If you are a budget traveller like myself, we tend to look for the cheapest accommodation to book, usually most of us who don’t want to pay for fancy hotels would end up at the traditional backpacker hostels, or a bit fancier, Bed & Breakfast. If you travel in a group, airbnb is a great option where you can book the whole place and split the cost, which can be very economical and it offers more privacy and luxury compared to hostels.
However, there are many other options when it comes to seeking cheap accommodation, or even better, FREE. I’m not talking about packing a tent and camp in the park, which can be cruel in hot summer days or winter, here are a few better alternatives for accommodation:
Have you ever heard of Couch Surfing? I first heard of it back in 2011 during Uni days when one of the guys talked about it during one of the job interview workshops for finance students. I still remember his name, Alex, Aussie boy, he was cute (but still didn’t beat my law tutor Tom Blake).
Anyway, what’s the hell is Couch Surfing?
Well, it’s a way that you, a traveller, can apply/book and if accepted, go to a stranger (the host)’s) place to stay for free. Sounds like Airbnb much? Not really.
The main difference between Couch surfing and Airbnb is that the latter is not free. Couch surfing is free, it’s a way where the host opens their doors to strangers to come and stay in their house and usually for cultural/language exchange purposes.
Another difference is that you may not get a private room for yourself and often end up on the couch (hence couch surfing), futon, air mattress, floor, or even … sharing the same bed with the host (!!!) (there are many pervert stories around couch surfing)
Due to the above inconveniences, I have not yet tried this type of accommodation, but I might do so in the future and will sign up with the female host just for my own safety.
If you want to try couch surfing, go to www.couchsurfing.com and create a profile.
2. Housesitter / Petsitter
This is my preferred option when it comes to free accommodation. Yes, it is really free, a small catch is that you have to pay a membership fee to join the websites where they advertise housesits.
So what is house sitting ?
I first heard of this when I came across an article on newspaper at Melbourne or Sydney airport back in 2014 where I read that a couple has been living rent free for a year by simply housesitting other people’s homes. And that idea sticks with me for a long time.
Housesitting and/or petsitting is not a new concept, people have been doing it for a long time, but it is relatively a new concept for travellers as this is the option that not many explore or know of. It is, in essence, an exchange of service, you come to the host’s house to sit, take care of the house, their pets and the garden while they go on holidays. It is a win-win situation, the host goes on holiday with a peace of mind and in exchange you get free accommodation, sometimes they even offer you to eat their food, more savings!
For me, it is such a great way to save money. In fact, I am writing this article right now while housesitting for 2 weeks in England. Here are a few photos of my previous house/pet sits:
Why housesit?
It is free, you have the whole place by yourself (maybe the whole fridge and whole wine cellar which the host has specifically told me to help myself), you get to explore the region deeper, you get to play with pets if you are animal lovers. You get to stay in houses that you’ve only ever dreamt of and enjoyed many luxuries.
For me, I housesit during the transition between UK and Ireland where I had left work, needed some quiet time for myself to re-plan my life and think about my future without the disturbances of others and without any worries about cost of living while being temporarily unemployed.
How to join housesitting?
Well, it’s not absolutely free. In order to join the house sitting community, you need to sign up to become a member. There are many websites offering this service and cost can vary. My preferred website:
- Trustedhousesitters Depends on where you live and which currency you are paying, it is about $90 a year, I think in the UK, they do have options for 3 months or 6 months. Sign up via the link above to get 20% discount. This is probably the biggest site for housesitting on the web at the moment and is also the most expensive to join, however, the website is very easy to use, great support, good layout and filters. I’ve got all my 4 housesitting assignments through this website. Majority of home owners in this website is in UK, Australia, America, Canada and Europe.
- https://www.mindmyhouse.com/ This is another website, only $20 to become the member, and if you are the home owner, the cost is free. However, it has less postings compared to trustedhousesitters website.
- https://www.housecarers.com This cost £30 a year, similar to the above 2 websites.
- There are also specific region websites for UK, Australia, America, Canada, etc … a quick Google search will give you a few choices
How to get an assignment?
To successfully score an assignment, you may need to compete with a bunch of other people, especially for houses in prime location in big cities. It’s like applying for a job, you need a good CV/Résumé and good references, in this case, you need to invest some time and build a good profile that demonstrates that you are a trust worthy person and an animal lover that can dedicate time to keep the house clean & tidy, and the pets healthy.
Previous experiences are also preferred if you can demonstrate that you have experiences with pets, and have helped house sit for someone else before. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a host on the website, it can be your friends, neighbours or relatives.
It also helps to promote yourself a little bit by listing some of the qualities that the host is looking for, such as: responsible, neat, tidy, non-smoker, not party type, independent, resourceful, etc
References: because I have been moving countries so many times before and have been through many hoops to obtain residency visas in each country, I have a bunch of police certificates stored in my computers so I don’t have to do them again. Some home owners may ask for penal clearance to make sure that you are not a dodgy person. Other character preferences also help, you may need to ask your friends, colleagues, teachers, etc to write you a few lines for your profile.
Email: when you apply for the house sit, that first email to the home owners is crucial to get them noticed. When I first started, my application email was less than 5 lines and basically said hello and please read my profile. Well, without a doubt, I didn’t get any assignment. Later on, when I had more time and wanted to try house sitting, I invested a little more time into the email, it doesn’t have to be a full page long, 2-3 short & succinct paragraphs would do (nobody likes to read long emails). Your email should at least introduce yourself briefly to the host in stead of asking them to read your profile. You can start by introducing your name, age, profession, what you are currently doing and why you are applying for house sit. Then you should mention that you have experience with dogs/cats or whatever animals the host needs someone to look after. I find that the winning strategy for me is to include the pets’ names in the email. For example: I am taking time off work right now and can pretty much dedicate all my time to Thor and Loki. This demonstrates that you have read the ad properly and paid attention to details. I also displays a friendly tone in the email and make you more likeable. Another winning strategy is to offer to meet the host and the pet in advance of the housesit if the sit is local.
Last but not least, do it with good intention, only sign up for an assignment after you have read the description of required tasks and are happily accept it. Please do not sign up if you only want free accommodation and do not care about the pets and other responsibilities.
I hope the above will help you get free accommodation when you travel next time and good luck.
Vietstralian 