arrange a home exchange vacation

Well, our unexpected change in plans that has made our trip to Houston kind of a nightmarish thing has also allowed me to make arrangements to stay with a CS member in Denver who has horses.

Young Miss Anna is beside herself.

I went to GlobalFreeloaders and then did a search and found Hospitality Club. Went there…it looked familiar…on a whim I typed in my usual nick and password and I was already a member, having joined shortly before a series of family crises drove it straight from my mind.

I spent some time sending friendly hellos to a few people on both sites (HC and CS), and now have strong plans for a visit near the end of this summer from a couple just older than us who love biking, kayaking, hiking etc.

Stupid name, great concept, and I think the way this works – more like a network than a matchup service – will give me more flexibility. So I joined.

It works like this: You join and register, becoming part of a network of people willing to share anything from a cup of coffee to a place to sleep (you can limit what you’re willing to offer) with others in the network. You retain your right to say no to anyone. The distinguishing thing (compared to hospitality exchange) is that you don’t have to reciprocate or be reciprocated. It’s just a network of people willing to host someone, maybe just for coffee, maybe for a tour of their town, maybe for a couple nights’ lodging. And lodging can be a tent in the yard, a sleeping bag on the couch, or a guest house…nobody seems to care much.

I’d love to do this. We have a basic rancher, no vaulted ceilings or anything fancy, but we do live in a great place. I’d love to host visitors and then be hosted in return (this seems a lot easier and more interesting to me than trying to arrange vacations that correspond exactly and barely getting to meet each other, if at all).

Right now the house is pretty full of kids, and even in the future when the kids are on their own, this may be beyond my husband’s comfort zone. But it’s such a cool idea.