A Midlands couple who travelled the world through home-swapping once stayed on a yacht where 'Prince William had his stag do'.
Joan and Noel Patterson have been using home-swapping platform HomeExchange for almost a decade, completing 120 exchanges.
HomeExchange estimates the couple have saved at least £45,000 with exchanges in countries including France, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
The couple have stayed in a 'luxurious' apartment in Bangkok with an infinity pool and watched 'whales going by' from their bed in Australia.
On one occasion, they had a more 'unusual' home-swap and stayed on a yacht for a week.
Joan said the yacht owner ended up being their skipper, sailing them around the Isle of Wight and south coast - and even let them 'have a go at sailing' themselves.
She said: "The man used this yacht for racing as well and, interestingly, this yacht has, if you like, a royal link.
"The yacht was used for Prince William's stag do - someone had organised it for him, they had a whole load of activities and one of them was sailing this yacht when it was new.
"The deal for us was, we paid for the fuel and for our host's lunches, and we used our points for the boat and it was lovely."
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Joan, 67, who lives with her husband Noel, in Buxton, Derbyshire, said they do not 'pay for holiday accommodation anymore'.
Joan and Noel, who ran an education company before retiring, were looking for ways to make their trips 'affordable and comfortable' when they heard about home-swapping from Joan's sister.
This prompted them to sign up to LoveHomeSwap in 2017, which later joined the HomeExchange group.
HomeExchange allows users to exchange their homes and receive GuestPoints to thank them for their hospitality.
It has a £180 annual membership fee and more than 200,000 members in 155 countries.
Joan said the couple have had experiences 'money cannot buy', adding: "It's not possible to put a price on our trips.
"I would never stay in a home where you're watching the whales going by.
"This was a very luxurious, five-bedroom, three-storey property, with whacking great big grounds in the best location.
"There's no way that I would have been staying there, so it gives you access to quality, the quality of properties, that wouldn't ordinarily be available."
Joan and Noel have a one-bedroom holiday home in Criccieth, North Wales, which has views of Snowdonia National Park from a nearby beach - and they use this property for home-swapping.
She said: "The house that we live in, in Buxton, is old and quirky, so it's not so easy for somebody to walk into it.
"But when we bought the holiday home that we have in Criccieth, in my mind, we would exchange it."
Joan said 'experiencing places as a local' and meeting new people are the best parts of home-swapping.
The couple completed their first home-swap in Paris, staying in a quirky 'student pad'.
The space was small - effectively a 'garret'- and the couple had to climb over a roof strut to get into the kitchen.
But it was well-located, with 'the cheapest beer' in a bar next door.
Joan said: "We would come home in the evening and go into this student bar with cheap beer - a pint was probably around three euros.
"These places are local, so one of the key things for me is that you could stay in a hotel, but that's sterile.
"These home exchanges are never sterile."
They also stayed in a 'swanky apartment block' in Bangkok, Thailand, which had an infinity pool and 'wonderful views over the river'.
Joan and Noel have stayed in other 'posh properties' with large gardens and swimming pools, as well as family homes with chickens, cats and gardens to look after.
They even met someone in Tasmania who built his own property, using car ports - and it was surrounded by wallabies.
Joan said: "We did a big trip to Australia, and we did what they call a reciprocal exchange, but it was non-simultaneous.
"It was an arrangement where they had a flat underneath their main house, and they picked us up from the airport, took us out, showed us around and we played cards with them.
"They had a friend who, up in the hills, just beyond the national park, had built himself a crazy house.
"So we were saying about seeing wallabies and our hosts said "oh, come up to our mate's place" and it was a quirky, mad place made of car ports and glass.
"We would never have seen that or met this guy otherwise. He was a real hoot."
Joan said she is always 'respectful' of people's properties and belongings.
She insisted she has never had a negative experience hosting or staying in another home.
Joan added: "That's one of the joys of home exchanging because, even if you're only doing it online, you get to know other people, you make friends with people.
"It's not just about the property, it's about the people as well."
This autumn, Joan and Noel are spending three weeks in the Dolomites, in Italy.
They also have other home swaps coming up, including a trip to Malta next March.
Joan said: "Life only goes in one direction, so you should hurry up and do it."
She added: "The main thing is that money cannot buy the experience of being welcomed into someone's home and being in a proper local living community.
"The advice and guidance from hosts helps you plan and make the most of their area - you get an insider view.
"I am out of touch with prices since I don't pay for holiday accommodation any more, but I have effectively travelled the world and not paid for accommodation."