Flight only: how to get free holiday accommodation

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10 April 2012

There is little more galling, having trawled the internet and bagged a flight for just £10, than to be forced to pay 10 times that amount — and then some — for accommodation.

On a recent holiday in Provence, I thought I'd done well splitting my week between a friend's villa near Avignon (food and drink costs were minimal when divided between 10 of us) and one of those amazing French campsites (five swimming pools, spotless, 20).

But there are, it seems, even cannier travellers among us who regularly manage to pay nothing, or next to nothing, at all for their holiday billet.

This is a burgeoning trend, partly born out of a basic desire to spend less but also to do with wanting to try something new. Boutique hotels, luxury self-catering: been there, done that, paid through the nose and it's all so predictable. I am not alone in craving a surprise when I go away.

Top of the list of alternative accommodation solutions is house-swapping. Quite simply, using one of a growing number of internet sites, you and a like-minded house-owner anywhere in the world from New York to Newhaven exchange homes.

I was recently offered a swap with an acquaintance of my brother — our apartment on the Thames for her house in Aspen. Now our flat is very nice — large roof terrace, panoramic river views — yet in exchange for her five-bedroom condo on the edge of the piste (with ski pass thrown in), it didn't seem like a fair deal.

But the contrast, explained my brother, is the whole point of it: his friend has stayed in London's most exclusive hotels and what she wanted was a taste of the real London, staying in someone's home and — she hoped — driving around in our car.

Although the weakness of the pound has made long-distance swaps more expensive, the prospect of winter sun (or summer snow) is another factor that makes house exchanges popular. Website gumtree.com has seen a 61 per cent rise in the number of homes registered, while Home Base

Holidays has seen an increase of 20 per cent. "Home Base Holidays has been in operation since 1985, and until this year I wouldn't have said it was the cost savings that motivated people to swap," says spokeswoman Lois Sealey. "That has changed: accommodation is often the most expensive part of a holiday, and in the current economic climate the fact that swaps are free is a huge draw."

The increase in house-swapping has reached such a pitch that the department store Peter Jones has introduced designated home-swap advisers, who can give tips on all aspects of house-swapping — from the cheapest glasses to save your fine crystal from getting broken, to what kind of visitor book to put together. "After the initial euphoria of finding the perfect swap, the chore of making your house exchange ready' can creep up quickly," says Jane Whitehouse of Peter Jones.

Iona McCaie, a Londoner who has swapped her second home in Devon for properties around the world, says: "People do worry about home-swapping, but in 13 years we've never had any problems. We've been everywhere: California, France ... I'm off to Corsica this weekend. When you start swapping you realise it's all about mutual respect. We've stayed in some amazing places, and borrowed their car, but we're always aware that it's someone's home."

Also becoming popular is house-sitting, where you look after someone's house, their pets or, in the case of one couple advertising their Côte d'Azur villa, their swimming pool, while they travel. You get a free holiday somewhere new; they get peace of mind.

Another success story is couch-surfing, a sort of international club which puts travellers — mainly younger ones — in touch with locals who have a free couch for them to sleep on. Once registered at www.couchsurfing.com, which claims to have 1.3 million members, you select an area and then ask to be put in contact with locals willing to act as your host. The theory goes that once back home you'll extend the hand of hospitality to others.

Which brings us to nearly-free accommodation and a craze that is fast catching on: group stays or bunk barns, a sort of upmarket youth-hostel-style accommodation. Maggie Berry, who owns Brenley Farm House in Kent, says: "We have a beautiful old barn with 12 bunk beds and charge £12.50 per person. Compare the cost with a holiday cottage up the road which would set you back about £2,000 for a weekend — people just can't afford that at the moment. There's a kitchen in the barn so they all cook together, otherwise, for a little extra, they can have breakfast in the farmhouse with our B&B guests."

The Youth Hostel Association runs a similar scheme that allows groups of between 10 and 100 to hire entire properties for as little as £15 per person — ideal for group holidays but also great value for wedding or birthday guests.

If, like me, you can't stand lying on a beach for a fortnight and would rather be walking or cycling, in addition to getting fit you can experience staying in huts or bothies for free or next to nothing. There are bothies dotted throughout northern England, Wales and Scotland.

They are basic but free and always in wonderful locations. Similarly, large swathes of mountainous Europe are home to ramblers' huts where you can get a hot meal, a pichet of wine and a bed for as little as 15.

Undeterred by the weather, in Scotland of all places, camping and caravan parks are enjoying a bumper time, proving that people are willing to put saving money above luxury this summer.

Bookings at sites are up 18 per cent and motor home companies say sales of camper vans have also risen. Part of the increase is attributed to a rise in visitors from Europe who are taking advantage of the weak pound, but the economic downturn has encouraged more of us to holiday at home. But whether in the UK or abroad, Londoners are opting for prudent holidays this year. MPs and bankers, take note!

Cheap sleeps

House swaps
www.homebase-hols.com
www.homeswapper.co.uk

House-sitting
www.mindmyhouse.com

Couch-surfing
www.couchsurfing.com
www.servas.org

Rambling
www.mountainbothies.org.uk
www.hutten.be

Bunk barns and Youth hostels
www.escape-to.co.uk
www.yha.org.uk

Flight only: how to get free holiday accommodation

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