The Best Affordable Family Vacations are House Swaps

Before having kids, you probably loved travel. It may have even been your passion, a part of your core identity. And then, when you or your partner became pregnant, you pledged to keep jet-setting. Get that baby a passport!

But once the kid came on the scene, you learned very quickly that travel will never be the same again. Traveling as a family is more expensive (how do family vacation rentals cost more than rent?), and way more of a hassle (I have to pack a portable crib in addition to a carseat?).

Enter Kindred — a more affordable and comfortable way to take family holidays. Here are five reasons families like yours prefer Kindred house swapping to hotels or short-term rentals (by a long shot!).

House swaps make for more affordable family vacations

Remember when the short-term rental sites made it possible to take cheap family trips? Now their cost rivals that of a hotel room, and the houses are often bare-bones and impersonal.

Kindred stays are a fraction of the price of family vacation rentals and hotels. Once you’re accepted into Kindred’s members-only community, you get five credits to use right away. That’s five nights to book your next family holiday; all you pay for is cleaning and service fees (typically $5-$35 per night). After that first trip, you can accrue more credits (additional nights in Kindred homes) by hosting.

With the money you save on accommodations, your travel budget can go toward making memories — visiting the soccer stadium or hitting up an amusement park, say. Or, go crazy: Book a sitter and splurge on a restaurant, adults only.

“I went to Amsterdam for seven nights, and we only spent $260! AirBnb could never — they were $1800-$2800 for seven nights. It was so amazing to walk into a home that was all cozy and set up and had everything we need, especially since we were traveling with our seven-month-old.” —Kazmira D., Nashville

The most kid-friendly vacations happen in real family homes

The Kindred app makes it easy to find the right home for your family holiday. We have tens of thousands of family-friendly homes, and you can use filters to find the ones that best fit your family’s needs (two-plus bedrooms, crib, washer/dryer, pool, nearby parks, to name just a few examples).

You won’t have to pack a million things, because the house will have everything you need — most crucially, enough space! — plus extra creature comforts. Younger kids get a whole new set of blocks, while teens can play soccer in the yard or Monopoly in the den. And, as you know better than anyone, when the kids are relaxed and comfortable, so are the parents.

“Thanks to Kindred, there's no need to leave with a dozen suitcases. Everything is already on site: the high chair, child dishes, toys... My mental load is so much lighter when preparing for vacations. It's priceless. And that feeling we get as parents when our child discovers a room filled with new toys is like hitting the jackpot. (And several hours of peace as a bonus!)” —Lalaina W., Vimartin-sur-Orthe, France

Kindred’s house swapping community enhances every trip

Local members often point their guests to favorite local parks and restaurants and museums. Follow their insider tips, and you’ll see, home swapping can be a lower-stress, more personal way to travel. We at Kindred love reading through the glowing reviews that members leave for each other, commenting on how a guest watered their plants, or left their house in great shape.

It’s customary for Kindred guests to write a thank you note to their host. In fact, we provide one in our welcome kit! (Thank you notes and welcome kits: two things you are not likely to encounter at an AirBnb, or any other house swapping site!) We often hear from members that they’ve made friends with families they’ve met through Kindred, sending them holiday cards or getting together when in the same city. We love to hear it!

“Traveling with kids is intense. The unknown of hotel rooms and other rental properties can make it even harder because I know routines will get upended and my daughter will cling to me in a less kid-friendly environment. I have been so grateful to stay in Kindred homes where it feels like I can step into another mom's shoes and let my daughter step into the lives of the children who live there.” —Meike S., London

Hosting home swapping families can be a pleasure (really!)

Opening up your home to people you haven’t met yet can feel like a leap of faith. Every house swapper once shared the same worries and fears that might be going through your head right now. So just anyone will check into our house? (No, you approve all guests, and can even video chat with them before deciding.) Do we have to move all of our framed pictures? (Nope!) But we have a white couch!! (We offer a $100,000 Host Protection Guarantee for any damage, just in case.)

Most house swapping platforms are hands-off listing sites. Anyone can join, and you’re on your own if any problems arise. Kindred takes a hands-on approach to make sure your entire experience is safe and seamless from beginning to end. Kindred vets members, coordinates professional cleaning services before and after each stay, and offers a 24/7 concierge, so if you lock yourself out in the middle of the night, we got you.

What you might not anticipate when considering this new, third way to travel is that hosting can actually be a wonderful experience. Kindred goes to great lengths to vet our members. We foster a kind, generous community of people who are happy to water your plants or get your mail. Members often say that once they get into the groove of hosting, they start to feel like they would rather host a Kindred guest than leave their home empty for a week.

“Kindred has been a game changer for our family. We’ve taken trips to NYC, Lisbon, Paris, London, and now Ibiza. With so many holidays it’s allowed us to truly travel the way we love. Well-curated homes that are well suited for families. In return we’ve hosted many families and have had great experiences with them as well — the best guests, whom I’ve stayed in touch with.” —Vita T., Barcelona

Home swapping allows you to travel more

By paying a fraction of the cost of family vacation rentals, Kindred members can afford to take more family holidays. Let’s say you want to spend a week in Paris. Booking seven nights in a three-bedroom family vacation rental would cost upwards of $5,000; you'll pay about one-tenth of that for a Kindred stay. Things get even more affordable the more you travel: You can purchase a $600 Kindred Passport, which covers every service fee for a year. So for the same price as one week in Paris at a short-term rental or hotel, you could book (at least) three trips.

How will traveling more enhance your life? If you’re a fan of travel — or were before you had kids, anyway — you don’t need us to sell you on its many benefits. We’ll let the late, great Anthony Bourdain summarize: “Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you.”

Once you start jet-setting with your children, you’ll find that for every hassle, there are ten or more memorable experiences, inside jokes, teachable moments. For every problem, your kids will see that there is always a creative solution. And the more children are exposed to new cultures, new foods, new ideas, the more open-minded and confident they’ll become, and the better they will know themselves.

You know that adage, about how travel teaches you that we are more alike than different? There’s a way to see that in real time: Throw a soccer ball into an open field anywhere in the world, and watch kids come running.

“We have been using Kindred for about a year now, and it has encouraged and enabled us to travel more with our toddler. Travel no longer feels overwhelming as we know that we will get a well-maintained home at a quarter of the cost we would pay for a hotel or rental, with double (sometimes triple) the space in amazing neighborhoods.” —Julie S., Portland, OR

Listen, we get it: Kindred is an entirely new way to travel, and anything new takes some getting used to. (Like parenting, for example.) We will be here to hold your hand throughout the whole process. Bonus: Once you’re accepted into Kindred, you get five free nights for your family to try it out before you host. (We don’t even take your credit card until you book your first trip!)