Inflation is taking its toll on travel, from soaring airfares to skyrocketing hotel prices. In fact, 79% of travelers are changing their upcoming travel plans as a result, according to a new Bankrate survey.
But that doesn’t stop Kristina Corniel (or her followers).
This New York City-based travel content creator, known on social media as @KristinaCors, specializes in bucket list experiences, digital nomad content, and travel hacks that she shares on her TikTok and Instagram channels.
One of his secret travel hacks has allowed him to stay in places like Switzerland and California’s Wine Country for free: sitting at home. No wonder some TikTok videos on the subject have gone viral.
Kristina Corniel — known as @KristinaCors on social media — uses sitting at home to be free … [+] around the world. Pictured here: Corniel on Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
“When people think ‘free’ they usually think ‘cheap’ and that’s certainly not the case with sitting at home,” says Corniel. “It’s been so exciting to stay in beautiful homes that I know would pay $500-$1,000 on Airbnb for free.”
Corniel has landed impressive house-to-house gigs in New York, from a two-story apartment in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood with private access to a rooftop overlooking the NYC skyline, to a two-bedroom stone apartment in Greenwich Village. It’s been in a Northern California Wine Country home nestled in the hills with a Japanese-style cedar hot tub and 25 mature fruit trees on the property. “Every day I would wake up and have a plum for breakfast,” he says.
In Charleston, South Carolina, he maintained a three-bedroom home with a gym, a hot tub, a fire pit, and a large yard with access to a lake and kayaks, where he encountered all kinds of wildlife, including herons and herons. blue herons
But the crème de la crème was in Switzerland, staying in a four-bedroom Lake Geneva house with stunning mountain views. “The interior was beautifully designed and featured modern conveniences like a Sonos wireless sound system,” says Corniel. “The owner continued the weekly cleaning service while he was gone. They gave me an eBike to explore, in addition to a car.’
While in Switzerland, Corniel lived like a local and visited places like the nearby Hotel Vitznau.
So how does house sitting work, and how can you do it? Here, we talk to Corniel about his career, his journey as a digital nomad, and how to use your home seat to travel the world for free.
My Background: Before becoming a travel content creator, Corniel lived a completely different life. “I did all the things I was supposed to do,” Corniel says. This includes earning an undergraduate degree from Boston College, a master’s degree from Columbia University, and then a job at Goldman Sachs, no less.
Making a change: “At the end of the day, I wasn’t fulfilling the career path I was on,” says Corniel. “I had this change in the way I see the world and define success. It was no longer about accumulating money, prestigious titles or material things. It was about freedom, the freedom to choose how I spent my time. I realized how precious time really was. I wanted to live life on my own terms. I wanted to redesign my lifestyle so that I could experience the world, spend time with my family, learn, try new things and really live.’
Getting into the journey: “It’s been a journey,” says Corniel. “After this shift in perspective, I was on a mission to discover my purpose and redesign my lifestyle. I started reading more, listening to podcasts, and looking for online and offline communities with similar values. I wanted more meaningful experiences and felt a little more alive when I was traveling; so I turned to people who were traveling and having adventures.”
A view from a New York townhouse apartment.
Becoming a digital nomad: “I learned about people who were traveling full time and also met them on the road. I started to learn the lifestyle of a digital nomad,” says Corniel. “The more I travelled, the more resources I discovered. I continued to meet more digital nomads, which boosted my belief in what was possible for my life. I started documenting my adventures and looking for remote work. (Note that this was pre-pandemic, before remote work was implemented, so opportunities were harder to find.) I started as an online educator. First, I was teaching English online and then I found other websites and platforms where I created my own classes on subjects I was passionate about. That funded my travels in the beginning until I started working with brands on TikTok.”
Discovering house sitting: “One of the things I promised myself during this lifestyle makeover was to read more. In Grant Sabatier’s book, Financial Freedom, he mentioned house sitting and I immediately Googled it and found TrustedHousesitters.com,” says Corniel. “Then I saw the membership fee and realized it was $129 a year. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was too good to be true. But in the end I went for it and it was worth it after sitting my first house”.
Caring for a friendly dog in Switzerland.
Pet Care: Many house sitting gigs involve caring for someone’s pets. “If you love animals, the trade-off of having to take care of them is not an inconvenience,” says Corniel. “In fact, if you are taking care of a cat or a dog, the time you are investing is minimal. Sitting mostly, I had to feed and look after the animals in the morning and evening, so my responsibilities didn’t stop me from exploring. And many don’t even require dogs to be walked, as many apartments have outdoor spaces, and in some cases the owners were perfectly content with me taking the dogs out.’
No pets: Could you sit at home without having to take care of pets? “You can,” says Corniel. “You can filter the types of pets you’re willing to care for and there’s even a filter for ‘no pets’. You might wonder why someone would need to care for a pet-free home, but sometimes all they need is watering their beautiful garden.”
Pros: “You’re accessing a lifestyle; you’re set up in a way that you probably wouldn’t be if you walked into a hotel room. You can be sitting at home or internationally. You’re walking into a kitchen, you can buy groceries and cook (which you can’t do in a hotel room). You may have access to free car rentals, which is a huge savings. (If this is a must, you can filter for house seats with “use of car included”),” says Corniel. “You can also do a long-term seat: filter by ‘duration’ and look for stays of six months. This isn’t just a travel hack, it’s a life hack.’
Cozy California Wine Country home.
Cons: “I’ve been very lucky with my seats and very happy. But of course there is risk in everything you do,” says Corniel. “I would say the biggest concern would be getting the pet sick, hurt or lost. Then there are other things to think about, depending on where the house is. For example, when I was house-sitting for three cats in Northern California, the owner of the house told me that wildfires were something to think about.’
Tips for a great stay: “Always read the reviews. Reviews will tell you a lot about what it’s like to stay in an area, what the pet’s temperament and routine are like, and what the owner is like,” says Corniel. “It’s also a good idea to interview the owner beforehand; it’s best via video chat to get to know each other and make sure you feel comfortable.”
Tips for pets: “Make sure there are written instructions or video instructions on pet care, as well as emergency numbers for the vet,” says Corniel. “Communicate regularly with the homeowner and send photo or video updates; it helps build trust with the homeowner and puts their mind at ease.”
Red flags: “Make sure you understand the responsibilities ahead of time,” says Corniel. “It’s a red flag if the person forgets it’s an exchange. In other words, they’re overly preoccupied with pet duties, but perhaps less enthusiastic about the things you need to know about the house so you can have a comfortable stay.’
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