Melva Brady handed her house keys to people she had never met before. That helped Brady save money on a vacation to New York City's Upper West Side and also brought new visitors to the region.
Brady, who lives in Naples, participates in home exchanges, which involve two parties who temporarily swap homes. It can last a few days or several months, it can include cars and children, beaches or ski resorts - all of which is negotiated beforehand. Brady learned of the concept while vacationing with her husband in Delaware, she says.
Brady is a retired credit manager from a Rochester wholesale plumbing company and spends time working as a literacy volunteer. She and her husband built their three-bedroom home in the Bristol Hills a decade ago. The residence, with its wood-burning fireplace, wrap-around porch and scenic views of rolling hills, gardens, wineries and farmland, has offered a pleasant getaway.
Home exchanges have become increasingly popular in recent years. While the phenomenon started in the 1950s with teachers in the Netherlands looking for other teachers to swap homes for the summer, it did not take off until the Internet gained popularity in the early 1990s. Online tools provided for a new approach to the idea: Someone listing a home no longer had to mail a letter and wait weeks for a reply. The process became instantaneous rather than laborious.
Since the release of the 2006 movie "The Holiday," in which characters played by Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet trade homes in Los Angeles and England, the trend has gained even more traction. Experts now say home exchanges are here to stay.
Edward Kushins, president of HomeExchange.com of Hermosa Beach, Calif., the Web site featured in "The Holiday," says the movie helped to "jump-start awareness."
Another factor encouraging home exchanges is the economic downturn. Kushins says more people are looking for cheaper travel, and trading homes is one solution. Dozens of Web sites like Kushins' assist with home exchanges. Some sites are free, but most require a prospective trader to pay a small membership fee to list a home and upload pictures, offer details and communicate with others.
Daniel Rubin, president of the International Home Exchange Network in Daytona Beach, Fla., says home exchanges offer more than an average hotel stay.
For instance, visitors can have access to a computer, a backyard, toys for children and other household items not found in a hotel, in addition to being part of a neighborhood.
"You don't have to depend on a concierge; you can ask the neighbors," Rubin says.
There are obvious popular areas for home exchanges - California, Florida, New York City, Colorado - but the trend has spread across the nation. Despite Rochester's off-the-beaten-track location, Rubin says, listers can successfully exchange homes with others.
"Be as flexible as possible, both in terms of time and in terms of where you're willing to go. ... Be proactive. Don't wait for somebody to come to you; if you see a listing that you like, e-mail them and see if there's any interest," he says. "The worst that people could do is say, 'I'm sorry, I'm not interested."'
For Helen Bastian, it was a newspaper article published some 25 years ago that sparked her interest in home exchanges. She never pursued an exchange at the time but held on to the story for years. Roughly four years ago, Bastian read another article and decided to sign up. Her first exchange was last April, with a family in Mexico.
Bastian's home in the Park East neighborhood is part of an 1895 duplex with two bedrooms, a garden, a porch and a deck. Her home is one of eight listings in the Rochester area on HomeExchange.com. She has found an abundance of people interested in visiting the Rochester area, and she is currently planning her second exchange to visit Belgium and a third to visit Prague.
So far, Bastian has not had to search for anyone when looking to swap her home. "All of them have found me," she says, adding that she has received requests from people in both Paris and Spain.
When she lists her home, Bastian refers to Rochester's art and culture - museums, theaters, festivals, musical events and attractions such as the Rochester International Jazz Festival and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She also mentions the area's proximity to Toronto and location in the Great Lakes region.
The Mexican family that stayed in her home did not want to leave, Bastian says.
"They stayed here two extra days because they liked it so much," she says.
Like Bastian, Brady also has had little trouble finding exchanges. Her exchanges have been in the United States - one in New York City and another in Florida.
When people inquire about her home, Brady promotes nearby attractions like Canandaigua Lake, Cumming Nature Center and Bristol Mountain and Rochester hot spots like the Strong National Museum of Play.
No matter what time of year, there always is something for visitors to enjoy, Brady says.
"I think the wineries are a big draw. In the fall the colors around here are spectacular. In the winter there's Bristol Mountain skiing," says Brady, who also suggests her guests visit Ontario County Park, which has cross-country skiing, hiking, walking and biking trails.
Home exchanges can offer a less expensive alternative to a hotel stay.
"It's very cost-efficient," Brady says. "There are no hotel bills; you have a kitchen, so you can cook at home. It's really just the cost of the flight"
Exchanges also offer opportunities to meet new people. On Bastian's first exchange visit in Mexico, the neighbors invited her to a cocktail party.
"This doesn't happen in hotels," she says. "Being in a hotel, you're always limited... . Here you're part of the community."
Says Kushins, "It changes your vacation from a tourist vacation to living like a local."
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