Kindred reposted this
For the first time in a while, I used a product and had a pretty magical experience - one that feels worth talking about. I travel a lot and have been trying to make home swapping work for a while, to avoid skyrocketing accommodation fees. I have airbnb'd my place in the past, but it felt sketch and had its own headaches. First, I tried HomeExchange and it was just horrible/poorly thought out. I had to send 50-100 messages myself, only to not succeed in finding a swap. I almost did get one, but the guy seemed sketch and he wanted to swap an airbnb for my actual home (red flag). Most importantly, as a London resident, their points system HUGELY undervalues homes in major cities - can't be bothered explaining why, ask me in the comments if you care. This week, I'm staying with a host on Kindred for the first time, after being introduced to it by Nikita Maruvanda, and it feels like the same level of life-hack as staying at an Airbnb in the early 2010's, before it became code for "unlicenced hotel". There's a high bar for entry (you need a home to swap, and it needs to meet a reasonable standard) but this higher-end audience and more personal approach totally alleviated my worries re: hosting, and the places to stay are amazing. Also, big difference, you post a trip and they try and match you with viable hosts and offer very 1-1 support via chat to make it happen rather than me sending 100's of messages. Only qualm is that, for now, supply in europe is somewhat limited - but they're early so it makes sense. I ended up finding a place to stay in Barcelona for, I would guess, <1/10th market rate, and having got to know the host a bit, it feels so much more intimate/trusting. Plus, staying in a REAL home (not some property investors yield machine, nor as a reluctantly-accepted guest in the necessarily rented spare room) lets you enjoy the location in a much more authentic way. I have accepted my first guests to stay soon too (they look like a super interesting couple) and Kindred is sending a bunch of supplies to help make sure it goes well, plus support sorting hospitality-level cleaning. I'm sticking my referral code below as it gives a few intro credits - but honestly, I don't care about the credits, I'm posting this because, as Sam Altman said, I have enjoyed the product so much I am sharing it simply to be early to do so, "for the implied good taste" 😂 https://lnkd.in/e52xq3Ui.col
Trusted Housesitters is also fantastic if you have pets and need to travel. Post your home and your pet(s) and people apply to look after them (with reviews included). Extremely seamless, you pay an annual fee (£100 or so) and so do all sitters for unlimited sits with no money exchanging hands between the host and the sitter. Saves £££ for everyone involved, especially if you do it more than once a year.
Will give it a try!
I try 🫶
Sounds like Kindred really nailed the personal touch with home swapping! How did you find the whole matching process?
Downloaded !
Oh my my!! Thank you for this lovely write up Anthony Collias. Welcome to the magick ;)
🥺 I’m so glad to hear it’s been a good experience so far - thank you Anthony Collias
Wow, thanks for sharing Anthony Collias! 🙌 ✨
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3wP.s. cool using KeyNest - Smart Key Exchange too! Soundra Gautreaux Marc F.