宠物看护假期的兴起
Cheap holidays are getting harder to find， so people are having to be a little more creative2 to get good deals3.
Something that more and more people are choosing to do is house-sitting4. Thatmeans staying in someone else’s house while they are away. You don’t have to pay tostay but you will have to look after the house， and quite often the owner’s pets.
It may not be a holiday everyone would enjoy， but for others it’s the best wayto travel on a budget5. And you really need to love animals： They’re a big part ofthe holiday. Yes， you’ll get free and “unique6”stays around the world， but thatmeans to care for cute pets.
Whether you’re house-sitting or looking for someone to look after your home，you’ll need to pay for membership7 of some company. Its memberships start atabout $129 for a year if you want to be a pet-sitter and $150 if you want someone tolook after your house and animals.
Some people like to house-sit for a weekend or a week—this gives them justenough time to get to know the animals and enjoy a quick holiday at the same time.However， others spend large parts of their year staying in other people’s houses forfree， which saves them a lot of money on rent8.
The number of house-sitters and pet-sitters has grown since the pandemic9.Many people got pets at the time to keep them company during the long days athome. The spending of hotels has also made people look for different ways to travelcheaply. But it’s not always easy. Caring for other people’s pets is a serious10 job—so， never let the cat run away！
便宜的假期越来越难找到，所以人们不得不发挥更多创意，以便做成好交易。
越来越多的人选择做的事情是看家，是指当房主不在的时候住在他们的房子里。你不必为住宿付费，但你必须照看房子，而且经常要照看主人的宠物。
这可能不是每个人都会喜欢的假期，但对一些人来说，这是最好的省钱旅行方式。而且你真的需要热爱动物：它们是这个假期的重要组成部分。是的，你将在世界各地获得免费和“独特的”住宿体验，但这也意味着要照顾可爱的宠物。
无论你是看家还是找人照看自己的家，你都需要给某个（中介）公司支付会员费。如果你想当宠物保姆，会员费一年大约129 美元；如果你想找人照看你的房子和动物，会员费150 美元。
有些人喜欢帮人照看一个周末或一周的房子———这给了他们足够的时间去了解动物，同时享受一个短暂的假期。然而，另一些人一年中有很大一部分时间都免费住在别人家里，这为他们节省了一大笔房租。
自从疫情以来，房屋看守人和宠物保姆的数量增加了。当时许多人养了宠物，好在漫长的居家时光里陪伴他们。酒店的（高）消费也促使人们去寻找不同的廉价旅行方式。但是这并不是容易的事。照顾别人的宠物是一项严肃的工作———所以，绝对不要让猫跑丢了！