Man swaps home to stay in £1,000-a-night villas on holiday 'for free'

A London businessman regularly swaps his one-bedroom flat for £1,000-a-night apartments and villas without having to pay for the accommodation.

Rafael, a Canadian entrepreneur who has lived in the capital for 18 years, says he has completed around 25 home exchanges in the last three.

It allows the digital nomad, 46, to live it up in destinations like Bali, the Bahamas and Bangkok with pretty much no living costs.

Through HomeExchange, which has an annual membership of $235, he has access to some 550,000 homes in 155 countries to swap with.

While there are also expenses before and after guests stay, Rafael says the savings massively outweigh traditional hotel costs.

“There's not really any cost. To be honest, the biggest cost is my time just arranging the apartment,” he tells LADbible.

“And then there's the cleaning cost. So there's a cost of the cleaner involved to come before, clean the place, and then if you choose to have the cleaner come afterwards as well.

“But, I mean, it's totally worth it when you think a hotel anywhere in Europe is more than £100 a night.”

£1,000-a-night villa in Bali

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One of his most memorable swaps came during a trip to Bali, where he stayed in a luxury cliff-top villa worth around £1,000 per night.

“It was a three bedroom villa on a cliff top overlooking the most luxurious beach in Bali in actually, the most luxurious resort in Bali, like, five star resort with my own staff and an infinity pool,” he said.

“So, you know, I woke up. They had my breakfast made for me. It literally cost £1,000 per night to stay there, and I was staying there for free.”

Rafael is able to work on the go (Supplied)

Rafael, who is the founder of protein bar website Vive, said he has rarely experienced issues while exchanging homes and believes the review system helps build trust between users.

He explained: “Generally, we also arrange mutual cleaners, so I hate cleaning. So I haven't had any problems. The apartment always comes back cleaner than I would leave it.”

What about valuables?

Rafael says he always gets asked 'what do you do with your valuables? I’m like, I don’t have any valuables'.

“If people wanna steal my clothes, they’re more than welcome to,” he jokes, adding that he tends to go for hosts who have 'at least five to 10 reviews'.

"You’re staying in somebody else’s house. People who are also part of the community, they realise what a valuable thing it is. There’s kind of a mutual incentive for both to be good,” he explained.

Worst experience

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“I did have one weird experience where we did an exchange with this girl. Everything seemed to go fine. But then afterwards, she sent me this laundry list of a 100 items that were wrong in the apartment,” Rafael said.

“Some of it was quite bizarre… she’s like, ‘you left a glass by the bedside table,’ and she was, like, freaking out. And then she wanted something like €1,000 in cleaning fees. I refused.”

Advice for first-time swappers

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“Get your profile as good as it can be, get the best photos possible. It’s really hard to get that first exchange. Make sure that your guests can be comfortable,” Rafael recommends.

“Make sure they have space in the closet, space in the kitchen. Leave coffee, maybe leave a bottle of wine… people really just enjoy the simple things. Protect your valuables, anything that’s of value, make sure that you hide it. Have some flexibility in terms of when you can travel. Don’t book the flights before. Just have some flexibility.”