Do you have a cat, a dog, a canary, a goldfish, or even horses or cows — and wonder if home exchange is right for you and, if so, how to go about it?
HomeExchange is the perfect solution for animal lovers
That’s right! With HomeExchange, you can arrange reciprocal exchanges with other pet owners and take care of each other’s animals.
You can also set up non-reciprocal exchanges (with GuestPoints) with fellow animal lovers, who will be happy to look after your pets during their stay in your home.
1. Let the members know that your home is pet friendly!
To do so, hover your mouse over “My account” at the top right corner of the screen and click on “My home”. Scroll down to the “Lifestyle” section and click on “Pets welcome”.
2. Indicate to your future guests if coming to your home will mean having to care for your pets.
In the “Lifestyle” section (“My home”), you can select the button “Dog to feed” or "Cat to feed". If you have any other type of pets, for example chickens, be sure to mention it in your home description.
Note: It also good to mention in your listing any pet that you have (even if they won’t be present during the exchange) in case your guests are allergic.
3. When you make a search for you next exchange, do not forget to use the “Pets welcome” filter to find pet friendly homes.
4. Join the “Cat Lovers” or “Dog Lovers” group
Groups are a fantastic way to easily identify members with shared interests. When you join a group, you can use it as a search filter (to focus your search on other “Cat Lovers” or “Dog Lovers”). And since we love animals at HomeExchange, we’ve created two dedicated groups.
To learn how to join a group, click here: https://help.homeexchange.com/hc/en/articles/360000611677-How-can-I-join-a-group
To learn how to filter your search using groups, click here: https://help.homeexchange.com/hc/en/articles/360000623817-What-are-search-filters-How-can-I-use-them
5. Discuss all the relevant details regarding your pets before the exchange.
Add your pets’ information to your listing and discuss it in detail with your exchange partner before finalizing the exchange. Where will your guests find their food? What is their eating schedule? Do they take any medication? What are their favorite habits? Their character?
In addition, feel free to leave any instructions for your guests in your welcome booklet 