We give TrustedHousesitters a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.
What Is TrustedHouseSitters? How Does It Work?
TrustedHousesitters appeals to the nomadic spirit; pet owners looking for a chance to get away on their own adventure, and travelers looking for a full-immersion experience in a new country.
The platform connects pet- and homeowners worldwide, as travelers interested in housesitting and caring for pets and homes allow pet/homeowners to take off for days, weeks, or months at a time, knowing their property and best friends are in safe hands.
From the traveler’s perspective, adapting to novel environments while caring for pets and private property, Trusted House Sitters provides a comprehensive and novel travel experience.
How Does It Work?
There are two obvious participants in the program: owners and sitters. Owners are looking for someone to watch their pets and homes; sitters are looking for a place to stay while traveling. In simple terms, Trusted House Sitters is the matchmaker.
The connection happens when pet/homeowners sign up for an Owner’s Plan and post an ad on the Trusted House Sitters website. This ad is visible to Trusted House Sitters’ network of travelers who have signed up for the Sitter’s Plan, with profiles, photos, and star ratings for the owners to browse.
Travelers apply for house and pet-sitting jobs in parts of the world they will be visiting, and if accepted, the symbiotic relationship begins!
Who Does TrustedHouseSitters Appeal To?
Owners have a wide range of reasons for needing a house-sitting service. The site often appeals to pet-owning expats of various origins who wish to return to their homeland for months at a time, but also to people who just want to go away for the weekend without worry.
Sitters are often travelers on long-winded excursions around the planet and use Trusted House Sitters as a means to dive deeper into new cultures while allowing their money to stretch further across the globe.
How Do I Sign Up?
To sign up for Trusted House Sitters, simply head to their homepage and hit the ‘Join Now’ button in the top, right corner.
TrustedHousesitters – A Quick Look
For the Homeowners
For the Housesitters
TrustedHouseSitters Pricing
TrustedHousesitters has several tiers of annual sign-up fees for either sitters or owners, as well as a hybrid sign-up for those wanting to do both. Annual fees for sitters and owners start with the Basic Sitter or Owner package at $96 USD/year, which provides the sitter with unlimited sits for a year, and the owner with unlimited pet and home care at no extra cost.
The next tier consists of the Standard Owner or Sitter package at $124 USD/year. Along with unlimited sits, this package provides owners with home and contents insurance during sits, a moneyback guarantee if owners cannot find a sitter within 14 days of posting their ad, free video calls with vets 24/7, dedicated member support, a boost in listing search results, and notifications when a sitter ‘likes’ your ad. Likewise, the sitters have access to full third-party liability insurance, dedicated member support, and 24/7 access to video calls with vets.
The last tier of annual membership is the Premium Package at $187 USD/year. Along with the benefits mentioned above, this package gives owners and sitters access to two global airport lounge passes, sit cancellation insurance for up to $1,500 per sit, and a ‘Premium’ badge on their profile or ad.
For those wanting to hire sitters but also want to enjoy the experience of being a sitter for others, all the same packages are available in a Combined Package at $35 USD/year extra on top of the standard package price.
What to Expect from TrustedHousesitters
Once you have signed up for an annual membership, you will have access to a network of sitters or ads for home and pet owners requiring sitters across the planet. Owners can then create their ad, and sitters can refine their search to the part of the world they will visit.
Trusted House Sitters keeps you up to date with detailed, regular emails of either owners or sitters in the area you are interested in. Once you have contacted a sitter or homeowner through the messaging system, it’s time to connect through a video call to get to know them better and decide whether this is the sitter or job for you!
TrustedHousesitters Ease of Use
From the sitters’ perspective, the Trusted House Sitters platform is incredibly user-friendly with fast, easy search capabilities, and simple refining to narrow down sit locations and parameters for each sit. If sitters have experience with cats and dogs but not chickens or goats, they can easily refine searches to meet these parameters. Likewise, pet/homeowners have access to travelers and can refine their searches before perusing profiles.
TrustedHousesitters Experience
From a sitter’s perspective, Trusted House Sitters opens up a whole, new way to travel in which you stay put and truly immerse yourself within a culture and country, which was a much richer and more profound way to experience a country. The unlimited time with furry friends to share the experience with makes it a match made in Heaven!
From a pet/homeowners perspective, this is a cost-effective, safe, and trustworthy way to head off on holiday for as long as you need while your pets are safe in the capable hands of experienced and trusted sitters, in the comfort of their own home.
TrustedHouseSitters Chance of Placement
From both the sitters’ and homeowners’ perspectives, if you are concerned about not landing a house sit or sitter, simply subscribing to a higher level of annual plan will give you a moneyback guarantee as well as cancellation insurance for peace of mind.
Is TrustedHousesitters Good Value?
The value for money through this platform is huge. Yes, you need to pay a one-off yearly payment to participate, which is roughly equivalent to a one-night hotel stay in most of the developed world. From a travellers perspective, this one-off payment potentially translates to an entire year of free accommodation, while becoming fully immersed in new cultures and communities.
From a home and pet owners perspective, this annual one-off payment is equal to one night’s stay at a kennel or cattery, and instead, unlocks an entire year of pet and house sitting, allowing you to travel while your pet relaxes in the comfort of their own home.
FAQ
Can I Trust My Sitter?
The idea of a complete stranger living in your home and being responsible for the health and safety of your furry friends—not to mention your personal property—can undoubtedly be a bit daunting at first. But rest assured, Trusted House Sitters’ tried-and true formula is rated ‘Excellent’ on TrustPilot with over 14,000 reviews. Trusted House Sitters’ provides owners with peace of mind by offering various forms for sitters to fill out so owners can get to know the person (or people). Video calls are a regular part of the pre-sit experience, so by the time the sitters arrive at your property, they are not strangers at all! You can learn more about the trust and safety element of Trusted House Sitters here.
Can We House and Pet Sit as a Couple or Family?
Yes, many members across the platform enjoy house and pet sitting as couples or families. The couple or family simply shares one membership and adds all the relevant information about their significant others and family onto their profile for homeowners to peruse. And besides, the more people in the house, the more hands to play with pets!
Who Pays for Travel to a Sit?
Trusted House Sitters allows sitters to stay for free in homes worldwide, but it is the sitter’s responsibility to get themselves to and from a sit. However, with accommodation taking up one-third of most travel expenses, a huge portion of your travel bill is covered!
Our Experience With TrustedHousesitters
For two years prior to the pandemic, we traveled through the Americas, regularly using Trusted House Sitters to find new, unique house-sitting opportunities throughout Central and South America. We had very little issue with landing a sitting position, usually with dozens of opportunities available in each region. Sometimes, jobs were still being advertised but had been filled, but we ended up landing every opportunity we genuinely wanted.
We highly recommend the experience as an entirely new way to travel. We had the opportunity to experience a new country or region in a full-immersion capacity, building life-long friendships, practicing new languages, and learning about local cultures and traditions by becoming part of a community for months at a time. This is far removed from the common tourist experience.
Funnily enough, we now find ourselves in the pet/homeowners position, owning a 25-acre property in New Zealand with two dogs and a cat—goats and chickens on the way! We wouldn’t think twice about using Trusted House Sitters to find a sitter for the next time we travel abroad, and we feel comfortable knowing that our pets and property will be in safe hands with the network of awesome travelers across the platform.
- See Also:Â 5 Pet Sitting Contract Templates (PDF)
Conclusion
Overall, from a traveler’s perspective, TrustedHousesitters is a revolutionary new way to see the world and allow your money to take you further across the planet while getting your pet fix! From an owner’s perspective, this platform gives you peace of mind to travel when you need and leave your pets in capable hands without them needing to leave the comfort of their own home. It’s a win for travelers, a win for pet owners, and definitely a win for pets!
Featured Image Credit: TrustedHousesitters
