"HomeChat" newsletter - June '10
HomeLink News
There’s nothing like Australia
To help spread the word that There’s
Nothing Like Australia, we are launching a promotion within the
HomeLink global community. By asking our colleagues around the world to
share the latest Tourism Australia advertisement directly with their
members, we expect to attract even more interest from fellow
HomeLinkers overseas to ask for an exchange with you.
If you’ve not yet seen this advertising campaign, take a look - perhaps
it will inspire you to save
even more on your next holiday, by looking for an exchange right here in our
own amazing backyard with one of our 1,000+ Aussie HomeLinkers.
The Truth about membership
numbers
HomeLink has seen many competitors come and go over the past 56
years. Never more than in the modern age of the internet, where
there's seemingly a new startup exchange every other month.
Lately, we cannot help but take notice of the ever more outlandish
claims being made by other exchange networks, concerning their total
member numbers.In the HomeLink community, we see that the truth matters most to our members, even more than finding the right exchange partner. With HomeLink, Australian home exchangers have the best opportunity to find an exchange partner, because HomeLink International has more genuine, active members than other exchange networks.
This fact is borne out in our members' wonderful “Response Rate” statistics (see below).
Many other exchange networks "inflate" their true member numbers, using various less-than-honest tricks. For example, many include "sleeping" members in their total - that is, past members whose listing has expired. We also see many relatively new home exchange networks whose totals include mostly "free" listings, and/or listings copied illegally from legitimate exchange networks.
With any of these competitor networks, the "claimed" number of members, and the real total of genuine, active members who are truly seeking an exchange, are often very different indeed!
Just as importantly, HomeLink International has the best "global distribution" of members too. Our many internet-only competitors are mostly based in North America. So it's no surprise that most of their members are located in North America too. This is detrimental for most members in that network, no matter what country they are from.
The reason is that an unbalanced exchange makes it far more difficult to arrange a swap. For example, if someone in London receives hundreds of offers from North Americans, they are less likely to notice an offer from an Australian. And every North American is competing with very many other Americans for every non-American exchange.
For exchanges to any other country than North America, HomeLink proudly boasts the best selection. HomeLink has had local offices around the world for more than 55 years, and our local representatives have spent many decades promoting the HomeLink community in their country. That's why HomeLink can also boast by far the best geographic distribution of potential exchange partners for you.
Aussies the world’s most courteous exchangers
We are very pleased, and proud, to announce that Aussie HomeLinkers are the most courteous in the global home exchange community! How do we know this? Because our Aussie HomeLinkers’ “Response Rate” to messages received from fellow HomeLinkers around the world, literally tops the charts at 93.3%.Other standout countries for having super-courteous HomeLinkers include Belgium (91.7%), Canada (91.4%), Germany (90.8%), and New Zealand (90.7%).
HomeLink's “Response Rate” system for members is a key feature of our secure internal messaging system, and yet another example of the pioneering innovations that set HomeLink apart from our competitors. Response Rate tracking helps our members to look at other members' listings, and quickly see their degree of responsiveness to messages received.
Overall, we can now see that the average response rate for all our HomeLink members worldwide is 85.27%. This is a wonderful testament to the good old-fashioned values of courtesy and respect shown by HomeLink members. It is also a clear indicator of something we have known for many decades – that HomeLinkers are more active than members of other networks.
When you join HomeLink, you can rest assured that our community database is not populated with “sleeping” or “expired” members' listings. And so, you can be confident that when you send a message or offer to our genuine, active members, you will have the highest likelihood of receiving a timely and courteous response.
Refer your friends and Save!
Long-time HomeLinkers know that, since 1953, our community has grown almost exclusively due to great word-of-mouth. Simply, our members enjoy their experiences with us so much, that often they can't help but speak well of HomeLink to others too! In recognition of this, we offer a special Referral reward program to our members.It is very simple – if a new member joins HomeLink, and mentions that you told them about us, then we will say “Thank You” by adding an extra month to your membership, free of charge.
There is no limit to how many free months of membership that you can accrue in this way. So potentially, if you were to mention us to 12 of your friends, relatives, or acquaintances each year .. your own membership with us can be entirely free!
Remember this great opportunity to save, when you join HomeLink.
Desperately Seeking
Australia!
With Germany’s famous Oktoberfest only 4 months away - and with
Australia just about to face off against Germany in the “group
of death” at the FIFA World Cup - we thought it timely for
‘Desperately Seeking…’ to take a look at opportunities for exchange to
Germany. After all, if we can beat Germany, what better place to rub it
in than at Oktoberfest, right? And of course, what better place
to drown our World Cup sorrows too.So, keeping our options open for either celebration or sorrow, please enjoy browsing a few great examples of listings from German Homelinkers who are seeking an exchange to Australia:
Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
Berlin
Hamburg
Hesse
Lower-Saxony
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
North Rhine-Westphalia
Saxony
Spotlight On - travel features
Germany
"Beer or wine? That sums up the
German conundrum. One is at the heart of a pilsner-swilling culture
that draws kegloads of visitors annually, is the very reason for one of
the world’s great parties (Oktoberfest) and is consumed with pleasure
across the land. The other is exported worldwide, is responsible for
gorgeous vine-covered valleys and is enjoyed everywhere, often from
cute little green-stemmed glasses.
And the questions about Germany continue. Berlin or Munich? Castle or
club? Ski or hike? East or west? BMW or Mercedes? In fact, the answers
are simple: both. Why decide? The beauty of Germany is that rather than
choosing, you can revel in the contrasts (except maybe with the car
question…). Exploring this country and all its facets can keep visitors
happy for weeks..."
- lonely
planet
Germany is ideally located in the very heart of Europe, making it
not only a simply brilliant place to visit in its own right, but also a
perfect base from which to explore neighbouring countries. Our
German members are great HomeLinkers too, as they are some of the most
active home exchangers in our entire global community. They also
have a great reputation for friendly hospitality and, as you can see
from our news article above, they’re currently ranking #4 in the most
courteous HomeLinkers in our global community, with a Response Rate of
over 90%.
When you are in Germany you will of course always be able to call on
Manfred for support. Manfred is the most experienced local Coordinator
in HomeLink, and he recently reminded us about a great website from
German Tourism – click here.
It’s an excellent resource for staying up-to-date with all that’s
happening in Germany, and no doubt will just give you added incentive
to start arranging your exchange to Germany now!