The attraction of renting is usually one of cost and choice, and works best in your own country. It's risky, sometimes, to book direct with foreign owners. Large agencies vet both the properties and the owners and, although perhaps more costly, give better piece of mind. An obvious attraction with home exchange is that no rental monies change hands and this gets better the longer the period. The number of choices are less than with rental, so to succeed you need to be open-minded rather than have fixed dates, locations and types of properties in mind.
Most experienced exchangers seek good clean accommodation in the area they wish to visit.
A home trade often comes with an automobile thrown in. This is a big plus if you can arrange pick up at the airport, and makes a big difference in local travel during your stay. One of the best ways of finding out about the details of home exchange is a tutorial on the subject. In summary, renting is easy choose your property, book, pay and go - there is a big choice. Home exchange is a way of life, you get more involved and the money saving is not in practice the reason for most people trading homes.