Hi! New HE member and we are starting to look for swaps for next summer (Europe in July/August 2025). From what we can tell so far, it seems as though itās too early for most people to commit to a swap. Iām curious what the typical timing is for arranging swaps, particularly for multi-week summer travel?
I assume we will wait until November or December to start reaching out again. Thanks for the insight!!
Stephanie
This varies enormously from one member to the next! Some members have plans already made for 2025 and 2026, others leave it until last minute!
It may depend on how far youāll be travelling and for how long, the popularity of the destinations youāre looking for, and also on what youāre offering yourself.
I plan with 3 or 2 months in advance. I ping people before to see if they are interested in the idea, but then we confirm dates only closer to the date, around 2 months in advance. This has been working so far to book planes and all.
Lol. Im just like you, planning 2025 already !
For the coming year, I start my search after the 1st of the new year.
I feel like retired people are more flexible and enthusiastic about planning into the future, I can not really commit more than 9 months in advance due to work. Love planning though, so we try to find exchanges as soon as we know the details 
Still, one of our greatest exchanges was a last-minute decision to go to Paris, France 10 days later - and a lot of homes in popular locations do become available last minute. So if youāre flexible with last minute travel destinations you could really hit the jackpot 
it depends where. The airline blogs I follow recommend 331 days out to get the best flights so I start before then so that when the exchange is closed I can grab the best deal on air fare. We are self employed and make appointments for our clients a year in advance so I often have a window of when I will be away on the calendar so as not to make a client appointment, but donāt have exactly where I am going
We have 2 homes in Washington and are on a 9.5 week Europe trip. All, but one week are home exchanges. I started pinging a year in advance. Italy seemed to be better within 4-6 months as it didnāt seem like they planned as far ahead.
Traveling from the US to Europe is pricey and needs planning. Europeans often travel within the country and need less time to plan, so itās a little different.
I have kids, so I like to plan every school vacation well in advance! We already have our Europe 2025 summer exchanges lined up!!
Good luck!
I think the most reliable way to plan an exchange in advance is to do a reciprocal exchange. Otherwise I worry about people cancelling on me.
A good way to get a reciprocal exchange is to fill up your profileās āpreferred destinationsā ā¦
ā¦ and do a āreverse searchā for people looking to travel to your area.
As other people have said, it depends on the exchangers. However, generally, if a trip is going further away and for a longer period, people start searching earlier.
A lot of people donāt know when theyāll be able to swap untill they know when they can get off from work and thatās often not arranged untill January. People with more and/or flexible holidays like teachers, self employed persons, people who can work long distance or people who are retired, may start earlier.
I often start searching for the next summer exchange right after returning from my summer exchange and that mostly worked well.
I had a swap arranged for 2025 last winter. I started looking very early, for in 2025, my husband and I will have been married for 25 years and we would be with more persons than normally. Also, at first, I wanted to go further away. We had agreed with people from Spain to swap (we are in The Netherlans ourselves), but we couldnāt set the actual dates untill much later. However, after I had found out what going there would cost me extra for planes and renting a car, I realised that wasnāt worth it to me. So now I am looking for a swap where we can drive to. I have not received a yes yet, but I did get a couple of times to circle back later, because they didnāt know their plans yet. So this experience also confirms that itās easier to arrange longer before the exchange if where youāre going to is further away.
Wow! Youāve done well to line up your Europe 2025 home exchanges already.
Weāre in Perth, W.Australia and have contacted a few HE hosts, for our Europe 2025 trip, but unless someone specifically wants to come to Perth, itās been challenging.
As you mentioned, many in Europe prefer to exchange with other European HEāers. Even when offering guest points, our requests are mostly not being responded to or have not been successful.
Well done on your part. Perhaps you have some tips to share on your success.
I do 90% guest points and have never had a cancellation- the number as a percentage Of cancellations is very very low
Persistence prevails. Donāt give up. I had many no responses. One of my 2025 exchanges is a non-sim swap and the other is on another platform, so thatās how they all lined up.
Just remember that with Europe, you may just need to ping 3-6 months before the trip vs 6-12 months like us from afar prefer since flights are so pricey.
Also, be very flexible with your destinations. You may want Amalfi Coast, but we stayed in Cava de Terrini and drove and absolutely loved the city. Albeit, I would NEVER recommend driving the Amalfi Coast yourself. It is VERY dangerous-get a tour guide/bus to do the driving for you.
Iām really glad to hear this as it makes me nervous! What protections are in place for an exchanger on guest points to ensure they are not stranded on arrival without a place to stay?
I should have looked at the FAQ first
If case of cancellation by your host:
Hi,
We live in France and starting to look for summer 2025 
Where are you living ? We are in Dijon, Burgundy, if youāre interested 
Thanks for this info, Iām currently trying to arrange some exchanges in Italy in April and May next year and am barely even getting a response. Perhaps Iāll hold off for a little while.
Some of the things I consider are how many HE members there are in the city or country I want to visit. If there are lots of members in the area Iām interested in, I may feel OK to start sending requests 6-8 months in advance. I also do a reverse search to see whether there is interest in that area of the world, to come to mine. That also provides some insight into how hard it will be to find an exchange. And, if budget is an issue, I may start planning months and months in advance so I can confirm the Exchange and then wait (with fingers crossed) for a seat sale for my flights since that is usually the biggest cost.
So many things to consider!
Hi! I have read all the comments here with interest.
I recently agreed on a reciprocal exchange - Montreal - Cape Town for the northern hemisphere summer of 2025. There are many details to iron out, but most importantly the tickets. How do I secure the exchange? Should I close it on the HE platform with approximate dates? Thanks for your advice.
Oscar
Montreal-Canada