My husband and I plan to travel back to Costa Rica next February. We visited last December and loved it. So, I’m planning a trip and would love to extend it with a house sit. Is the best/only way to do that is by saving a search with the desired dates? Is there any other way to go about it?
Yes it is.
There aren’t many sits in South America, though.
When I search now there are only three on the whole continent. Two in Argentina and one in Ecuador (two of them just a few days and all shortish notice).
What you can do is change the location of your profile when you go there to Costa Rica, then you might be picked up by some host. And ofc favorite listings in Costa Rica that you are interested in, so the hosts are made aware of your interest.
Okay, thanks! There are a lot of listings in Costa Rica, but not dates I need at this time. It’s a long way off for sure!
If you can be flexible when you visit – that is, first find the sit, then plan the trip – you probably will have more luck than if you try to find a sit that perfectly meshes with when you want to visit. In some areas people leave when it’s offseason – for CR that’s probably early fall – and there will be both more homeowners traveling and less demand from sitters.
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Honestly? Find another platform. I just want Europe (not the UK) with fairly flexible dates and I can’t find anything. THS needs to rebrand. Maybe “THS for English Speaking Countries”? Play to your stengths and stop promising what you don’t deliver, THS.
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Is there another platform @Shella_in_the_Forum ?
For continents like Asia and South-America a site like this is primarily used by ex-pats - not actual locals it seems to me. So the number of possible members is ofc lower. In some of these countries it is also much more customary to have live-in staff or multigeneration households, so why would one need a site like this?
Can’r really understand why «Europe» as a destination is difficult. I get loads of new sit notifications daily for my searches (none is UK).
Val has a good point. Hosts in some countries - specially the snowbirds in warm/ exotic places like Costa Rica - will often travel in off-seasons. That could read as «really hot», «hurricane season» etc. , ex-pats in Asia will often go «home» in the school holiday of international schools etc. As this is all about «a good match» it is an advantage to «understand the market». 
If you see the listings you are interested in (school-children? Retired?) it can be something to consider.
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Makes sense. Though as a birder, I want to go in the winter dry season. I’m willing to be flexible though. 
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