The golden rule of house swapping is to treat your host's home as if it were your own and leave it the way you found it (if not better). Always bear in mind the three R's of house swapping: Responsibility, Respect, Relax!

Stage 1
Understanding the Matching Houses concept

Imagine a world filled with holiday accommodation adapted to meet your exact needs - wherever you wanted to go, there would be somewhere to stay where you could come and go as you please.
If you have always dreamed of travel but your access requirements have made this very difficult, not to mention the cost of hotel rooms, meals, and other entertainment, then do not despair. Now there is a way you can afford to travel, safe in the knowledge your destination will be accessible.

MatchingHouses.com is a growing holiday option offering an accessible travel experience. If you are willing to allow someone else to live in your home and you don't mind living in someone else's house or apartment, then this great holiday and travel alternative is yours to explore. Many people prefer this to staying in an anonymous, impersonal hotel room, with a throughput of thousands of people every year sleeping in the same hotel bed (just think about it!). By matching your accessibility needs with someone who has the same needs, the chances are that your homes will be fully accessible to each other.

If this concept is unfamiliar to you, or even a bit frightening, rest assured. House swapping is a long established idea and worldwide there are over 250,000 successful swaps every year. We have just developed the idea a little further to allow disabled people to take advantage of this opportunity. Swapping homes can also offer many other rewards, including the connections you make with your home exchange partners, which often turn into lifelong friendships, plus the benefit of getting a much closer look at other cultures and a better feel for the places you visit. As well as having a free place to stay, you have more privacy, more flexibility and more freedom. You can prepare meals at home, come and go as you please and, of course, your own home is being cared for while you are away.

Privacy is a definite strong point of MatchingHouses.com. No personal contact information is displayed in a listing or made available to visitors to the site or other members. MatchingHouses.com has developed a reliable advanced system for enabling contact between interested parties without divulging any personal information like names, street addresses, telephone numbers or email addresses.

Every house match is unique and the concept helps build relationships of mutual trust and goodwill. As with all things, there are risks involved and it is only natural to have reservations about giving up your home to strangers. As you will see, most of these risks can be minimized to alleviate any concerns. It is also worth bearing in mind that the people you exchange with face the same risks as you.

Stage 2
Making contact

Who would use Matching Houses? House swappers come from all walks of life. Mostly, they are fairly well educated, adventurous, reliable and have an interest in learning more about different places and cultures. Singles as well as couples and families go in for house swapping.

Once you have joined and filled in the enrolment form, you can start contemplating where you would like to go. Keep your options open until you see what is available. If you give yourself the least restrictive guidelines and the widest possible parameters for your holiday, you are more likely to achieve your goal. Allow plenty of time to complete arrangements for an exchange, so think in terms of months rather than weeks.

The early process of developing a house match involves getting to know your potential exchange partners through correspondence via email, telephone, post, and fax. Later, if everything goes well, you can exchange pictures and videos and perhaps even arrange a pre-exchange visit.

When you have picked a few places you would like to visit from the listings, you can then contact the potential house swappers by email. Keep your first correspondence simple and friendly. Express your interest in trading homes, let them know the times you are interested in and how long you would like to stay. Tell them something about your home and some of the nearby attractions. Send this to everyone on your list.

If your initial contact produces favourable results, then you can take the next step and send a follow-up letter and a more detailed fact sheet. (See samples in the appendix.) We suggest you act promptly because there may be others who are interested in the same swap.

In the follow-up letter, you may thank your prospective home exchanger for their prompt response and answer any questions they may have asked such as suggested dates and weather. As regards the fact sheet, at the very least, it would be good to include the following:

· Describe yourself and your family. Include details such as first names, ages, how many in your party, the type of work you do, and your side interests.

· Describe your home and neighbourhood, and some of the accessible amenities. For example, do you have an accessible swimming pool? Is there a public swimming pool nearby that you can use? What about other accessible facilities such as bars, clubs, restaurants, cinemas, parks and gardens, etc? Give them some specific reasons why they would like staying in your home and area. You probably have insight into your community that they haven't read about in guidebooks or researched over the internet.

· Pin down the dates you're interested in.

· Give them a sense of how near or far away the places are that they may want to visit, and the ways of getting there (accessible transport, such as bus, train, taxi, and so on). For added value, you might mention the savings they would receive by purchasing a bus pass, for example, in your area.
· If you're offering a vehicle as part of your exchange, tell them what year, make and model it is, the condition of the car, and whether it is manual or automatic. Is it adapted in any way for your needs?

· Include a short inventory of the household appliances and electronic equipment available to use.

· Mention any extra responsibilities, such as gardening or taking care of pets or plants.

· Indicate whether or not you'll accept smoking in the house, additional overnight guests, and things of that nature.

Expect to receive a reply within 8 - 10 days indicating any further interest. At this point, you should narrow down your choice of a home exchange partner to one - the one you feel most comfortable with.
Now it's time to send along pictures (or a video) of your home and family either by post or via the internet as .jpg files. If you are mailing out pictures or a video, you might want to consider sending your package priority mail or even by way of an overnight delivery service. It is very important during this correspondence that you include your phone number and request theirs because the next Stage will be to discuss the exchange over the telephone.

The pictures of their home arrive and you like what you see! They do too. It is now time to make contact by telephone. You make this call mainly to confirm each other's interest in making the exchange and also to get a better idea of the people you are dealing with. You may want to take some notes while you talk. You should also do the following:

· Discuss the photos
· Get personal references
· Ask all the questions you may have
· Resolve any misunderstandings or confusion
· Discuss how the household bills will be handled during the exchange, as well as small emergency repairs, and larger ones
· Review insurance, including that for your car if that is part of the deal
· Firm up definite dates of the home exchange
· Talk about meeting at the airport or give transportation options
· Discuss local contacts such as neighbours or friends, and who to get in touch with in case of an emergency
· Consider a pre-exchange visit, if this is an option

You may begin to make some arrangements over the telephone, but this is not your official agreement. It must be in writing. During your conversation, agree to a written agreement. Also, while you're negotiating, don't be afraid to ask for what you want and to set limits on what you can offer.

House swaps occur at a time that is convenient to both parties. Often, their car will be included as part of the package.

When you are completely satisfied with all the arrangements made with your house match partner, prepare a written agreement (see sample). It should include all the vital information: names and addresses of all those involved in the exchange, exchange dates, items included in the exchange (i.e. car, pool, health club, etc.), any additional responsibilities such as pet care, repairs, other household understandings, contacts, copies of insurance, and copies of your airline tickets, if requested. Send two copies of the agreement to your exchange partner and request that a signed copy is returned to you.

The signed agreement is a firm commitment to go ahead with the exchange. Violating this agreement would cause a big inconvenience and expense to the parties involved. Breaking an exchange agreement because a better offer comes along would not be acceptable. Of course, there are circumstances, such as a death in the family or a serious illness that could happen making the exchange unrealisable. If this should occur, try to come up with an alternative plan.

One point you may need to consider if you are dealing with a potential house swapper in another country is - what if you don't speak their language and they don't speak yours? We suggest you find a friend or other acquaintance that speaks the language and deal through them. This may prevent some of the details from being misinterpreted, which could cause problems. If you don't know anyone personally who speaks the language, consider getting in touch with a language school or the language department of a nearby university.

Stage 3
Getting ready to go

Being a good host is an important part of the Matching Houses process. You should prepare your home for those who will be staying there and provide them with information about your home and the convenient services in your neighbourhood. Your house match partners will hopefully do the same for you.
A list of things to consider when putting your home in order for the arrival of your guests:
· Leave written directions or owner's manuals in a handy place for things like TV's, VCR, appliances, alarm systems, heating units, air conditioners, and the vacuum cleaner.
· Make a list of names and phone numbers of repair people.
· Leave clearly written instructions for pet and plant care.
· Temporarily discontinue newspaper delivery.
· Make space in dresser drawers and in the bedroom closet, and leave plenty of empty hangers.
· Be sure there are plenty of clean towels and linens for your guests.
· Stock up on items like toilet tissue, bath soap, and cleaning supplies.
· Store any valuables or lock them away in a closet.
· Prepay your bills.
· Get lawn mowed, pool cleaned, etc.
· If a car is part of the exchange, leave copies of your car insurance and registration. Also, you might want to get your car tuned up.
· Make a list of emergency numbers that include your doctor, a nearby hospital or emergency clinic, the fire department, and the police.
· Leave the name and number of a friend or relative to call in an emergency as well.
· Leave your contact numbers and itinerary in case your home exchangers want to get in touch with you.
· Last, but not least, make sure your home is clean and tidy for your guests.

Many home exchangers put together an information packet for their visitors. This is a great opportunity to let your home matching partners know about any accessible facilities there are in the vicinity. Also a trip to your local tourist office or chamber of commerce is an easy way to gather some of the information about your community. You might want to include several of the following items as part of your welcome package:
· Leaflets describing local attractions.
· Maps of the area. Include a local street map that designates accessible places of interest, restaurants, malls, etc.
· Accessible bus, train, and ferry timetables, whatever is applicable
· Recommended local accessible restaurants. Be sure to include your favourites. Gather some menus for take-out and delivery and leave them in a noticeable spot.
· A list of nearby accessible services such as a dry cleaner, Laundromat, convenience store, and supermarket.
· A list of places to avoid.
· Guest passes to gym facilities where you are a member.

Another thoughtful touch while putting out your welcome mat is to have an arrangement of flowers on the dining room table and a chilled bottle of wine or champagne in the refrigerator for their arrival. If children are involved, include some cold drinks for them. Having a friend or neighbour meet your house match guests will add a level of comfort and security on both your parts. We suggest this be done the day after their arrival to give your guests a chance to settle in. This type of warm reception can make a great difference for the start of a relaxing and memorable holiday.

Stage 4
Being there

If this is your first house swap, you still may feel a bit uncertain about what to expect when you arrive. Your house swap partners will probably have left a home information kit containing many of the items you included in your welcome package to them. This, along with the research you've done, should put your mind at ease. Some house swappers take along their correspondence file because it too is filled with good information about the host's home and neighbourhood.

Hopefully, your house swap partner has left some room in the closet and drawers for your belongings. If not, you may choose to make some room for yourself. Take note of where things are so you can put them back in their proper spots.

Early on in your stay, be sure to locate the information package. This should tell you a lot about what you need to know. Take note of what items you use from any available food supplies so you can replace them before you leave. You might want to start a shopping list for this purpose. If brand names are unfamiliar to you, make a note of them.

Staying in someone else's home is like living in your own household. Use the same common sense as you do when you are at home. Things like locking doors when you go out, closing windows in case of rain, unplugging electrical appliances during a lightning storm, and taking off your shoes if they are wet and muddy before entering the house are automatic to most people.

When your stay is over, consider the following before you leave your swap partner's home.
· Replace food and other supplies you have used, such as sugar, spices, coffee, teas, paper goods, etc.
· Wash linens and put them away.
· Put items that you've moved back in their place.
· Leave a note with any important incidents that have transpired, such as phone calls or callers. If you have had a problem with something in the home, you may want to include that in your letter.
· Place keys in their specified places.
· If applicable, leave money for long distance phone calls or any other reimbursements.
· A small gift, a token of your appreciation, is always a welcome surprise. Leave it on the table with a thank you note and perhaps a word or two about something special that happened during your stay.

The golden rule of house swapping is to treat your host's home as if it were your own and leave it the way you found it (if not better). Always bear in mind the three R's of house swapping: Responsibility, Respect, Relax!