VRBO.com, HomeAway.com, and even TripAdvisor offer similar rental listings. We even know travelers who have found vacation rentals through Craigslist!

Vacation rentals are an especially good budget travel option for families and groups. The more people you have sharing the cost of the rental, the less each one of you will pay! Families may also find that renting a home or apartment is more comfortable than staying at a hotel. It’s awfully nice to let the kids have their own room, without having to pay a fortune for extra hotel rooms.

Beyond the potential savings, renting a room or apartment allows you to experience your destination in a whole new way. You really get the chance to "live like a local." You can stay in residential neighborhoods, rather than just in tourist areas. You can shop for food at local markets, instead of eating all your meals at restaurants. You can get a feel for the pace of life, as your neighbors go about their days all around you. It’s a fun way to travel!

Hostels: The Budget Travel Classic

When you hear the word "hostel," do you automatically think "youth"? Think again! Although some hostels are specifically for young travelers, many others accept travelers of all ages. Some hostels even cater to families, offering private rooms with multiple beds, big enough for the whole family. Hostels are a great option for budget travelers who want to meet other travelers from around the world.

You’ll find a wide range of accommodations all calling themselves "hostels." They range from bare-bones dormitories, where you’ll bunk with strangers, to places much more like a traditional hotel with private rooms for guests. Many hostels offer both dormitories and private rooms, at varying price points. What all hostels have in common is that they are less expensive than hotels, and won’t offer all the amenities of major hotels.

Our favorite site to find hostels around the world is the aptly-named HostelWorld. When booking a hostel, it’s important to read the fine print to find out exactly what is included. Will you get a private bedroom or a bunk in a dormitory? Are there restrictions on who can stay, like a women-only hostel or one that doesn’t accept children under 18? Is there a bar, a restaurant, or a kitchen you can use? Do you need to provide your own linens or towels?

It’s also a very good idea to read reviews of the hostel from other travelers and do a bit of research on the neighborhood. You don’t want to book a super-cheap hostel only to find that it’s in a crime-ridden neighborhood, or way out on the outskirts of town with no transportation!

House Swapping

Would you like to be able to stay somewhere for free on your next trip? Yes, we said FREE. House swapping or home exchange programs make it possible to stay somewhere for free. The basic premise is that you’ll find someone in your dream destination who wants to visit your town, and you can arrange to swap houses. They’ll come stay in your house while you stay in theirs! When it works, it’s the ultimate in budget travel accommodations.

You’re likely to have the most success with house swapping if you live in a desirable location that many people want to visit. If you’ve got an apartment in Manhattan or a beach cottage in Florida, you’re likely to find plenty of people who would like to trade houses with you for a week.

The best way to go about house swapping is to sign up with a program like HomeExchange or HomeLink. You’ll then have access to their network of other potential house-swappers, and you can search for a match based on where you want to visit. You will have to pay a membership fee - HomeExchange charges $150 per year - but that’s a small charge compared to the expense of a hotel!

Couchsurfing

If you’re devoted to budget travel, you’ve probably already spent plenty of nights crashed on the sofas of your friends in other cities. It’s great to visit a new place when a friend already lives there - you get a place to stay, someone to hang out with, and a built-in tour guide to show you the sights! But this only works when you already have a friend who lives in the place you want to visit.

What if you had a way to make new friends, anywhere you wanted to go? Everywhere in the world, you could have a new friend waiting for you, ready to open their home and let you stay over. That’s where Couchsurfing comes in.

Couchsurfing is a social network for travelers. When you sign up, you agree to host travelers in your own home, and in exchange, you can stay with other Couchsurfing members when you travel. You don’t even have to have a guest room to offer in your home - as the name suggests, all you have to have is a sofa where your new friends can sleep!

This is a great budget travel option for solo travelers, or at least for outgoing solo travelers who enjoy meeting people. If you’re an introvert who needs to be totally alone to recharge at the end of the day, it’s probably not a great fit for you.

Are Budget Travel Alternatives to Hotels Worth It?

There’s no doubt that you can save a lot of money by CouchSurfing, hosteling, house-swapping, or AirBnB-ing on your next trip. But is it worth it? That’s subjective. Budget travel accommodations are never going to give you the same experience you can have at a luxury hotel, an all-inclusive resort, or a fancy spa. You’ll be giving up daily maid service, chocolates on your pillow, and towels twisted into the shape of swans. But on the other hand, you might gain new friends and a greater insight into how the locals live. If you’re more into exploring and making connections than relaxing and being pampered, give these hotel alternatives a try on your next trip!

[touristguidebuzz]

GuestToGuest Gets $35 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week

Selfie by a home-swap enthusiast. GuestToGuest looks to succeed where Couchsurfing has struggled. Ashley Schwartau

Skift Take: Let's hope that GuestToGuest's bet on home-swapping ends better than General Catalyst's $15 million investment in Couchsurfing did. Plus, two startups — Hostmaker and Travis — raised money.

— Sean O'Neill

Each week we create a roundup of travel startups that have received or announced funding that week. The total amount raised this week was more than $62.5 million.

Earlier this week we noted that TurnKey, a vacation rental management company based in Austin, has raised $21 million in a Series C investment round. The company provides marketing and professional management services to property owners in 40 U.S. markets.

But that wasn’t the only big news in Startup Land.

Free lodging may be just a house swap away, but several online marketplaces have been looking for profits by charging fees to play matchmaker between homeowners. GuestToGuest raised $35 million this week in an investment led by MAIF, a French mutual insurance company. GuestToGuest also bought one of its leading rivals, HomeExchange, resulting in a marriage of major home-swapping platforms.

The companies claim to have 400,000 spaces in their combined listings. In two years’ time, the two brands intend to have more than one million travelers organizing their vacations through home exchange via their platforms. Last year 67,000 HomeExchange members alone made 135,000 home swaps across 150 countries, the company says. The plan is to make HomeExchange the premium home swapping network and GuestToGuest the more mainstream service.

That said, building profitable businesses off of budget-minded people looking for free places to stay can be tough. Couchsurfing raised $15 million for its platform in 2012, but the investors got burnt.

A decade ago, the industry consensus was that there were about 30,000 frequent (or more-or-less annual) home exchangers that used membership services (such as Intervac, HomeLink, Home Exchange Club, ExchangeHomes, and Love Swap). The companies charged annual memberships for access to listings, and vetted listers by requiring proof of identification. Teachers and retirees were key demographics.

It is remarkable that it only took the past three years for newcomer GuestToGuest to grow its listings by six-fold to 280,000.

The lack of fees has contributed, though it’s not the first company to offer free listings. Where HomeExchange has an annual membership fee of $150, GuestToGuest is free for basic service, with the option to add services for fees.

A mix of marketing and the success of sharing-economy services like Airbnb and BlaBlaCar may have also helped draw more people to try the concept, though that wouldn’t explain a spike in the last three years in particular.

Hopefully those hundreds of thousands of new GuestToGuest members represent committed long-term home swappers and the company’s projections of growth aren’t over-optimistic.

Here is this week’s other startup news:

>>Hostmaker, a full-service Airbnb management company, has raised $6.5 million in an investment round led by Ventech, a French venture capital firm. Past investors DN Capital participated in this fresh round as well. The business has raised $9.3 million to date. Like the aforementioned GuestToGuest, it provides a full-suite of services to property owners who want to rent out their homes.

>>Travis, a Berlin-based travel tech start-up, has raised 500,000 euros (or $530,000) in a seed investment round by unnamed business angels. At the end of 2016, Travis released its online travel booking solution for event organizers. The tool lets an event organizer embed a white-labeled booking tool on their website to enable attendees to choose from hotel, flight, and rail booking options. Travis and the event organizers collect a commission based on the reservations.

Despite launching only a few months ago, the product has already been used by 44 events, which range in size between 500 and 20.000 attendees, according to the startup. One of the larger client wins has been the Codemotion Amsterdam 2017 event.

You can check out all our previous startup funding roundups, here.