Each home has many points attributed called "Guestpoints". Members can either do reciprocal exchanges or non-reciprocal exchanges with guestpoints. They earn points by hosting other members and can use those to stay at different homes. To finalize a reciprocal exchange, members must activate their annual membership of US$220 (or€160 in Europe) per year[3] for unlimited exchanges.[4] As of December 2022, homeexchange.com has >100,000 members and over 450,000 homes in 133 countries.[5]
Ed Kushins first came up with the idea of starting a home exchange service back in 1992, after he and his family made their first home exchange from Hermosa Beach, California, to Washington D.C. On this trip, he learned that staying in a home, as opposed to a hotel, was not only more comfortable but offered a more enriching "living like a local" experience and was a lot more affordable. The HomeExchange club would later be launched that same year and was able to be navigated using a mail-ordered, printed directory. However, it would not become a web-based platform until 1996, when e-commerce was gaining popularity. [6]
It is currently unknown what the site originally looked like on its launch date since web.archive.org could only trace it to 1998, despite the site being found in 1996. [7]
In 2006, HomeExchange.com was featured and promoted in the romantic comedy "The Holiday", produced and directed by Nancy Meyers.[8]
In March 2017, GuestToGuest merged with HomeExchange.com, and since 2019 continued under that name. GuestToGuest's founder, Emmanuel Arnaud, then became the CEO of HomeExchange.com.[9]
In March 2023, HomeExchange.com purchased its competitor, Love Home Swap.[10]
