Since I am going nomadic, but have a certain route in mind, I have saved searches. I am looking Jan and Feb 2025. There have been a few posts, but a handful in that time frame for the southern US, from TX to FL. I am hoping for New Orleans and not one post has shown up. I am looking a few times a day. My question: What do you think the average time is for people to post a sit?
You’re pretty early for post Christmas for most people @Huronbase unless they’re doing a big international trip. Maybe November is more likely but IST a bit of a guess. Have you saved individual listings as well as the locations as that seems to up the numbers/frequency for us?! #giveitawhirl
We sit full time. Looking a few times a day is a really good idea. Don’t rely on the app to send up updates, they’ll be gone before you get to know about it. It depends what you mean by average time.
I think you are asking how long a sit sticks around for? In remote areas it takes longer to fill those ones, so you have a little more time, but if it’s in a highly desirable tourist place, then it could hit the 5 maximum applicant limit within minutes, so if it’s those areas you are after then have a rough message written beforehand that you can put with your application, so that you can quickly personalise it to suit their profile and hit send straight away, or apply and pop them a message to say you will write a personalised message to them in the next 30 minutes, in a lovely way, to buy you a little time.
But if you are talking about ‘average time’ for the duration of a sit, the majority are one or two weeks, but there are plenty longer (and shorter) ones too, and yes there are less if you are limiting yourself to a specific areas.
And if you mean how long ahead of time do they post by ‘average time’, then I don’t think there is an average. We have one sit booked for 2026 (over 1.5 years away), and we are pretty full for 2025 already, but there are loads of last minute ones too. It depends on how organised the home owner is, the people we sit for have a tendency to be planners, so they usually sort their vacations ahead of time. But I think it is also weather related, in colder countries (like the UK), people plan ahead for the sunshine, whereas in hotter countries people don’t, the weather isn’t a factor for them.
I know the desirable sits go fast. I have 2 weeks in southern FL booked in Feb. All the FL winter sits go within 24 hours, so I have been on top of it. But I have not seen one for New Orleans. I will be in Austin until late Jan and hoping for New Orleans between that and FL. And checking and checking and not one for late Jan into Feb. I am getting very specific here but since I am booked otherwise, I am hoping to get the location I want for those 2 weeks I have open.
I was asking when a sit is posted ahead of date of sit. I notice LA sits are generally posted late. But I haven’t looked ahead before in other areas. I am now booked through mid Jan. And those were months ahead of sit. Then FL winter sits have been coming out in dribs and drabs. I need March sits in Toronto, Canada and Michigan for dental work and Toronto sits are coming out but nothing in MI. I find it interesting.
I booked my November sits in July. I needed specific locations along my route from Philly thanksgiving to LA. I booked both in July. Luckily they lined up so I can drive 2 days between sits and get from one to the other.
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We’re booked ahead of time, but what I would do if I were you, in a nicely-sneaky way, is look for future dates (ie where you have a free calendar) for the places you want-want, and apply for those but say straight away that you hope they don’t mind you reaching out, as you aren’t free for their dates, but you are coming to their area in Jan/Feb and wondered if they had a plans to go away then? Bla bla bla. We have been given quite a few sits in the past that way, and we still have those same people ask us nowadays to see if our dates match up with their plans before they advertise. But you can only do that for dates when your calendar is free.
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I think this is a great idea for communicating with homeowners in places we want to visit! My question is, have none of them gotten angry with you for taking up one of their five allowed application slots? I always wondered if this would work but feared starting the relationship off on the wrong foot, so haven’t tried it.
I’ve done that, but only with low applications listings. I wouldn’t try it with popular locations, because I’d figure that those hosts don’t need random enquiries into future possible sits — it would be annoying.
That is what I was thinking. If I had a great sit in a popular location, I would want to screen sitters through application.
I’ve noticed some HO write on their listing specifically not to message them if they aren’t applying for the listed dates alright 
There doesn’t seem to be a typical timeframe . In the same week we applied for and subsequently confirmed sits for 1 month ahead and 11 months ahead .
NEVER EVER has anyone been angry at us, in fact the total opposite. But I think that depends on the strength of your profile, and the reason you want to visit their area.
For us, we only started early in 2023 and went full time straight away, because we loved it, but we also have a property background/skills.
So that it kicks it off in the right way, we always say right from the start that we are already booked during their dates, whereas I think if that gets left until lower down in our message, then owners will think you have wasted their time.
We have always had a great response, but it depends on the strength of your profile, if you have good reason to think you would be the perfect sitter for them over everyone else that will apply, then go for it. For example, we’re happy to return to a lot of the areas for repeat sits, which is a huge selling point over someone travelling for tourism purposes.
Yeh, we don’t reach out to those ones. Plus, we are unlikely to gel with them anyway.
Yup, I have little interest in repeats and tend to land sits without too much effort, because I figured out my profile early on.
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Exactly, you know when you have a good profile. HO’s say yes quickly.
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