We are now on Pinterest!

Well, we are now regularly posting on Pinterest to keep you holiday exchangers up to date and ready to swap! So make sure you follow us for updates on all of the new and beautiful properties that are added to Exchange Holiday Homes on a weekly basis. And don't forget to give us a ring or an e-mail if any take your fancy. Remember, it's free to join! You'll also find tips, ideas and many more creative ideas for any travel enthusiast.

Click here to visit our page on Pinterest

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The List of Welcome Pack Ideas and Little Touches to Wow Your Guests

Here at the Exchange Holiday Home office we believe that the care you put into creating a welcoming environment for your holiday home guests can be one of the most useful ingredients to create a happy holiday home guest. You have one chance to make a first impression, so make the most of it! 

Here is a handy list of little touches and holiday home essentials you can add to your cottage or villa that your guests (or swapper) will love...especially those that are hungry and tired after a long journey to their new home for the week. And don't forget to give them a mention on your website or advert!

• Tea, Coffee and Fresh Milk
• Condiments such a salt, pepper, sugar,oil, basic herbs/spices.
• A selection of toys, boardgames and outdoor games- always useful to keep the little ones happy!
• DVD/Blu-Ray Player and DVDS/Blu-Rays - keep an eye out in charity shop for cheap films
• Books
• Barbecue and coals
• Hairdryer
• Toilet paper/Kitchen Roll
• Washing up liquid
• Ironing Board
• Oven gloves
• Tea towels
• Dish washer tablets if you have a dishwasher
• Bin liners
• Matches
• First aid kit
• Plastic crockery and cutlery for kids

You can even go the extra mile and get the 'wow' factor to impress your guests by putting together a welcome pack or hamper.  Here are some ideas you might like to include:

• Local produce including some artisan type products to showcase the surrounding area is an idea growing in popularity throughout farm cottages in the UK. For example, I recently visited a property in Cornwall who provided homemade scones, locally produced jam, and Cornish clotted cream upon arrival. Who wouldn't want to start their holiday with a Cornish cream tea? If this doesn't take your fancy, how about a bottle of local wine, beer, some fruit juices, butter or fresh fruits. Anything that says 'I go the extra mile for my guests' is ideal.
Don't forget to consider costs. Whilst it a great idea to impress your guests try to factor in the price and don't go unnecessarily overboard. Determine whether or not you want to include a hamper free of charge or as an optional extra. Think about dietary requirements. Having a welcome pack full of meat for two arriving vegetarian guests is certainly not ideal!

• Local newspaper or magazine

• Cosmetics such a bath bombs, shower gel, hand cream and suntan lotion.

• From your correspondence with guests you may find out that they are celebrating something special - honeymoon, birthday, anniversary etc. Leave a card, some flowers, chocolates or even a bottle of bubbly to celebrate their special trip.

• Find out about your party of guests to include goodies perfect for them. If you have children arriving, perhaps some colouring books or organic treats. Advertise your property as dog friendly? Provide treats for your new canine friends!

• Of course if time and money is not on your side, many farm shops and delicatessen's offer ready made hampers for you to recommend for your guests arrival. For example, Lawson's Delicatessen in East Suffolk supply and deliver supper and/or breakfast essentials to local holiday cottages in order to make the guest's lives easier. At the very least you could provide information and contact details of local supermarkets that offer home delivery in your area or support your local village shop by setting up a pre-arrival grocery delivery with them.

Step into the mind of your guests and think about what would make your holiday home special. Don't forget to think about who your cottage is primarily aimed at. If you usually have families to stay then add items that market your cottage as fun, safe and child friendly. If you have a smaller holiday home with maybe only one bedroom, you could market it as a romantic couples retreat and invest in nice bedding, cushions and even candles. And if you can, be there to greet your guests and give a warm welcome in person.

Making just a little bit of effort can reap huge rewards in repeat custom, good guest reviews, positive word of mouth and most importantly a happy holidaymaker!

What would make you feel welcome in a holiday home? We would love to hear your suggestions in the comments!

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Still having serious problems in our area with the internet and phones due to the flooding in the area corroding cables (the whole of our area is affected since the 30th Dec) . 

We have moved to temporary premises, and can be reached by email or on 01503 250857. Hopefully BT will be resolving it very soon!! 

Sorry for the inconvenience to our members.

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Now is the time to start looking for your 2013 holidays, if you are not sure, then let us know which countries you are interested in and we will take a look for you and let you know any that may do the dates you want

We don't charge for this service , so make the most of it as we do arrange most of our exchanges this way.

Now is the time for all members to add dates too, this makes it easier for other members to see what may be available.

Nothing is ever tied up without consulting the owner to makes sure it is still free and they are happy, so it is worth doing!!

Latest new member - Palm Springs, California (see photo)  and she has added plenty of dates for 2013, so if you are looking for the US , take a look!

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Sorry!

It's been a while since we have posted here, sorry!

It's been so busy with lots of members joining and lots of exchanges being arranged.  We have over 1040 members now in 45 different countries, so our lists keeps on growing.

Many members are now looking for next year, so we still need more members of course, the more the merrier!

We have many members looking for London, which is a location that we have a shortage of holiday homes, also New York is an area we could do some properties as we has constant requests for there.

It doesn't cost to join EHH, it's a great system  designed by holiday home owners to work to the benefit of them. We  help all members with searching for properties and we enjoy finding holidays for our members . It's a very satisfactory feeling and we love it!

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New increases in Bonus Credits

Great News!

We have reviewed our bonus credits and  now increased them !

Now for adding peak season weeks you will receive 42 credits ( double what it was before) and 21 credits for high season weeks!

Please do take time to 'like' us on our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/exchangeholidayhomes and we are trying to pass the word around!

We are getting near to our 1000 members, so if you have a holiday home, why not join us, it's free to join and there's no obligation.

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February Newsletter

We have been tremendously busy since Christmas ( hence lack of posts on this blog!)  with lots of members looking for holidays throughout 2012 and even into 2013!

We send out a newsletter to our members fortnightly and I thought that maybe you would like to see it to get an idea of what we have and some dates we have too. Click on the link and it will take you to the newsletter.  http://www.exchangeholidayhomes.com/newsletterFeb.htm

We are hoping it wont be long before we get to 1000 members , we have 915 members active at the moment  so getting close!

We have slowly been adding hotels, the photo show one of them located in Edinburgh , Scotland.

Will try to post more, but it's always good when we are busy and it means we are sorting out lots of  holidays!

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