It was a question that begged reckoning for Gloucester Point residents [Robert Priseler] and Noel Priseler, who recently returned from England where they took part in a house swap. The couple stayed four weeks in the Nottingham home of Alexander and Christine Miller while the U.K. couple vacationed at the Priseler's waterfront house. Their relationship was based entirely on e-mail correspondence.
Homeexchange.com will be featured in a Sony Pictures movie, "The Holiday," slated for winter release and fronted by A-list stars Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black and Jude Law. "I think this movie will do for home exchanges what 'You've Got Mail' did for Internet dating," [Ed Kushins] said.
Kushins believes in his product so enthusiastically that he offers his home in Hermosa Beach and a condo in Palm Desert for exchange. Kushins and his wife have taken their 8- and 11-year-old children on exchanges on both U.S. coasts as well as London, Ireland and Paris.
Would you let complete strangers - foreigners even - stay in your house, bathe in your tub, sleep in your bed and drive your car for weeks in your absence?
It was a question that begged reckoning for Gloucester Point residents Robert and Noel Priseler, who recently returned from England where they took part in a house swap. The couple stayed four weeks in the Nottingham home of Alexander and Christine Miller while the U.K. couple vacationed at the Priseler's waterfront house. Their relationship was based entirely on e-mail correspondence.
The retired couples connected as members of Seniors Home Exchange, an Internet-based home exchange club for travelers 50 or older. For those with a sense of adventure and, of course, faith in human nature, there are hundreds of networking sites, yet the practice remains largely unfamiliar.
Christine Miller said she had "huge reservations" about exchanging her home prior to the couple's first swap last year with an Australian couple.
"As soon as you walk into someone's home, you know immediately what type of people they are," she said of the relief she felt after arriving for vacations in Brisbane and Gloucester.
The Millers found an unexpected slice of southern living in Gloucester, where they dined with neighbors and attended a cocktail party. A neighbor couple took the Millers on a trip to Tangier Island.
Yet another took them on museum and boating outings.
After returning home, the Priselers said they were told the Miller's participated in a neighborhood beautification project planting colorful flowers alongside their American counterparts. "Everyone we've met here knows what southern hospitality is," Christine Miller said. "We haven't been disappointed."
The Priselers and Millers corresponded by e-mail for about six months before a deal was brokered to swap houses, they said. Both couples said taking time beforehand to explore each other's lifestyles was essential to a positive experience.
"If you have the crown jewels, don't leave them on the dresser," Robert Priseler said, adding that there were no problems with their exchange.
Generally, home swap club memberships include access to property listings and contact information for $50-70 a year. Some of the sites are family-friendly, while others are reserved for specific groups like retirees. Home swaps can be long term or as short as a weekend getaway.
"It's a great way to travel. You feel like someone is welcoming you into their house as a guest," said Ed Kushins, President of homeexchange. com. "The fun of it is stepping into the shoes of someone different."
Kushins, of Los Angeles, has more than 11,000 home listings on his site - mostly in the United States, France, Australia and England.
On there is a single listing in southeastern Virginia: the Williamsburg home of James and Pam Heaphey.
The Heapheys first heard of home exchange through a co-worker of Pam Heaphey's who made an exchange five years ago. The Heapheys visited England through an exchange that reduced costs by at least a third, James Heaphey said.
"You get to meet the friends of the host. They volunteer to take you around. We went to the best pubs, saw the Roman ruins," he said. "You're living in the community ... you see the complete contrasts in lifestyle."
Alexander Miller echoed those sentiments while enjoying the Priseler's sunroom: "If you stay in a hotel you meet people on holiday, just like us, but you wouldn't meet real people.
"We actually met real Americans," he continued. "We absolutely adore Virginia. It's been 10 times better than we expected."
Despite glowing reviews, the practice has been slow to catch on with many travelers. Kushins said the movement has gained momentum since the Internet became a mainstream marketing tool and device for social networking. But the practice still raises some eyebrows.
"We're on the edge of explosive growth," he said. "We're going to take home exchange to a whole new level of awareness."
Homeexchange.com will be featured in a Sony Pictures movie, "The Holiday," slated for winter release and fronted by A-list stars Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black and Jude Law. "I think this movie will do for home exchanges what 'You've Got Mail' did for Internet dating," Kushins said.
He predicted that much like the stigma Internet dating shrugged off in recent years, home exchanges will soon no longer be viewed as something "weird, an unsafe thing to do."
Two homeexchange.com memberships have been revoked, Kushins said. In the first instance, an exchange was canceled without a reasonable excuse.
"With the other people, it wasn't that they were deceitful, but they were really sort of slobs but they didn't realize it."
Kushins believes in his product so enthusiastically that he offers his home in Hermosa Beach and a condo in Palm Desert for exchange. Kushins and his wife have taken their 8- and 11-year-old children on exchanges on both U.S. coasts as well as London, Ireland and Paris.
"It's a real opportunity for the kids to meet and play with kids in a foreign country or other place you haven't been," he said.
Credit: Daily Press, Newport News, Va.
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