Marci and Derek Morris joined ThirdHome in December 2024, and in less than two years they’ve taken an impressive 35 trips. It’s no surprise Marci has appointed herself the club’s “unofficial Ambassador,” a role she takes seriously. When she tells friends about the club, her pitch has little to do with square footage or destinations.
“ThirdHome is more than a business transaction,” Marci says. “It is a culture, and at the risk of sounding hokey, it is a family.”
Last holiday season, she and Derek saw that play out firsthand.
A guest from just down the street, 10,000 miles away
Marci and Derek had a booking at their Snowmass condo from the Heywood-Smith family. In their first messages back and forth, they learned the family lived in Adelaide, Australia. That got Marci’s attention right away. Right after law school, she had spent a year working in Adelaide, and she had lived about half a mile from the Heywood-Smiths’ house.
The connection was immediate. It turned out they had more in common, too. The Heywood-Smiths were taking their family on a month-long trip through several ThirdHome properties, a “ThirdHome-a-thon,” as Marci put it. “People after our own heart,” she said.
Dinner in Cabo
Then came one more coincidence: both families would be in Cabo at the same time.
Marci and Derek invited the Heywood-Smiths to dinner. Derek and his sons had been out on the water and came back with fresh fish, which became a feast of several courses: sashimi, ceviche, and grilled tuna and marlin. Two families who had started out as host and guest spent the evening around one table, half a world from Adelaide and a long way from Snowmass.
“We had the most delightful evening,” Marci said.
What ThirdHome is really about
For the Morrises, the night summed up why they love being members. “If this isn’t the best endorsement for ThirdHome!” Marci said. “And so fitting as we enter the holiday season, making new friends and relationships that will last a lifetime.”ThirdHome members since December 2024 · 35 trips and counting
The story
Somewhere in Punta Cana, there may still be a tiny banana tucked behind a planter…
During a family week at Tortuga Bay Private Villa, Shannon Doell hid miniature bananas all around the villa and the resort for her family to find. Each color was worth a different number of points and some of its challenges brought in the resort staff.
The kids got hooked right away and the adults weren’t far behind. The week ended with an awards ceremony and medals. Team Shark won the scavenger hunt, and Hudson took home the coveted title of “Top Banana.”
“I think those tiny bananas will be a family joke for years to come!”
A hospitality pro’s first impression
Shannon knows hospitality from the inside. She owns Paradise Breeze Vacation Rentals & Realty in Southwest Florida, where guest experience is “something I think about every day.”
She joined ThirdHome in August of 2024. “I’ve always appreciated beautiful properties and exceptional hospitality,” she says. “ThirdHome offered an exciting opportunity to experience extraordinary homes and destinations in a completely different way.”
Like most new members, she had questions. Would the homes live up to expectations? How would the exchange work?
Her first stay answered both. In January 2025, she booked a home in Aventura, Florida, while attending a business conference in Miami. “Everything went so smoothly that I immediately felt confident exploring more destinations,” she says. “Any hesitation quickly turned into excitement about what was possible.”
A week that brought everyone together
Since joining ThirdHome, the stay that meant the most was Punta Cana.
Shannon gathered her partner, Mike, her brothers Jeremy and Jeff, along with their extended family for days filled up with bike rides, swimming, exploring, and long meals together. Beny, Katia, and the resort team looked after them well throughout.
One small routine stands out. “One of my favorite memories was biking with my brother Jeff in the mornings before heading to the gym.”
“Even now, thinking about that week makes me emotional,” she says. “With everyone’s busy lives, uninterrupted family time is incredibly precious, and this trip gave us exactly that.”
Nobody tried to make every moment elaborate. “We simply enjoyed each other’s company, and those ordinary moments became some of my favorite memories.”
Welcomed into someone’s home
Her hosts are part of the story too: Teresa in Turks and Caicos, Jeff in Marathon, David in Punta Cana, and a homeowner in Grand Cayman.
“There’s something special about being welcomed into someone’s beautiful home,” she says. “I never take that trust for granted.”
As a host herself, she notices the details: presentation, cleanliness, thoughtful amenities, and good communication. She often comes home with new ideas for her own rental business.
She also credits the ThirdHome team, naming Ciara, Breanna, Janine, and Bailee. “It’s wonderful knowing there are people behind the scenes who truly want members to have exceptional experiences.”
Seven stays and counting
In just over two years, Shannon has completed seven ThirdHome stays. Two more are booked for 2027.
Her advice for new members is simple: “Just give it a try!” Start somewhere that feels comfortable, talk with the homeowner, and enjoy it.
“And don’t just think about the beautiful homes,” she adds. “Think about the memories you can make and who you’d love to share them with.”
“When I think about Punta Cana, I don’t just remember the gorgeous villa,” she says. “I remember biking with my brother, hearing the kids laughing, watching everyone compete over tiny bananas, and sharing those special moments as a family.”
We came to Seven Hills as twelve,
with different roads behind us,
different stories in our hearts,
and names most of us had never heard before.
A mother came carrying both love and loss,
missing the husband who should have been beside her,
and with her came their two daughters and a son—
three children missing their father,
four hearts carrying the same beloved man
in their own tender ways.
They reminded us, without needing to say it,
that love does not end with goodbye,
and that those we have loved deeply
still travel with us.
Another couple came looking toward April—
toward vows still waiting to be spoken,
a marriage soon to begin.
And traveling beside them,
Dad and an “almost Mom,”
already discovering that sometimes
family begins before the wedding does.
Two couples arrived as the best of friends,
comfortable in years of shared memories,
yet strangers to eight others
whose stories they had never heard.
And so we gathered.
Twelve people.
Some family.
Some friends.
Most strangers.
But then came the table.
The meals that lasted longer than expected.
The laughter that grew easier each day.
The stories that began with,
“Have I ever told you…?”
and somehow opened a door
into another person’s life.
We spoke of the people we love,
the places we have been,
the joys that shaped us,
and the losses that changed us.
We laughed.
We listened.
We remembered.
And yes, perhaps we shed a tear or two.
Somewhere between morning coffee
and evening conversations,
between adventures and quiet moments,
something beautiful happened:
we stopped being strangers.
And at the heart of Seven Hills was Paola.
She welcomed us not simply into a villa,
but into a place that felt like home.
Through her kindness, generosity, and care,
she became a blessing to each of us—
in ways she may never completely know,
and in ways we will remember long after we leave.
Paola gave us more than a beautiful place to stay.
She gave twelve people
a place to find one another.
And Seven Hills became more than a villa.
For one unforgettable week,
it became our home.
Soon we will pack our bags
and travel again in different directions.
April will bring a wedding.
Life will bring new joys,
new sorrows,
new chapters,
and stories we have not yet lived.
But we will carry something from this place
that cannot be packed in a suitcase.
We will carry one another.
Because twelve people came to Seven Hills
not knowing quite who they would meet.
And we leave knowing something
none of us could have planned:
Sometimes family is given to us by birth.
Sometimes by marriage.
Sometimes through years of friendship.
And every once in a while,
God brings twelve people beneath one roof,
gives them seven days,
a table filled with stories,
laughter enough to fill the rooms,
a few tears shared without embarrassment,
and a gracious woman named Paola
who opens not only her home,
but her heart.
And somehow,
almost without noticing when it happened,
twelve strangers became twelve friends.
And twelve friends
became something that felt very much
like family.
We came to Seven Hills as guests.
We leave as family.
And wherever the road takes us from here,
a little piece of each of us
will always remain together—
here at Seven Hills.
We love you all, including Liz who curated this amazing culinary & wine Adventure for all of us to forge new lifetime friendships with!
When did you join ThirdHome, and what made you decide to give home exchange a try?
We joined in March, 2024. I was fascinated by the idea of an organization that was tapping into what would otherwise be unused space – people’s second homes because they can’t be in both places at the same time. What a brilliant idea!
Where did you go on your first ThirdHome trip? Did it feel different from a typical vacation rental or hotel stay?
We went to Cape Cod for Christmas of 2024. It felt different from a typical vacation rental or hotel stay. It felt more like our place for the week, including our two sons and their families – 10 of us altogether.
Did you have any hesitations before your first exchange? If so, what changed your mind?
No hesitation, just a bit of anxiety that immediately went away once I heard from our host – the owner of the waterfront home on Cape Cod – who was warm and personable when he welcomed us to his home within minutes of making the booking.
How has the way you travel changed since joining ThirdHome?
We love to travel and ThirdHome has enhanced our travel experiences. Before joining ThirdHome, my wife and I had visited nearly 40 foreign countries and all 50 US states. Traveling with ThirdHome is fun and relaxing. Some of the homes in the program are spectacular and all of the hosts are so nice!
Your French Alps trip sounds incredible. What made that trip so memorable for you and your family?
The property itself was incredible! A French chateau that will be 1,000 years old in 6 years. The property manager, Remi, and his girlfriend Roxi prepared “salty crepes” for us in the wine cellar one night. They joined us for dinner as we enjoyed their crepes with delicious wine my wife and I picked up in Meursault in the Burgundy wine region before our stay at the chateau. And my 9 year old granddaughter Allie singing “Count On Me” in a cave off the wine cellar was the best birthday gift I’ve ever received. This ThirdHome experience, with our family of 11 was like a dream come true!
Any funny, unexpected, or “only on ThirdHome” moments you can share?
Where else can you be swimming with your grandkids in a pool with a 1,000 year old chateau on one side and the French Alps on the other?
Have there been any other ThirdHome trips or moments that have been especially meaningful to you?
During our first ThirdHome stay in Cape Cod, I dressed up like Santa and snuck into the rooms of our four grandkids, who were ages 5-8 at the time. Two were so sound asleep Santa could not wake them, but the two who saw Santa were true believers at that moment.
You mentioned how nice the owners are — have you built any friendships with other members through your travels?
Yes – momentary friendships with guests as well as hosts. We had guests from Germany who I took for a ride in one of my vintage Porsches to a nearby plantation in Charleston. This was special to them because it is a significant automotive brand from their home country.
What advice would you give to someone who is nervous about taking their first ThirdHome exchange?
Don’t be nervous. Travel to places you’ve always dreamed of. Rest assured that the professionals at ThirdHome have properly vetted your hosts. And remember, hosts are potential guests and everyone will treat your property with the respect it deserves.
You’re building a place on Edisto Island specifically to add to ThirdHome. What made you want to create a home with ThirdHome in mind?
We like the program that much. We are building a “Barndominium” with living space above on a 27 acre marshfront property on Edisto Island in the South Carolina ACE Basin, minutes from the Beach and we look forward to welcoming ThirdHome guests to our property on Edisto Island.
Looking back on your ThirdHome experience, what does reaching 100,000 bookings mean to you?
It means the business model is sound and should be around for a long time, creating memorable trips for people from around the world.