Why it matters in 2024: As travel costs continue to rise, home swapping is an affordable alternative to spending a fortune on pricey hotels and Airbnbs. While the concepts of couch surfing and house exchanging have been around for decades, several sleek new platforms are redefining what home swapping looks like today.
Operating in cities like Lisbon and Los Angeles, Twin City has built a community of over 1,100 handpicked users in just eight months. For a yearly subscription fee of about $189, members can find Twins to connect with through the platform and are encouraged to exchange recommendations for their cities and homes, making them feel like they’re exchanging with trusted friends rather than strangers.
Meanwhile, Kindred, a home-swap platform where members can earn credits for swapping homes, raised $15 million this year to expand into the U.S. and Europe, and now has more than 10,000 homes in more than 50 cities. Members only pay cleaning and service fees for each stay, and the accommodation itself is free.
Travelers can pay no membership fee at all and head straight to TikTok, where Gen Z appears to be spearheading the home-swapping movement on social media. The trending tags “#houseswap” and “#homeswap,” inspired by the movie “The Holiday,” have garnered more than 23 million and 20 million views, respectively, as users use the platform as a way to advertise their homes, find like-minded peers to swap with, and document their adventures along the way. —Gina Jackson
4. Stations are new gourmet hotspots
What’s the trend? Train stations around the world are typically built for the purpose of getting through as quickly as possible, not designed for commuters to stay and spend time there. Today, with travel delays on the rise and visitors looking for more local experiences, it’s beneficial for train stations to welcome travellers and offer shops, restaurants and bars for them to explore. To create a more dynamic visitor experience, historic train stations are being refurbished, with bespoke food and beverage offerings becoming an integral part of the redesign.
Why it matters in 2024? As train stations are renovated to accommodate more travelers and update aging infrastructure, local restaurants and bars are being added to attract more customers. In 2023, New York City’s new Moynihan Train Hall will be home to The Irish Exit, a bar from the team behind the acclaimed Dead Rabbit, and Yono Sushi by trendy BondST, as well as branches of popular New York restaurants Pastrami Queen and Jacob’s Pickles, with Mexican favorite La Esquina opening soon. As part of its renovation, Toronto’s Union Station will open Union Market in May 2023, featuring popular local food retailers Manotas Organics, Chocolatta Brigadeiro’s, Patties Express and Kibo.
In the UK, Platform 1 bar and restaurant opened in the basement of Glasgow Central station in November. A cavernous space under historic brick arches, it serves street-style food, craft beer from an on-site microbrewery, and has an outdoor beer garden. Meanwhile, in Somerset, Castle Cary station is being renovated, and nearby The Newt hotel is building a creamery, cafe, and co-working space, due to open in 2024.
