So I have been stalking a few cities I would like to go to for the holidays. i.e. Thanksgiving and Christmas. Basically places my kids live. They are not what I would consider ‘hot destinations’.
When do people usually start posting? (I am looking for west coast USA places.)
So I have been stalking a few cities I would like to go to for the holidays. i.e. Thanksgiving and Christmas. Basically places my kids live. They are not what I would consider ‘hot destinations’.
When do people usually start posting? (I am looking for west coast USA places.)
@Blondce I would say that many folks are already starting to post those dates but many feel they want to wait to see how the flight prices are changing, worry about COVID re-igniting in the Fall (lets all pray that doesn’t happen), etc., but my thoughts are these sits should get posted as soon as possible as travel gets more expensive the closer it gets to time…and sitters need to get those plans locked into place…sooner than later. I know we are looking at potential sits in the Jacksonville, FL/St. Augustine, FL area and have seen a few already but the dates are a little longer than we are able to apply for at this time.
Definitely post sooner than later, and, correspondingly, give those who responded a quick response back!
I’ve got Thanksgiving already booked… and something brewing for Christmas: they have received their five responses but they haven’t replied to us yet.
I take the approach of I will apply to any sit that I’m available for, and as soon as I know anyone will accept or reject me, I adjust for the other sits that I have applied for, and perhaps apply for more.
If I don’t hear back from the Xmas folks soon, I will apply somewhere else, (but I hesitate because do want to accept that particular sit!)
I’ve seen quite a few posted for Christmas and NYE already. I label my favorites by when we’ll be in a specific area, and right now most of mine are labeled Christmas 2022. Also, there appear to be more European sits posted for the holidays already than in the US and Canada.
We’ve been booked for Christmas for 7 months for a 7 week sit in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. I’m seeing heaps of Christmas/NY house sits on all 4 platforms to which I belong.
I’ve started seeing more holiday listings recently. Have you saved searches for those cities and dates? If so you will be notified when someone posts a sit and will be able to communicate with them straight away.
Good luck in your search!
@Blondce I’d say a HO that has plans in place to travel, will post a holiday sit sooner rather than later. They want to lock in their sitter as much as you want to confirm your plans. We confirmed our Dec/Jan sit back (to be near family) back in July. As already suggested, I’d continue your search by adding favorites and saving very specific searches for your dates/locations. Best of luck!
Just put up our 6-week Christmas & NYE sit today - honestly I felt like we waited too long to post it, but had only just finalized our flights. That got me thinking about posting “draft” dates in advance and refining them with the selected sitter later. For instance we knew we’d be gone from around 1 Dec - 10 Jan. If I posted that earlier and only locked in our flights later and it was 4 Dec -12 Jan, is that okay in order for sitters to start applying. I thought that would not be desirable for a sitter - like a bait and switch. I want to balance the need to be clear with the need to post a long sit as early as possible. Thoughts?
@KLHoeflich I think it’s OK to post a listing with estimated dates, as long as you make it really clear that the dates are not yet fixed. Mention it in the title or the first lines of the listing so that sitters know.
I really like to plan in advance, so even if a sit has just date estimates, that makes me happy. We can always get an airbnb if the dates don’t quite align and we have too many days in a location scheduled. But then, we’re also that couple that shows up to the airport 4h in advance of a flight… I’m sure you’ll find someone that would love to spend the holidays with your pets and just happened to have that timeframe open up. Hang in there!
So is there a way to go to your profile and see the sit?
Hello @Blondce and @KLHoeflich - the only way to see a profile here in the forum is if a member links to it in their profile - the instructions for that are here. If you need any help with this just let us know 
People have already been posting for the holidays! I’ve had sits lined up for a couple of months now…I think you’ll start to see a lot showing up in October.
What part of the West Coast are you looking for?
Yes, lots of people have already started posting for holiday sits, but there will no doubt be many, many more holiday posts to come. Identify the places you might want to go to, create saved searches using the app, and watch the notifications that a listing has been added in one of those areas. And, in the meanwhile, dream of great holidays with your family in a location you love with pets to cuddle and play with . 
There are very few for half term in the UK. TheChristmas and New Year ones are beginning to appear. I think it may be the uncertainty of rising costs and the much talked about recession that is holding people back from going on holiday.
May I ask a question about this. When a sit is advertised to start or finish on Christmas Day, does that mean the6 are actually travelling on that day? Seems strange to me.
Yes, it can be quite strange traveling on Christmas day. We’ve done it (because the flights were REALLY cheap 
), and the airports were calm and quiet. I’ve never seen a listing that started or finished on Christmas, however, so I can’t say what the homeowners have in mind.
I just recently saw one that ends on NYE. While the rest sounded lovely, I don’t think I’d want to travel to the airport on that day. Or even book a hotel room in town, for that matter.
My thoughts exactly. I don’t want to arrive somewhere o; Christmas Day either.
Hi @ElsieDownie I agree with @Karen_E in that flights on December 25 can be at a much lower cost and not crowded. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, or many other holidays or religious observances. The TrustedHousesitters community includes people worldwide from all cultural backgrounds.
However, public holidays can create problems for land transfers (before or after the flight), as there may be reduced service, no service, or surcharges.
As for bargain flights, the same can be said for flights on Friday the 13th, so if you’re not superstitious, keep that in mind. 
Elsie, I couldn’t resist a test run of the December 25 date. I did a search from December 25 and chose an end date of January 3. I came up with 19 sits starting on December 25. Of course, some may want sitters to arrive earlier, but I went purely by the shown start date. If I had broadened the dates - made the end date later - if anything the count would have increased. 