Tips To Secure Sits on Trusted Housesitters

In the 50 days since I joined Trusted Housesitters, I have applied for 33 sits, had 4 zoom calls, been rejected 12 times, been ghosted more times than I can count, withdrew 7 applications and finally I have secured my first international housesit! I’ve actually got two 🎉

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Words cannot describe how excited I am that my plans are finally coming together – one piece of the puzzle at a time. 

Whilst, I have only just secured my first international sit, I’ve already got five domestic sits in the diary from this site. These total 36 free nights of accommodation! Over a month’s worth of “free” accommodation already. The yearly membership (£99) has already paid for itself 😂.

Want to give Trusted Housesitters a try for yourself? Sign up using my link to get 20% off the annual membership price 🙂

What is house sitting?

House sitting is essentially a way to get free accommodation whilst travelling. You get a free place to stay in exchange for looking after someone’s house and usually their pets whilst they are away. 

Some people make money doing this but to avoid tax implications and be able to travel abroad, I have gone the free route. 

Want to know more about it? Read my complete guide to housesitting here.

What is Trusted Housesitters?

Trusted Housesitters is a site dedicated to matching house sitters with people who need one. It is a members-only site meaning you do have to pay to apply for sits. I paid £99 for my year-long membership, which should last me the entire duration of my gap year. 

Pet owners add a listing, this includes the dates they are away, photos of their home and pets, details about them, the home and the pets. Then if you are interested, you simply send them a message to apply. Then you wait for them to respond. If they like you, often they will message back to arrange a call. Sometimes you won’t hear anything for days so patience is key. Or you won’t be the right fit/they already have someone else in mind and they will decline your application.

My Top Tips

There are many sites out there dedicated to house/pet sitting so whilst these tips are Trusted Housesitters specific, they can also be applied generally.

Add reviews to your profile

This is so so crucial at the start!! Before you do your first housesit you will have zero ratings on your profile – this may make owners less likely to choose you as you are a risk. Add some character reviews to your profile so pet owners know you are a real trustworthy human. Even better if the reviews are from other pet/house sitting gigs you have done in the past. 

Pictures Pictures Pictures

Make sure to add a decent collection of photos to your profile – bonus points if they feature pets 😉. Remember you are trying to convince these people to leave you in charge of their pets and home, choose your pictures wisely! 

*cough* coming from the girl whose profile includes at least three photos of her holding a drink *cough*

Be open and honest

Your profile should be as detailed and personal as you can make it – in the best possible way! It should be a reflection of your personality as pet owners will decide of this whether they want to meet you. Pressure right!

Just please whatever you do – don’t lie! Not worth it.

Personalise your application

Some listings receive tens of messages applying for their dates. Make yours stand out by personalising it to the sit. Name drop their pets and reference comments made in the listing. This may just give you that edge over the competition. 

So that’s it – an update on how my housesitting journey is going and my top tips for housesitting success!

Would you consider house sitting? I’d love to hear your opinions in the comments!