I travel by exchanging my apartment for a luxury house

This essay as told is based on a conversation with Meagan Cignoli, a Los Angeles-based sculptor and member of Relationshipa home exchange network. Kindred members conduct direct, one-on-one house swaps or can earn nightly credits by letting other members stay in their homes. There are no fees to join Kindred and no money is exchanged between hosts and guests. Members pay a one-time resort fee and cleaning fee for their stay. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

The first time I house swapped was around 2005. I stayed with someone in Miami for two months during the winter, and they stayed with me in New York.

I used to use Craigslist and find people, but it was really hard to find people who wanted the exact time frame that you wanted and also had a decent house that you actually wanted to stay in.

Now I use Kindred, which is so much easier because house swaps don’t have to be consecutive. I’m obsessed with never being home and traveling a lot, and Kindred gave me the opportunity to do that. I have the Kindred Passport, which costs $600 a year, so I don’t pay a service fee, just the cleaning fee. Since I’m constantly traveling, I get my money’s worth on the passport after a month or two.

The cleaning rate I paid in Mexico is $110, so you could go to Mexico for a week for $110, and it could be a five-bedroom place with a pool. The cleaning rate in most places I’ve seen in Europe is $140, so we went for 10 days to the most beautiful place in Greece, and it was $140.

I use it for group trips, solo or at work

I live in a one bedroom apartment. There are places of all sizes on Kindred, and we’ve stayed in some beautiful places. It’s a bit crazy and surprising that a T2 or a studio costs the same amount of credits as a T4 with a swimming pool.

I travel alone a bit. I’m traveling with my girlfriend. We used Kindred in Greece on two different islands. I only used it in Portugal, notably in Porto and Lisbon. We have used it many times in Mexico and every state from California to Georgia.

I also travel with my assistant, so if I have a show in another city, I’ll find a two-bedroom or more. We went to Joshua Tree for a week just to make art, photograph things, make new sculptures, and just have a little art retreat.

Kindred gives you the option to stay somewhere longer because the price doesn’t really change. And the longer you stay, the more you get to know a neighborhood. And there’s none of the pressure you have when you’re paying every night to get the most out of it, so it allowed us to just relax and not feel rushed to see everything.

I have also taken group trips. I booked a Kindred at Lake Arrowhead for about eight of our friends, and we just cooked, hiked, and explored the town and lake. It was amazing for everyone because it’s so cheap, it’s just the cleaning fee.

Guests often leave gifts for their hosts

When you accept guests into your home, you can say “no” to anyone. You can ask to FaceTime, check out their Instagram, or look at photos of their house. If their house looks clean, you feel like they will take care of your house too.

Kindred has a very good insurance policy, so if someone messes something up in your house, they will fix it. The company also schedules cleaners to come just before the guest arrives and just after they leave, so when you return home, it’s often cleaner than how you left it.

Guests often leave thank you notes or gifts for their hosts. Because I’m a sculptor, I’ll make a whole bunch of little dishes at once, and I’ll bring one to every place I go and leave it as a gift for my host. Sometimes we leave wine. People left me chocolate covered pretzels and a bottle of wine, and the notes are really cute to take home. They will say, “Your house has made me so happy. »

Now I try to avoid hotels and vacation rentals

Kindred is 100% the first thing I check when I want to travel somewhere. Now when I look at hotels or Airbnbs, I’m shocked by the price.

You’re also spoiled by making your own eggs in the morning and not having to go out for every meal. It makes traveling a little less painful when you can eat at least one meal at home.

If you’re flexible with your travel schedule, Kindred is even better. I have wishlists there and I check them almost every day to see what’s available. Some places have more availability than others, but many major cities have Kindreds, and the numbers are growing.

The only downside is that Kindred has spoiled me so much on price that it’s hard to swallow other options when I’m traveling somewhere and a Kindred isn’t available.