FAQs

Great question! Homes that are listed as “open to inquiries” are ones where the host has not indicated that their home is available, nor have they requested a swap to your area. We typically recommend focusing on homes that have the "available" or "seeking swaps" tags as more probable options!

However, we just rolled out a new feature where for homes listed as "open to inquiries'', you can request to swap with members directly in the app! If you download the latest version of the app, you should be able to send swap interest there directly by clicking "send swap interest" on the home page of the home you're interested in swapping with! (iOS or Android)

Let’s start with the basics by adding your availability! When you add your availability on Kindred, you’re letting other members know that your home will be vacant and that you’re potentially open to hosting members for credits during that time frame.

When a guest is interested in your home, they’ll request to book it in their Kindred App. Please note: Guests can request your home up until 2 days before the start date of the trip - so we recommend preparing your home if the dates are fast approaching and you’re still interested in hosting. Otherwise, you can always update your availability directly from your “Profile” tab in the app.

You’ll know that a guest has requested to stay in your home because you’ll receive a text/email with details about the request. Both will include a link to see more details about the guest, their travel plans, and their profile.

At that point, you’ll be presented with a number of options, including:

• Approving the stay
• Proposing alternative dates
• Proposing a swap instead
• Chatting over a video call first
• Messaging the member
• Denying the trip

If you have any questions for the guest before approving a stay, we generally recommend choosing the option to message the member and open a chat to ask any clarifying questions. As a host, you will always have the ultimate decision as to whether or not you’d like to approve a stay to your home.

Finally, we kindly ask that you respond to any requests within 48 hours of receiving the request. That will give you time to review the request, but also leave enough time for guests to arrange other plans for their trip, if needed.

You can request up to two homes at a time for the same trip. Alternatively, if you're planning multiple different trips, you're more than welcome to submit requests for all of those at once.

We always recommend getting started by creating your profile in the app! You can complete it in the “Profile” section of the app.

You can then browse homes directly in the app’s “Explore” tab, or you can add a trip to your wishlist and you’ll be sent any great matches! We definitely recommend adding a trip to your wishlist if you haven’t already!

Once you’ve found a home you like over a date range you’re interested in, you can request to book directly in the app.

• Go to the home of interest
• Click “Select dates” you’re selecting the home from your “Explore” tab, or “Request to book” if doing so from a home in your trip wishlist
• Share your trip details and a quick note, and submit the request
• If you do not yet have photos displayed for your home, you’ll be prompted to share a few as a placeholder until you’ve completed your professional photography

Once your request is submitted, it generally takes around 48 hours for hosts to respond to requests. You’ll hear back via email & text message, and if approved for your stay, you’ll be able to complete your booking directly in the app! 

To finalize your trip, you’ll be prompted to first complete your ID verification (hosted through Stripe, Kindred will not store these details in our system), and complete payment for the trip, which you can do from the email you’ll receive once the trip is approved, or directly in the app. As a reminder, you just pay a service fee + cleaning fee for each trip on Kindred - see more in the pricing section of our resources hub! Once paid, your trip is confirmed!

We believe that great photos help your home stand out and increase your chances of finding a match. That’s why Kindred currently offers a complimentary professional photography session for your home, where we send one of our vetted & trusted photographers to your home for a photo shoot. 

Photo sessions typically take 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the home. When you go to schedule your professional photography session (via the link in your welcome email, or in your “Profile” page in the app), we’ll ask for a few timeframes that work best with your schedule to help arrange the session.

Photos typically take 5-7 business days to come back and then you can expect another 2-3 business days to get those uploaded onto your profile. We'll also send over an email with a link to download your images once they're ready.

In most destinations, Kindred uses Kingsley lockboxes in most markets, when hosts opt into using a lockbox as their access preference. 

You can find more information on setting up your lockbox here: https://www.kingsleylocks.com/instructions/

What is it

Your home guide is something that is uniquely yours! It’s a guide that you fill out (and we collate) where you can share your home quirks, WiFi information, nearby recommendations, and more, that gets shared with every guest who stays at your home! 

Why is it important

Your home guide, once filled out, will be listed in the “Trip Details” for any guest that has a confirmed stay in your home. 

Members find that their home guides help guests better understand how they can best utilize your home during their stay, and treat it like their “Best Friend’s Grandma’s Home” (BFGH). ‍

How to fill it out‍

You’ll be prompted to fill out your Home Guide the first time you host on Kindred. Once a trip is confirmed to your home, you’ll be guided to complete hosting tasks in the Kindred App, one of which includes filling out a brief survey to populate this home guide. You can also share additional details with your guests at any time in the group chat created for your trip.

How to edit

We don't have the ability for members to edit their Home Guides themselves (coming soon!). You can check out your Home Guide once another trip is confirmed to your home in the Hosting Details page in the Kindred App.

If you have changes you’d like to see to your Home Guide, please reach out to your Concierge with those edits.

At the moment, we do not have a way to set minimum nights or guest preference parameters, as members are able to request directly in the app when there are available dates. We are currently working to build that feature out!

When a guest requests to stay in your home, you have the option to open up a group chat with the potential guest. We encourage you to share your hosting preferences in that chat. Oftentimes we find guests can be quite flexible on their travel plans, especially when they love a home!

Additionally, we recommend putting your hosting preferences in your bio so people can see that in your description! Here’s how to do that:

• Open the Kindred App
• Navigate to your “Profile” tab
• Make sure “Me” is selected at the top of the page
• Edit the “About” section

Congrats on such an exciting life milestone! We know how special each and every home is, and we aim to make this transition, when it comes to Kindred, seamless.

‍My old home

We’ll deactivate the home you previously had on Kindred. Don't worry, you'll still have access to the Kindred App and the credits you’ve accrued, and can continue to stay & swap with those credits!

‍My new home

To get your new home on Kindred, please fill out a new application at apply.livekindred.com with the following information: 

• Same email
• Same phone number

Let your Kindred Concierge know once the application for your new home is complete, and we'll expedite the review!

You’re in! Welcome to Kindred!

By this point you’ll have received an email welcoming you onto Kindred, with guidance on how to get started. You’ll find all the details you need & links in that email. 

To highlight, here’s where we’d recommend kicking off your Kindred journey:

• Download our mobile app & create your profile to begin traveling with Kindred (iOS or Android)‍
• Sign up for a new member onboarding call and learn how Kindred is different from short-term rental platforms. You can sign up for an upcoming onboarding call here: ‍
  • North America‍
  • Europe‍‍
• ‍Schedule your complimentary professional photography session so that your home shines and unlock swaps & stays on Kindred
• ‍Access our members-only pages - add us (@KindredMembers) on Instagram, and we’ll add you to our members-only Slack channel, where you can interact with our community of 20K+ other like-minded travelers

For stays with Kindred, there are no financial transactions between the guest and host. This means you won’t receive payment for things such as utilities and you also won’t have to pay for them when you stay at someone else’s home.

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That’s the magic of Kindred - every Kindred guest is also a host. Therefore, there’s a mutual understanding and respect when it comes to staying in a Kindred home and using any special home features.

If you have a cleaner that you know and trust, you’re welcome to use them instead of Kindred’s network of vetted cleaners. We’ll send you instructions that you can forward along to them on how to best prep your home for the stay. You’ll be prompted to let us know in the app as part of your hosting tasks once you have a confirmed trip to your home.

You can read more about completing your hosting tasks & checklist here. 

If you do opt to use your own cleaners, Kindred will reimburse you up to a certain maximum per clean determined by the location and size of your home. Simply follow these steps once the trip has been completed: 

• Email the cleaning invoice to hello@livekindred.com and include your PayPal account name  

We’ll send you a PayPal with the reimbursement shortly after. You’ll be able to see the current reimbursement maximum in the app when you indicate your cleaner preference as you fill out your hosting tasks.

Since Kindred homes are real homes lived in by real people (& not vacant rental properties), we make sure every home is professionally cleaned before and after each stay. This helps ensure a consistently clean, safe, and reliable experience for guests each time. This also allows every host to come back home to a nice and clean home, every time! 

The Cleanings

In general, Kindred cleaners will prepare the home for a guest by cleaning the surfaces of a home, making the beds with Kindred linens, and setting out the contents of the hosting kit (towels, toiletries, etc.). 

After the guest checks out, the cleaners will clean the surfaces of the home, remove and clean the linens used by the guest, and prepare the home for the host’s return by returning their bedsheets to their beds.

You can check out the full checklist that Kindred Cleaners follow when cleaning your home here: Kindred Cleaning Checklist.

Can I be at home when Kindred cleaners are cleaning my home?

Our cleaners ask that the home be vacant so they have room to prepare the space for the guests! Feel free to reach out to your Kindred Concierge if you have any questions.

Please note: cleaning might look different from country-to-country. Please reach out to your Kindred Concierge if you have any questions about your upcoming Kindred cleanings.

Letting people know you’re interested in swapping is quite different than listing your home as available.

Swapping

“I’m looking for a swap” means that you’re open to traveling over these dates, but your home isn’t necessarily vacant unless you can find a swap with another member.  Members generally use this option as a way of indicating ‘conditional availability’ i.e. - “if I find another Kindred home, my home will be available.” 

You can denote this by clicking on the “+” button and selecting “I’m looking for a stay or swap”, and specifically selecting the “Swaps” button. Your home will show up as “Seeking Swaps” to members in the areas you indicated you’d like to swap to, over the dates you selected.

Availability

On the contrary, adding your hosting availability from the “+” menu in the app means that your home has confirmed vacancy and that you’re open to hosting members while you’re away in exchange for credits (which you can use to travel to other available homes on the platform at a later time). See how to add availability here.

Members generally add hosting availability when they plan to be away from home but aren’t necessarily looking for another Kindred home to swap to at the same time. Your home will show up as “Available” to all members on the platform over the dates you selected.

You can also reference our Availability vs. Swap Guide, listed in our “Guides” section of our resources page for more details.

When you know your home is going to be vacant and you’re interested in earning credits in exchange for hosting, you can mark your home as available in the Kindred App and let members know you’d like to host. 

• Go to the Kindred App
• Navigate to the “+” button at the bottom of the screen
• Select “My home is available to book”
• Add the dates of your choice

You can also add this directly on your home profile by navigating to the “Profile” tab, making sure “Home” is selected at the top, and clicking on “Add Availability” under the Hosting Availability section.

You can also edit this availability at any time by navigating to the “Profile” tab, making sure “Home” is selected at the top, and clicking on “Edit” under the Hosting Availability section. Edit available dates by clicking the pencil, and delete available dates by clicking the “X”.

When you approve a trip to your home, you’ll be prompted to complete a few hosting tasks in the app, and Kindred will take care of the rest! 

How to navigate to my hosting tasks

• Open the Kindred App (iOS or Android)
• Select "Trips" on the bottom
• Click on the trip that says “Complete Hosting Tasks”

What questions will I be asked?

• Complete your hosting details
  • We’ll have you confirm a few details (bed sizes, etc.) so that you can receive your hassle-free hosting kit. Let us know your cleaning preferences - including whether or not you want to use one of our trusted Kindred cleaners or use your own cleaner - and your arrival/departure times so that we can schedule those cleanings‍
• Set your access instructions‍
  • Pick your preferred access method for guests & cleaners, and share details for a seamless access experience‍
• Create your home guide‍
  • Share your hosting preferences & anything you’d like your guest to know about taking care of your home! This is where you add things like wifi instructions, house quirks, as well as your recommendations for fun in the area 🙂

You can also reference the Hosting for the first time Guide for additional first time host guidance, as well as the How to Prep for a Guest Guide for tips and tricks on how to best prep your home to host!

Members of Kindred will have access to our mobile app, which you can download on both iOS or Android devices. 

To log into the app, you’ll use the email with which you applied to Kindred, entering it into the app and clicking “Login”. You’ll then receive an email to that email address with a “magic link” (screenshot below). Open that email on your mobile device, and click the link - doing so will log you into the app!

What if I’m having trouble?

• Confirm you’re using the correct email address - the one you used to register for Kindred!
• Confirm you’re on the latest version of the app - go to your device’s app store and ensure there’s no further updates
• Check your spam/junk folder

What if I’m not receiving a link?

• This means that you’re not yet a member - As a members-only platform, we cannot provide access to the app until your home has been accepted

What if I am a member, but this still won’t work?

• Try this workaround:
  • On the app, enter the email you applied to Kindred with, and click on “Sign in to Kindred”.
  • Open the “Sign in to Kindred” link you received in your email, and copy the link - open it in a web browser.
  • Click “Copy Code” on the webpage that takes you to.
  • Go back to the app and click on “Having trouble logging in?”.
  • Paste the code you copied.

If the issue persists, please message your Kindred Concierge and we’ll assist! 

• SMS/Text: +1 (989) 546-3733
• Whatsapp: +1 (989) 441-0666

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Setting up your profile in app is a great way to get other members excited about hosting you! You’ll be able to create a profile for both yourself as well as your home, all in the “Profile” tab in app!

You can create & edit your user profile directly in the app! (iOS or Android)

• Open the Kindred App
• Select "Profile" on the bottom
• Make sure "Me" is selected on top 

We recommend adding a reusable video to your profile so hosts can get to know you a bit more when you request to stay at their home. 

You can also create your home profile in the same spot, just toggle to “Home” on top. We don't quite yet have the ability for members to edit their home details themselves (coming soon!), but in the meantime you can share any changes you'd like to see by texting your Kindred Concierge, who can make updates for you! 

• SMS/Text: +1 (989) 546-3733
• Whatsapp: +1 (989) 441-0666

With a standard Kindred membership, members pay a service fee + the cost of cleaning to book a stay on Kindred.

However, members who upgrade to a Kindred Passport can enjoy $0 service fees on an unlimited number of trips during a 1 year period.

Kindred Passport holders can save hundreds or even thousands in service fees if they expect to book more than 2 Kindred stays within a year.

Kindred’s margin comes from member Service Fees and Passport purchases. We use these funds to cover the costs of our service, including Host Protection, customer service, identity verification, host kit, and more. What’s left after that is taken as margin and reinvested into the company.

Kindred does NOT make profit margin on cleaning fees – our fee schedule is set up to cover costs only.

We also do NOT make money from advertisements or the sale of data. We will NEVER sell any of your personal data to advertisers or third parties.

No. There is no monetary value assigned to Kindred credits, and they cannot be purchased. Kindred is a give-to-get community, and members can only earn credits by contributing to the community.

We do not allow for the purchase of credits in order to keep Kindred a true peer-to-peer network instead of a platform for rental businesses. If credits were resellable, investors would be incentivized to join. Our belief is that the world doesn't need just another short-term rental platform – it needs an actual peer-to-peer sharing economy.

Members earn Kindred credits in one of three ways:

1. Newly accepted members receive “starter” credits after completing their home profile. This allows new members to try out staying before hosting.
2. Members earn credits by by hosting other members. One night given equals one night earned, regardless of home value.
3. Members can also earn credits by referring friends who are accepted to join Kindred

There are no nightly rental fees when you book a trip. Accepted members only cover the cost of cleaning and a small service fee per stay. This service fee varies by length of stay, but is typically $5-35 per night.

Members also have the option of purchasing a Kindred Passport for $600, which unlocks $0 service fees for an unlimited number of trips booked that year.

The Passport typically makes sense for members who plan to book more than two trips in a year, which is fairly typical usage. You can pay up front or in monthly installments.

Yes. Today, one night given equals one night earned, regardless of the home’s size or resale value.

Giving a night in your personal home to a member of the Kindred community requires generosity and an act of trust. We believe that those who share with this community should be able to receive from the community in return, regardless of their particular home’s size or resale value.

We also are aware that the same home is likely to be valued very differently by different members depending on their preferences, lifestyle, and other options available. Instead of presuming that resale value or square footage is always a fair approximation of value, we simply allow members to confirm trips that they are excited about, and not confirm trips if they feel don’t make sense for them.

On a Kindred trip, you are a houseguest embedding into your host’s home and community while they are out.  It’s normal to run into neighbors!

We encourage you to smile, introduce yourself, and share that you are a friend of the host’s who is looking after their place while they are out. Most of all, be kind and respectful.

Kindred credits represent “earned nights” that a member can spend to stay in a Kindred home. We designed Kindred to be a give-to-get community, where you must contribute the  to the community in order to benefit from it. Members who host others earn credits that they can use to book a stay at a different home at a later time.

Currently, 1 credit = 1 night at any home, anywhere in the world. Credits do not have any assigned monetary value and cannot be purchased or sold.

There are only 3 ways to earn credits:

1. Newly accepted members unlock several “starting” credits upon completing their profile
2. Members earn 1 credit per night that they host another member
3. Members can also earn credits by referring friends who are accepted into the community

If you would like to earn more credits, we recommend referring friends to Kindred, and adding more home availability to increase the chances of a member booking your home. You can also share details about your home on social media and tag our members-only instagram for a feature! Some members also like to post in the community Slack groups to share what’s so special about their city, town, and home.

We try our best to ensure that trips go according to plan, but we know that sometimes life happens! Our cancellation policy is intended to ensure Kindred members have a consistent and predictable experience when booking travel, while also accommodating reasonable flexibility for changing plans.

Any cancellations within 30 days of the guest’s arrival date will be considered a “Late Cancellation”. In the event that a host cancels, Kindred will support the guest in finding alternative accommodations on Kindred, if available. If not available, our trip protection policy will kick in to help offset the costs of the guest finding alternate accommodations or changing flights.

In the event of a host repeatedly making Late Cancellations without good reason, Kindred may review their standing as a member of the Kindred network.

Guest-initiated Late Cancellations may result in the guest having to forfeit their service fee and their credits.

Please review our full Cancellation Policy here.

Our goal is for Kindred to be a friendly, safe, and inclusive environment for all members, including those who are assisted by service animals. If you travel with a service animal or require any other kind of accommodation, we’d love to give you special attention to find home swap options that work well for your needs.

Service animals must be disclosed to the host as part of the original trip request. If you travel with a service animal, we invite you to register them to your account by sending an email to hello@livekindred.com with their name, breed, size, and shedding/non-shedding status. Our concierge will help you find fabulous swapportunities that can accommodate your service animal.

Unlike hotels or vacation rentals, Kindred homes are private places of residence not bookable by the general public, and regulations like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) do not cover private residences. Just as each person's private residence is not required to be wheelchair accessible, it is similarly not legally required that Kindred members accommodate service animals in their homes, so we must always get the host’s permission in advance.

That said, we find that most Kindred members are happy to accept animals in their homes, and we strive to foster an environment of mutual respect, earnest effort, and open communication to help members find home swaps that work for their particular needs, whatever those needs may be.

Members can bring pets on a Kindred stay if that is expressly discussed and agreed upon by the members ahead of booking, and if pets are allowed in the hosting member’s building or lease.

If members request to bring their pet on a trip, they must share a picture of their pet and details about their pet care arrangements in the video introduction (must include pet age, type, shedding/non-shedding, level of training if relevant, whether they will be leaving the pet unaccompanied in the home without a crate or enclosure, and whether they will need to grant home access to a dog walker or similar).

Bringing pets requires informed and enthusiastic host consent each and every time. One of our member conduct values is to over-communicate, and this is especially important with pets. Any inaccurate or omitted information about bringing a pet is considered a Major Code of Conduct violation and may result in removal from the network.

You can read more about our pet policy in our Terms of Service.

Yes! We know that travel is always better when you can share it with your people.

When booking a stay with travel companions, members must disclose any overnight guests ahead of time. You'll be able to indicate whether you plan on bringing any guests when you submit your initial request to the host in the app. It is ultimately up to the host to approve of overnight guests. This is critical to ensure members are always kept up-to-date on who is staying in their home, and helps us deliver a safe and consistent experience for all members.

When bringing guests, members are responsible for educating them on all house rules and Kindred’s Member Code of Conduct, and will be held accountable for the behavior or actions of any of their guests. Pro tip - we recommend all overnight guests review the host’s home guide before the stay. You can access this on each trip’s detail page in the app, by going to the “Trips” tab.

Please note - Kindred has a “no party” rule. We limit overnight guests to 6, and prohibit any large gatherings of 10 or more people in a Kindred home at any given time without explicit prior permission. If you are looking for a venue to host a party, we have a few ideas for some other platforms you can use :)

We also allow members to book on behalf of immediate family (spouse, parent, or partner) as long as you disclose it to Kindred and the host ahead of booking. This is also outlined in our Kindred’s Member Code of Conduct.

At this time, Kindred only facilitates whole home swaps and stays, in order to provide a safe and consistent user experience for traveling members. That means members must be out of the home to host a Kindred-coordinated stay.

Kindred is all about human connection, and we love when members get to know one another personally. Those who become friends or have existing relationships are welcome to arrange guest bedroom stays on their own time. Of course, Kindred will not provide services, cleanings, or Host Protection coverage for visits arranged off of the Kindred platform.

We are looking forward to launching houseguest and roommate swaps in the future.

In advance of a stay, members may agree between themselves for a guest to care for their host’s pet on their stay, but this is NOT a service facilitated by Kindred and is NOT covered by Kindred’s Host Protection policy.

Any pet sitting or pet care arrangements made by members is strictly between them directly as individuals. Kindred is not responsible for caring for any member’s pet, and will not be held liable for any injury or damage to a member’s pets or involving the pets.

We do require that members inform Kindred if they have made a pet care arrangement between themselves.

Before a member’s first time hosting, Kindred provides a Host Kit that includes all the essentials needed to make preparing your home for a Kindred stay quick and easy.

What does a Kit include?

• A fresh set of guest linens, including sheets, a duvet cover, bath and hand towels, and a bath mat, for you to leave out. The cleaners will make the bed.
• A Guest Essentials pouch packed with toiletries and items for your guest to enjoy. We partner with fantastic consumer brands like Aesop to provide high quality, travel sized essentials.
• A Kindred lockbox, if needed, so you can securely leave key
• A new, individually wrapped kitchen sponge that you can leave out for your guest (we know that sometimes having someone else use your sponge can give people the ick!)
• A set of removable “Privacy Please” stickers that you can use on drawers, cabinets, or doors to indicate if you’d prefer a guest not use something

💡 You can read more about preparing your home in the **How To Prep Your Home** guide.

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My Kindred kit doesn't look like the usual one

On rare occasions, the Guest Essentials kit you’ll receive when you arrive at your Kindred home might be slightly different from what you have seen on social media or when traveling with Kindred before. This is because we are currently reshuffling global inventory. 

You can still look forward to receiving a carefully selected shampoo, conditioner, and body wash laid out for you on the towels or in the bathroom.

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Yes. You are always in control of whether a member stays at your home – we will never book a trip without your permission, and there are no minimum hosting requirements to be a Kindred member.

Additionally, any pets and overnight guests a member brings to your home must be shared in advanced and approved by you.

💡 Please read out Member Code of Conduct for more details on our policies on guests.

Kindred coordinates professional cleaning before and after each Kindred stay to make the experience effortless, consistent, and trustworthy for both parties. Being able to count on a professional cleaning means members don’t have to stress about cleaning their own home before leaving on a trip, and allows us to ensure they can return to a sparkling home that’s cleaner than they left it.

Cleaning fees are paid for by the guest - this covers two cleanings: the check-in and check-out cleaning. 100% of cleaning fees are passed to our vendors (or to the host if they opt to use their own preferred cleaner). When you're swapping, you pay for cleaning as well. You cover your host’s home cleaning and your guest will cover yours.

For home cleanings, Kindred leverages our network of vetted preferred cleaners. We both source and onboard cleaners ourselves, as well as partner with professional cleaning services.

It also means that when arriving on a Kindred stay, members know the home will be cleaned and ready for them with fresh guest linens, each and every time.

When preferred by a member, we are also happy to work with their existing housecleaner for the cleans at their home. If you have a house cleaner you love, just let us know! You can read more about the process of using your own cleaner here.

Because Kindred is based on reciprocity, it fosters a community with a higher level of trust & mutual respect for one another's home than a rental platform. That said, we know that accidents happen!

Kindred automatically includes $100,000 in Host Protection Coverage for each trip in the event of any accidental damage. If something comes up on a trip, we only ask that you let us know as soon as possible, whether as a host or a guest. Our dedicated team will work with you to make things right.

In addition to our Host Protection policy, we also require that all members have an active renters or homeowners insurance policy for additional coverage. We’re happy to share recommendations if you’re uncovered!

💡 Feel free to read more about Host Protection and our conflict resolution policies in our Terms of Service.

Absolutely not! Our members understand that this is a home and not a vacation rental - so don't worry about having clothes in your closets, pictures on your walls, or stuff in your drawers.

We only ask that any unnecessary clutter be tucked away. Kindred will organize professional cleanings before & after each trip to ensure a seamless hosting experience.

💡 For a step-by-step guide, check out our How To Prep Your Home guide.

We take member privacy very seriously. The Kindred app is only accessible to approved members. On the app, home profiles include interior photos, the city and neighborhood, your first name, and any profile information you add when setting up your account (this typically includes a profile picture and a short written bio). On the app, you can click on your home profile to preview how your home will appear to others on the app.

We ONLY share your home address, home guide, and access information with a member you have agreed to host after the booking has been confirmed and approved by all parties.

You will have access to the full name and contact information of any members you host or swap with once the trip has been confirmed.

Please refer to our Property Requirements:

Property Requirements

As a membership network based on trusted community, our top priority is to ensure that Kindred continues to provide a safe, consistent, and friendly home swapping experience for all members. Because of that, our bar for trust and member conduct is extremely high.

To join, a prospective member must have a home that meets our minimum standards for safety and quality.

Before taking a trip, Kindred verifies member identity with government issued IDs. We also connect with members on social media, and send photographers to member homes to ensure images are accurate representations of the home.

In addition to vetting, we also personally onboard new members before their first time hosting or booking a Kindred stay to ensure that all members know exactly what to expect, what’s allowed and what’s not allowed, and have reviewed our Member Code of Conduct.

During a trip, the Kindred concierge is a text away should members need any support. We monitor group chat conversations and gather feedback after trips, and we do remove members who do not adhere to the Member Code of Conduct. We have extremely high standards for trust and conduct.

💡 Please read about Host Protection and our conflict resolution policies in our Terms of Service.

Because Kindred is based on reciprocity, it fosters a community with a higher level of trust & mutual respect for one another's home than a rental platform. That said, we know that accidents happen – and we are dedicated to supporting all members in the event of accidental damage.

Kindred automatically includes $100,000 in Host Protection Coverage for each trip in the event of any accidental damage. If something comes up on a trip or you find something has been damaged, we only ask that you let us know as soon as possible. Our dedicated team will work with you to make things right.

In addition to our Host Protection policy, we also require that all members have an active renters or homeowners insurance policy for additional coverage. We’re happy to share recommendations if you’re uncovered!

You are welcome to list multiple homes as long as they are a personal place of residence, and not a full-time investment property.

To add additional homes on Kindred, you’ll need to apply separately for each home. Just go to apply.livekindred.com, and with this information:

• Same email
• Same phone number

Let us know once the application for any new home is complete, and we'll expedite the review!

Please note: Our app does not yet accommodate seeing both homes in your home profile, but we are working on it! In the meantime, please work with our concierge team to add availability or manage the calendar for any additional home.

Kindred is free to join!

Members must apply and be accepted, but there are no hosting requirements or fees required to keep your membership active.

When accepted members decide to take a trip, they will then pay a service fee to book a stay. Members also have the option to purchase a Kindred Passport, which unlocks $0 service fees for an unlimited number of trips over a 1 year period.

There are no minimum hosting requirements for members. When, whether, and with whom to share your space is always entirely up to you.

Kindred is a give-to-get network, and we hope for all accepted members to be both guests and hosts at some point in time. However, home sharing is new to many people, and we understand some may want to “dip their toe in” to home sharing by going on a Kindred trip first before they host. To do this, we gift new members several starting credits to book a stay before their first time hosting.

In order to earn more nights, though, members will have to host other members.

Yes, absolutely. Kindred welcomes both owners and renters, as long as their home is used as a primary residence. Kindred is for real homes, not short-term rentals. We find that home swapping can be a fantastic option for renters looking to travel more affordably.

Unlike subletting or rentals, home swapping involves no monetary exchange between members. Kindred helps members meet others and coordinate staying as houseguests, not as renters, in one another’s vetted primary residences. Home swapping and house sitting in primary residences is generally considered by most jurisdictions to be distinct from renting or subletting, though this can vary.

While it's important to carefully review your lease agreement and any HOA rules that may apply to your rental property before participating, our members who rent typically find that neighbors and landlords are comfortable with them letting a trusted friend housesit when they are gone, as long as they are not turning their home into a rental.

Yes, although at this time Kindred only facilitates whole home swaps. This means that you and your roommates will need to all travel together on a swap, or otherwise all be out of the house for you to host a Kindred member.

If you have completed your application and have not heard back from us, you might be on the waitlist.

There are a number of reasons why your membership application may be waitlisted:

1. We are not yet operational in your city
2. We have too much inventory relative to demand for your specific city
3. Your home doesn’t meet our home guidelines
4. Your photos or video walkthrough were incomplete, or some of the information in your application incomplete or unverified (for example, submitting a false phone number)

We review the waitlist frequently as we expand our service areas. You’ll receive an email as soon as we’re able to accept your home. You’re also welcome to submit new photos or re-apply if you feel your original photos may not have appropriately represented your home.

Kindred accepts homes and apartments that are located in one of our active service areas and meet our minimum requirements for being safe, functional, and thoughtfully furnished.

1. Safe: Homes must have an active renters or homeowners insurance policy, must be secure and lockable, and cannot have any obvious health or safety hazards present. For a full list, please see the Property Requirements in our Terms of Service.
2. Functional: Given that the average Kindred swap is 5-7 nights, we seek to ensure all Kindred homes would serve as functional accommodations for an individual who may need to work remotely during the week. This means we require wifi, comfortable seating, access to kitchen appliances and basic cooking utensils, desk or tabletop space, and natural light.
3. Tastefully furnished: Kindred homes look and feel like real homes, not half-empty vacation rentals. We accept homes with tasteful and contemporary interior decoration. If you have art on your walls, mirrors, plants, window dressings, rugs, and a bed frame, you’re on the right track. We want homes with soul, and so please don’t feel the need to take down your family pictures or unique decor, or remove your socks from your sock drawer – we like the things that make your home a reflection of the creative, generous, kind person who lives there.

The fastest way to join Kindred is to apply with a valid invite code here. Don’t have an invite code? You can still join our waitlist! We accept qualified homes on a rolling basis based on where we're seeing the most demand. If we’re not serving your city yet, hang tight – we’ll be sure to reach out as soon as we expand to your area.

We currently accept homes in approximately 50 cities across North America, and are expanding to Europe soon.

Our active locations include (but are not limited to):

Large metropolitan cities

USA

• Atlanta
• Austin
• Boston
• Boise
• Charleston
• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Denver
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Nashville
• New Orleans
• New York City
• San Diego
• Santa Barbara
• Salt Lake City
• San Francisco
• Scottsdale
• Seattle
• Portland

Mexico

• Mexico City

Canada

• Quebec
• Toronto
• Vancouver

Europe

• London
• Amsterdam
• Berlin

Nature, beach, or winter sports destinations

Winter & Mountains

• Aspen
• Banff
• Bend
• Boulder
• Breckenridge
• Bozeman
• Jackson
• Lake Tahoe
• Park City
• Vail
• Victor
• Whitefish

Beach

• Cabo San Lucas
• Hawaii
• Half Moon Bay
• Malibu
• Tulum
• Puerto Escondido
• Santa Cruz

Desert

• Palm Springs
• Joshua Tree
• Marfa

Weekend destinations

• Napa
• Sonoma
• Healdsburg
• The Hamptons
• Nantucket
• Cape Cod

Select European cities (Coming Soon)

• Berlin
• Amsterdam
• London
• Paris
• Milan
• Lisbon
• Barcelona
• Zurich
• …and more

Yes! Kindred works on both Android & iOS devices. Our Android app can be found here while our iPhone app can be found here.
Additionally, our concierge team can work with you over text and email to find and book stays.

Kindred is the first company that makes home swapping both trusted and convenient.

Home swapping has been around for a long time in the form of websites or chat groups where unverified users can post their own listings. With platforms like this, users don’t know if the posted homes are real, and it can be very hard to sift through listings to find a good match. If you find a stay, there are a ton of logistics to deal with to set up the trip, and the experience is high risk and unpredictable.

Kindred, on the other hand, is a vetted community that offers a full service travel experience, including matchmaking and 24/7 trip support, delivered through an elegant mobile app. We seek to make every step of the journey thoughtful, reliable, and simple. That means providing members with sheets, towels, and other essentials to make hosting easy, providing complimentary toiletries for each stay, and taking on the burden of coordinating cleaning before and after each stay so you don’t have to stress.

Kindred is a closed network for home exchanges between vetted residents, not a vacation rental or short-term rental platform.

On Kindred, there is no financial exchange between guest and host. Members are trusted peers looking to travel more vs. professional hosts running a rental business, and the homes are real residences vs. investment properties.

Kindred seeks to connect members who have something in common (like a mutual friend, a shared network, or similar quality homes) who welcome one another as guests. You can swap homes 1-for-1, or earn nights by hosting and use those nights to stay somewhere else later.

Kindred credits represent “earned nights” that a member can spend to stay in a Kindred home. We designed Kindred to be a give-to-get community, where you must contribute the  to the community in order to benefit from it. Members who host others earn credits that they can use to book a stay at a different home at a later time.

Currently, 1 credit = 1 night at any home, anywhere in the world. Credits do not have any assigned monetary value and cannot be purchased or sold.

There are only 3 ways to earn credits:

1. Newly accepted members unlock several “starting” credits upon completing their profile
2. Members earn 1 credit per night that they host another member
3. Members can also earn credits by referring friends who are accepted into the community

No, they do not. In fact, most of our trips do not include two members staying in each other’s homes at the exact same time.

Our “give a night to get a night” policy gives members greater flexibility by allowing members to host others and bank those nights, later using them to stay at a different member home later on.

Today, one night given equals one night earned, regardless of the city or home size, and there is no way to purchase nights – members earn nights only by contributing to the community.

We believe that giving a night to a member of the community is a gift, regardless of your square footage – and we believe that those who give to the community should be able to receive from the community in return.