We are house sitting for two years on a tight budget. Has anyone got a tip where to stay between sits. We have one to to three days and cannot find sits as the dates are mid week. Some are at peak times and we usually stay at Premier Inns but we are finding the prices hike up then
Travel lodges are usually a bit cheaper
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Some hostels have private rooms with your own bathroom. I stayed in one in TĂĽrkiye for three days and it was no different than staying at an average hotel. They usually go fast as these rooms are in demand. Most hostels have inexpensive breakfast as well if you are on a budget. You will meet other people there and probably learn other budget ways for lodging.
Have you looked at Ibis hotels? Much cheaper even than Travelodge. The rooms are basic, but always clean and you do get soap dispensers and towels (a must-have for me!)
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Depending on how tight money is, camping, or sleeping in your car, if you have one, might be options. There are videos on YouTube and other social media on which folks show how they’ve kitted out their cars so they can live out of them. Some build platforms, drawers and such for cooking, supplies and sleeping. They often have memberships to gyms for showering and such.
An example: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Evw6glmWTLM
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@Twogreys
We too travel on a budget and when we have gaps between sits in the UK and cannot find a short gap fill sit we usually resort to airbnb. We set our budget to ÂŁ50 max per night and always find a suitable room in a house, sharing kitchen and bathroom. If lucky we get an en suite bathroom. The last few times we paid ÂŁ40/ÂŁ45 pn. We usually have a positive experience! We never choose hotels since we always want to have access to a kitchen for making our own dinner and the all important morning coffee! This also saves money too ofcourse.
On the continent, especially France, we usually find rooms cheaper than in UK. €30/40 We have also adapted our car for the odd emergancy night and did actually test it out (for 3 nights) en route between sits in France & Spain. It was doable.. just!
Its actually rare that we can’t manage complete back to back sits in the UK. Ofcourse it helps immensely if you have a car.
On our first long stint of housesitting in the UK in 2022 we set ourselves a challenge to reach 50 (5*) reviews before leaving the country. The aim was to do all back to back sits and to avoid any overnight costs! We more than achieved our goal! 5 months later, after 30 sits all back to back with not a singla gap! And we reached 54 (5*) reviews! Sounds completely crazy now (& exhausting!) - looking back!- but was a fun challenge at the time as we were building up review numbers so chose multiple short sits!
Now we’ve done over 120 sits we’re discovering our sweet spot (if the sit is good!) Is 3-4 weeks. Right now we are in the south of France on exactly such a sit. Comfortable villa with pool & one sweet cat. The most beautiful countryside all around & right now the perfect weather to enjoy all the gorgeousness France has to offer!
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I usually do Premiere Inns in the UK, but I have noticed their prices seem to have gone up a lot over the last couple years. I agree with those who mentioned Ibis and Travelodge as good options.
The YHAs in England are typically nice and you can get a private room. And, as @Lokstar mentioned, check Airbnb, it’s usually easy to find an inexpensive room for a night or two.
Hi @Twogreys
When we need a hotel for the night , we bring up google maps, then click on hotels and put the dates in - all the hotels in the area then show with the prices for that particular night.
Any more than one night is usually best going for an Airbnb as you will have to use of a kitchen to keep the costs down
You might try joining Host a Sister or Host a Sister -50+ (whichever applies). Some do welcome couples as well.
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We don’t sit full time, but sometimes need to fill a night between sits in the summer holidays, or find somewhere to stay on the way to / from a more distant sit. We have used AirBnB, Booking.com, Premier Inn and Youth Hostels. I travel with my 2 teenage sons so we need at least a family room. Premier Inn used to be a good deal for us as children under 16 eat breakfast for free with a paying adult, so I could buy one breakfast and the boys coukd “fill their boots” for free. A bargain with the appetite of the average teenage boy! My older son is now 16 though so I’d have to pay for him now.
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