The cheapest accommodation option most travelers don't know about: house-sitting isn't just for months-long trips. You can do single-week sits that fit into a normal vacation schedule.

I've integrated house-sitting into shorter trips by using it as the anchor. The method: find a 5-7 day sit in a city I want to visit during the dates I'll be there. Book the sit (free accommodation). Then arrange the paid nights (hostel or cheap hotel) around the sit for arrival/departure buffer days.

Example trip: 12 days in Portugal. Found a 7-night sit in Porto looking after a cat while the owner visited family. Booked 2 nights in a Lisbon hostel on either end to account for flight times. Total accommodation cost for 12 days: 2x $18 hostel nights = $36. The Porto apartment was in a lovely neighborhood I'd never have found via Airbnb, and I had a full kitchen.

Where to find short sits: search TrustedHousesitters with a date range filter. Many hosts just need someone for a week when they travel. The competition for short urban sits is lower than you'd expect because most serious house-sitters prefer longer placements.

The profile note that helps with short sits: explicitly mention in your profile that you're available for short-term sits and have flexible scheduling. Hosts doing a quick trip appreciate a sitter who understands the shorter format.