Every big idea starts somewhere. In this first video, PLU co-founders Drew and Kathy sit down to share the story behind People Like Us Home Exchange — where the idea came from, what problem we wanted to solve, and the vision we had for building a home exchange community that felt genuinely different. If you've ever wondered what PLU is really about — and why we care so much about the people in it — this is the place to start. 🌍 Explore PLU: https://www.peoplelikeus.world

Comments (32)

Carol 4 months ago

Drew and Kathy well done and thank you for developing and connecting ME to my other family PLU. As a ‘older’ solo it has opened a wonderful safe world of travel experiences and new beautiful friendships. I am looking forward to many more.

The Champs: Sylvie and Pascal Champagne 5 months ago

What a lovely warmhearted video! We feel we’re sharing a moment with you, like we did back in March 2020 in Paris, right before Covid lockdown. So many exciting swaps have taken place since, so many friendly connections and more! We’re so grateful to the two of you for keeping this community as it is along the years, such a relief after HE evolved into something we don’t feel we belong to.
Yes, PLU is a community we BELONG to, and that means an incredible LOT!
Long live the spirit of Humane Exchange, especially in the current world circumstances.
🙏🏼🩵

Kerrie 5 months ago

I loved hearing your story when we first met in Ballarat years ago! Your authenticity, drive and motivation still remains as you both continue to build this wonderful community. Thank you again for everything you do! I look forward to hearing more stories of People Like Us!

Donna 5 months ago

Well done, I look forward to seeing more! It’s great to watch PLU continue to grow and see the connections made. I finally met and spent a few hours with Dana Lee and family in Dallas recently which was very special. Thank you Drew and Kathy, I have met amazing people because of People Like Us x

Padraig 5 months ago

I know exactly what you mean Drew. It's such a no-brainer when you think about it. I'm sitting in my apartment dreaming of going to some exotic location like Malaysia and someone is sitting in their place in Malaysia dreaming of coming to Paris. Hey, why don't we make each other's dream true by exchanging out home for a week or two...or three. Love love love it

Ali and Paul 5 months ago

Great story, Drew… and no stage fright either! 😅

What a gem of an idea, and the courage to turn it into reality. Even though home exchanging had been done before, you have created something genuinely different and meaningful for so many. Yes, it’s a business, but it truly has heart and soul… well done and thank you 🙏

I’m really looking forward to hearing more from you, Kathy, and the other founding members. 😃🌼❤️

Drew 5 months ago

We'll do a bloopers reel! 😂 More coming soon. 🙂

Trine and Trond 5 months ago

What a nice story! I look forward to seeing more videos about your (and PLU’s) journey. While your idea of home exchange obviously wasn’t an epiphany or a unique idea, it really has become a great success and resulted in a truly unique community.
We started exchanging homes back in 2004, through HomeLink, then we also joined Intervac and in 2010 we joined HomeExchange. It became a lifestyle to us, but for family reasons we had to take a long break from home exchange from 2016-2022 and rejoined HomeExchange in 2022, looking for a swap for summer 2023. It had changed a lot and had become much more transactional and with mostly non-reciprocal exchanges, which isn’t our thing. So I googled (yes, it’s a thing, Drew! 😂 ) and found PLU and the Facebook groups, and we became members right away. It took a couple of years for us to find our first exchange here, because we had very specific wishes for the first two years, but we stayed anyway, because of the amazing community. However, this year the balance has shifted: PLU is much more flexible when it comes to our new favourite exchange type, non-simultaneous exchange, which we really appreciate, so now we have 5 PLU exchanges lined up! We love PLU! 😍

Drew 5 months ago

I'm so glad you found us. I think the rich and deep exchanging histories that our PLU's have, have contributed enormously to PLU. People have brought their ideas and made suggestions for the site, but most of all they've made the community what they wanted it to be. I feel a great honour but also a big responsibility to lead and keep PLU as what we all want.

Marije and Gerben 5 months ago

After finding a home exchange page on Facebook by accident in 2024, we did a simultaneous exchange with a Greek couple. It was fantastic! I found the PLU Facebookgroup and started reading for 6 weeks. Everyone was boasting about the community spirit. I though it was overdone at the moment. But still it felt right to become a member. Within 3 days I had my first exchange lined up for just 10 days later. And these last 1,5 years we had 20 exchanges lined up. And the best part indeed is not just traveling everywhere but getting to meet new friends and making reel connections for life! Thank you Drew and Kathy, you have changed our lives for the better!

Drew 5 months ago

Amazing, thank you for sharing! ❤️

Linda 5 months ago

After Home Exchange radically changed their philosophy at the end of 2018, I joined PLU (January 2019, right at the beginning). But I wasn't convinced it was going to be different until we met Drew and Kathy mid-2019 to hear their vision. Luckily, they wanted to be a community built on trust and sharing, which was what we had experienced under the original (solo) owner of Home exchange before it was corporatized. I don't think any of us could envision what the next few years would bring to the world, but covid actually showed us what a real community of caring people looked like. Very happy to be a founding member and looking forward to making more PLU friends in the future!

Drew 5 months ago

I've often said that our culture was forged in covid. We had the makings for it before but, when we were all locked in our loungerooms and we couldn't do what we were set up to do and got talking to each other, THAT's when PLU became PLU.

Kev and Jan 5 months ago

I love a good business story. How they start, the germ of the idea, how they evolve.

Drew 5 months ago

I love to reflect on it. It really did start as a very small idea but, mostly, we built something that WE wanted and hoped that others would want it too. The growth has been very organic.

Paula 5 months ago

Que bueno seria que pudiera tener la opción de subtitulado para los PLU qué no hablan ingles

Drew 5 months ago

I just realised, we need a translation function on comments! 😃

Deepak Saini 5 months ago

Great video! It’s nice to hear the story of how PLU started and also to hear your voices. Keep making these because it’s nice to understand the history as the community grows!

Drew 5 months ago

We have a few more "in the can" as it were, so some more stories coming but we really want to know what PLU's want to hear about, and we also want to start doing member stories too. Watch out if you're coming through Sydney!

Vanessa 5 months ago

And we are SO grateful to you both. PLU home exchanging has changed mine and my families world.

Drew 5 months ago

That's lovely, thank you! 🙏❤️

Jacqui, Graham & Hana 5 months ago

Love the authenticity of PLU. You’ve done a great job of keeping money out of it and making it all about travel & community. (PS maybe sit closer together - it looks a bit like social distancing). 😜

Drew 5 months ago

THIS is the feedback I was looking for! 😂 We filmed a few on the day so those will be similarly - awkwardly - distanced, but I will note for future!

Dave 5 months ago

I joined Home Exchange in 2009 and had been using it a lot, but when PLU came along we could tell it was a little different and so we joined right away. If I was Drew I would have Googled the concept and realized, hey, this is already a thing and walked away. But, its amazing you jumped in to what was already a crowded space and have made it such a success. Congrats!

Drew 5 months ago

I'm glad I didn't google! 😂

Marilyn 5 months ago

Interesting - so many people have had this idea (including me) but have never followed through.
PLU has been a game changer for us! It has added to our quality of life in so many ways.
Thankyou Drew & Kathy

Drew 5 months ago

Thank you for your huge contribution to PLU! It's been an 8-year-and-counting community effort! 🙂

Padraig 5 months ago

So true, is been life changing, in a very positive way!

Janet 5 months ago

Interesting but I hope Kathy gets to speak in future videos.

Drew 5 months ago

You bet! We've done lots of topics and Kathy features in the next one and (nearly) all the others! It's much better listening to Kathy than to me .. as you'll find out! 😂

Judy 5 months ago

I love that Drew shared this story personally with me while he was visiting Portland, Oregon USA. The vision that they had is what has contributed to the "community feel" that we all love!

Drew 5 months ago

Thanks Judy. I love the way it's become a community vision over time, and that we've all had a hand in developing it.

The start of an idea

Comments (32)

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