SabbaticalHomes.com Reviews 19

Sabbatical Homes has offered me for some 15 years to find a home abroad and to have my home looked after by colleagues, both academic and independent. The service by the SH team is great, with the personal touch and swift communication being very helpful. The service that Nadege, the founder, offers is unique in this personal touch, the intent to enable exchange of homes - not professional lettings of which there is too much in this world. I thoroughly recommend Sabbatical Homes!

I have made several matches with sabbaticalhomes.com and always had a great experience. They have a lot of properties listed from all over the world, so wherever you are going you will likely see options. And if you want to rent or exchange your own property, it is so efficient and inexpensive compared to dealing with a realty rental company!

I received guests in my house many years ago and ever again. Precious friendships grew out of these experiences, unforgettable moments of exchanges of minds, strong support for each other and sharing are only a few of them. Human quality comes first when academics meet - YES! - because this was not always like this, but has grown out of organisations like Sabbaticalhomes. The world became a little better, let's preserve it!

Fifteen years experience of Sabbaticalhomes.com
We have been using Sabbaticalhomes.com to rent out our top floor flat for over 15 years and have had both couples and singletons, who have stayed longer or shorter periods (we ask for at least 6 months but most have stayed longer). Some have become long-term friends, others just civilized acquaintances. So far, we have not had to try and eject anyone. The secret of success is not only to work with Sabbaticalhomes (friendly, reasonable in price and efficient) but also to do very thorough checks of potential tenants ourselves in advance with virtual or real meetings and maximum use of referees. We have a few clearly conveyed house rules (after all this is our house) especially around security which we send in advance, and which are always considered reasonable

We have been using SabbaticalHomes for years - both renting our own place out and renting other places when we travel. It has been 100% good experiences, but we always take it slowly and get to know and trust people before committing. What we like most is that it is not all about the money - its the respectful give and take, and making a few new friends along the way. Long may it continue this way.
Graeme + Joan. Auckland. NZ

I have stayed in SabbaticalHomes rentals and exchanges several times, as well as using the service to rent out my own home; I have always enjoyed the home I stayed in, and felt safe knowing that SH screens its members, and has certain sensible requirements in the rental agreements. Broadening the membership requirements beyond just academics has allowed a greater range of applicants who are suitable, interesting and trustworthy. (P.S. I feel any occasional negative review must be due to misunderstanding or the inevitably unpredictable human nature.)

I love SabbaticalHomes. As owner, I don't feel exploited like I do with bigger sites the charge enormous fees. As renter, I love the "match fee" policy, because its a reasonable amount, clearly stated, instead of the "commission" and "processing fees" and many other hidden fees that other site charge. SH is a friendly environment. I hope they can keep it as is.

I have been a member as a host and as a tenant for 12+ years. It has always been a fabulous and trustworthy experience - lots of support and clarity when needed. We have had wonderful tenants - many now coming regularly and we have established superb connections. Thank you Sabbatical Homes. Highly recommend

I recently used Sabbatical Homes for a short-term rental, and unfortunately, I would not recommend this service. While there may be some great hosts on the platform, my experience was disappointing. It's the equivalent of using Craigslist to find a rental, at least in the U.S. No support, no vetting of hosts or tenants at all and no support. And they charge you $50, so maybe Craigslist is the smarter choice. The host I rented from specifically mentioned choosing this site because it doesn’t have the same rules and safeguards that Airbnb or Vrbo do—and that showed.

Even more concerning, after I submitted my review of the rental, it was edited by the site. This made me very uncomfortable and raised questions about transparency. Are other reviews being altered as well? They also reached out to me to ask if I would retract the review.

If I had to do it again, I would choose a platform with stronger support and clearer policies for renters and hosts.

I had a great experience some years ago renting a home on the Greek island of Symi through S.Homes. I'm now looking for a place in Sydney. Have already contacted one home owner & visited them - delightful people. And reached out to a second home owner, who responded to my message. But now, for some reason, when I try to login to S.Homes, I'm 'Access Denied'. This means I can't get back to the people I've made contact with. The 'Access Denied' page has a link for 'Please contact us for assistance'. But that link also comes up with 'Access Denied'. I'm flummoxed. I have no way of responding to the home owners now, & no way of reaching out to S.Homes for help. I hope they read this review and post a response telling me how to get in touch and get 'Access Denied' lifted. Please!!!
UPDATE: The good folk at S.Homes got in touch with me by email to let me know they've had a 'bug' in their system, & it was responsible for denying members' access. And a very pleasant & apologetic email it was too. I'm back in and have been able to contact home owners again. 5 stars for S.Homes who handled a techno-glitch fast & graciously.

I spent a long time with the owners (>2 hours) on a listing, only to find out a week later that the apartment they have listed isn't available. They have a current tenant and no move-out date for that person, despite the fact that they'd posted the apartment as available. Worse yet, when I tried to report this and asked for the ad to be removed, I discovered that (1) there's no good way to report a problem to SabbaticalHomes and (2) they don't respond or take action. This website runs on trust and faith and fails as badly as you'd expect it to.

IN RESPONSE TO SABBATICALHOMES RESPONSE: I provided the owner with communications on the platform as well as texts that explicitly stated my needed move in date as 9/28 and the owners' confirmation that the apartment was available then. The only "arrangement" was made verbally, and the possible move in date was pushed to 10/1. The owner knows all this and tried to bully me into pulling down this review. Also, the only reason she pulled the original ad (that listed a start date of 9/1 even though the apartment is simply unavailable) is because I explained the meaning of fraud and suggested that she consult her attorney if she doesn't understand the concept.

We have had excellent experiences hosting on Sabbatical Homes over the last two years. The quality of guest is outstanding, and there is minimal bureaucracy involved. Our guests typically stay for several months and we’re fully booked throughout the year. Great platform!

Hi, I rated Sabbatical Homes 1 star and changed it to 4 stars after reading the review posted in January 2023, saying they were visited by a grad student from China, and calling her a "scammer" for no reason. I was that unfortunate youngster who had such demoralizing interactions with an ill-mannered local New Yorker. She's an academic, but she couldn't think straight, and obviously had no intention or ability to communicate civically.
I didn't know Sabbatical Homes closed her account afterward; at the time, I didn't get any timely response after contacting them. The property owner wrote me a nasty comment after the visit. And before I left the house, she told me TODAY SOMEONE WAS PUSHED OFF FROM THE METRO STATION AND DIED. With the ongoing Asian hate and violence, especially in NYC, I was not so naive to see this random information as innocent. But I didn't know that she would go that far ( to harass me in the comment area of the website after I went back home).

I was disappointed that Sabbatical Homes didn't act or react in a timely manner at the time. I was also tired of the USA after so many years -- messy, racist, violent, and performatively progressive yet behaviorally regressive. Unsophisticated. I should have chosen the UK in my teen years. At least they know how to express themselves legally. Well, anyway, it's not my country.

I have 2 questions: One, does the USA need police stations? Two, do academia and its outputs have any impact other than acting as self-congratulatory entertainment?

Final Comment on this non-crime incident: If Euro-centrism is out of the residue of colonial pride, a noble spirit to include other cultures and then civilize them (sarcasm isn't my intention), American-centrism is out of a self-assured, complacent ignorance that is both historical and ahistorical. If sitting an exam, most Americans know that there are countries other than America. But they don't understand this fact sensually or intellectually (to be precise, the second generation and beyond). To many people I've encountered in the USA, America is the only country in the entire world.

I hope Sabbatical Homes get better before I use it for summer vacations during my Ph.D.

Excellent service for finding accommodation or tenant for own home. The information on the site is clear and helpful and any problems are responded to promptly by the organisation. We have found matches on several occasions and have been very happy with the experience. The fees are low, a trust review system is operated and an introduction to an otherwise bewildering search for temporary accommodation in a new country is offered. Sabbatical Homes has always been our "first call" over the years.
We are proud to be members!

This is a great website to find a home for a few month or the academic year. Our family found beautiful houses and apartments all over the world, and we rented out our home to very nice people. Highly recommended. Great design and easy to use. Try it!!

For nearly 20 years, we have found apartments for our family and rented out our own place. We only had great experiences. Because its focus is on academics, you will meet interesting people! And you only pay a modest fee to advertise your place and a similar modest fee if you find a match. Highly recommended.

It seems to be a well designed website and an established, legit business.

But you have to go thru a long process of creating an account and then posting your home, and only at the end they tell you the listing will cost you $60 :-/

That price is to keep the listing up for a whole year, which is useless for people like us who only need to rent out their home for a short period while we're traveling. They should offer much lower prices for one-time short periods.

Posting is free on Craigslist and Facebook, and also on Airbnb and Turo. They only get paid after reservations are made and executed (not if they're cancelled later on). These guys wanna get paid even if they do not actually succeed in helping both sides. They have the right to do that, but they should make the prices readily and clearly visible before starting the process.

I complained to customer service and their reply was quick but condescending and unkind :-/

If you choose to create an account and a posting, take the time to read the fine print online.

Given that SabbaticalHomes only asks for testimonials about 'what was liked' there is nowhere to register less satisfaction. They claim transparency but exclude the experiences they don't wish to hear about.
I returned home after 5 weeks and was not happy with how my first tenant left my home. There were a number of breakages and the clean was obviously hurried. Breakages happen but they did not discuss with me.
I sought advice re reviewing and received useless advice (talk with them, which by the way I requested to them...unsuccessfully). As I didn't wish others to experience the same I decided to review them. I gave 3 stars and said I was disappointed. Of course the very next day they gave me 3 stars and a dubious review. SabbaticalHomes claimed their reviewer method of making reviews public rather than waiting until both reviews were posted was because they were transparent (I cant see a connection). I knew that I would not receive a good review after posting theirs.
SabbaticalHomes were critical of my review and stated that the tenant's review was 'fact based'. Most unprofessional as well as incorrect.
So think twice about this 'service'. Some have good experiences but if you're not one then it's just bad luck.

Paid $60 for a year subscription, the site is for professional academic faculty home rentals. I was renting my house for a semester. Got one possible applicant who seemed reasonable but then it did not work out when they decided to stay where they were. The next applicant was a 25 year old applicant from Mainland China who said they were a graduate student. They came over and supplied no references, no bank account, only one relative in the US who would not be their guarantor, no past landlords or roommates to contact. When I told them no, they tried to offer me cash up front and mentioned their father was a government official in China and would pay their rent. I asked the person to leave. The person then posted a bad review of me on the site because I refused to rent to them. I complained to SabbaticalHomes and asked them how they could possibly let such a person be part of their site, what type of vetting do they do? I wrote to customer service as well as the President of the company. No response from either. The site is wide open for scammers. Would never ever use them again. They are unresponsive and only serve as a type of high end bulletin board, not a professional faculty travel home service exchange. I then wrote a review on the site of the young person who tried to scam me, and that person dropped their membership, saying they felt "threatened". By what, the fact that they were exposed as a scammer? All in all a terrible experience.