Hi! My husband and I are American and are heading to England in June and plan to travel around Europe through October. I’ve nearly booked all of June and July in England, but there are surprisingly few sits for Aug-Oct in the rest of Europe. Am I being impatient?
@jerilynkass There are indeed very few sits in mainland Europe right now. More sits will pop up as summer approaches but there are only ever a tiny fraction of what you will find in the UK!
Thank you, Lokstar. People are always talking about all the sits they do all over the world. It makes you think there are so many possibilities. I wonder if they’re using other platforms.
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As Lokstar said, there are not that many sits in Europe, compared to the UK or the USA. Sits in popular destinations go super quickly, so make sure you set up a ‘saved search’.
The most popular destinations in continental Europe are France and Spain. This said we had some lovely sits in Portugal and Italy over the past few years via Trusted Housesitters.
The platform Nomador has a lot more sits in Europe and is heavily focused on France.
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I do have saved searches, but so far, they haven’t yielded much. I’ll be patient. I’ve checked out Nomador but found the site to be less friendly than THS. Many of the listings do not have adequate pictures of the house. Have you found this to be true?
I also find many European pet owners don’t post so long in advance. But yes, there are generally much fewer sits than the UK, and they go very quickly.
It seems to me that many hosts plan only one holiday at a time in Europe. At present there are many sits for Easter. I would assume that after Easter more people will start planning their summer vacation. I know many these days fill in forms on dates/ their wishes for summer to employers and aren’t yet notified on when they will get their vacation this summer.
The competition for sits in summer is ofc higher because more people would like to go on holiday - also among sitters, and many would like sits in Europe.
For August that is summer vacation in schools in many countries, while in Sept. / Oct. it will probably be more senior hosts that don’t need to rely on school holidays.
@jerilynkass We too have done sits all over the world- Australia, Bali, Malaysia, Singapore, several European countries and a great number in the UK (Sitters paradise!) We spent the last 2 spring/summer seasons sitting around France and Spain. Some of the French & Spanish sits we got in advance & others we picked up when in the country. There are generally few sits over there & the good ones go fast! You have to be very much on the ball! The more experience and reviews you have the better and being already in-country is also an advantage. Saved searches are good but there is a time delay on receiving them. It is better to actively search for sits.
We recently landed a 6 week sit in southern Malaysia when we were already in KL, having finished a Christmas sit there. The second sit popped up as I was searching and I applied immediately. The host replied 5 minutes later. One hour later we had a video call and confirmed the sit- starting 10 days later!! Sometimes it all goes very fast!
I think you will find as your UK trip draws nearer a few more European summer sits will pop up. And once you are in the UK your chances will be greater to grab them as you won’t have the large time difference to contend with.
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Hi @jerilynkass
Another great exchange website if you’re willing to roll your sleeves up is www.helpx.net and there are usually plenty of interesting opportunities in Europe. I’ve copied and pasted their intro below:
HelpX is an online listing of host organic farms, farmstays, hobby farms, lifestyle blocks, homestays, ranches, lodges, backpackers hostels and even sailing boats who invite volunteer helpers to stay with them short-term in exchange for food and accommodation. HelpX is provided primarily as a cultural exchange for working holiday makers, who would like the opportunity during their travels abroad, to stay with local people and gain practical experience. In the typical arrangement, the helper works an average of 4 hours per day and receives free accommodation and meals for their efforts.
@jerilynkass, housesits in continental Europe are listed. We have completed quite a few and are almost fully booked in continental Europe for next couple months 
But …
- there are far fewer in number of housesit listings than in US, Canada, UK
- they tend to quickly receive five applicants
- they can have variable property conditions; variable number/type pets; variable pet responsibilities … careful what you ask for!
- housesitters in similar timezone have implicit first choice. as north americans may be snoozing when some European housesits are listed
- other platforms may have greater number, variety of housesit opportunities in Europe (though pros-cons) - see other threads
We expect Europe housesits to have even more greater demand over coming whiles as some housesitters choose to volunteer their time in places other than the US (which accounts for approx 50% of housesits).
Good luck
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Thanks so much, Garfield. It helps to get more context on this topic.
Pressure’s on!
@jerilynkass Only today I had a message from friends who are new sitters in Australia saying they had just picked up a 3 week sit (2 large dogs and 1 cat) in France in Aug. They have no THS reviews; only two references, but they are THS owners. They have saved searches set up and have done well securing this sit (including a video chat) considering the different time zone and limited listings advertised at present. Hang in there!
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Yes @jerilynkass I find the Nomador website pretty tricky as well, not very user-friendly
We sit in the UK and Spain. In the UK lots of people plan ahead, we love getting excited about future, even for the following year. Whereas in Spain etc, it’s totally different, the sits mainly appear 1-2 months ahead of time. It’s just the way it is.
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Hi @jerilynkass
I’ve been lucky enough to do sits across Europe including Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain and Portugal. These sits are limited and many get 5 applicants quickly. Sometimes in minutes.
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HelpX support is very poor to non-existent. Don’t expect much in the way of help when things go wrong. Their host verification systems are dreadful. I have had great experiences with HelpX, but one where I was threatened by the host when he tried to scam me before I arrived in country. Let’s just say he got more than he bargained for, much.
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Like THS, it’s simply a way of putting two parties in contact with each other. Some reading between the lines is required on both websites, along with asking a lot of questions to ensure both parties are happy with the exchange. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with it – that’s the sort of thing that spoils something like this, where the majority of users adhere to the ethos of a ‘fair exchange’.