Let's Go, Jane!

I’ve been busy making travel plans for the next year, and look forward to reporting back on many upcoming adventures, both near and far. I am finding, however, that when traveling with points and miles, they go much further when it comes to booking flights than securing hotel rooms. 

Whereas it’s pretty easy to find a $300 flight going for 30,000 points, a $300 hotel room might run you 50,000 or even 60,000 points per night. And because a trip usually involves one round-trip flight but multiple hotel nights, you can easily eat through your entire points stash rather quickly. In travel hacking circles, it’s generally accepted that it’s (almost) never a good idea to redeem points and miles for less than $.01 each. I think they actually revoke your passport, or something. 

I tried something new when booking hotel accommodations for an upcoming trip to Seattle, WA. Both hotwire.com and priceline.com offer deeply discounted hotel reservations as long as you are willing to book them without knowing exactly which hotel it is. They say something like “A 3.5 Star Hotel in the Downtown Area.” Hotwire includes an image of the hotel room for many of their listings, so I was able to figure out a lot of them by reverse engineering through Google image search. Priceline also offers “Pricebreakers” where they bundle three named hotels and you only find out after booking which of the three you got. I ended up using that option, and got the middle of the three hotels in terms of value. I’m happy, it was a really good deal.

In order for my plan to spend much of next year traveling to work, I need to find ways to reduce my cost of living. While I could find an Airbnb for less per night than my current apartment, I also want to be able to mix in some nights that cost more, and some free nights. Enter Trusted Housesitters. Trusted Housesitters is a website that facilitates, in their words, “free & unique homestays around the world, in exchange for caring for adorable pets.”

I made a profile with a picture of me and my all-time favorite cat, Ranger, and mentioned in the description all the zillions of pets I’ve had over the years: cats, a dog, chickens, hamsters, a snake, a bearded dragon, poison dart frogs, a salamander, an axolotl, fresh and saltwater fish, and hermit crabs. I recruited a former neighbor whose pets I took care of to provide a reference, and I was off to the races.

I decided to do a test run in order to experience a house sit and build my profile for when I try to apply to more competitive gigs (Canary Islands, anyone?). My children are spending Christmas with their dad this year, and this will be my first time without them since they were born. A change of scene is definitely in order! I started looking for a house sit that is driving distance away and will be a little warmer than New York. 

I found a listing in the D.C. area, a 4-bedroom house with one dog and one cat. I applied and was quickly selected! After a FaceTime call to meet the animals, the owner Tara emailed me a welcome guide and offered me a choice of restaurant types so she can leave me a gift certificate. How nice is that? (I chose Lebanese.) I will spend four nights staying in their beautiful home for free, and caring for their adorable animals. If the roads are dry I will bring my bike. I may even be able to entice my boyfriend to join me! Between Trusted Housesitters, Airbnb, hotels, and visiting friends, I should be able to cobble together a comfortable place to sleep each night next year, for less than my current rent. Bring on the adventures!