Thanks to almost three weeks of home exchanges and our first week in Cuenca at a really cheap AirBnB, our total cost of lodging was surprisingly low:
Otavalo : -$58
Quito: -$73
Baños: free via future HomeExchange
Cuenca #1: -$109
Chiquintad: -$174
Cuenca #2: -$557
Cuenca #3: free via HomeExchange Balloon
Ayampe: -$162
Salinas: -$371
Total cost of rentals: -$1504
HomeExchange membership: -$150
Profit from renting our home via AirBnB: +$1964
Cleaning fees paid to my niece: -$200
GRAND TOTAL: +$130
Yep, we made more money from renting our home out three times (total of 14 days) than we paid for almost seven weeks of lodging in Ecuador. Crazy.
A note for fellow tax nerds out there: we actually had a fourth booking request that would have given us another $800. However, if you go over the 14 day threshold, the IRS requires you to report the income and pay taxes. So we decided to block off the availability calendar and quit while we were ahead.