Home Exchange and Gay Guest Hosting: An idea whose time has arrived?

artis Spain : Cataluña : Girona

Original posting: artis I would like to start here a group of people interested on hosting exchange It's always nice to go to a city and find somebody friendly to host you. That can be the start of a good friendship, or at least it can help you to have a safe place to sleep. Then when that person come to your place you can offer him same chance to enjoy there. I live in a little town in Costa Brava, Spain, but my husband's parents own a flat in Barcelona. We would be interested on visiting some cities such as London, Venice, Rome... Let's see how this works like. I am a painter and also do photos. I also work giving sensitive massages. We are not smoking people, and don't use to drink alcohol, and have never been into drugs. We like quiet and relaxed life, travelling, going to cinema, etc. We enjoy nudism and pleasant sex.

seghebo Italy : Emilia-Romagna : Bologna	Follow up: seghebo 16 Nov Who does come to Italy ??
toronto Canada : Ontario : Toronto	Follow up: toronto 16 Nov I've done it often...most luck I've had hosting/being hosted around the world were on couchsurfing.com and stay4free.com...these are not sexual sites and have a mix of all sexual orientations but usually attract very open minded and friendly people...happy trails.
surfohio U.S.A. : Ohio : Cincinnati	Follow up: surfohio 03 Dec I'm on couchsurfing too - worth checking out but you really have to believe in what its all about in order for it to work - Read more and you'll figure it out.

sunbu
ns99
U.S.A. : Hawaii : Pahoa 
Follow up: sunbuns99

18 Dec 23:15 Note to artis, the original poster on this topic on Dudesnude.com I've seen your work on Flickr.

There is a site for gay hosting and house exchanges:
http://www.oneworldonefamily.com

I am not sure how well it is really working. I had the condo in Hawaii that I formerly owned listed on

that site for while, but it never got any serious inquiries. But it might be worth a try. It specializes in gay/lesbian house exchanges.

Another site is iTravEx.com It is not free - but no money is actually exchanged. It works on a point system, although you must have a vacation rental property listed on either VRBO or Owner Direct.

P.S. I realize that some DN may have no interest in 'renting' (making money on exchanging your home), but some other people might. I'm sure artis was interested in a free hosting exchange.

Hosting someone you know is one matter - even getting to know someone by inviting them to stay at your home could be great, but arranging to exchange homes with someone I only met on a website would require much more safeguarding. I do not want to send off my house keys to somebody on the other side an ocean whom I had never met in person (or by telephone) -- if there is not some assurance that everything is legitmate (and I'm sure it works both ways).
A vacation home broker or housing exchange broker or hosting agent would certainly add a sense of security and could make things work smoother (and reduce risks).

So take these as suggestions with that idea in mind. I don't claim that it's a solution, however, I have used with pretty good success such vacation home rental listing services at: VRBO.com and HomeAway.com. So when I found out about iTravex.com I was pretty interested.

ITravex is not a GLBT vacation rental agent (but might be gay friendly) - it is only a broker or site that links up people (host and guest). Actually, it is only available to vacation home owners, but if someone has a place (especially in or near a big city or resort area) that is available for holiday and vacation rentals and can also hosting or housing exchanges for a least part of the year, then you could become a member of iTravex by listing your property on OwnerDirect.com (or with VRBO.com which does cost).

Your home does not have to be actually rented (because YOU always decide whom, when, and under what conditions someone will use your home (second/vacation home). Owner Direct is not the largest vacation rental property listing site (VRBO and the HomeAway sites are the largest and that is why they charge $150-$199 a year). Also, there is no guarantee, people will inquire, but at least, using such a site legitimizes your 'renting' or 'exchanging' your property.

There is no upfront cost for listing on OwnerDirect but you do have to pay a commission (10%) from the rentals.
The way iTravEx works is it allows members to use your earned or purchased iTravEx points to rent a vacation home or apartment. The 'host' (owner) earns these points by letting members 'rent'. There is no actual exchange of money. The point is you don't have to exchange between the two same homeowners - each one can ask to be hosted at any property (as long as the dates, conditions, and points can be negotiated).

My point is I could see how some people here on Dudenude (and a myriad of other gay social networking sites) could actually use iTravex as the kind of 'home exchange' broker/agent.
By the way, some sites such as VRBO (although they cost money annually) allow the adding of such categories for your property as 'clothing optional' and 'alternative lifestyle'.

To be honest, I've had a couple of inquiries from members of iTravex, but no one has actually exchanged home yet.

There are nowadays several iPhone apps where gay men can find places to stay at private residences through the shared accommodation model.   I've thrown in the names too of several other types of gay-specific travel apps.

Gay Spot Info Sharing Map          Gay Homestays