Home > Blog > House Sitting to Go Skiing
Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Why bother? | Ski season accommodation regularly runs €120-244 a night in the Alps, sometimes 30-50% higher during peak weeks |
| The search mistake | Don't search the resort name. Platforms list by town, not by ski area |
| The real risk most people miss | Only 6% of single-trip and 11% of annual travel insurance policies cover skiing or snowboarding as standard |
| Beginner or experienced? | Either works, but get proper instruction first if you're new, this sport genuinely injures people |
| The real trade-off | Less pure free time than staying at a resort. The pets and home still come first |
Ski resort accommodation is some of the most expensive on the planet, and most people planning a season around it are also, unknowingly, uninsured for the exact activity they're going there to do. House sitting solves the first problem. This article is about actually solving both.
We sit through TrustedHouseSitters ourselves, and if you're getting started, a 25% discount on membership is available here.
Nomador is genuinely worth having alongside it for this specific search, it's free to join and browse, and continental Europe, exactly where most of the Alps sit, is where it performs strongest.
Why the Obvious Search Doesn't Work
Searching for the resort name gets you nowhere on most platforms. House sitting listings are tagged by town or suburb, the same way a listing in a big city is tagged to the specific area rather than the whole metro region people casually search for. Most ski resorts don't exist as their own searchable location at all.
The fix: search by the nearest actual town, then widen your radius. A resort sits inside or near a real, populated place, and that's the name the listing will be tagged under. Some resort names and town names genuinely are the same thing, so a direct search works there. Everywhere else, search the valley or nearest settlement and expand outward.
The Insurance Gap Almost Nobody Checks
This is the part we think matters most, and it rarely comes up in ski holiday advice, let alone house sitting advice specifically. Most travel insurance simply does not cover skiing or snowboarding as standard. Industry data puts it at roughly 6% of single-trip policies and 11% of annual policies including winter sports cover automatically, everyone else needs to actively add it as an upgrade, and a meaningful number of travellers assume they're covered when they aren't.
Disclaimer: This is general information, not insurance advice. Policy terms vary significantly by provider and country. Check your own policy's specific activity list directly before relying on anything here.
This matters more for a house sitter than for an ordinary ski holidaymaker, not less. As we've covered in our full insurance guide, platform cover on THS, Nomador, and every other platform protects the property and the pets, never your own health or injuries. If something goes wrong on the slopes, your own personal travel insurance is the only thing standing between you and the cost of treatment, and if that policy doesn't specifically list skiing or snowboarding as covered activities, you could be paying for mountain rescue and hospital treatment entirely out of pocket.
Before accepting any ski-adjacent sit, actually check your policy's activity list. On-piste skiing and snowboarding on marked, open trails is covered by most winter sports add-ons. Off-piste, backcountry, or anything requiring a guide often needs separate confirmation, and is excluded entirely by some insurers regardless of upgrade.
Why Ski Season Accommodation Is So Expensive to Begin With
Standard mid-range accommodation across major Alpine resorts regularly runs somewhere between €120 and €244 a night, and peak weeks, Christmas, New Year, February half-term, push that another 30-50% higher. Even a hostel bed in a proper ski town can sit around €40 a night, still a real, recurring cost across a multi-week stay. A house sit removes that entirely. You get the slopes, and you come home each day to an actual house and a pet rather than a hotel room.
What to Actually Ask Before Accepting a Ski Sit
A few questions matter more here than on a typical sit, worth raising directly on the video call before you commit.
Ask how far the property actually is from the lifts or slopes. "Near the resort" can mean a genuine walk or a 30-45 minute drive, and that changes how the sit functions day to day.
Ask whether a car is required, and if so, whether winter tyres or snow chains are expected or provided.
Ask about snow-clearing responsibilities. In some countries, clearing a driveway or path is a genuine legal requirement tied to liability, not just good manners, our winter house sitting guide covers this in more depth.
Ask whether the property is ever cut off by road closures during heavy snow or storms, and what the plan is if it happens while you're responsible for a pet that needs regular vet access or supplies.
Ask about the pet's own cold tolerance and outdoor routine. Some dogs genuinely love snow, others need much shorter, more careful outdoor time in real cold.
Be Upfront About Wanting to Ski
This isn't a free pass to ski all day every day. You genuinely have less free time than you would staying at a resort, because there's an actual home and animals depending on you, and that doesn't pause for fresh snow. Be direct with the homeowner before accepting: say plainly that you're interested in skiing or snowboarding during the stay, and be equally clear the pet's care comes first, always. Our guide to what house sitters can and cannot change during a sit covers this same principle of setting honest expectations upfront.
If You're Learning to Ski or Snowboard for the First Time
Get a real instructor, don't try to learn purely from a partner or friend. I've personally witnessed broken wrists and a broken tailbone from people learning informally without one. This connects directly back to the insurance point above too, a genuine injury on the slopes is exactly the scenario your policy needs to actually cover, and a beginner without proper instruction is statistically more likely to end up needing that cover in the first place.
Caro has never skied, and if we end up somewhere with real slopes, she'll be learning from scratch, with an instructor for the first stretch. I was properly obsessed with snowboarding at one stage myself, obsessed enough that I built and ran an entire website researching and documenting my own progress, and getting back into it properly is a real part of why this destination appeals to us.
Where We're Actually Headed
We haven't applied for a ski-specific sit yet ourselves. Once our current sit in Portugal ends, we're planning to head toward the French Alps, or possibly closer to Andorra, still undecided on the exact area. We'll update this article properly once we've actually done it.
Conclusion
A ski season sit is a genuinely strong way to experience the mountains without paying resort prices for accommodation, but the accommodation cost is only half the equation. Search by town, not resort name. Ask the practical questions about access, snow duties, and the pet's cold tolerance. And check your own travel insurance's actual activity list before you ever step onto a slope, since platform cover was never going to protect you there in the first place.
Caro and I have completed 20 house sits across 12 countries, driven 19,000km across Europe in our 1998 VW T4, and saved over $26,500 in accommodation costs over three years of house sitting. If you've found a ski season sit yourself, we'd love to hear how you searched for it, DM us @housesittersguide, we answer everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find a house sit near a ski resort?
Search by the nearest town or valley, not the resort name itself. House sitting platforms list by populated location, not by ski area, so a resort generally won't appear as its own searchable result.
Does travel insurance cover skiing and snowboarding automatically?
Usually not. Only around 6% of single-trip and 11% of annual travel insurance policies include winter sports cover as standard. Most require an active upgrade, and it's worth checking your policy's specific activity list before relying on it.
Does house sitting platform insurance cover me if I'm injured skiing?
No. Platform cover on TrustedHouseSitters, Nomador, and every other major platform protects the property and pets, not the sitter's own health. Personal travel insurance with winter sports cover added is what actually protects you here.
How much can house sitting save compared to a ski holiday?
A significant amount. Standard ski season accommodation regularly runs €120-244 a night across major Alpine resorts, and peak weeks push that 30-50% higher. A house sit removes that cost entirely in exchange for pet and home care.
Should I learn to ski or snowboard without an instructor?
We wouldn't recommend it. Proper instruction meaningfully reduces the risk of a serious injury, and it also matters for your insurance, since a genuine accident is exactly the scenario your winter sports cover needs to actually apply to.
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