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Remember when Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz exchanged homes in The Holiday? A relatively new app called Kindred is trying to carry out a similar concept in North America as well, focusing on the New York market among other cities.
The idea it a relatively simple one: interested home swappers can submit their applications on Kindred's website and offer the company a quick tour of their humble abodes. Kindred will then approve the application (based, according to the official website, on a "balance of supply and demand across locations") and you'll automatically be added to a network of over 6,000 members.
You earn a one-night travel for each evening that you host a Kindred member into your home, so you can either do a direct swap or, perhaps, host while you're away to earn credits that can be used to book stays at a later time.
You'll only have to start paying membership dues once you book your first trip. Now in beta version, the company is offering memberships at a 50% discount, for $300 per year. Once you do schedule your swap, you'll have to pay a one-time cleaning fee (which will vary by home) and a $30 per night service fee.
Although at-first-impact similar to Airbnb, Kindred makes it a point to differentiate itself from the vacation rental platform by marketing its members-only vibe. "Each member must host their own home in order to stay as a guest [in another home]," reads the website.
Whether interested in home swapping or not, there's something to be said about browsing through photos of other people's apartments, so you might want to apply to be part of Kindred for the mere pleasure of gazing into New Yorker's homes.