If you don’t think you need all our done-for-you templates, worked examples, scripts, checklists and advice gained from almost 100 completed housesits, then it’s still worth your time to grab our 5 Bonus Guides.

These 5 guides will give you everything you need to jumpstart your housesitting adventures right now

Enjoy immediate access to:

Guide 1 – ‘Perfect Timing – The Best Times for Newbies to Find Their First Housesit.’ (Pro Tip – It’s RIGHT NOW!)

Guide 2 – Housesitting For Less – Exclusive Housesitting Discounts & Deals (Worth over 230 USD!)

Guide 3 – Plan B – Essential Risk Management for Savvy Housesitters

Guide 4 – Housesitter’s Hub – Tp Facebook Groups for Finding your Next Sit (connecting you with over 1.1 million members)

Guide 5: 8 Tips to Create a Winning Housesitting Profile

You’ll walk away with everything you need to set up your housesitting profile, connect with the worldwide housesitting community, and start traveling in comfort for less.

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Benefits for Home Owners

1. Having sitters eliminates expensive pet boarding fees for homeowners.
2. Pets get to stay in their home and keep their routine.
3. The home is more secure with someone present while the homeowner is away.
4. Homeowners don’t have to pay for or rely on third parties while away – mail collection, water plants, etc.
5. Homeowners get to travel worry and guilt-free – knowing their home and pets are getting the best of care.
6. The homeowners meet new and interesting people and make new friends (At least, we think so 🙂 )

There’s a lot more detail in the Housesitter’s Roadmap.

Benefits for Sitters

House & Pet-Sitting encompasses far more than receiving free accommodation. Here’s a list of what we get from it.

1. We don’t pay accommodation costs in some of the most expensive cities in the world.
2. We get to stay in more comfortable accommodations than we typically choose or can afford.
3. We also save on food and often transport costs – self-catering & staying close to attractions.
4. We get a regular dose of fur baby love.
5. We feel good about helping other people to have a stress-free holiday.
6. We get to explore the destinations at our own pace.
7. We get insider tips to make our stays more enjoyable.
8. We aren’t subject to the bad habits of other guests.
9. Compared with a campsite or hotel room, we usually have a comfortable, well-equipped work area.
10. We can top and tail our other adventures without increasing costs
11. We make new friends by house-sitting overseas

There’s a lot more detail on the benefits as well as some of the drawbacks in the Housesitter’s Roadmap.

International House Sitting Platforms

In this section, I’ve listed the most popular house and pet-sitting platforms where you can find sits worldwide. If you want to learn more, we’ve included a section comparing them all in The Housesitter’s Roadmap, Plus, you’ll get a bonus guide with generous discounts that could save you over $230 USD!!

Trusted House Sitters – Both sitters & homeowners pay a membership fee. THS has the largest selection of sits and sitters but is also the most expensive. We are members and get the majority of our sits through them.

You can either….

1. Use THIS LINK to access the Trusted Housesitter’s Website with an exclusive 25% discount applied.

2. Use this link to TRY the platform for FREE and then enter code: TRAVELBUG25 at checkout to get you 25% off any NEW THS membership. It includes:

• House sitters
• Homeowners, and
• Combined Memberships.

Save up to 79.75 USD!

House Carers—This site is free for homeowners with a premium paid option. It’s one of the oldest platforms (since October 2000). It’s way cheaper than THS, and you can have a free trial. But it also has far fewer listings and sitters.

HouseSit Match—Both sitters and homeowners pay a membership fee. It is international, with a focus on the UK, Australia, and Europe. It is smaller and more personalized than THS. There is reportedly a much higher chance of getting sits.

Nomador – Nomador has undergone a major upgrade in the past few years. Both sitters & homeowners pay a membership fee. Quite a lot of European and long-term sits.

Mind My House – Free for homeowners. One of the cheapest sites for sitters.

 

Country-Specific House & Pet-Sitting Platforms

The following platforms are specific to one country or region.

USA

 Housesitters America – Free for homeowners. Free to browse. Good search filters. Reasonably priced.

UK

Housesitters UK  – Free for homeowners. Reasonable price. Free to browse.

Australia

Aussie House Sitters – Free for homeowners. The greatest number of housesits in Australia. The site is free to browse. It gives cheaper rates for renewing members.

Happy House Sitters – Free trial for sitters with limited functionality. Free for homeowners. It’s been going since 1999.

Mind A Home – Free for homeowners. Has a good search facility.

House Sitting Tasmania –Very specific to a small (but gorgeous) island off mainland Australia. There is far less competition and it’s a nice personal site.

New Zealand

Kiwi Housesitters – Free for homeowners. This is the largest site for NZ sitsYou can browse sits for free.

The Housesitting Company – Extensive screening process. Seems more hands-on with personalized service, but you have to join to learn more.

Canada

Housesitters Canada – A newer site. Free for homeowners.

Mexico

Housesit Mexico – Both sitters and homeowners pay. Free to Browse. It has a pretty good search function and you can filter out inactive listings. Not a lot of sits though.

House & Pet-Sitting Groups on Facebook

 You don’t have to join a paid platform to find or post house and pet-sitting gigs, besides putting the word out to friends and family that you are available, there are a ton of  Facebook groups that connect sitters and homeowners, such as:

House Sitting and Pet Sitting

Pet +Housesitting, Travel and Digital Nomads

Housesitting International

Just search ‘House sitting’, ‘petsitting,’ and different versions of that and you’ll find a heap.

And, if you search for a location and “sitting,” e.g. “France sitting,” you can often find a group specific to that destination. Voila!

Housesitting Australia

House and Pet Sitting Greece

You’ll also find them for individual cities.

House and Petsitters – Adelaide SA

How to Get Started House & Pet-Sitting

Sitters

1. Write yourself an excellent profile. Download our free pdf with 8 Tips To Create A Winning House Sitter Profile and get a headstart on the competition.

2. Write up a generic application you can access from anywhere. It should be about what you can do for the homeowner. NOT what they can do for you.

3. Choose where you want to find sits – Join the relevant groups and platforms and fill out your profile.

If you decide to go with Trusted Housesitters:

Use THIS LINK and use code TRAVELBUG25  at checkout to get 25% off all NEW THS memberships.”

4. Set your systems up so you can apply from anywhere.

5. When you find a suitable sit, apply ASAP by personalizing your generic template. Read the listing thoroughly and address all the homeowner requirements.  Desirable listings go fast, and the biggest platform, Trusted Housesitters, has introduced a ridiculous 5-application pause function. So you need to be in the first 5 to really stand a chance. The other sites aren’t nearly as rigid, but you should still get your application in ASAP.

6. If the owner makes contact and is interested in you sitting for them, set up a voice or video call to ensure both parties are clear on the requirements and conditions. Then, if you’re happy, accept the sit immediately so you don’t waste the homeowner’s time.

7. Put 110% effort into your sits.

8. Request a review from the homeowner once you’ve completed the sit, and provide feedback to them.

9. Rinse and Repeat steps 5 to 8.

You can find a lot more detail in THIS BLOG.

Homeowners

1. Clarify your expectations of a sitter and write those down. Also, be clear on any special circumstances – abnormal pet behavior, medication required.
2. Choose which platform you want to advertise your sit.

If you decide to go with Trusted Housesitters:

Use THIS LINK and use code TRAVELBUG25  at checkout to get 25% off all NEW THS memberships.”

3. Make your listing attractive – Why would the sitter want to look after your home and pets? They are doing it for free, after all. Take great pictures of your pets and the living areas (sitter’s bed, bathroom, kitchen etc.)

4. Move quickly when you get applications.

5. Speak with potential sitters and ensure you are both clear on the responsibilities and details of the sit. Do not leave anything out that might discourage them (see pet behavior etc., above.) Be open and honest, or it will come back to bite you. (Excuse the pun!)

6. Choose your sitter quickly. Don’t leave people hanging. Those of us with excellent reputations get snapped up quickly.

7. Consider the comfort of your sitter when preparing for their arrival. This is a mutually beneficial exchange. They are not a servant.

8. Provide constructive feedback to them, give them an honest review, and request their feedback on you and the sit.

You can find a lot more detail in THIS BLOG.