Dreaming of a life on the road? Housesitting offers a unique opportunity to explore the world while caring for someone else’s home and pets.
It’s more than just somewhere to stay; it’s a chance to immerse yourself in different lifestyles and communities. Let’s dive into the world of housesitting and discover how you can turn this dream into reality.
Leveraging TrustedHousesitters
TrustedHousesitters (TH) is a fantastic platform to connect with homeowners seeking reliable pet sitters. It costs $100-250 for one year, depending on the package.
All of the subscriptions include background checks so they are fairly safe, and it’s a great value when you consider that it costs less than a week of regular accommodation costs.
(p.s. You can get 15% off a TrustedHousesitters subscription with my link)
To maximize your chances of securing housesits, consider these tips:
Active monitoring: Keep in mind that you need to be watching the alerts, and browsing the site weekly or daily, especially if you want to sit in a certain area.
There are more housesitters than housesits, so you need to pay attention to get the ones you want. The better subscription you get, the more searches you can save.
Submit your application quickly: After 5 applicants have applied, they close the sit for more applications, so don’t wait for more people to apply. When you know you want to sit there, hit that apply button!
Always suggest a video call: It gives the owner a chance to decide if you’re the right fit. They want to see you and know you, so be the first to suggest it. I love Google Meet since it’s super easy to use!
Build a strong profile: A well-crafted profile with positive reviews is crucial. Highlight your experience, love for animals, and any relevant qualifications. I offer an example of mine below.
Create a great bio and tagline: Sometimes, not often but sometimes, owners will reach out to you if they really need someone. If that’s the case, they’re going to choose who they want to talk to based on what they see in your bio, and will likely decide in the first few second whether or not they want to reach out.
Include great photos with pets: Go do a photoshoot with your own pets, or others that you’ve met. It shows that you have experience and makes you more personable.
Here is my profile for example:
Do a few sits in your area to get your first few reviews: It can be very difficult to get those first couple of reviews. I suggest looking around at remote places, or finding a place close to home to get that first review.
There are some remote places that probably won’t appeal to others, or that are close to you and you can meet in advance to convince them to test you out. This is SUPER important for building a profile. Ask friends and family who you know/have petsat for to write you external references too!
Getting sits gets easier with experience: Don’t get down about pet owners turning you down, especially in the beginning. It only takes a few reviews to make owners feel comfortable with offering you a housesit.
After my first 3 or more reviews, I started getting almost every housesit that I applied to, so it doesn’t take much!
More reviews, more sits: Make sure you ask every single sit for a review when you’re done (they only have 2 weeks to write one on TH).
My technique is writing a review for them, and then letting them know that I just finished their review, and asking them to please write me one so that it will be easier to get future sits.
Crafting the perfect application:
