The Ins and Outs of House Swapping

Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 10.14.08 | 5:36 PM ET

Budget Travel has some good tips, along with some reflection on the benefits and pitfalls of house swaps. “A born-and-bred control freak, I’ve always chosen my hotels after scouring magazine articles and grilling my friends for recommendations,” Joanna Goddard writes. “When you book a room that way, you know what you’ll get—and you pay for that reliability. House swaps, however, force you to take a leap of faith.”