I love the idea of house swapping or subletting a home or apartment for vacation, don't you? While I enjoy a nice hotel, I do like to stay in places that have kitchens and a bit of local character to them that may be off the beaten path and provide an opportunity to mingle with the locals vs. other tourists in the typical hotel lobby scenario. This is why I love Caravan and the concept behind it. Have you heard of this Australian company yet? I stumbled upon it today, they had an ad on a blog I was reading so I clicked over and felt this was cool enough to share....

Caravan is a free house swap and sublet resource for creative people only - they call themselves the craigslist for creatives! It's for commercial creatives and those working in the advertising/media/fashion/art and design industries. From California to Brooklyn, Paris to Sydney... are you ready to get away? Here's some more information taken directly from their website.

"If you're an art director relocating internationally for a new job, you can find sublets for far less than the price of a hotel. If you're a photo assistant wanting to try New York on for size, you could post a 'house sitter available' ad and have no accommodation costs at all. And if you want to do some marketing in Paris, maybe someone in Le Marais has a vacant apartment you could rent very cheaply for a few days in exchange for walking their little Bouledogues Français. A room in LA for a bedsit in New York? A harbourside Sydney apartment for a Collingwood terrace? The possibilities are endless and the costs are miniscule compared with even a modest hotel bill, not to mention the savings of being able to cook at home."

Sign me up!

(images: caravan members)