Trusted House Sitters

I found this website in an emergency when I needed a pet sitter at very short notice. It's a fantastic website full of very good natured and compassionate people. I had so many well wishers hoping I would find someone. The admin staff were incredible at advertising our sit on their Facebook page and listing it on their website to notify people. People on the site don't do it for monetary benefit- they do it out of a mutual love and respect for animals and an interest in travelling. Highly recommend signing up and I think it's worth every single penny.

Now that we're retired, we're traveling a lot more than we did... but leaving our house, and our sweet but skittish cat, for lengthy periods of time was a real challenge. Friends in a similar situation then told us about TrustedHousesitters.com. We've used them to line up sitters for two holidays now (one for two weeks, another for almost a month), and have had nothing but a great experience. Our sitters have taken care of our home and pet as if they were their own. Highly recommended!

I have done 2 house sits. The people, the homes and the pets were wonderful. The website is easy to use. I have another sit scheduled in a couple of weeks. I get my animal fix and travel too. I suggest it to everyone I meet.
I am deducting 1 star for communication with the company. They do not return phone calls and it takes so many days to answer any questions. I think I have contacted them 3 times in 2 years. I will continue to use them I just hope I do not have a true emergency come up.

Both pet and home sitters and pet and home owners may require a degree of screening to feel confident about trusting strangers. Trusted House Sitters provides that buffer zone where people can meet and talk about a possible match. Unfortunately, the website could be more user friendly all processes are not that intuitive when first navigating through their functions. Yet, all in all a very good service provider.
(For example, as I attempt to add photos here, the program will not allow me to do so, despite repeated attempts.)

My husband and I are now on our second sit in the UK. We are from Perth, Western Australia, and love the whole experience of coming and looking after fellow animal lovers homes, and pets. Having the opportunity to live like locals suits us perfectly.
So far the two homes and animals we have been trusted to care for, have been wonderful. What an amazing community to be a part of. I get daily updates via email from the TrustedHousesitters website for new listings that we can go for. Also communicating within the website seems to be effective and secure. We will be interacting with this community for much of our travels, as it saves so much on accommodation expenses, a great way to meet fellow animal lovers, and enjoy a variety of destinations living like a local. We love it!

I have used this site a few times to find house sitting opportunities, both in Australia and overseas. The process to register was a bit time intensive, but as it should be, to ensure peace of mind for both parties. The people I have sat for have all been lovely decent people who just want someone to care for their home and pets so they can go away and not worry. For the sitter, it provides free accommodation for providing the caring which I have not found too be too onerous and at times, truly delightful.

I have used people from this site at least a dozen times. I have 3 dogs and 6 chickens. I have gone away for just a weekend and up to 3 weeks. I have Never had a bad experience. The house sitters are have usually left my home cleaner than it was when they arrived. My pets have been happy and serene upon my return and most of them send me texts with photos and updates while I'm away. I highly recommend this website has a great way to match sitters and people who need them.

This is a brilliant solution for people with pets who want to travel but don't fancy shelling out the cash many local house/pet sitters typically charge to stay in their home. It is interesting to discover how many people are out there who are looking for affordable travel opportunities or simply a change of scene in their own community and who are more than happy to take care of your pets and your home in exchange for free accommodation. The reviews of sitters give you some confidence that the people you choose are trustworthy, however I also strongly recommend having a good phone chat with the sitter before you commit, to make sure you have a good feeling about them and that they can address any tough questions or issues you might have regarding your pet or your house. We have only used this service once but the results were very positive and I am inspired to share a strong recommendation with other home and pet owners.

The idea is not common in the American online community, but I love the idea of an exchange based on trusted (a word that is in their name). Because it costs money to join and is based mostly on trust and personal contact, the site seems to self-select for people who believe in their word. Of course there will be exceptions, but our experience has been good. Also they do not try to police off-site contact, like Airbnb and other sites that make money by serving as intermediaries.

We have been members for several years during which time we have had some lovely sits: meeting some good people and delightful pets. I do think sitters should be given more respect, though - we give up our time to look after people's pets whilst they go away but the listings do not give enough information about the place we will stay - if we are going somewhere for a month it is good to know the place is of a good standard - one or two haven't been and we have been miserable. Some people have also had a bit of an attitude, treating us as domestic staff. On balance, most hosts are pleasant and some have been extremely kind so we will carry on sitting but would really appreciate more information (and photos) on the homes, not just the pets.