LONDON, December 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Travel during the festive holiday season is often a costly experience as hotels and accommodation providers rack up their rates for the Christmas and New Year period. Many holidaymakers put off travel at this traditionally expensive time of year. However, savvy travellers can easily avoid double or triple hotel price hikes this Christmas by swapping their home with an exchange partner nearly anywhere in the world. Home exchanging means holidaymakers can get away this Xmas for no more than the cost of staying at home.

"Our home exchange to California was a fantastic experience," says HomeExchange.com member Adrienne. "Having a home rather than a rental property as our base saved us a lot of money as well as making us feel like we were one of the locals. Between hotel and car hire savings, we estimate we saved in the region of $3,500 to $4,000."

With thousands of people prepared to travel hundreds of miles this Christmas to be with their families, extended families and friends, HomeExchange.com represents the best travel value for the festive season. It's the perfect opportunity to share Christmas abroad with loved ones, to take a once in a lifetime long-haul dream holiday or to wish in the New Year with a weekend trip closer to home.

"Because we saved on car-hire and on accommodation, we were able to spend extra money on visiting theme parks with the kids," says Adrienne.  "Also, because it was a home, it felt like home to us for those few weeks and we felt settled.  And being in a residential area meant it wasn't full of touristy shops, so we were not paying tourist prices for food and drinks."

With no hotel bills, the benefit of free accommodation and the ability to exchange the use of everything from cars and bicycles to boats and skis, homeexchange is becoming the best way to celebrate the festive season like a local anywhere in the world, and to stay for free.

Visit http://www.homeexchange.com/landing_page2/uk-christmas-2011 now to browse hundreds of home exchange opportunities and to save even more money, with a 25% Xmas Discount on Membership.

http://www.HomeExchange.com is the global leader in house swapping with 40,000+ listings in 148 countries.

http://www.HomeExchange.com

SOURCE HomeExchange.com Inc.