Dream Home Exchange Holidays for all the Family

Exchange on Island of Arabella, south of Venice, Italy


Dear Kath,

This year I'm trying to arrange a double linked swap in Ireland in summer or, second option, in Denmark. Due to the fact that this year I can't ask my father, as last year, to supervise the cleaning and the checking that all is OK at the end of the stay of the first family and before the arrival of the second, I need that one of the two swaps be non simultaneous, that means, that one family must come in my second home in Albarella - stay and live, before my departure or after my return. Looking at Ireland in our GTI I found listed only 37 homes and if I remember well, no second homes. Anyhow for the first swap I’m in contact with a GTI home/family in Dublin.

Only due to this fact - linked to a my particular situation and requirement - I feel me forced to move to another home exchange web site, maybe Home For Exchange. On the contrary last year Green Theme International did me the opportunity to do a double linked swap in London (more that 157 entries) - the first swap of my life and dream holidays for all my family.

I'm really grateful to GTI and I cherish it. I think also that Green Theme is a really beautiful Home Exchange web site, fine, welcoming and with a very nice design. GTI is also easy for all, well functioning and not expensive (thanks for the discount offered).

If of interest, GTI can feel free of keeping listed my home listing HE19622 and give to interested members my e-mail. Anyway consider me please at complete disposal for the present and future.

Very kind regards and thanks for the important work done since 1989.

Alessandro

P.S.: apologize me for my bad English

Dear Alessandro

Thank you for your email and for the very kind comments that you have made about GTI and our web-site. Of course, I am disappointed that we are not able to offer you a great selection of homes in Denmark to facilitate the double linked exchange in Ireland and Denmark that you are seeking this summer.

Naturally I am also disappointed that you feel it necessary to join a competitor agency, Home for Exchange. As this agency is based in The Netherlands, it may well be able to provide more opportunities for you in nearby Denmark. It certainly has a very attractive and innovative web-site regularly introducing some very nice features. However, it has not been operating for many years (only since 2005) and in order to achieve the number of listings it now claims, the owner did indulge in some dubious practices at the outset, such as pirating other agencies listings, or offering free listings. (See earlier blog item The Home Exchange Poacher posted on the GTI Home Exchange Travel blog on 16 December 2005.)

We have always found that the agencies which offer free listings are never as effective as those clubs which require people to have paid a small sum to participate, because they encourage many people who are not so committed to home exchange to list their homes with many free sites just to see what offers turn up without they themselves having to put in any effort. Many people who join free sites even seem to forget which ones they have in fact joined, as we have found on a number of occasions when people have mistakingly contacted us with their queries, or to say that they are not receiving replies from a particular listing which turns out not to be one of ours anyway. Now that Home for Exchange has become more established, it no longer offers free listings, but nevertheless unless I am mistaken, I don't think the listings on the site display when their members joined and when their listings are due to expire as do those on GTI. In contrast on GTI Home Exchange we prefer to be totally transparent about when a member joined and therefore how old the listing is, and consequently how active the members are likely to be in genuinely seeking exchanges.

Anyone reading my comments may feel that it all sounds a little like 'sour grapes' (I don't know whether you know that expression in Italy?) because you are finding it necessary to register with another club this year in order to find an exchange in Denmark. But in order that you may be able to make a true comparison between our two agencies, I would like to offer you an extension of six months to your membership in the hope that at a later date you wish to renew your membership and can continue to benefit from our discount for renewing members.

Once again, thank you so much for your very encouraging comments about us.

With very best regards
Kath