Hello! We are in Galena, IL and are new to Housesitters. We posted our first sit and had a great applicant in 2 days. I am a little nervous about it, but met them on video chat and they come with excellent reviews. My question is has anyone asked for a sitter for just one night? There may be times we need this. I would look for sitters nearby ofcourse. Mary Y.
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Hello @Charlize1 and welcome to the community forum and to TrustedHousesitters. I don’t remember your question having been asked on the forum before, so I’ll be interested to see any responses from our members.
As a sitter for many years with THS, I’ve never done a one-night sit. However, provided it’s structured so as to make sure it’s worthwhile for the sitter, the pet(s), and you, it can work. The reasons sitters choose sits are so varied that it’s difficult to say who you are likely to attract. Certainly someone local looking to get their first review might be interested. Also someone needing a short visit to your area for some reason perhaps.
The important part is to focus on creating a quality listing. You may want to embed your listing in your forum username/profile so that forum members can view it.
Francine
Volunteer Moderator 
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Matt and I would appreciate a 1-2 day sit when driving between cities/states. It can offer a break in an otherwise long drive. Having animals to love is bonus.
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I have done a one night sit, but honesty, it was when I was new and was going for those five star reviews. So I probably wouldn’t do it often now, but there are always other newbies out there.
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We occasionally have odd nights in between sits and would be more than happy to do one nighters in this case
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I see lots of 1-2 night sits on THS. Generally we look for sits at least 1 week long, as it is a bit of work just moving into a house with our personal items and food, and cleaning on the way out. For a one night sit, I would hope that the Owner does not expect the Sitter to do any cleaning other than washing any dishes that were created in the kitchen and wiping down the kitchen counters if needed. I don’t think the Sitter should have to wash towels and sheets either. Just my opinion. The focus should be on making sure the animals are happy!
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We have never done such short sits and honestly we would just book an AirBnb for one night. The shortest sits we did have been 3-4 nights (usually as a bridge between two longer sits). But if you have a backup plan or don’t really need to travel you can always give it a try and see if anyone is interested. We would only have applied in the very beginning with no reviews and done the sit for a great review. The advice by PVGemini is also great, you could put that info in the listing. It might also help if you are willing to host the sitter for an additional day or two. PS: On Nomador there is the option to stay for one night at a HO’s home but with the owner present and no pet care involved. Not a bad idea actually and a lot of HOs seem to be willing to host (and perhaps the guest will return as a sitter one day, who knows).
Thank you! A lot of great ideas there about a one night sit. I wouldn’t expect any cleaning to be done. We also live in a resort community where nearby sitters may want to take advantage of the amenities for the weekend.
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Hi I have 3 cats who are my world and who I love to bits, and my home is very very important to me. Friends have always sat for me but can’t going forward so I have joined and done my profile. I am so anxious about having strangers in my home and looking after my babies. I don’t know whether to invite someone more local or further away, there are so many sitters to choose from I just don’t know where to start other than sitters with several 5* reviews and cat experience. Can anyone give me any guidance / advice please? I want to find one sitter who can do all my holidays as 2 of my cats are very frightened and nervous and will need to build a relationship.
@vivbelcher Welcome. You’re not alone being nervous. I think whether a home owner or sitter the first sit is a bit worrying. But please don’t worry there’s some amazing sitters on this site that will love to spend time with your fur babies and will appreciate they may be a little nervous. Speaking personally I fall in love with any fur babies I’m lucky enough to look after.
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It’s normal to be concerned and I think there’s at least one similar post here every day. It might help to choose someone you can meet in person and ask them to update you twice a day while you are away. The only thing I’m not sure about is whether it’s realistic that you’ll be able to find “one sitter who can do all my holidays”. Even paid sitters might not be able to come every time you need them. We have returned to some “free” sits up to 3 times, when we really loved everything about it or because of my work.
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Hi @vivbelcher welcome to our community forum and to TrustedHousesitters you have already received some reassuring advice and feedback there are also very helpful and informative article on the website blog, like this one
Being a nervous is perfectly normal, we are with most new ventures, it’s the unknown fortunately you are not alone as our community are experienced, helpful and supportive.
If you have any questions please ask and enjoy connecting with members from around the world.
Angela and the Team
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Thanks thats really helpful 
I will be spending most of the winter in mainland Europe and have long term airbnb apartments booked in Spain, Portugal, and Albania. In these circumstances I will be actively looking for very short sits and I would consider a one night sit because it gives me an opportunity to see somewhere different and break up my time. I am sure there will be other people who, for a variety of reasons, will be on the look out for very short sits.
We did our first 1 night sit last week and it was our 50th Sit! It just happened to be a perfect fit between two other sits!
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