Dec22599 Swap a Home for a Holiday? Ever wondered what it would be like to swap homes, at least for a short while? Well now you can! UK company, Holiday Swap, has clients in 185 countries around the world, all ready to swap their homes for a taste of life elsewhere. Holiday Swap is our Best Global Holiday Home Platform 2023. We speak to COO, Andy McGinlay, to find out more. Think back to the Christmas movie favourite, The Holiday. LA movie producer, Amanda, swaps her mansion for writer, Iris’ comfortable Surrey cottage over the holidays. It sounds like a perfect solution to the pair’s problems and in fact, does end up that way. Home swaps have been around for decades in a lowkey kind of way. One company that’s showcasing the concept front and centre is London-based, Holiday Swap. Using the latest in innovation and technology, Holiday Swap is fast gaining in popularity. In fact, the company is attracting clients at such a rate that it’s predicted to feature over 1 million homes on the platform by the end of the year. We ask Andy to tell us about the idea behind the brand. “Hotel prices and homestays are continuing to go up in price. We wanted to find a way for people to use the bed they sleep in to take away most of the accommodation costs when they travel. We’ve built a sharing platform to save money on accommodation. That means we have more to spend on flights, tours, and experiences. There are two options. People can book directly with hosts or match their homes and swap. It works out much cheaper, which means you can travel more.” Holiday Swap has witnessed huge growth in its client base since it started out in 2018. But not content to sit on its laurels, the company has lots of projects in the pipeline too. Andy says, “We offer industry-leading low fees for hosts, from just 3%. Unlike some of our competitors, we don’t have hidden fees. And we’re the only accommodation platform in the world that allows both direct bookings and traditional home swaps for our customers. We like to think we are quite unique – no one has managed to scale home swapping globally, until now.” Holiday Swap couldn’t have picked a better time to scale its business. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many have a renewed thirst for travel after the pandemic but a tighter budget due to the global recession. The platform uses a token system with users earning tokens for setting up a profile, listing their home and using the platform. Tokens are then redeemed against future bookings of their choice. The company rolled out its cash booking system in 2022 enabling hosts to generate tangible income from the platform by renting out their properties too. In 2023, Holiday Swap will be launching its Loyalty Points program to enable users to benefit even more from using the platform. Team members at Holiday Swap all have one thing in common - a love of travel. With team members spread across the globe in the UK, USA, Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand, it’s not easy to get everyone together. But Andy and the team have a strong culture of collaboration and hold regular meetings to celebrate their successes. To find out more about Holiday Swap, or to register your home, please visit the company website. Contact: Andy McGinlay Company: Holiday Swap Web Address: https://www.holidayswap.com/
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