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Daily Pampering: Five tips for luxury home-swapping

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) on May 12th 2010 at 4:00PM

Even the most ostentatious of hotel rooms doesn't compare to the luxury of an upscale residence. There's something at once more comfortable and luxurious about having an entire home to yourself, especially when it comes with a housekeeper, butler or chef. If you're looking to swap homes instead of booking a suite when you take your next vacation, Luxe Home Swap is an essential destination for you.

I had the chance to sit down recently with Debbie Wosskow, co-founder of Luxe Home Swap, and she introduced me to the ins and outs of trading homes in the high-net-worth world. Her site, which facilitates these exchanges is built with he own experiences in mind and is designed to help you window shop and make contact. The rest is up to you and your fellow home-traders.

Currently, the service has more than 600 homes registered and available, and Wosskow is targeting 10,000 by the end of the year. The profiles are content-rich, she says, providing member-submitted information on both the homes and the surrounding areas. Yet, this is just a starting point. Below, you'll find five home swap tips from Wosskow.

Gallery: Luxe Home Swap Properties

1. Chemistry: This is the most important ingredient, according to Wosskow, who says, "The chemistry has to be there." Unless you feel good about the swap, it's not going to work out for you.

2. Communication: Expect to trade up to 20 or 30 messages when arranging a swap. In addition to getting comfortable, you'll have plenty of details to nail down. Also, Wosskow says contract is a good idea.

3. Greetings: Have someone on hand to greet your swappers and get them settled. Your housekeeper, for example, can take care of this for you.

4. Details: Think about what your guests may want or need. Are you willing to let them use your car? Your skis? Work out what you're willing to share, and decide what will be off-limits. Make this clear up front.

5. Honesty: Be honest – from deciding whether to list your home to how you behave throughout your swap. Luxe Home Swap works because of its members' honesty, and this peer pressure has been rather successful.

So far, most of the homes available on Luxe Home Swap are in Europe, though Asia is growing rapidly. The United States is still a bit thin, but you can change that by joining!

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