TrustedHousesitters Review: Should You Use the Largest House Sitting Platform?

written by local expert Jane Elmets

Jane always knew she wasn't destined for a desk job... She has travelled all over the world and is passionate about noodles, sloths and her hiking boots! When she isn't busy adventuring around the world, you can find her reviewing travel gear and dishing out travel tips to all the places she's visited.

If you’re a frequent traveler who loves animals or a homeowner with pets looking for a chance to get away, then you may want to check out TrustedHousesitters.

TrustedHousesitters is a house sitting platform that connects capable pet sitters with homeowners taking off on a vacation and looking for care for their house and furry friends.

As a house sitter, you get a free place to stay and the companionship of animals and as a homeowner, you get peace of mind while on vacation, knowing there’s someone watching over things at home.

Here’s the lowdown on TrustedHousesitters and whether it’s the best option to find house sitting opportunities around the world.

person reading on couch with dog next to them

Why House Sit

House sitting is one of the best ways to travel the world on the cheap. 

Save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on accommodation by taking care of someone else’s property and pets! There are house sitting opportunities all over the world, so if you’ve been aching to visit somewhere but may not have the financial means, house sitting provides an awesome solution for both short and long-term travelers. 

To find out more about why house sitting is the absolute best, check out our article on how to travel the world for free!

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TrustedHousesitters: Making It Easy to House Sit Anywhere in the World

Our go-to platform when it comes to house sitting is TrustedHousesitters. With countless house sitting opportunities all over the world, they’ve made it easy and convenient to find gigs when and where we want them.

Looking for a long-term stay in Sydney or a short-term stay in Manhattan? What about a remote house up in the Swiss Alps or a warm refuge at a house in South America? Yep, they’ve got it.

Signing up and creating a profile is a breeze, and connecting with homeowners is even easier. You have a world of opportunities at your fingertips with TrustedHousesitters, how neat is that?

How to Use TrustedHousesitters

Think of TrustedHousitters as a matchmaking website for homeowners and house sitters. Using the platform, interested parties are able to connect with each other to find exactly what they’re looking for.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to use TrustedHousesitters.

How to Sign Up

Unlike some house sitting platforms that make interested sitters go through an extensive verification process, TrustedHousesitters is easier to get started on, which means you can get sitting faster.  

TrustedHousesitters runs on a membership basis. First, you select the sitter membership which includes unlimited sits for a year, unlimited locations, free verifications, insurance-backed guarantee, and 24/7 membership services. Pretty good considering it only costs $119 per year! 

screen shot of Trustedhousesitters membership options

There’s also an option to sign up as both a homeowner and a sitter in a combined membership for an extra $70 annually.

An annual fee of $119 can seem like a lot but it’s worth it once you realize that it’ll repay itself during your first sit. Think about it: if a hotel room costs $50 a night, a three-night sit will easily pay off the membership… and then you have all year to sit some more! 

Plus, when you factor in that TrustedHousesitters has the largest number of house sitting opportunities, around-the-clock support (for both sitters and homeowners!), and sits located in all corners of the globe, it’s definitely worth the price. 

After choosing your membership, begin filling out the information and building your profile. You’ll go through a basic verification with your email and phone number. If you wish, you can continue on to another verification with your documents and identity — but that’s totally optional.

Once you’ve input your information, upload some nice photos (ones with you and animals are the best), and get started searching for your perfect house sit!

How to Find House Sits

As the largest house sitting platform in the world, TrustedHousesitters is swimming with potential opportunities for the eager sitter (and a homeowner looking for a vacation!). 

You can filter the listings by location, date, and even by pet type so you lay out your preferences from the get go. After applying select filters, you’ll be faced with different assignments to choose from, so go ahead and start browsing!

Trustedhousesitters webpage

Once you find a house sit that looks ideal to you, submit an application and wait to hear back from the homeowner. With your application, you’ll have the chance to include a message about why you’re perfect for the opportunity. Be sure to include information specific to the home owner’s property and their pets — it’ll greatly improve your chances of a reply!

Generally, you’ll correspond with the homeowners first through TrustedHousesitters via the app or online dashboard if your application is accepted. Then, you’ll hop on a video chat so you can meet “face to face” before deciding if you’re a good fit for one another. In your introductory message, it’s nice to include that you’re hoping to video chat, so you can begin coordinating times right away.

Homeowners are able to vet your profile using reviews from past homeowners you’ve sat for, your personal profile, and even any photos you may have uploaded, so be sure to put your best foot forward. 

If you’re a first-time house sitter, don’t fret! You can have other people upload recommendations vouching for you, so consider reaching out to past landlords, hosts, or neighbors who can speak to your character.

Insider Tip: Keep in mind that as a sitter, it’s your responsibility to look for new opportunities and reach out to homeowners in need. Very rarely will a homeowner reach out to a sitter.

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What We Love About TrustedHousesitters

There is so much we absolutely love about TrustedHousesitters. The platform has truly made it a breeze when it comes to finding a house sitting assignment. 

Largest Number of Sits

The thing we love the most about TrustedHousesitters is that it has the largest number of house sits compared to other house sitting platforms. Generally, it’s quality over quantity, but the fact that TrustedHousesitters has so many options to choose from increases the chances of you finding a sit that’s just right for you. 

Easy-to-Use Platform

The TrustedHousesitters platform is incredibly user-friendly and simple to use. Being able to filter by location and date is extra convenient as it allows you to search for sits that you can actually complete rather than having to sift through everything on the site.

What’s more, it’s very easy to get started, set up your profile, become verified, and connect with homeowners on TrustedHousesitters. Everything is in one accessible place, so there’s no time wasted when you begin looking for the perfect house sit.

Convenience of an App

screenshots of Trustedhousesitters app

Besides the website, TrustedHousesitters has an easy-to-use app available on the App Store and Google Play, ideal for looking for house sits on the go. 

As travelers, it can be hard to find the time to really sit down on a computer and surf the web while bouncing from one place to the next, but with the app, it’s easy to find what you’re looking for — right in the palm of your hand.

With the app, you can receive push notifications about messages, new sits, accepted applications, and more. You can even send out applications for new sits right from your phone! 

The ability to answer messages on the fly via the app is super convenient. As soon as you see that little notification pop up, you can quickly open the app, reply to homeowners and advance potential opportunities.

Super Handy Welcome Guide

One of the most amazing features of TrustedHousesitters is the online Welcome Guide to be filled out by the homeowner. The Welcome Guide is a place for the homeowner to write down everything a sitter needs to know about staying at their house — a kind of instruction manual, if you will.

There are six tabs to fill out: Welcome, My Home, My Pets, Transport, Neighbourhood and Emergency, basically covering all the important stuff. This is especially handy as it can act as a house sitter’s reference guide. 

Instead of calling or texting the homeowner every time you have a question (annoying), simply check out the Welcome Guide, and go from there. The guide is also easily accessible on the app! How sweet is that?

Insurance Guarantee and 24/7 Support

Finally, one of the best parts of TrustedHousesitters is that both a home owner and a house sitter’s membership comes with an insurance-backed guarantee and around-the-clock support. 

All members of TrustedHousesitters have complete coverage at no extra cost. The insurance covers property damage, theft, and public liability protection for up to $1 million USD, so you can breathe a little bit easier whether you’re going on vacation or settling down in a new home.

With TrustedHousesitters, you also get 24/7 support from both a Membership Services team and a professional vet from the Vet Advice Line, in case your furry friend needs anything. You can call in case of a general inquiry, if you need expert advice or simply don’t know what to do in a situation. So no matter what, you’re not alone!

woman holding dog on her lap sitting in chair

Overall Thoughts on TrustedHousesitters?

TrustedHousesitters has done an amazing job connecting people in need of home and pet care with competent sitters across the globe. The exchange is seamless and honestly makes a ton of sense, especially in today’s world of sharing economy.

If you’re looking for a way to save money while traveling, house sitting through TrustedHousesitters is one of the best ways to go, especially if you’re a pet lover and looking to experience a more local way of life around the world without breaking the bank.

Yes, the platform does have an annual fee but it’s a worthy investment, even for the most budget travelers. TrustedHousesitters gives you access to the most house sitting opportunities in the most places around the world, with support the entire way. You may want to check them out on Trust Pilot to see unbiased reviews.

If you’re serious about house sitting and plan to use it as a method to travel the world, join as a member and never look back — you won’t regret it!

That being said, keep in mind that using TrustedHousesitters doesn’t just mean a free place to rest your head. It takes serious commitment and work, too. As a sitter, it’s your responsibility to care for someone else’s beloved pets and keep their property in tip-top shape. So if you’re just looking for a free place to party while the owners are out of town, this isn’t the agreement for you.

However, if you don’t mind structuring your schedule around the needs of the pets and whatever else has to be taken care of at home, you’ll wind up with a beautiful place to stay, a connection with someone new, and an exchange of one service for another. 

Our Review: Trusted Housesitters
9/10

When it comes to house sitting platforms, TrustedHousesitters is the best option available. At the palm of your fingertips, you have thousands of house sitting opportunities and eager homeowners looking for someone to take care of their place and pets. If you’re serious about using house sitting to travel the world, becoming a TrustedHousesitters member is the way to go!

Pros
Well-established brand
Largest number of sits
Easy to Use website
Cons
Hard to get jobs if you're new

If all of this sounds like a good deal to you, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get started building your profile on TrustedHousesitters!


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TrustedHousesitters Review | Interested in learning more about how to use house sitting to travel the world? Here's our complete review of Trustedhousesitters, a leading house sitting platform!
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