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As an Airbnb host, I wasn’t actively looking for a luxury home exchange like ThirdHome. In fact, if you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m a big believer in keeping my vacation rental business simple. I host exclusively on Airbnb, don’t accept direct bookings, and like having everything in one place. That approach has worked well for me for several years, and I have no plans to change it.
So when I first heard about ThirdHome a few years ago, I honestly didn’t pay much attention.
Everything changed back in early May! Matt and I took a weeklong sailing trip on a Tradewinds catamaran in Antigua. Here, I learned that you could redeem ThirdHome Keys for unique travel experiences, such as the exact sailing trip I took. That immediately caught my attention because I’m always looking for creative ways to find great travel deals.
After doing more research, I decided to give ThirdHome a try!
So far, I’ve listed two weeks from one of my Airbnb vacation rentals, immediately earned four ThirdHome Keys, already have my first booking, and started dreaming about where I might use those Keys in the future.
In this ThirdHome review, I’m sharing my experience as both an Airbnb host and a travel creator. I’ll explain how ThirdHome works, why I decided to join, what I’ve learned so far, and why I see it as a complement to Airbnb—not a replacement.
BONUS: If you join ThirdHome through my link, you earn two free ThirdHome Keys! I didn’t use a referral link when I joined and am honestly sad that I don’t have those two extra keys. And I earn two keys for telling you about ThirdHome. So, it’s a win-win!
What Is ThirdHome?
ThirdHome is a luxury home exchange network that allows owners of qualifying vacation homes to exchange the value of their property for stays at other luxury homes and unique travel experiences around the world.
ThirdHome Keys
Unlike a traditional home exchange where two families swap homes at the same time, ThirdHome uses a Key-based system.
Owners make qualifying weeks at their vacation home available to other members and immediately receive Keys that can be redeemed for stays at thousands of luxury vacation rental properties and experiences worldwide.
One of the things I like most about the concept is that you don’t have to coordinate schedules with another homeowner. I can deposit available weeks from my vacation rental today, earn my Keys right away, and then use my ThirdHome Keys whenever I am ready to travel. They are good for two years!
Most ThirdHome rentals are higher-end vacation properties with an average property value of $2.4 million. While there are general property value requirements, you’ll still find a wide variety of homes, villas, beach houses, ski properties, and resort experiences around the world. I almost always look for the smaller places that hold two and four and see a lot of time come through in my ThirdHome emails.
How the ThirdHome Key Exchange Works
One thing I didn’t fully understand until I joined ThirdHome was how the Key system actually worked on both sides of the transaction. Here is an overview of what to expect!
Each available week you deposit is assigned a Key value based on factors such as your home’s value, location, and travel dates. Holiday weeks and peak travel seasons generally earn more Keys than lower-demand weeks. In short, they give your property a base value (mine is 1), which gets doubled (2) or tripled (3) during the more in-demand weeks.
When I listed my condo, I strategically chose dates that particularly overlapped two peak holiday weeks—Thanksgiving and Christmas. Having a one-bedroom rental property, these dates are historically harder for me to book. They are also times when we travel ourselves, so I would appreciate an easy week-long guest over multiple turns!
Because each qualified as a two-Key week, I immediately earned four ThirdHome Keys that I can use over the next two years. So, I currently have four Keys. I would have six if I had used someone’s referral link to join, which is why I honestly encourage you to use mine!
When you’re ready to travel, you simply browse available homes and use your Keys to reserve one that fits your travel plans. Some properties require just one or two Keys, while larger luxury homes or peak-season destinations may require a lot more.
Of course, there are still some membership and exchange fees to consider. I’ll explain those costs and how features like Keyless Stays work later in this post! But first, I want to share why we are even talking about this.
Why I Decided to Try ThirdHome in 2026
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I don’t list on multiple vacation rental platforms. Nor do I jump on every new hosting trend. In fact, I’m probably the opposite.
One of the reasons I enjoy hosting exclusively on Airbnb is because it keeps my business simple. I like having everything, from messaging to payments, in one place.
This is what allows me to easily manage my four Airbnb vacation rentals while traveling myself.
And that isn’t going to change!
Why ThirdHome Fits My Airbnb Business
I don’t see ThirdHome as a replacement for Airbnb, and I don’t plan to start moving inventory away from Airbnb. My vacation rentals are still first and foremost Airbnb properties, and that’s where I earn the rental income that helps support my family.
Instead, I see ThirdHome as something completely different.
Rather than trying to generate more bookings, I’m using it to occasionally leverage a couple of weeks each year into travel experiences that would otherwise cost thousands of dollars. For me, that’s a completely different value proposition than simply filling another week on my Airbnb calendar.
The other thing that appealed to me is that I could start small. ThirdHome only required me to deposit two weeks, so there wasn’t a huge commitment. I figured I could learn how the platform worked, see how the hosting experience went, and then decide later whether I wanted to add more weeks.
I actually see potential value in also adding weeks in January, which is my slower season. In recent years, I had just blocked two of my rentals. That is the slowest month on 30A. Over the years, I quickly noticed that the guests the steeply discounted rates attracted were usually very difficult. It wasn’t worth my time and the risk to our listing.
That said, I like to keep my cleaners busy and not have my Airbnbs sit empty too long. So, this seems like a really good alternative!
So, instead of accepting a deeply discounted booking from someone who may become a high-maintenance guest, I’d much rather exchange that week for future travel!
Why ThirdHome Fits My Travel Style
Also, as you know, Our Little Lifestyle is an Airbnb hosting blog, but primarily a travel blog! I travel about 50% of the year. This includes my family’s personal travel as well as hosted media trips around the world. I have a unique perspective here because I am both an Airbnb hosting expert and a travel expert!
And, as someone who travels often, I’m also constantly evaluating value. I love collecting airline miles, hotel points, and credit card rewards, and I’m always comparing whether it makes more sense to redeem points or pay cash.
ThirdHome home exchange fits naturally into that same mindset. I’m not looking to use my Keys just because I have them. I’m looking for opportunities where they unlock experiences that provide exceptional value, such as sailing with TradeWinds!
So, since I have actually joined and listed on ThirdHome, I want to share my personal experience with you!
How I Listed My Airbnb Rental on ThirdHome
Once I decided to give ThirdHome a try, I was pleasantly surprised by how simple the setup process was. Since I essentially just wanted to see how it works, my goal was to start with the minimum commitment.
So, I just picked one of my four rentals to start with. Believe it or not, I spent over $600K on this one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo in Seacrest Beach on 30A. Therefore, I knew for certain that it would fit the requirement. But they did not ask to verify the purchase price, and the value can appreciate over time. So if you’re close to the minimum, you can still try to join.
Importing My Airbnb Listing to ThirdHome
Creating my listing was much easier than I expected!
ThirdHome lets you use your listing link to import your existing Airbnb listing, and it automatically pulled over most of my photos and listing information. It even used AI to build much of the property description, which saved me a lot of time compared to creating a listing from scratch.
That said, don’t skip reviewing everything before publishing.
Overall, it did an impressive job, but I still found a few minor details that needed correction. It only took a few minutes to make those edits, and then my listing was ready to go live!
Starting With Two Weeks on ThirdHome
ThirdHome requires new members to deposit at least two weeks, and honestly, I think that’s the perfect place to start.
Rather than choosing random dates, I strategically selected two weeks that overlapped Thanksgiving and Christmas. As I mentioned earlier, those are both peak holiday weeks, allowing me to earn two Keys each week.
As soon as my listing and weeks were approved, I immediately received four ThirdHome Keys. I didn’t have to wait for someone to book my property before I could start browsing available homes. I can even book ThirdHome Keyless stays right away!
After adding those two weeks to ThirdHome, I simply blocked the same dates on my Airbnb calendar. That keeps my workflow simple and completely eliminates any chance of double-booking.
One thing I really like is that if one of those weeks never books, I still keep my Keys because they were awarded when I deposited the weeks. Since I already have the dates blocked, if we get to that week and nobody rents it, I could always use the time to visit my condo and tackle maintenance projects or deep cleaning.
For anyone considering joining ThirdHome, my advice is to start with the required 2 weeks. You can always add more inventory later after you’ve had a chance to learn how everything works.
My First ThirdHome Booking as an Airbnb Host
It didn’t take long for one of my deposited weeks to be booked, giving me the opportunity to see what hosting through ThirdHome was actually like.
Overall, the experience has been exactly what I hoped for—simple and low-maintenance!
Getting That First Booking on ThirdHome
Once the reservation was confirmed, ThirdHome introduced both me and the guest through email so we could communicate directly before the stay.
The entire process was straightforward, and my future guest was friendly!
One thing I really like is that most ThirdHome members are vacation homeowners themselves. While every guest is different, I appreciate knowing that many of them understand what it takes to care for a vacation rental because they own one too.
Since this reservation is still a few months away, there isn’t much I can do right now other than be available if the guest has any questions before their trip. But I proactively sent her everything she would typically have access to within the Airbnb App.
Communicating With My ThirdHome Guest
Since I exclusively host on Airbnb, I’m used to having everything from messaging to checkout instructions in one place. Moving conversations to email and text took a little mental adjustment because it’s simply different than my normal workflow.
Thankfully, it wasn’t difficult!
In our initial email exchange, I asked her the same questions I would in my Airbnb welcome message. Mainly, I asked if it’s her first visit to the area and if she would want recommendations. She said yes, and I told her I would put some together a little closer to her stay. With that being a holiday week, I like to make sure I know which places will be open and what the event schedules are.
Then I told her I was going to copy and paste my Airbnb House Manual into our email so she would have access to all the specific information about our condo and complex. It took only a minute or two! Since the reservation isn’t until November, I let her know I’d reach back out closer to her arrival with my usual check-in information and local recommendations.
Would I want to manage dozens of reservations this way? Nope!
I love keeping everything in the Airbnb app because self-managing four Airbnbs is not easy, and I like things as streamlined as possible!
But for one or two week-long ThirdHome bookings each year, I really don’t see it as a drawback. It’s a small tradeoff for the opportunity to earn Keys toward other luxury travel experiences.
How I Plan to Use My ThirdHome Keys
Now comes the fun part!
Sharing my Airbnb rental property on ThirdHome and earning Keys was really just the beginning. As someone who travels frequently, I’m very excited about how I’ll use my ThirdHome Keys. While earning Keys is exciting, redeeming them for incredible travel experiences is ultimately what led me to join.
And it’s honestly the main reason I am writing about it today. A couple of months in, I still light up when I receive my daily ThirdHome email. I look at the properties it suggests all over the world, new Keyless stays, and heart the ones I want to watch!
We just returned home from Portugal and loved visiting Lagos along the Algarve coast. Just this week, in my ThirdHome email, I saw a new listing near there, and I already want to go back!
While I haven’t redeemed my ThirdHome Keys yet, I have seen so many incredible opportunities. And now that my kids are older (15 & 17), I see a lot of great opportunities to redeem them at places that will suit an older, eventually growing family.
Finding Luxury Properties I Never Would Have Found
As I mentioned above, the one thing I didn’t expect is how much I enjoy the daily ThirdHome emails. Because my overflowing inbox is generally fairly joy-sucking, if I have to be honest. So. Much. Junk!
ThirdHome is one email I always open! Here is a little peek at what they look like!
Every day, I open an email filled with newly available homes and experiences that match my saved searches. It’s become a fun source of travel inspiration because I’m constantly discovering destinations and properties I probably never would have searched for on my own.
I’ve already found beautiful beach houses, charming villas throughout Europe, large family homes on Nantucket, ski properties, and unique resort experiences that immediately caught my attention. If something looks interesting, I usually click through, save it to my favorites, and start imagining how it might fit into a future trip.
Using the ThirdHome Interactive Map
You can also search the entire inventory using the interactive map, which makes it easy to browse almost anywhere in the world. And, it’s not just homes. As I said at the beginning of this post, you can even redeem your keys for experiences such as sailing in Antigua and beyond!
So, of course, the Tradewinds sailing experience is still high on my wish list as something that I want to do again. Except I would love to save up enough keys to rent the entire boat for my family and another family, because you can only book a Tradewinds experience through ThirdHome once.
While the sailing opportunity originally convinced me to join ThirdHome, the more I browse the inventory, the more exciting possibilities I find. Sometimes, when Matt and I start talking about visiting a particular destination, I pull up the ThirdHome app, and we look at the options there. I was shocked at how many places are covered!
While most ThirdHome stays are for a full week, there are exceptions. Some resort experiences and specialty stays offer shorter reservation lengths, and they are clearly identified when you’re searching.
Getting the Best Value for ThirdHome Keys
If you’ve followed my travel content for very long, you already know I love maximizing value!
I’m constantly deciding whether to redeem airline miles, use hotel points, pay cash for a flight, or even splurge on a business-class upgrade if I think it’s worth it. Sometimes I redeem points. Sometimes I happily pay cash.
RELATED POST: My Guide to Points & Miles
Every travel decision comes down to one simple question: Am I getting the best value for my money or my points?
That’s exactly how I plan to use my ThirdHome Keys!
I’m not interested in redeeming them just because they’re sitting in my account. Instead, I’ll compare the cost of a similar Airbnb, vacation rental, or hotel for those same travel dates. If using my Keys saves us thousands of dollars on a stay we were already considering, that’s a fantastic redemption.
If the value isn’t there, I’ll simply keep my Keys and wait for something better.
As both an Airbnb host and a travel creator, I think that’s one of the biggest advantages of ThirdHome. I travel all over the world year-round, so I have plenty of opportunities to be selective.
Whether it’s a charming beach cottage in Antibes, France, a large beach house for a family vacation, or spending another week aboard a Tradewinds sailing catamaran, I want every redemption to feel like an amazing deal.
RELATED POST: 9 Extra Services to Tell Your Airbnb Guests About
What Are ThirdHome Keyless Stays?
This is the feature that I am honestly most excited about!
ThirdHome Keyless Stays are eligible properties that become available within 60 days of arrival. Instead of redeeming your Keys, you simply pay the exchange fee and book the stay without using any Keys at all.
I think this is a fantastic option for travelers with flexible schedules or anyone who enjoys planning spontaneous trips and finding last-minute flight deals.
Since your Keys stay in your account, you can save them for an even bigger redemption later while still taking advantage of a luxury property when one becomes available.
I haven’t booked a Keyless Stay yet, but it’s definitely one of the features I’m looking forward to experimenting with as I continue using ThirdHome. To give you an example, right now I am looking at my ThirdHome account, and here are some places that I can book Keyless over the next two months!
- Yellowstone Lodge sleeps 16
- South Padre Island Waterfront House
- Park City Condo sleeps 8
- Three Level House in Sarasota
- Caye Caulker Belize Escape
- Antigua Sailing (yes, 0 keys!)
- Greece Island Retreat for 9
- Maine Mountain Home sleeps 15
- Big Bear Lake Home sleeps 6
- Azores São Miguel Coastal Retreat
- Alpine Chalet in Italy
There are over 600 Keyless options worldwide at the moment! And if we didn’t have a couple of big trips coming up, I would be jumping on these opportunities for a late-summer getaway!
And, yes, you can book these stays without using any of your ThirdHome keys. You do have to pay the booking fee. So, I want to talk about that next!
Understanding ThirdHome Costs
Before joining any travel membership, I always want to understand exactly what it will cost. Fortunately, I found ThirdHome’s pricing fairly straightforward once I understood how everything worked.
As with most travel memberships, such as Thrifty Traveler that I used for flight deals, there are a few costs to consider. Here’s how I understand them based on my own experience as both an Airbnb host and a traveler using ThirdHome.
ThirdHome Membership Fees
One thing I appreciated is that I didn’t have to pay an annual membership fee when I first joined ThirdHome. Your first year of membership is included, which gives you plenty of time to list your property, earn Keys, and decide whether the program is a good fit for you.
After the first year, the annual membership fee is currently $295. To remain an active Thirdhome member, you’ll also need to continue making at least one week available each year.
I like that you have a full year to decide if you want to stay active on ThirdHome and start paying an annual membership fee!
ThirdHome Exchange Fees
In addition to your Keys, you’ll also pay an exchange fee each time you book a stay through ThirdHome.
Exchange fees currently start at around $495 for a one-Key reservation and increase by $100 for each additional Key required. For example, the guest who booked my condo used two Keys and paid a $595 exchange fee.
As the host, I don’t receive any portion of that fee. Just like an Airbnb reservation, I’m still responsible for paying my cleaner and preparing my condo for the next guest.
That might sound expensive at first, but I think it’s important to look at the overall value rather than focusing on the exchange fee alone.
Just like redeeming airline miles or hotel points, I always compare what I would have paid otherwise. If a rental would normally cost several thousand dollars out of pocket, paying a $795 exchange fee can represent an incredible value. If planning a trip for multiple families, it’s reasonable to ask each family to contribute toward the ThirdHome fee.
On the other hand, if I can rent a similar property on Airbnb or book a hotel for about the same price, I’d probably save my Keys for another trip!
Why I am Recommending ThirdHome
I’m still an Airbnb host first, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon!
ThirdHome hasn’t replaced Airbnb for me, nor was that ever the goal. Instead, I see it as another way to occasionally leverage a vacation rental I already own to create memorable luxury travel experiences.
So far, the ThirdHome experience has exceeded my expectations. Setting up my listing was easy, earning my first four Keys was exciting, and getting ready to host my first ThirdHome guest has been surprisingly simple.
And, I’m so excited to redeem my first ThirdHome Keys. Whether that ends up being another Tradewinds sailing adventure, a villa in Europe, or a beach house on 30A for an extended family vacation, I’ll be sure to share my experience here on the blog.
At the end of the day, that’s really how I want you to look at ThirdHome. We are obviously not trying to earn more rental income by offering up weeks at our Airbnb rentals on ThirdHome. We are strategically trying to maximize the value of a vacation rental that we already own!
If you have questions about my experience, leave them in the comments below or ask them in my Airbnb Hosting Facebook group!
And if you’re thinking about joining ThirdHome, I’d love for you to use my referral link so you’ll receive two bonus Keys to get started.
More Airbnb Hosting Tips & Travel Inspiration
And, if you are here because you are also an Airbnb host who loves to travel, welcome! You have found your place!
Here at Our Little Lifestyle, I share valuable first-hand Airbnb hosting strategies and travel inspiration from trips I have actually been on. My goal is to inspire new Airbnb hosts to work smarter, not harder, so that they can maximize profits while traveling as much as they want to!
If you are a new Airbnb host, make sure to check out my Ultimate Airbnb Setup Checklist and browse all of my posts for the secrets to our success.
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