House & Pet Sitting
Overview
As of mid-2023, Tim and I will have been traveling the world for around 17 of the last 27 years.
House and pet sitting became part of our lifestyle in 2017. Since then, we’ve been privileged to care for over 50 homes and their pets in 9 countries on 3 continents.
Note: We sit for free in exchange for accommodation. Many people do charge but that leads to a whole lot of rules and requirements we don’t want to get into, especially in foreign countries.
We haven’t added up every cent, but have probably saved well over 100 000 USD if we’d stayed in equivalent accommodation.
However, those house and pet-sitting gigs have delivered way more benefits than just saving on accommodation costs.
And it is definitely NOT a ‘FREE holiday,’ despite recent marketing campaigns by one of the big players in this space.
There are as many benefits for homeowners and pet parents as there are for sitters. If you have a home and pets, you already know that ensuring your house and pets are OK while you jet off on holidays can be challenging.
On this page, you’ll find resources, tools, and links to help you decide if the house and pet sitting should be part of your travel plans from both a homeowner’s and sitter’s perspective.
Section 1 – Provides a selection of resources, including links to a range of house and pet-sitting platforms and a beginner’s guide for sitters and homeowners. (You can also access our exclusive 25% discount code for Trusted Housesitters memberships)
Section 2 – Links to other posts and pages relevant to house and pet-sitting.
And, we also have this free pdf download for those of you aspiring to become House and Petsitters – 8 Tips To Create A Winning House Sitter Profile.
Of course, resources such as websites, apps, and housesitting platforms constantly evolve.
We try to keep up, but please tell us if you know of products, services, and tools you think are superior to those mentioned. We’re always excited to learn about and test new things.
Section 1 – House & Pet-Sitting Resources
- Benefits for Home-Owners
- Benefits for Sitters
- International
- Country-Specific
- Facebook Groups
- Beginners Guide
Benefits for Home Owners
- Having sitters eliminates expensive pet boarding fees for homeowners.
- Pets get to stay in their home and keep their routine.
- The home is more secure with someone present while the homeowner is away.
- Homeowners don’t have to pay for or rely on third parties while away – mail collection, water plants, etc.
- Homeowners get to travel worry and guilt-free – knowing their home and pets are getting the best of care.
- The homeowners meet new and interesting people and make new friends (At least, we think so 🙂 )
There’s a lot more detail in this blog.
Benefits for Sitters
House & Pet-Sitting encompasses far more than receiving free accommodation. Here’s a list of what we get from it.
- We don’t pay accommodation costs in some of the most expensive cities in the world.
- We get to stay in more comfortable accommodations than we typically choose or can afford.
- We also save on food and often transport costs – self-catering & staying close to attractions.
- We get a regular dose of fur baby love.
- We feel good about helping other people to have a stress-free holiday.
- We get to explore the destinations at our own pace.
- We get insider tips to make our stays more enjoyable.
- We aren’t subject to the bad habits of other guests.
- Compared with a campsite or hotel room, we usually have a comfortable, well-equipped work area.
- We can top and tail our other adventures without increasing costs
- 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 this blog.
International House Sitting Platforms
In this section, I’ve listed the most popular house, and pet-sitting platforms where you can find sits worldwide. You can find a comprehensive table comparing them all in this Blog.
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.
Use THIS LINK and use code TRAVELBUG25 at checkout to get 25% off all NEW THS memberships.”
House Carers – Free for homeowners with a premium paid option. This site is 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 less listings and sitters.
HouseSit Match – Both sitters & homeowners pay a membership fee. International with a focus on UK, Aus & Europe. Smaller & more personalized than THS. Reportedly a much higher chance of getting sits.
Nomador – Three free applications for sitters. One free listing for homeowners. Then 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.
HouseSit Search – Seems to collate sits from some of the other sites.
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:
Pet +Housesitting, Travel and Digital Nomads
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!
You’ll also find them for individual cities.
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
- Clarify your expectations of a sitter and write those down. Also, be clear on any special circumstances – abnormal pet behavior, medication required.
- 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.
Disclosure: Note that some of the links and advertisements and links, on this page (such as those to WayAway) lead to products from our partners. If you buy something after using those links, we may earn a small commission from the sale. However, you have our assurance that you won’t pay any more than you would by buying directly from their site. And we promise to only link to products or companies we’ve used personally, been recommended by trusted family, friends, or travel buddies, or researched thoroughly before adding them to the list. You may also see other links served to you by Google. These will display products that Google thinks you want to see. If you click on those advertisements, we also get paid a small (minuscule) amount. If you want to know more about how you help to fund our travels without costing you a cent – then CLICK THIS LINK for a more comprehensive explanation.