Would just like to introduce ourselves from Ireland.
Looking forward to looking after some beautiful dogs and cats as if they were our own.
Myself and my husband have just joined as Pet sitters and are looking forward to some sits in the near future.
We are early retirees and would initially like to sit in Spain\Portugal but looking at the locations, this could change. We are looking for advice on whether it would be better to start with shorter stays at the beginning although we can be available for upto 6 months stays.
All advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Welcome to the wonderful world of Trusted house sitters.
As new sitters, your most important task is to get yourself a handful of good reviews. To do this you initially may need to do some sits that are not high on your most desirable list.
The quickest way to get your initial reviews is to apply for a few short, local (ish) , listings. Look for the ālow applicationā tag , as these will usually have less competition.
Once you have a few five star reviews on your profile, then your chance of getting accepted for the sits that you really want to do will be greatly increased.
That you are available to do a sit that is longer than 3 months and that you have EU passports puts you in a good situation. As non EU passport holders ( like UK and USA) can only stay up to 90 days . So that is in your favour for being accepted for long sits in Schengen countries .
Spain and Portugal are popular destinations for sitters so having some reviews under your belt will give you a good chance when you are ācompeting ā ( in the nicest possible way ) with experience sitters ( who may have dozens of reviews already ) .
Itās often been recommended to start with some sits close to home to get some reviews .
Have fun and enjoy your house sitting travels and adventures.
Thank you for your reply, very much appreciated.
Would you suggest adding that information in our profile, that we are available for upto 6 months sits?
You can do that - and include that you are EU passport holders so you donāt need a visa for tourist stays over 90 days - most importantly to put this information in your applications for long sits .
Generally-you will be applying for a sit you see listed rather than someone find you by your profile .
Set up saved searches for Spain and Portugal so that you get notified of new sites listed .
Welcome! I live in Ireland too (not born here, but itās my home now!).
My advice is to start with shorter and closer sits, and get familiar with the dynamics of this exchange. I jumped in too enthusiastically in the beginning and had some bad experiences when I was far away from home and alone. Now I am better (I hope) at choosing the right places and owners and my last 20 or so sits have all been positive or even amazing.
Why not just apply for the sits you are interested in and see what happens ? You never know you might be lucky and thereās nothing lost if you donāt get it. Good Luck.
Welcome. Iām from Ireland also - Dundalk - and live in the US now. I an sure that you will find some local sits in ireland to get started.
When you see a sit that really interests you in Spain or Portugal, click the heart icon to āfavoriteā it even if the dates donāt suit. That way you will get notified when the homeowners post another sit later.
Welcome @CatrionaS
Youāve had some great advice in that Spain and Portugal sits are incredibly popular on THS and listings for sits in these countries can reach the 5 sitter applicants in 20 minutes. But to stand a chance of being selected even if one of the first 5 you need a handful of great 5 star reviews to your name. So look at local and last minute sits first to build up your feedback to then stand a chance when applying for popular sits.
