Nomador don’t have the third party rule so it’s fair game I think. #benicetothelaptop 
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I didn’t think they did either, but actually the do - if you look at the Nomador contract, there’s a no third party rule. You have to go digging a bit, but it’s there. (We were asked to sign the contract one time by a HO). But Nomador and these other sites are very loose / blazé about it all.
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Depends on what it is: the pool, tennis court, laundry room etc, or the kitchen?
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It wasn’t very clear - just said “communal spaces” (also translated from French). A lot of those profiles are very vague 
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Would be a chance to practice one’s French with the retirees 
On Nomador, there are also often very few photos (if any!).
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Always, and sometimes not even of the pets, just 1 lousy image of a back garden, or lounge room, with no description of what breed the dog even is 
Have you ever tried HousesittersUK? Those listings are insane. They literally write 1 sentence, like “care for my dog.” Full stop. End of profile. with no photos… so dodgy I don’t understand how people think they’re actually going to achieve anything with that.
I need a crying emoji @Nagy26 but it’s not an option!! 
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Other sites may work a bit differently. I learned from you about the Dutch site huisdierenoppas. I registered, and found it hard to use. It seems it was designed mostly for walking or lodging, with sits as an afterthought. My applications were often not even acknowledged.
But now I got an invitation. Only photos of the dog in the profile. But the invitation had a phone number, so I called them. That was a nice conversation. I will visit them next week for a walk in the woods and for dinner, and I was invited to stay the night. For a sit in October, in a nice area of the country.
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Oh wow, that’s cool, congrats! Yeah, that site is mainly for like dog walking & paid local gigs, but I just thought I’d give it a go anyway because you never know. Funnily enough after one of my first applications, a HO got back to us straight away and it was a really perfect fit! We are booked to sit for them for 5 months next year and are really excited, especially as I have Dutch heritage and haven’t visited Holland before, so it will be a special trip for us… I will go and see the houses where my parents were born, which is pretty cool!
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I still find lots of good and tempting sits. But I have been house and pet sitting almost continuously for 2 years (with breaks at home, from a few days to a couple of weeks), and honestly need a little break and slow down. But it’s an addiction, I might need help!
@pietkuip What does “oppa” mean?
In German, Opa means grandfather
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Ah, in “huisdierenoppas”. So the word is “oppas”.
It means “sitter”, kinderoppas means baby sitter.
The verb is oppassen: to watch out, to take care of.
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Oh lovely. I love these connections between languages. A grandfather often takes care too.
Opa is also Opa (grandpa) in Dutch, as well as Oma for grandma 
Dutch and German are very similar and have many of the same or similar words. My parents are known as Oma & Opa to my nieces & nephews, and my mum is very proud of this, with kitchen mugs and magnets saying ‘world’s best Oma’ etc 
Oh, and when my Oma was still alive, she was known as ‘Old Oma’ to my nieces & nephews because they didn’t know how else to distinguish her
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@Nagy26
Oooh that’s lovely, thanks for telling me. I have always loved the words Oma and Opa. 
I have very recently done a sit in the Netherlands. My first visit there. I expected to understand more Dutch, but I actually understood way less than I had hoped.
Apart from that, I had a wonderful time!
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I gave these to my grandparents. To my grandfather first, and then my grandma got jealous and wanted one too, so I got her one as well 
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in German you say Uroma…
Like “ancient grandmother”
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Haha, oer-oma in Dutch… we don’t use that though! That’s like saying ‘prehistoric grandma’
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Yes, it’s a bit like that…
“Urmensch” is the word for the first human beings, “Mensch” meaning human being
Hello 
This is such a joyous and interesting discussion but is off topic from ‘What’s going on with the lack of applicants’. Would anyone like to start a new topic?