Know Before You Go campaign

This may be a repeat post on the GTI Home Exchange weblog, but the information is very important worthy of consultation on a regular basis, and of course, just before you travel.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Know Before You Go campaign to help British travellers (and any others who may wish to make use of the information) stay safe overseas. Before you go overseas, check out the FCO website which is packed with essential travel advice and tips, and up-to-date country information.

Home Exchange Match Making

Question: A journalist asked this question this week, in preparation for an article he was writing on home exchange.

Does “like seek to exchange with like” when considering a home exchange?

Answer: Whilst many people would prefer and are often able to exchange with owners of a property similar in standing to their own, this is not something which is set in stone with regard to home exchange. Some people may be motivated more by the location of an exchange offer rather than the fact that the property should offer exactly the same facilities as their own home. There have been many examples of this: one which comes to mind is that of Trisha, a long-term member of GTI Home Exchange, with a beautiful property in Australia, who recently wrote in response to our renewal reminder: “I am in the UK at present and have been so busy with two children getting married within weeks of each other that I have put all else on hold. I do intend to renew our membership and will do so on our return to Australia when I have more time to sort things out.” Trisha was in UK and needed to be in specific locations for the weddings of her children. Similarly Winnie Larsen HE16500 wrote “We are going to a wedding in Edinburgh the 2nd of July and we are looking for a house exchange within that period. Winnie’s example above also indicated that sometimes it is the dates for which the exchange is offered that are equally as important.

Nevertheless, it is probably true that the most successful and carefree exchanges often take place when “like exchanges with like”. For example it is far more likely that a young family will find that their exchange meets their needs and matches up to their expectations if they are able to exchange with a family whose children are of similar ages to their own. There will be toys and facilities that meet the needs of the youngsters of the same age group and it often removes the need to take essential bulky equipment such as buggies etc.

Similarly other specific groups such as Seniors may prefer to exchange with people of their own age. Their properties are arranged more for the convenience and tastes of their group, perhaps with expensive décor, even antiques, and may not be set up to withstand the impact of more vigorous age groups such as families with teenagers. For people wishing to limit their search for an exchange within the Seniors group, they simply need to click on Detailed Search and check the “Seniors/Over 55's” box.

Of course, the final answer is not to close any avenues which you think may lead to the exchange you want be it for a particular reason or the holiday of a lifetime, but to earn a reputation of being an ideal home exchange partner by preparing an enticing exchange offer, and giving the time to getting to know and becoming comfortable with your prospective exchange partners before agreeing to a definite arrangement.

Home Exchange, Hospitality Exchange and Rental Options

Charles' house in OBEILAR, Province of Granada, Spain

GTI Home Exchange member, Charles G sent us the following email on his return from a three/way holiday after setting up a combination of home exchange, hospitality exchange and a rental via our linked rental site Holiday Homes Direct.

"Please renew our membership. Its been a great success. We just came back from nearly 4 months in the Far East and Australia, one month of which was exchange, and the remainder on exchange hospitality, plus a rental in Bali HE15761 (Holiday Homes Direct Property reference 1288. Note 20% discount offered to GTI Home Exchange members.)
Holiday Homes Direct Property 1288


"In future we will go city centre exchanges, since it's easier to travel out on excursions. We were outside Melbourne for a month, but made an excellent city centre contact for a future exchange".

Regards, CHARLES

Thank you, Charles, it's always nice to receive feedback, especially when things go so well!!

A Fishy Tale

In answer to the question on our membership registration form, 'Where did you hear about Green Theme International Home Exchange?', I was surprised to see someone had entered Carp Magazine. Whilst we receive much good publicity in all sorts of magazines, this was not one which had immediately sprung to mind, even though I know that angling is a very popular pastime. Great, I thought, our Themed Holiday Search in Advanced Search must really be reaching its target if we are being mentioned in such specialist publications. Still a little bemused, I thought I would try to find out a little more about Carp Magazine and perhaps even read the article. Imagine my embarrassment when on looking for information on Yahoo I found that CARP in this instance actually stands for Canadian Association of Retired Persons and the magazine referred to was the Carp 50+ Magazine.

At GTI Home Exchange anyone wishing to conduct a search based on a particular holiday theme may do so by clicking on Advanced Search , and then clicking the Theme drop down menu offering the choice of boating, fishing, golf, horseriding, skiing, tennis, walking.

Home Exchange - Short or Long Term

Question:
We would like to offer our house by the beach on the Costa del Sol, Spain, this autumn, for 1-3 or 4 months, in exchange for a country house/cottage in Berks/Oxon/Hants. How do we need to proceed?
Thanks for your help.
Sincerely,
CJ
Answer:
Dear CJ,

Thank you for your enquiry. Membership of GTI Home Exchange covers both short and long term exchanges, however the majority of home exchanges are indeed shorter term. Having said that, you may find that your minimum period of a month still attracts this type of exchange member. The choice of longer term members is generally more limited, which you might expect. Most members also like to allow time to get to know their exchange partners via e-mail or phone, and make the accompanying necessary arrangements for car hire/exchange, travel etc, so the likelihood of your finding a suitable exchange could depend to some extent on what time in the autumn you are looking for.

We cannot offer a guarantee of success in finding a suitable exchange partner, however your chances are probably greater as your property is in a popular area of the world. If you are looking to exchange in early autumn, you may wish to consider allowing more flexibility in terms of the length of time you could exchange for, in order to increase your chances further of finding an exchange partner. This would also give you the opportunity to try out home exchange as a holiday option if you have not done so before. Remember, your membership lasts for twelve months (or longer depending on which membership option you choose) which could give you the potential of further exchanges during this period.

All joining instructions are on the website, however, I have included below more detailed instructions which may help. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. In the meantime, I hope that we will be welcoming you as a member of GTI Home Exchange in the near future and look forward to hearing from you soon...

Alison
Green Theme International Home Exchange

The cost of membership is just GB£21.00 or Euros 30,00 approx for a full 12 months membership, providing you with password access to the full database of exchange offers with member contact details, and a listing of your own home exchange offer together with 5 photographs (free of charge).

You may register on-line by clicking on the green Join tab at the top of the Green Theme International Home Exchange home page or by clicking the 'Join Now' hyperlink at the top of the right-hand menu. At the next page, click on 'Join Now' again, which will move you forward to the Membership Registration Page.

Choose your membership option (ie Plan 1 for 12 months, or Plan 2 for
24 months membership) and then complete the form with all the information relating to your own exchange offer. During this process you will create your password for later access to the web-site. When you have completed the form, click on 'Continue' at the bottom of the page to save the details you have entered to our database, and then proceed to the secure payment page (choosing your preferred card for payment, and currency). Once you have successfully completed the payment procedure, your listing will be on-line for all other members to view, and you will have access to the database to be able to view all other members' listings with their full contact details.

There is a considerable amount of information on the site concerning the concept of home exchange and help and advice about setting up a successful exchange. If you click on the hyperlink 'Exchange Advice and Forms' under the Members' Area heading in the right-hand menu, you can read this information but there is other information elsewhere such as on the pages Frequently Asked Questions and Member Testimonials regarding their experiences.

Stop Press! Rare Home Exchange Opportunities

A rare destination, not very often available via home exchange, has just been added to the listings. Whilst Turkey has been featured occasionally before in our listings, this very attractive offer features a substantial house in Fethiye, Mugla, Turkey, GTI Home Exchange reference HE17141.

Sheila describes her home: "3 bedroomed villa built 2004 in beautiful location 8 minutes walk from beach, restaurants and bars. The property is located 10 minutes by local bus or 25 minutes by Boat Dolmus transport to Fethiye Town where there are shops, banks, restaurants, boat trips, cinema etc. and all the emenities of a large town. The surrounding area has numerous sites of historical interest and entertaining day trips. Also nearby is the blue flag resort of Olu Deniz and the nightlife area of Hisaronu".

Another rare opportunity just added to the listings is a house in Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, HE17154 - a fully furnished, well kept tropical paradise home on Sunny Dutch Caribbean Island of Curacao (15 minute flight from Aruba). Luxurious tropical garden with pond/fountain,/BBQ facilities, full modern convenience (TV/Cable/VCR/DVD). Home property attached to private school property; ideal for smaller children with "private" playgrounds/basketball courts etc. which would be closed to others during the holiday period. Although a Dutch island nearly everyone speaks English (and 2-3 other languages).

Exchange within your own Country

Pete and Maureen Whetton, HE15760 have just renewed their membership, and their destination requests this time prompted me to remind members that many people are seeking exchanges within their own country: viz Pete and Maureen's request for Queensland Coast, Perth, WA, Sydney, Melbourne, as well as Asia and New Zealand. Similarly the length of exchange often dictates the distance people wish to travel, and therefore many people seeking short breaks or weekend exchanges will be seeking to do so within their own country.

Compagnie de Danse "Oural" de Tcheliabinsk

It is not often that I feel impelled to post a blog article which has nothing to do with home exchange, but this week has prompted one such occasion. Taking time off to enjoy a performance by La Compagnie de Danse "Oural" de Tcheliabinsk from Russia in our neighbouring village, I was so impressed by their performance and the beautiful traditional costumes worn by the group that I felt I must mention it so that anyone else spending time in France in the vicinity of Confolens might go along and enjoy their performance too. The Festival of Confolens is a well-known summer festival of Dance and Music of the World, taking place this year between the 9th and 15th August, but prior to the festival many of the groups offer performances in the local 'Salles Polyvolantes' of the surrounding areas. The company has been described as the Bolchoi of traditional dance and you cannot imagine anything better or more realistically representative of the tradition and music of the great region of the Oural. The orchestra too is composed of artists who play an extraordinary number of popular instruments, 'chalumeau, gusli, domra, balalaikas and many others. If you have the opportunity to see La Compagnie de Danse "Oural" de Tcheliabinsk, be sure not to miss them and enjoy!

A Picture is worth a 1000 Words

As those of you who visit the GTI Home Exchange web-site on a regular basis will know, the Feature Listing on the left of the homepage is rotated virtually on a daily basis. However, the listing must have at least one photo in order to be promoted as a Feature Listing. Those without a photo have to be rejected for this purpose. However, from time to time I come across a listing which I think might benefit from some extra promotion, and write to the owners to see if they might like to provide a photo so that they may appear as the Feature Listing. One such listing was for a bungalow in Doncaster, not the first destination that comes to mind for anyone visiting the UK.

I was surprised and delighted to receive the following reply.

Dear Kath......

Many thanks for the e-mail. We have had about twenty five or more enquiries, not to mention the replies received to ours. We are off to Australia in about five weeks time, and looking forward to it. And next weekend we are going to Cheltenham for a long weekend. When we joined we thought that we would not get anybody interested in Doncaster. I have only just changed the listing to see if we can get someone next year. I have not got a scanner so cannot put the photo's on the listings.
Many thanks for your concern.......
Clifton and Paulene.

Hi Cliff

Even though you don't have a scanner, I would be happy to scan photos for you if you would like to send them to me. But it's not urgent, and can wait until you return from your trip to Australia. Safe journey, and write and tell us about it on your return.
Best regards
Kath

Summer Silly Season

Although we are not in the midst of a heatwave/canicule, it seems nevertheless that we are in the midst of the Summer Silly Season. This week brought a spate of enquiries from people who seem to think that an exchange can be arranged at very short notice: for example, an enquiry from a young Italian lady who was interested in a hospitality exchange for a month to any city in the UK, but wishing to travel within the first few days of August; another from a young French person who very specifically wanted to visit Sitges for the month of August. With home exchange it is very necessary to think and plan ahead, and there is almost no chance of making arrangements for either home exchange or hospitality exchange at such short notice. Whilst this may appear to be discouraging, we nevertheless prefer to be honest and not mislead anyone on their chances of arranging a successful exchange unless they are prepared to give it adequate advance thought and preparation.

We also received an enquiry from a journalist at Le Parisien asking if we could put her in touch with someone who was currently on an exchange in Paris. Whilst I could put her in touch with numerous French GTI Home Exchange members who live in or around Paris and are offering exchanges to Paris, it is very difficult for us to know at any given point in time who is actually on an exchange in a specific location unless they have sent us a copy of their home exchange agreement. We do invite members to complete a brief home exchange agreement and to send us a copy in the event that they might wish to refer to it if they should ever need confirmation of their home exchange arrangement for travel insurance purposes for example, but very few members do take this precaution, and consequently we do not know who is where and when. A great pity as it would have been lovely to have been able to fulfill the journalist's request and have received the resulting publicity.

So, if there are any GTI Home Exchange members who are currently enjoying an exchange in Paris (and thankfully not during a canicule, as it can be very hot in Paris in August), or any Parisien members who are about to welcome home exchange guests to their home, please contact Violette Lazard at Le Parisien infos_actu@leparisien.com, or contact me, so that I may pass this information on.

Temporary Car Breakdown Cover in Spain

Once again the taxing question of car insurance, this time for temporary breakdown cover, poses a problem for GTI Home Exchange member Suzy Topolski HE13483. Suzy writes: "do you have any advice regarding getting breakdown cover on our Spanish exchange partner's car. She has annual personal cover.....so is even fine with our car in UK........... so we need to know if we can get temporary breakdown cover in our name for a Spanish registered car. It seems we are fine for insurance.
Thanks.

If anyone, and particularly perhaps one of our many Spanish members, has any information on this point, would you please kindly post a reply on the GTI Weblog, or if you do not feel confident with this, please send me an email and I will pass the information on to Suzy, as well as posting it on the weblog for the benefit of other members who may have the same difficulty in arranging temporary breakdown cover whilst abroad.

Kath Botterill

Fodor's Travel Guides

Newly registered GTI Home Exchange member, Pam Heaphey HE17085, mentioned the famed Fodor's Travel Guides in response to our question 'Where did you hear about GTI'? Curiosity aroused, I decided to take a look at Fodor's on-line. Whilst I could not find any direct reference to GTI Home Exchange, only our much more expensive competitors with membership subscription quoted in US$ being singled out for reference, I was impressed with the site and the amount of information available to travellers worldwide. It also offers the opportunity to register for their regular newsletter and really is worth a look.

Plea for Email Etiquette

An email received this morning from Lynn Armstrong HE15580 emphasises yet again how disappointing it is if members do not receive replies to their preliminary exchange enquiries: as Lynn says "it seems many members don't bother responding to exchanges proposed through the site! I don't know what the solution is, as to me it is only a matter of etiquete to say no, thanks!". I couldn't agree more, Lynn, and we repeatedly stress how important this is in our communications. Even if a member is not interested in a proposed exchange, they should reply as promptly as possible, so that the member knows the position and can continue looking for other compatible exchanges.

GTI Newsletter Summer 2005

The GTI News Summer 2005 was posted on the web-site on 30th June, just before we lost our telecommunications for approximately 10 days owing to a severe storm. We are pleased to say that this did not prevent it being distributed to those of you who are on the GTI Newsletter mailing list, having registered to receive the Newsletter via email. If for any reason you have not received your copy, (ie you may have changed your registered email address, or your mailbox may be full), you may view it from the GTI Home Page by clicking on the GTI News link in the righthand menu.

Back in Touch

Owing to a severe storm and lightning which struck our main telephone cable approximately ten days ago, we have regrettably experienced an unprecented break in our communications, and have been unable to access the internet, receive emails or telephone calls from members and prospective clients during this period. Whilst we very much regret this break in our service, there was regrettably nothing that we could do about it and we were obliged to wait on the goodwill of the telephone company to re-instate our service. Fortunately, my daughter, Alison, now acting as our representative in the United Kingdom, was able to respond to many of your queries on our behalf. We are now back on-line, but do sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that this break in our usual high level of service may have caused.

A Pilgrimage to Cape Trafalgar

A Pilgrimage to Cape Trafalgar
by Seb Jay

A Pilgrimage to Cape Trafalgar

Once described as the most famous place on Earth that no one has ever been to, Cape Trafalgar near Cadiz in Southern Spain finds itself centre stage in 2005. On October 21st this year, two hundred years will have passed since one of the greatest naval battles in history took place in the seas around the Cape - The Battle of Trafalgar.

Fought between the British Royal Navy under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson and the Franco-Spanish fleet headed by French Admiral Villeneuve, the Battle of Trafalgar was a pivotal moment in the long-running Napoleonic Wars in Europe. Napoleon was planning an invasion of Britain but to achieve victory he knew that he had to gain supremacy on the high seas. Although greatly outnumbered, Nelson pulled off a dramatic victory over Napoleon's fleet at Trafalgar, employing innovative maritime warfare tactics to surprise the enemy. This shattered Napoleon's dreams of a British invasion, forcing him to switch focus to a 'continental strategy' and ultimately bringing him to defeat at Waterloo in 1815.

Nelson though was to lose his life in the fray. He died aboard his beloved Victory battleship shortly after Villeneuve's fleet was defeated. To this day, Nelson is still recognised as one of Britain's greatest war heroes, his most famous memorial being Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London.

Cape Trafalgar in 2005

Today, Cape Trafalgar is an unassuming spit of land that juts out into the sea. Its sandy windswept shoreline leads down to a lighthouse at the head of the cape from where spectacular views of the coastline between Conil and Barbate can be enjoyed. Whether you're a sun worshiper, watersports enthusiast or just want to gaze out over the waters where Nelson grabbed his famous victory, Cape Trafalgar truly is an inspiring place to visit.

Getting to Cape Trafalgar

Cape Trafalgar is easily accessed off the main N340 Highway between Cadiz and Gibraltar. From Vejer de la Frontera take the CA-2141 or CA-2143 towards Los Canos de Meca. The Cape is then within easy reach of the town centre. Car hire can be booked in advance for pick up from Cadiz, Gibraltar and many other cities in Spain by visiting http://www.your-carhire.com

Seb Jay is a freelance copywriter specialising in the origination of web content for http://www.your-carhire.com

*****************************
Anyone with an interest in the history of the British Royal Navy, the bi-centenary of Trafalgar, or Lord Nelson, might find this home exchange offer from a Spanish GTI Home Exchange member of particular interest.


Lovely Andalusia style detached house located in one of the best zones in the south Spanish Atlantic coast, 200 metres away from a beautiful and peaceful white sand beach of several km of length surrounded by Mediterranean forest. The house is a second residence, has a 900m2 beautiful garden full of different ornament flowers and ancient trees and a swimming pool. It has four bedrooms, two complete bathrooms, one living-dining room with chimney and a full equipped independent kitchen. The main bedroom has a double bed, the other three have each two single beds.

The house has two lovely roofed porches with different orientations, ideal to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in almost every season of the year.

Wohnungtausch Frage????

Frage

Hallo, ist es möglich , auf ihrer
homepage nachzusehen, wer überhaupt erstmal interesse hat nach deutschland zu kommen. dann könnte man sich da etwas aussuchen. Dann wären die möglichkeiten wahrscheinlich schon ziemlich begrenzt, was ich bei der suche durchaus als vorteil sehe.
Mfg M. verhasselt

Antwort

Vielen Dank für Ihre E-Mail. Es ist möglich, die Mitglieder zu suchen, die für besuchenen Deutschland sich interessieren, aber leider nicht von der Homepage. Um dieses zu machen, das Sie auf 'Search' auf der Homepage klicken müssen; Sie werden zur 'Basic Search' paginiert fortfahren. Klicken Sie auf 'Detailed Search' oben verlassen von dieser Seite, an der Advanced Search anzukommen. Tippen
Sie 'Deutschland' im Dialogkasten für 'Who wants to visit my area'?

Es gibt momentan 19 Mitglieder, die Deutschland als ein gewünschtes Reiseziel zitieren, und noch mehrere Zitierung Österreich.

Wenn ich von irgendeiner weiteren Hilfe sein kann, zögert bitte nicht, mich wieder zu berühren.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Kath Botterill
Green Theme International Home Exchange Holidays
Email: GTI_Home_Exchange@compuserve.com
http://www.gti-home-exchange.com

Answer in English

Thank you for your email. It is possible to search for those members who are interested in visiting Germany, but unfortunately not from the home page. To do this you must click on 'Search' on the home page; you will proceed to the 'Basic Search' page. Click on 'Detailed Search' at the top left of this page to arrive at the Advanced Search page. Type 'Germany' in the dialogue box for 'Who wants to visit my Area?'

There are currently 19 members who quote Germany as a desired destination, and several more quoting Austria.

If I can be of any further help, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

World Atlas

Kate Russell of BBC World's Clickonline recommended a great site this week: WorldAtlas.com. This is a superb resource aimed at helping parents, students, teachers and travellers alike.

Kate says "I liked the simple navigation and clear graphics here. On opening the homepage, the natural inclination is to click on an area of the map. Doing so takes you to a sub-menu for that continent and then you can select the country of interest". So for those GTI Home Exchange members whose world geography is just a little shaky, do take a look - and even if you think you know every corner of the globe, I'm sure you will find something of interest here.

World Atlas.com is published by the Woolwine-Moen group d/b/a Graphic Maps.

In der Fremde trotzdem zu Hause

In der Fremde trotzdem zu Hause
Cash DT, Sec. IMMOBILIEN HAUSTAUSCH, p 68 06-09-2005
By Von franz schaible

Wer in den Ferien Land und Leute kennen lernen will, tauscht sein Haus mit Gleichgesinnten.

Hausbesitzer können nicht nur bei den Steuern sparen. Sie können auch ihr Ferienbudget schonen. Möglich macht dies der Haustausch. Hohe Kosten für Hotel oder Ferienwohnung fallen weg.

"Wir haben mit dem Haustausch immer gute Erfahrungen gemacht", blicken Marcel und Ursula Huwyler-Dillier zurück: zurück auf fünfmal Ferien in den Häusern von zuvor unbekannten Leuten. Gemeinsam mit ihren Kindern Elias und Nicolas haben sie die schönsten Wochen des Jahres im Rahmen eines Haustauschs verbracht. Viermal in Frankreich und letztmals in Dänemark. Drei Wochen wohnten sie in Langeskov, einer Vorortgemeinde von Odense, der drittgrössten Stadt in Dänemark. Im Gegenzug weilte die dänische Familie, ebenfalls mit zwei Kindern, im Haus von Huwyler-Dillier in Altdorf.

Ein Exzerpt ungefähr hat Heimumtausch von einem deutschen Immobilie Zeitschrift Bargeld DT, Sec genommen. IMMOBILIEN HAUSTAUSCH, p 68 06-09-2005 Durch Von franz schaible

Great Time in New Zealand

Dear Kath

We have just completed another successful home exchange with a couple from New Zealand.

As on previous occasions this worked out very very well. We both enjoyed it, and it enabled us to see and do things we couldn't have done any other way. So many thanks for setting up this service you provide, and hopefully we will have the opportunity to use it again.

We have switched back to our usual e-mail address instead of hotmail.

Kind regards
John and Val