Accommodation in France: house-sitting

We all want to be savvy travellers: the kind of people who are never tourists, often asked for directions by foreigners and frequently mistaken for locals. 

Savvy travellers know there are so many options that won’t break the bank when it comes to accommodation in France. But even savvy travellers (like us!) can feel a little overwhelmed at times… There are so many options available that it can be tricky to figure out what will work best for you and your trip.

In our savvy traveller’s guide to staying in France, we’re sorting through the mess in search of gems – and we’ve found quite a few! We’ve already explored French gîtes and villas, as well as home exchange. This time, we look at house-sitting!

What

House sitting is another option that, like home exchange, has developed dramatically over the last ten years – mostly thanks to the Internet.

A house sitter is usually required to do small things such as look after the family pet, water the plants, maybe turn on a swimming pool filter and so on.

Pros

Of course the biggest bonus here is that it’s free. Much like house-swapping, you also have the chance to interact with locals and get to know the area in which you’re living in a way you wouldn’t otherwise be able to!

Where to look

There are a number of options, but we’d recommend taking a look at MindMyHouse, Ilidor or Nomador.

Sites like Ilidor act as agencies, which means they personally interview and match the interested parties. Meanwhile, sites like MindMyHouse and Nomador allow users to communicate and transact directly with the other person involved – house-sitter to home owner.

Nomador in particular is very innovative in the way they allow for the establishment of trust between home owners and house-sitters. Each user builds a personal profile, and earns ‘trust’ in a number of ways. To us (and we’re sure to you!), this just makes sense – we’re always looking for ways to feel safer when dealing with others on the web.

Things to watch out for

Like many of the above forms of accommodation, becoming a house sitter is about building up a trusting rapport between you and the home owner, meaning your profile needs to be detailed and extensive. It’s a great idea to read some testimonials on MindMyHouse about the experiences some house sitters have had, particularly with the customer support of the website.

Have you ever been a house-sitter, or had someone stay in your own home? Tell us about your experiences! Join the conversation below…