Hello, sitter here. This is just a quick post to say that since Covid went out the door, I have the impression that I see more HOs posting their mainland Europe sits within ~2 weeks before departure.
And there’s quite a few sits amongst those that I’d be interested in, the problem being as a sitter… it’s very difficult to get an affordable flight or train ticket at such short notice!
I sometimes wonder who are the sitters who can make it there without too high of a cost, but I assume those are people already in the region or who travel to sits by car. Anyway, just a little bit of ‘sitter frustration’ here - seen this quite a lot now in the past 1.5 year. I thought it’d go away as Covid waned, but it hasn’t.
Flights or train tickets booked for e.g. next week are often a fortune - it must be absolute low season, or a sit starting and ending in the middle of the week when not many others want to travel, or a destination with lots of competition in terms of travel options to be able to jump on such a sit. Sometimes it works - I’ve had it work for me 2 years ago in November. Often it doesn’t cause I’d be paying 600-1000 Euros just for travel. Hence a ‘shout-out’ to HOs: if no emergency, then keep in mind sitters need enough time as well to book affordable travel to your place!
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We think the same… but opposite, as we’re in the UK and get frustrated at HO’s that are overseas to us that don’t give much notice too 
.
Hi @HappyDeb - I’m right across the pond from the UK, so pretty similar. Nearly all my sits are beyond country borders ( = small country / not many sits) and usually I will have to train or fly to get there
It’s hit or miss from what I can see. I don’t look at sits less than a month very often and I’ve seen the ones I look for posted anywhere from 6 months to 2 weeks in advance. Only very new HO’s that I’ve seen have posted last minute. Not saying last minutes aren’t posted by experienced HO’s, but just not what I’ve seen.
I look for 1-2 week sits mostly. For long sits, it might be worth investing 600 Euro in a flight, for a 10 day sit I’m very unlikely to do that…
Good post @Bluehorse. I’m a part time digital nomad so will check out last minute sits especially in Europe (I’m based in the UK) but you’re right often last minute flights to Europe can be crazy expensive although I’ve just finished a sit in Porto that listed last minute (2 weeks prior to sit) and I managed to get return flights for £64. I did look at a sit over the summer to Mallorca where the cheapest last minute flights were £720 return. Not in my budget unfortunately.
I see new HO’s often leave posting a sit to last minute. Maybe THS should nudge new HO members that the earlier (in terms of a few months) they post for a sitter the more likely they’ll find a great fit?
When I see this, I have assumed that these are HOs that have just signed up to THS in order to find a last minute sitter and if they don’t they will use the money back guarantee.
I think sometimes people are just spontaneous and book a last minute holiday.
Yes, obviously true that some people will book a spontaneous holiday - I do that as well, although I don’t have pets to care for. I would find it a bit more tricky whether I’d be able to find a good sitter if leaving it very late.
Interesting view as well on new HOs maybe trying things out. I’ve seen the opposite as well: new HOs who post their 2 week sit in a popular place like 9 months in advance! That’s really not necessary either…