Site that offers free accommodation fetes 20 years

An alternative way of traveling that served as inspiration behind the Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet movie The Holiday marks its 20th anniversary this year in addition to a steady rise in membership and home swaps around the world.

HomeExchange.com celebrates its 20th anniversary and more than 400,000 home swaps in 152 countries, a scheme that involves a level of blind trust and relinquishing your home to strangers in exchange for free accommodations anywhere in the world and an authentic local experience.

Perhaps the best silver screen example of the concept can be found in the 2006 film The Holiday in which Diaz swapped her sprawling Los Angeles home for Winslets charming British cottage in a last-minute exchange to avoid the Christmas festivities.

The movies portrayal of the concept, meanwhile, is also credited with helping to popularize the scheme, as home exchanges spiked from 10,000 at the time of the films release to 43,750 by the end of January 2013.

Properties include everything from a converted church in Amsterdam to a condo in New York, a 40-foot yacht, a villa in Italy, or an RV in Oregon.

Home exchangers are described as professors, retirees, business executives, home-based entrepreneurs, doctors and lawyers with an interest in authentic travel experiences.

While the idea of giving up your home to strangers may provoke a knee-jerk reaction, HomeExchange likens the experience to internet dating for the home, as participants are encouraged to exchange emails and phone calls and swap recent photos to get a feel for the person who will be living in their house.

Other sites which offer the same service include HomeSwap! .com, Lovehomeswap.com, and Knox.com.

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