Hi dear friends!
I hope you all had a wonderful restful weekend.
I recently came across the listing where it is stated a couple is willing to go on vacation and do a swap - I thought it could be a great idea!
We are planning a trip to London in November and would love to find anyone who would like to visit Prague so we can do Prague-London home-pets swap 
What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you!
Anna
This has been discussed on the forum in the past:
I guess it is allowed since you both may post the dates and apply for them.
For example - I would apply for London, and the other party would apply for my dates for petsitting in Prague.
But this is only my understanding of how it could work
I agree, it might be a bit difficult to arrange, though!
There are FB groups, I am on one for World Schoolers I think it’s named, they do house swaps, we live in a Ex London Bus, so ppl are a bit put off by it, however it is very popular? You could have a look on FB and see “house swaps”? not as secure as far as vetting and if both HO and Sitters are paying a fee to be apart of it, it holds more value? good luck.
Mind, I am not sure, we might be interesting in sitting for you, however where we are parked up now, is in the middle of no where, no public transport and very off the the grid, a step up from Camping atm, so I wouldn’t offer it on THS and apart from Wildlife we don’t have any actual pets either. x
I have seen a couple of listings like that as well, however, not sure if it is the best approach. We belong to THS and HomeExchange. Within HomeExchange, people do watch pets during an exchange sometimes. We have done it twice with dogs in the San Francisco area. It was fun! When you join HomeExchange, you pay nothing until your first exchange is finalized, so there is no upfront cost other than your time to create a listing. There is a facebook group called “All About Home Exchange” which I believe you can join even if you are not a member yet. You can ask questions there and see if there would be any interest. I imagine that people in London would love to exchange with Prague!
@anutaa_i the listing should be reported to member services as THS is not a house swapping service .
Hello! This is why I decided to go on the forum and adress if this is a things because I have recently seen a listing like this on THS and was curious about it
@anutaa_i - this was the THS stance in May 2021 and they said we would be advised if anything changed.
Can you confirm that house swaps are now permitted on TH and when did the policy change ?
Has there been a change in policy on house swapping on TH ? I was under the impression that house swapping was not permitted on this platform. I’ve seen a listing offering this, but member services say that there is nothing wrong with it .
We thought there was no house swapping allowed either @Silversitters - haven’t seen anything in marketing to say otherwise 
@Silversitters could you DM me the listing details please? @Cuttlefish there’s been no change on this I will pick up with the MS team.
Thanks for flagging. 
Actual direct swaps are probably difficult to arrange for many reasons. The stars would need to align just so. My spouse and I might have one coming up. I recently applied and got a sit, exactly the kind I like – about 2.5 hours away, 2-3 nights, in a country setting compared to my city setting. I half-jokingly mentioned that we’d be up for a swap. The HO was delighted, and thinking about combining membership anyway, AND as it happened planning to come to my city that weekend, and looking for a hotel, so it’s now planned. I’ve done other sits, where the topic has come up, but here are the problems: (1) It’s difficult for two people or two sets of people – who don’t know each other really well to cooperate on trip planning and dates. (2) While there are a lot of “combined members” most people are more comfortable in one role or another. A lot of homeowners don’t want to swap. A lot of sitters don’t have pets, or even a permanant home, or may have relatives or friends who are happy to watch their pets.
While direct swaps are difficult, if you are combined member “indirect home swaps” exist. The good thing about THS is you don’t need to find and arrange a swap. If you combine your membership, you can look for fun sits that suit your needs in places you want to visit, and you can find someone to watch your pets while you’re gone.
I did a pet sit in NY for someone that is thinking about relocating to the city I live. We both utilize both sides of the platform so I suggested a swap if she wanted a trial run. She is watering my plants and going through my mail and I am taking care of her cat. She is bringing g her dog to my house. We chose dates that worked for both of us… We will review one another.
I also do Home Exchanges and I do not expect those guests to do anything for me nor do I expect to do anything for them. It is much more like an Airbnb experience. Even when it is not a secondary home, the owners do not leave any of their personal things laying around and leave plenty of space for our belongings.
As a homeowner for THS I do the same thing. We travel for extended periods and I create an inviting, clean and organized space. I provide ample closet and drawer space in bedroom and bathroom. I find it very rude when I go to sits in NYC and the owners have way too much stuff and live like pack rats in small spaces. I’ve had to leave my suitcase unpacked in the middle of the living room and bathroom items on the floor on several occasions…
I do not anticipate any major damage while utilizing THS but I do not leave anything out of value that would be upsetting if broken. If I break something, I always tell owner and offer to pay.
I find it a little hard to believe a sitter damaged a piece of furniture… Water rings maybe but there should be coasters.
It sounds like to me you were looking for free pet care and did not put the needs and comfort of your pet sitter first. 3 months is a very long time to live without needing to move your stuff out of the way. Do not blame the sitter .
