Home-exchange for vacations

I’ve heard of “Home Exchange” type deals where you stay in someone’s house in another city or country, and in turn they stay in yours. It’s touted as a way to save on accomodation costs, have convienient facilities (like kitchen & laundry) available and to have chance to stay in a new place without being stranded in a tourist district of hotels and such.

So, has anyone here participated in such a thing? How did it work out? What about screening people, etc?

Oh, and by the way, I have a hotel-room-sized apartment in downtown Calgary if anyone would like to swap that for a luxurious Italian villa or something.:slight_smile: