We’ve built this community for those who want a more personal, meaningful travel experience. Whether you’re looking to host friends or swap homes for a remote work stint, Lontano makes it easy and comfortable to connect with others in your network.
Here’s how it works:
Once you join Lontano, you can start by browsing homes shared by your friends or friends of friends. It’s an invite-only platform, so you’re never just looking at random homes. Every listing is from someone you know or someone connected to your circle. You’ll find places to stay across cities, countries, and continents—all within a network you can trust.
When you’re ready, you can list your own home on Lontano. We make it easy to get started with a draft mode so you can fine-tune your listing. You control what details to share and can preview everything before making it public. Think of it as opening your door to your friends, but on your terms.
Lontano is all about privacy and control. Once your home is ready, you can choose who gets to see it. You can start by sharing with just your close friends, then, as you feel more comfortable, you can expand visibility to friends of friends.
If you want to open your listing to the entire Lontano network, you can upgrade to a PRO subscription and access even more homes yourself.
You decide who sees your home and who you’re open to swapping with. The choice is yours every step of the way.
If you’re ready to host or swap, you can add availability dates to your listing. This way, your friends (or friends of friends) can easily see when you’re open to having guests or when you’re planning to be away and ready to swap. It’s a simple way to coordinate, and you can adjust it anytime as your plans evolve.
One of the best parts of Lontano is how it takes the awkwardness out of reaching out. If you see a home you’re interested in, you can message the host directly through Lontano. Because everyone is connected through trusted relationships, it’s easier and more comfortable to start a conversation. No awkward introductions or worrying about asking for a favor—Lontano is built to make this part seamless.
Lontano is free for you and your friends. You can share homes, browse listings, and swap with friends without any cost. But if you want to expand beyond your immediate circle and access the wider Lontano network, a paid subscription opens up a world of possibilities. More homes, more places, more adventures—all at your fingertips.
At its heart, Lontano is about making travel better and more connected. It’s a platform that helps you live in more than one place, take better care of homes and pets, and experience new cities through the eyes of friends—all without the hassle of dealing with strangers or the high cost of accommodations. Whether you’re hosting or traveling, you’re doing it with the trust and comfort of a network that knows you.
Ready to swap? Join Lontano, list your home, and start exploring new places—all within a community that feels like home.
]]>In 2021, Silvia and I rented an apartment by the beach in southern Spain and moved there for two months. No holidays, just trying out a different lifestyle. Because it was off-season, we could afford it.
A year later, as we were getting ready for a long vacation to Vietnam, Barbara, a coworker from Barcelona, posted on Instagram that she was looking for a place to stay in Madrid. We offered our home and asked if she would like to pet sit our dog, and she accepted.
We also swapped our Madrid home with Miguel, a friend who lives in San Sebastián. Later that year, we spent over a week in Paris, staying at our old friends Esteban and Liz’s while they were away for the holidays. Although it wasn’t the original plan, as the date approached, they decided to come to Madrid, so they stayed at our home.
The list of swaps with friends goes on…
More recently, while planning a trip to New York, we posted on Instagram and ended up staying at the apartment of Clara, a friend of a friend who was out of town for a few weeks.
Each time someone visited our place, I loved hosting—getting everything ready, preparing instructions, and giving tips on how to enjoy Madrid like a local. As a bonus, I had my home cared for, my plants watered, and sometimes even Pepa (our dog) looked after.
I loved hosting—getting everything ready, preparing instructions, and giving tips on how to enjoy Madrid like a local. As a bonus, I had my home cared for, my plants watered, and sometimes even Pepa (our dog) looked after.
When I was the one traveling, I loved feeling like a local, and of course, saving some accommodation budget for other things.
It was home swapping with the trust of hosting one of your own.
That’s when I realized there was an opportunity—an opportunity for more people to travel better, make use of empty homes, take better care of pets, and broaden their world, all while spending less money.
But I noticed something missing in existing home exchange platforms. None of them had that vital trust-building component—the kind that comes from knowing a person directly or through a mutual friend. That’s when I set out to build something different.
And that’s how Lontano was born.
With remote work becoming more common, more people are traveling—not necessarily on vacation, but living and working in new places. These empty homes create an opportunity to travel in a way that feels personal and connected. By weaving in the social connections that link friends and friends of friends, Lontano creates a network of trust, allowing people to swap homes with confidence and ease.
It’s not just about the places you stay—it’s about who you’re swapping with and the sense of community you take with you.
]]>Here’s to many more! 🥂
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