PHOTO: A Palm Desert home in HomeExchange.com's network (courtesy HomeExchange.com)
HomeExchange.com has been encouraging people from all over the world to share their homes and experience destinations since 1992.
And as the desire for experiential travel has grown, so has the company's membership.
HomeExchange.com now boasts a network of more than 55,000 members in more than 150 countries. This year, its members will make over 130,000 home swaps across the planet, foregoing traditional accommodations to "live like a local."
On top of that, because it's built on swapping homes rather than paying the owner's set price, members are saving over 50 percent on each vacation, according to HomeExchange.com.
For just $9.95 per month, members can travel anywhere they make a connection within HomeExchange.com's network, from historic European villas to rustic ski chalets to high-rise studios in major metropolises. For those who would like to exchange luxury properties, you can also be a HomeExchange.com Gold Member for $500 per year.
In fact, Jim Pickell, Chief Operating Officer of HomeExchange.com, now lives in a house in Newport Beach that was part of a swap about two and a half years ago. He's currently staying at a working farm on the San Juan Islands with his family in exchange for a stay at one of his homes in Mexico. After taking a seaplane from Seattle to the Islands, he found a pickup truck waiting for him…along with bicycles, kayaks and a boat.
"They even said, 'The keys are in the Harley if you're interested,'" Pickell said.
Beyond that, Pickell said his family has been hiking, collecting seashells, watching orca whales swim by and fishing in the fishing holes and stocked fishing pond on the farm. His 4-year-old has been fishing out on a boat in the middle of the pond.
"There's no way you can have the type of experience that I'm having here if you're staying in a hotel," said Pickell, who has made eight exchanges throughout the years. "I'm not exaggerating at all: My two kids have never in their lives gotten along better than this."
"You're connected to the earth," he added. "You're not crammed into a little space."
Pickell said HomeExchange.com is more than an exchange system; it's a whole different mindset.
"Maybe you're not like-minded (with exchangers) before the first exchange, but after your first exchange it changes the way you think about this whole thing," Pickell said.
He added: "It's sort of a different mentality where the way we think about the things we own is: If no one's using it, it's just going to waste.
"To me, having a casita in Mexico that sits there nine months a year feels wasteful. That's a value that I'm now transferring to my kids. My kids are not going to be kids that lock their tools up. They're going to be kids who are sharing. I'm trying to teach a sense of value to them.
"Once you do an exchange and you see that they're your friends really quickly, then you realize you're micromanaging a nuance that becomes unimportant. It's more like, 'Go ahead! Take the beach cruisers to the beach!'"
You can also cook up recipes from a nearby farmer's market left for you by a local, enjoy a barbecue with the neighbors or make Danish pancakes in Denmark with a traditional ebelskiver. HomeExchange.com is about creating an authentic experience.
HomeExchange.com also recently revamped its website to accommodate multiple mobile devices while better highlighting individual segments and interests. Whether you're an avid surfer like Pickell or you're a die-hard skier, the world is your oyster.
"It's really hard to reach scale where you offer enough different types of opportunities for everyone. And we've reached that point," Pickell said. "And we've reached that point at a time when the whole world is talking about the sharing community and collaboration."
It's part of the reason why HomeExchange.com has added 10,000 more members in the last year alone.
What's more, on Monday, HomeExchange.com announced the acquisition of Only in America, another home exchange travel website based out of San Francisco. Now, members of HomeExchange.com have access to 3,000 more properties across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The deal also extends the vision of Only in America founder Helen Salem, who wanted to open up the world to Only in America's members.
It's all part of a mission to connect people across the planet.
"People want to share," Pickell said. "That is at the core of our community."
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