| |
What is SabbaticalHomes.com?
SabbaticalHomes.com was founded in 2000 by the spouse of an academic devoted to serving the academic community worldwide.
It is the leading internet-based directory for academic
home exchanges,
home rentals and
house sitting opportunities,
facilitating sabbatical home matches across the globe.
Our specialized housing service has published over 45,000 requests from homeowners and tenants and continues to grow each day.
SabbaticalHomes.com has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education (US edition).
The Guardian (United Kingdom) wrote, "ideal for anyone involved in research trips or exchange projects."
Hundreds of academic web sites link to us and refer to us as a valuable and efficient resource.
We are thankful to have grown primarily through word of mouth. More than a third of our members come recommended from previous users.
SabbaticalHomes.com is a privately owned company run by a team of multinational individuals.
We are located in Manhattan Beach, California.
What services are provided?
We offer a worldwide home and tenant listing service for those temporarily offering or searching for accommodations
for rent,
exchange, or
house sitting.
Registered members can save their searches, keep a list of their favorite listings, track email queries regarding their posting(s)
postings they are interested in, and see how many times their listing is viewed.
Who do we serve?
Our mission is to serve academics worldwide who temporarily need to offer or search for
accommodations for rent,
exchange, or
house sitting.
Non-academics are also welcome to use our service if they prefer to deal with scholars.
Who qualifies as an academic?
There are four categories of academics at SabbaticalHomes.com
|
Academic Title |
Email Verification |
1. Academic Faculty or Staff (Universities, Research Institutes, and Museums)
2. Graduate or Post-Graduate Student |
Must have a current university, research institute, museum or hospital email address |
|
3. School Teacher (Primary and Secondary) |
Must have a current school email address |
|
4. Independent Scholar (working outside traditional academia) |
None |
If you are not sure which category fits your current status, please contact us at
applications@sabbaticalhomes.com.
Why register?
Registering to be a member is an important step in using SabbaticalHomes.com. Think of it as an opportunity to “get acquainted.”
As part of the registration process, we ask for one (or several) of your email addresses, none of which will be revealed to the public
or other members of SabbaticalHomes.com. We have never shared our members’ information with anyone. Registering with us allows you to
provide our member community with some personal background, list where you are from, and tell us if anyone referred you.
If you are an academic, we will perform a check to confirm your academic status. After you are registered,
the information you provide to share about your background will be revealed to people you write to, or
people who look at your home offer or home request. Not all information will be available to the other members of course,
but we will publish how long you have been a member, whether you were successful in finding a match, if you have contributed
money to our service, and any feedback you have received from the member community. There is no charge to register.
Setup fee applies for actual listings.
How much does it cost?
It is free to search the SabbaticalHomes.com site. There is a nominal set-up fee (see below) for posting a home or home wanted. Listings are good for 14 months and are renewable.
Our philosophy is to keep our fees to a minimum. If a match results from using our site, a success-based contribution is expected to help the service grow and improve. We are able to keep our fees low as a result of these donations. The amount of the contribution is up to the individual, but we recommend US $50-$100.
Service
|
Setup & renewable fees every 14 months in US $
|
Recommended success-based contribution |
How it works |
Post a home offered
- home to rent
- home exchange
- home to sit
|
$35 academic rate
$55 non-academic rate
|
$50 - $100
|
Members pay a set-up fee to post an available home.
A listing can be a property for exchange,
rent or house sitting. Listings can also be posted
for requesting a home in one of those categories.
If a
suitable arrangement results from using
SabbaticalHomes, a voluntary
contribution is expected to help the service
improve.
|
Post a home wanted
- house to rent
- house to sit
|
$0 academic rate
$15 non-academic rate
|
|
Search for listings & reply to offers
|
FREE
|
|
Academics
We consider an academic to be a person whose email comes from a university, a
college, a research center etc. Academics not belonging to a main stream
academic organization can sign up as
non-affiliated academic or should send an email to
applications@sabbaticalhomes.com to inquire if they qualify for
the academic rate.
|
|
Commercial or Institutional Listings
If you have more than three units to rent at the same property address, please
email us for pricing.
If you are an agent or broker, please
email for permission prior to posting.
|
Fees in other currencies:
| Currency |
Home Offered |
Home Wanted |
| |
Academic |
Non-Academic |
Academic |
Non-Academic |
| Euros |
22€ |
40€ |
0€ |
10€ |
| Pounds |
£17 |
£30 |
£0 |
£7 |
| Canadian |
$35 |
$55 |
$0 |
$15 |
| Australian |
$40 |
$60 |
$0 |
$16 |
| New Zealand |
$45 |
$70 |
$0 |
$18 |
How do I pay for a listing?
SabbaticalHomes.com accepts credit card payments via Paypal or payments by check.
Once you have submitted your listing, you will be prompted to choose between a credit card payment
or a payment by check. Listings will be available immediately. Most currencies are accepted.
International rates may vary.
What if I want to list more than two properties ?
SabbaticalHomes.com realizes that some commercial/institutional listings may
benefit our users. If you have more than two properties to submit, email us
at multiples@sabbaticalhomes.com
for additional details.
What information can be included in a listing?
-
A detailed description
-
Availability requests dates
- Photos (10) - home listings only
- Links (5) to relevant web sites
-
Up to three preferred exchange
destinations (home-exchange listings
only)
- Exposure until obsolete (up to 14 months
after submission date)
- Date listing was last updated
-
Option to renew
How does the feedback system work?
The purpose of the feedback feature is to share fair and useful information. Our members are welcome to post feedback about
other members they have dealt with. Feedback comments are visible in member’s profiles. To read them, look for the feedback
link at the bottom of each page. To post them, log in to your account.
Who should send a contribution and why?
Anyone who was successful either finding a tenant or a home through SabbaticalHomes.com should send
a contribution regardless if they posted a listing or not. Our goal is to keep our fees low in
contrast to commercial housing resources and to stay away from a typical commercial system. For example,
you will not see commercial advertising on our site. By keeping our fees low through contributions,
the service can continue paying for itself and investing in improvements. We feel that members who
benefit should voluntarily support SabbaticalHomes.com. This equitable system depends upon your generosity.
In the long run, it benefits you and everyone who uses SabbaticalHomes.com.
How do I send my success-based contribution?
Let us know what happened! We love to hear about success stories in our member community.
Success-based contributions can be made via Paypal at our
Success-Based Contribution link,
or by check payable to SabbaticalHomes.com sent to:
SabbaticalHomes.com
P.O. Box 2016
Manhattan Beach, CA
90266 USA
Who does SabbaticalHomes.com thank for its success?
-
Jay Conger for his encouragement and support.
- Carolyn Johnston for constant advice especially in communications.
-
Steven Endow for numerous hours sharing his technical genius.
- Constantin Philippou, our trusted webmaster and web advisor, for improving our web site.
-
Leanne Huebner for invaluable professional tips.
-
Scott Carlson for putting SabbaticalHomes.com on the academic world map.
-
David and Sue Finegold, Steve Lampert, Dick Johnston,
Frederi Viens, Dicky Downing, Ian and Donna Mitroff, Kevin Moon, Mireille
Miller, Peta Tancred for their insights and help.
-
Hundreds of listers for offering constructive feedback on service and design.
-
Thousands of academics worldwide who have made financial
contributions to help pay for the cost of launching and developing this much
needed service.
- Thousands who help spread the word every day.
|