House Sitting: Free Holidays To Look After A Pet

Having wonderful holidays is the dream of many, not to mention everyone. However, the high costs of hotels and flights make us wake up from this dream. Today we are talking about an exceptional initiative: free holidays in exchange for taking care of pets. It’s called house sitting.

The destinations to choose from are many. From the villages of the French countryside to a house in Tuscany, from central London to the emblematic Venice. House sitting is available wherever there is someone willing to do it. Would you like to know more?

Taking care of the animals, a requirement of House Sitting

Our pets can’t always come with us wherever we go.  Among other things, depending on where we go, sometimes we don’t even want to take them with us. Finding a place to take care of them in our absence is not that complicated. However, it can be expensive and we also have another concern: leaving the house completely empty.

To kill two birds with one stone, as they say, House Sitting was born. It is a new alternative to find someone to take care of our animals for free and at our house, only in exchange for accommodation; or vice versa, through which we can stay for free anywhere in the world taking care of an animal and a house. If you like the idea, house sitting is for you.

Marley, for example, is a Canadian who has tried the house sitting experience and says:

“Having found someone to take care of our home and our pet, I was able to give my wife the long-desired vacation in Europe for a whole month.”

Obviously, you would not give or give you the keys to a house without knowing anything about each other. House sitting, in fact, implies an agreement signed by both parties. It lists both the rights and obligations of the landlord and tenant.

This agreement could include the tenant’s carrying out small household chores. For example, tidying up the garden, taking care of the pet’s hygiene or giving him the walks he needs and taking him to the vet if necessary.

There are those who decide to include somewhat more complicated tasks. You may need to fix a roof or harvest garden produce, but this would include a negotiation by both sides which would result in a financial gain for the tenant.

How do the House Sitting pages work?

Whether you want to sell your home or, vice versa, enjoy free holidays, to access house sitting, you will need to register on one of the pages specialized in providing these services. As on most web pages, they will ask you for personal data and a contact address, as well as a small description of the user.

You will also have the option to say if you prefer to look after a dog or a cat and what you are willing to sign in the contract. When you find an offer that you think suits your needs, the page will allow you to contact the landlord directly via email.

To get to know each other a little better, after the first contact via email, it is advisable to make some video calls on Skype, for example. It is useful for seeing each other and getting a better idea of ​​the other person.

Home-Sitters is one of the best known pages of House Sitting, if not the best known. For example, in 2012, through this page, it was possible for hundreds of Europeans to find someone to look after their home while they watched the Olympics taking place in London.

Likewise, many people who preferred to “escape” from London in those days offered their homes to available House-Sitters. Finding accommodation in London was virtually impossible at the time, but thanks to house sitting, many have had the opportunity to enjoy a unique era.

What do you think of House Sitting? Do you want to try it?