WORDS BYLINE: Deborah Cicurel Many of us love to travel, but the costs of accommodation can be prohibitive. One savvy woman has spoken out about how she’s saved a fortune on travelling abroad thanks to her love of house swapping. Lizzi Seear, 53, a freelance market researcher currently living in Singapore, has saved a whopping £50,000 on the cost of accommodation over her house-swapping career. She uses HomeExchange, a home-swapping platform that allows people to save on accommodation when they travel. Guests earn points by hosting visitors, and can ’spend’ these points on their own trips. “I'm always on the lookout for new travel tips and ideas,” Lizzi explains. “I'd read an article about housesitting but my husband is allergic to animal hair so that wasn't a viable option. “It was whilst researching house sitting that I came across an article about house swapping. “I read a few articles and then signed up with a few companies on a free trial. “HomeExchange was the one that seemed to have the most flexibility and a really global coverage so I took out a full membership with them in 2017 and haven't looked back.” Lizzi has been everywhere from Melbourne to Barcelona on her journeys. “I've done nearly 50 trips from short weekends in Barcelona to two weeks in Bali in a private villa with a housekeeper,” she remembers. “As my husband and I are currently living in Singapore, having moved from London last year, we are enjoying being able to explore Asia and Australia. “In January I spent 10 days in Melbourne, Australia to watch the AO Open Tennis. “Hotels were over £300 a night so a house swap was an enormous cost saving. “And you just cant put a price on coming back to somewhere comfortable, quiet and homely. "In fact I'm doing it again next January for the next AO Open. “As we were based in London before our move to Singapore we have done a lot of trips to France, Spain and Italy - the classics.” Some of Lizzi’s top highlights have included a luxurious home in Bali with staff. “The two weeks in Bali was one of our best ever holidays,” she enthuses. “We had a beautiful two bedroom villa, a private pool and a housekeeper who made us breakfast every day. “The villa was in Ubud, which is a fascinating area and we really had time to explore and be active but we also loved just spending time by the pool in the gorgeous garden. “During Covid, we were able to use HomeExchange to escape to different parts of the UK when you were allowed to travel a bit more. “We stayed by the River Solent just a couple of hours away as well as visiting Wales, the Lake District, Cornwall and Devon. “It was a great opportunity to explore the UK and just so nice to have a change of scenery! “Last Christmas we were able to meet up with friends in Bunbury, Western Australia. “The house was so large we kept losing each other and we had a stunning sea view as well as private pool. “It made for a wonderfully relaxed catch-up.” Lizzi has also had the chance to meet wonderful people during her stays. “Our very first HomeExchange was to Granville in France and the host couple were so lovely but did not speak a word of English so my O Level French was very rusty but we managed to communicate the basics with lots of sign language and Google Translate,” she laughs. “Our apartment in Bologna was definitely one of the most unique places we stayed in. “The owner was an Italian International Rugby player for the women's team so she was a fascinating person and her apartment was painted with some very interesting, very bright colours. Whilst not our kind of decor it was certainly unique! “We’ve stayed in all sorts of places, from a tiny, damp bedsit in Venice, but we didn't care because it was right on the canal in a lovely, quiet neighbourhood with no other tourists, to a five-bedroom house with a large swimming pool in Western Australia. “The first time you ‘swap’ is very strange. “It feels very odd having complete strangers in your home! “I found having stayed at a lot of self catering places before doing this was useful so I was able to put myself in my guests' position. “So I decluttered my kitchen to make it easier to find things and wrote an instruction manual and basic information such as where the nearest supermarket was. “After the first time, it feels perfectly normal and I have met some lovely people over the last few years. “I think there is an inherent trust as anyone staying at your house has also had complete strangers staying in their house so they know exactly what it's like.” Lizzi estimates she’s saved between £28,000 and £50,000 through house swapping - and she won’t be stopping anytime soon. “I think I've spent 280 nights in other people's houses,” she explains. “Assuming accommodation would cost a minimum of £100 a night, we’ve saved around £28,000 at least, but thinking about high-cost locations such as Melbourne and Barcelona, it’s probably closer to £50,000! “My caveat would be I would not necessarily have ‘spent money’ going to some of the locations I've stayed in, but that is what I love about HomeExchange - you can be staying in the centre of Barcelona on one trip and then staying in the mountains of Sardinia the next! “I would highly recommend house swapping to others. “Why stay in a bland and space-constrained hotel room where you get woken up at all times of night and day when you can have space and immerse yourself in a local neighbourhood? “We mainly travel as a couple but the economics for a family travelling must be considerable. “We've also been able to use it to have friends and family come on holiday with us at no extra cost which has made for some very fun holidays!” Featuring: Lizzi in Croatia When: 19 Aug 2024 Credit: Lizzi Seear/Cover Images **EDITORIAL USE ONLY. 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