What Does It Cost To Home Swap with Kindred?

Before you start traveling with Kindred, you may have some questions about what fees there are for home swapping. Short answer: membership is completely free, and you’ll just pay small fees when you take a trip. There aren’t nightly rental rates or hidden costs like there are with hotels and other short-term lodging. Still, you probably want to know a bit more.

Here, we’ll go into the details about home exchange fees and show how you can lower your travel costs if you become a frequent swapper. 

What are the fees to home swap?

Kindred is designed to be radically affordable. There’s no membership fee, unlike other home exchange companies. You’ll only pay cleaning and service fees when you travel. When you host, Kindred provides everything you need, from linens to lockboxes, so you don’t have to spend a dime.

In lieu of a nightly rental rate, we use a give-to-get membership model: the more you host, the more you travel. You’ll accumulate credits for every night you host other members in your home, which you can use to stay in other homes later. You’ll start with five credits when you join so you can try Kindred before you host.

Credits are entirely about reciprocity and don’t have monetary value, so you can’t buy them. Unlike other swapping websites, one credit always equals one night—all homes are treated equally, no matter the size or location. Plus, when members exchange homes simultaneously, no one uses credits because everything “cancels out.” 

Here’s an example of Kindred home swap fees for a seven-night stay in New York City: 

You'd spend seven credits, $300 on cleaning, and $245 ($35 per night) on service fees, coming to a total of $545.

Get $0 service fees with the Kindred Passport

If you plan to exchange homes more than a few times a year, the Kindred Passport helps you save money on service fees. For $600 per year, you’ll get $0 in service fees on unlimited trips, helping you save hundreds of dollars on house swapping (on top of the thousands you save on accommodations). 

Why are there fees to home swap?

Kindred’s trip fees go toward facilitating home swaps and covering our business operations.

Cleaning fees cover exactly what you’d expect. This money goes to the teams who clean each home before and after guests arrive.

Service fees, as well as Kindred Passport subscriptions, cover our company’s overhead and margins. That’s how Kindred makes money (which is a question we’re often asked). Our service fees also pay for member services, including:

• 24/7 concierge member support
• Our Host Protection Guarantee, which covers up to $100,000 in rare instances of damage
• Our Guest Trip Protection policy, which helps cover booking third-party accommodations if a host cancels last minute
• Host essentials, including towels, linens, toiletries, a sponge, and a lockbox

And remember—we’ll never make money by selling your information to third parties. We’re a community based on trust, and your privacy is important to us.

Start home swapping

Ready to start earning Kindred credits? Apply to join the community and start swapping today.