We at The Vacation Exchange Network have always believed that our uniqueness speaks for itself. But thanks to one of our members, it no longer has to….
When Berne and Sam Webb were on a home exchange vacation in the Bahamas, a conversation with a few couples from Miami, Florida quickly turned into a lively presentation about the benefits of The Vacation Exchange Network, complete with a hands-on demonstration!
The Webbs have been Vacation Exchange Network members for a few years. Last year, they traveled to Sanibel Island, Florida on a non-mutual house swap. Berne tells me the Sanibel home was beautiful. Located a few blocks from the beach, it also had a pool in the backyard. Perfect for an afternoon swim or as a backdrop to evening cocktails.
North Bimini Island in the Bahamas was the Webbs’ vacation destination this year. This home exchange was mutual and non-simultaneous; the owners of the home in Bimini plan to travel to the Webbs’ home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts at a different time — when the weather in Cape Cod is at its best.
So, how did we convince Berne to serve as our remote marketer?
No convincing was necessary. Sitting in a North Bimini Island cafe, Berne and Sam struck up a conversation with a few couples sitting at a nearby table. “What brings you to the Bahamas?” they asked each other. Berne’s response that she was on a home exchange sparked wide eyes from the other couples, so Berne went on to provide them with a lively description of home swapping with The Vacation Exchange Network. With her fellow cafe goers’ interest piqued, Berne opened up her laptop, fortunately remembering her PIN, and took her captive audience on a tour of the Vacation Exchange website. The other couples were laughing and clapping along with Berne’s enthusiasm. Apparently, she didn’t even need the white board and film projector we offered to send her!
One of the Miami couples was particularly interested in traveling to Italy, so Berne showed them The Vacation Exchange Network’s homes in Terracina, Rome, and Teramo.
Berne tells me that she raved about the travel opportunities afforded by vacation home exchanges. Since the Webbs’ children are grown, their travels no longer need to be tied to school vacations. Like our other members, the Webbs enjoy the freedom and flexibility afforded by the non-mutual and non-simultaneous home exchanges that are the hallmark of The Vacation Exchange Network. The Webbs can travel when and where they’d like to travel, without the necessity of finding someone else who wants to use their home at the same time.
While hiring a public relations firm to do publicity about The Vacation Exchange Network might get us a few lines in some travel magazines and allow us to garner invitations to a few fancy cocktail parties, having members like the Webbs is much more rewarding. Our thanks to the Webbs, and to all of our other members, who speak so graciously about our service.
Please visit The Vacation Exchange Network’s site to join our home swap network, to learn more about how home exchanges work, or to refer a friend to The Vacation Exchange Network.
Have you had an opportunity to tell someone about The Vacation Exchange Network or about your home exchange vacation? We’d love to hear about it. Use the comment box below orcontact us via email. We look forward to hearing from you!
