BOSTON, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Vacation homeowners now have a passport to free accommodations around the world, thanks to a new service called Swapandstay.com. As the first website dedicated to global holiday home exchanges, Swapandstay.com enables members to fill 'empty weeks' in their properties and liberates them from the limitations of owning a home in one holiday hotspot.
Prior to the official launch on March 1, 2006, Swapandstay.com is offering free membership to the first 1,000 membership applications.
Until now, most holiday home exchange services have focused on residential rather than holiday homes and insist that members swap their properties at the same time. Swapandstay.com overcomes these limitations -- swaps do not have to be simultaneous or on a like- for-like basis enabling members to make as many exchanges as they like.
According to the founder of Swapandstay.com, Lesley Walster, this new service comes at exactly the right time. "There has been an explosion in holiday home ownership, where people are buying vacation homes as an investment, rather than relying on retirement funds and domestic property," she says.
"The main drawback is that these holiday homes sit empty for much of the year, while the owners still end up paying for hotel accommodations if they want to vacation somewhere else. Swapandstay overcomes these hurdles and opens up the possibilities of 'free' accommodation around the world."
The boom in the holiday home market has been fuelled by low interest rates and soaring house prices in the US, as mortgages rate remain at record lows and the ability to unlock equity from their first home has made buying a vacation property in the sun affordable for more people than ever before.
About Swapandstay.com
Swapandstay.com works by signing members up for an annual subscription fee, providing access to thousands of properties around the world. Unlike other exchange services, members are not restricted to like-for-like homes or swapping simultaneously. Listings include equivalent rental rates, enabling members to exchange properties of different values.
