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There’s a saying: “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”
But what if you could get the benefits of travelling without having to spend on accommodation?
This is the vision of James Asquith, who at just 24-years-old, was the Guinness Book World Record Holder to travel to every sovereign country in the world and now he wants travelling to be accessible to more people by eliminating some of the most expensive costs.
“Millennials want experiences, not things, with the growth of technology we are building a true global sharing community, where we can actually use the assets we have to explore more of the world,” Asquith told The Lost Executive.
Just like Tinder, users of Holiday Swap, can swipe on homes when deciding on a suitable place to stay. If both users like the look of each other’s homes, then they can swap their house, room and more for just $1 per night per bed. Once matched, users are notified and can set up a chat to discuss availability, and a ‘pin’ is added to their map. To start with a user can swap their apartment, house or their bedroom at their family home (with the parent’s permission), in which case it works like a much faster and simpler Airbnb app.
“A lot of people who’ve used it said, ‘I feel like I’m on Tinder,” James says, “The millennial generation is the future and this generation wants more with less.”
But unlike Tinder, Holiday Swap works on a global, not local scale, with the app currently covering more than 40 countries across six continents.
An Influencer himself.
James has become a travel influencer himself, with over 666,000 followers on Instagram tuning into his fun-filled, full-time global travels. However, he is quick to point out that he has worked extremely hard to get to this stage:
“Like anything in life, this wasn’t handed to me. I don’t come from money and my parents worked really hard,” he says, “I started washing cars from twelve years old and from fifteen I was working three jobs, to save up initially because I had dreams of wanting to buy a house. This all got turned upside down when I discovered travel at eighteen. I kept working in an office until I had enough financial safety to take a risk and work remotely, starting up a business that allowed me to do so.”
He also points out that a career in travel is a major grind:
“Most of the time, being a travel influencer is more about the grind than the glam. People focus on Instagram a little too much I feel, and it only shows a few minutes of my day. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into working remotely and it means I am never on holiday,” he says.
Due to the work load it has reached the point where James will visit places and not be able to actually see what he wants because he is working. Away from that, the main real-life problems are sometimes being away from family and friends for long periods of time and doing laundry! One huge positive of social media is that he has friends dotted around different corners of the world and can speak with them in real-time.
“But that won’t always fix the issue of cleaning underwear in a sink.”
Lastly, he thinks everyone can walk the same path he has and become a travel influencer:
“Background doesn’t matter, you need a vision,” he says, “The ability to be creative and work hard. Signing up to Holiday Swap will help eliminate your accommodation costs whether you want to be the next travel influencer or somebody looking to get away.”
About Holiday Swap:
Holiday Swap, is the first truly global social media app for like-minded travellers and explorers that allows you to securely swap your accommodation anywhere around the world.
Holiday Swap aims to make travel more accessible and cheaper for everyone. Available in more than 185 countries, 6 continents, with +10,000 properties and 1000s of swaps.
With Holiday Swap, swap your space with anything from a couch to a villa, with no subscription fees, and just $1 per night, download the app for free from the App Store or PlayStore. Discover more about Holiday Swap at: holidayswap.com
About James:
James Asquith, is a British travel influencer and author. He’s the official Guinness Book record holder for being the youngest person to visit every sovereign country in the world. Asquith was 24 years and 192 days old when he entered his final country, the Federated States of Micronesia, on 8th July 2013.
Asquith began his travels during his bachelor’s degree at the London School of Economics in 2007. He began by volunteering in Southern Vietnam, and then travelled to every country in the world over the next 5 years.
After completing his travels, Asquith wrote a book documenting his journey to every country in the world, titled ‘Breaking Borders – Travels in Pursuit of an Impossible Record’. The book broke the top 10 in travel literature on Amazon.
Asquith has worked for major banks including HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and SMBC Nikko, and is currently the CEO at Holiday Swap, which allows users to match up and swap their accommodation anywhere in the world.
