The concept of home swapping has always appealed to me so I took the opportunity to meet UK-based Ben Wosskow, Chief Commercial Officer of Love Home Swap, when I was last in London.
Ben, when was Love Home Swap established and why?
Ben Wosskow: Love Home Swap was set up in 2011 by my entrepreneurial sister Debbie Wosskow. The idea for the company came after Debbie experienced a particularly bad and expensive family holiday – from this and with a little inspiration from home-swap rom-com The Holiday, Love Home Swap was created. The aim of the company is to help thousands of people to experience better holidays through the power of swapping.
How many members, properties, countries and staff are involved now?
We currently have 100,000 plus properties listed in 150 countries, with a team of around 50 people based out of our London HQ.
Why is it so popular?
One of the main reasons why home swapping is so popular is the amount of money that is saved on holidays. Our members save an average of 90 percent on their accommodation fees (around $3,500 per swap). Not only is home swapping excellent value for money, it can also be a lot more comfortable and a lot more fun compared with traditional accommodation options. Love Home Swap allows for more authentic holiday experiences too – many of our members enjoy living like a local when they’re away.
New services and products?
Our innovative Points system makes home swapping even easier for our members – taking away the need to match exact dates and locations.
We have also recently launched our iPhone app, which has been a big hit and has been featured by Apple on the iTunes store in 100 plus countries worldwide.
Plus we’ve recently introduced our new Traveller + tier, which includes accidental damage and trip cancellation protection for every swap (plus a range of additional travel perks) in order to give members extra peace of mind when they travel.
Extra membership benefits?
We offer a wide range of extra benefits for our higher tier members with special offers from hand-picked partners including La Belle Assiette, Touriocity, Get My Boat, WeSwap and more. With Get My Boat, Love Home Swap members can enjoy a special concierge service for free.
We’ve seen explosive growth at Love Home Swap over the past 12 months – with more and more holidaymakers looking to stay in homes rather than traditional travel options, as peer-to-peer travel becomes part of the mainstream
says Ben.
Our Swap Points system is a big part of this – we’ve transformed the home swapping experience by making it even easier for members to travel without needing to match dates and timings. With the recent launch of our new iPhone app, we’ve also made it possible to agree swaps on the move – something members have been wanting for a long time.
We’re expecting an exciting 2017 ahead, with lots more developments to come we continue to grow our community of home swappers around the world.
Here’s a statement by Debbie Wosskow on why they launched Love Home Swap.
FACTBOX
Visit Love Home Swap to view over 100,000 properties in 150 countries!
