TrustedHousesitters, a year and 25 sits in

The short answer

It's how we find 99% of where we stay, and it's replaced rent entirely. We used to pay $2,500 a month in Vegas, and we're definitely not spending that on lodging anymore.

The asterisk is due diligence. Most of what can go wrong on a sit can be caught before you say yes, if you ask the right questions and look properly at the listing.

What it costs

Sitters pay for an annual membership. Homeowners pay separately, and nobody pays anybody for the sit itself - you get somewhere to stay, and they get someone looking after their home and their pets.

Prices checked 23 July 2026.

We're on Premium. It costs $90 more than Standard, and Standard charges $12 a sit, so Premium pays for itself at eight sits a year - we did 25. We'll renew on Premium for now, but if our travel plans ever change, I'd reconsider paying for it. The full breakdown of what each tier includes is in Where we stay.

How to become a house sitter

Pick a plan, build a profile, and get the free background check that comes with every tier. Then you apply to sits - and that's where the work is.

Our first one didn't take long at all. We were heading across the country, from Bellingham to DC, and it took us about three applications to land it. You don't need a pile of reviews to get started; you need applications that sound like a real person who actually wants to look after those pets.

What gets you accepted - and invited back - is everything around the sit: being honest in the application, offering to talk before anyone commits, meeting the owners before they leave, and leaving the house the way you found it. I've written up all five stages in Where we stay.

How competitive it is

It really depends on where you want to be. LA has been pretty easy for us. DC can be hard to find sits in, Arizona has been difficult, and parts of San Diego are tough. Seattle is the one we can't crack - we've applied to more than ten sits there across several different dates and haven't landed one yet.

Overall, we get turned down about three times out of ten, sometimes before a call and sometimes after one. Don't take it personally, and don't put all your plans on one application.

What's gone wrong

A couple of homes haven't looked anything like their photos - dirty, hoarding, or with more pets than the listing said. That's the biggest reason for the asterisk.

And sits do get cancelled, sometimes at the last minute. I wrote about what that actually costs in Mulled.

The cancellation plan, honestly

Premium comes with a sit cancellation plan, and we tried to use it after our most recent cancellation. On paper, it covers alternative accommodation up to $150 a night, and up to $1,500 for the whole claim. Here's the small print TrustedHousesitters sent us:

1. $50 comes off the top. Every claim has a $50 contribution taken out of what's paid back - so if you're in a $100-a-night hotel for one night, you get $50.
2. Lodging only. No gas, no food, no other travel costs.
3. Within 20 miles. The place you book has to be within 20 miles of the cancelled sit, and it has to be paid accommodation - a hotel, a guest house or a licensed rental.
4. Inside 14 days. The sit has to be cancelled less than 14 days before it starts, or during it.
5. Pay first, claim after. There's no pre-approval. You book and pay, then send the receipts, the booking reference and time-stamped proof of the cancellation within 30 days - and whether it's paid is up to their insurance partners.
6. Premium first. You have to already be on Premium when the sit is cancelled - upgrading afterwards doesn't count.

Put together, it's a lot of hoops for a payout that isn't guaranteed. I'm honestly not sure the insurance is worth it, and if it's the main reason you're looking at Premium, I'd think twice.

Ask these before you say yes

The one thing I wish I'd known at the start is which questions to ask before agreeing to a sit. These are the ones we always ask now:

1. Medications - does anyone need any, and when?
2. Where does the pet sleep?
3. What's the feeding schedule?
4. Any grooming we should be doing?
5. How long can the pets be left alone in the home?
6. How are they around other animals? It matters if we're walking them, or if we've been asked to take them to the dog park.

Some of these the homeowner should already have answered in their listing. But sometimes what they tell you on the call is different from what the listing says, so verifying is always the best plan - ask anyway, even if you think you already know.

It's all the little things we've picked up over the past year, and the answers tell you a lot about whether a sit is right for you.

Easier as a couple

Sitting as a couple has made it easier for us. Some homeowners have told us that younger people on their own don't always respect the house the way older sitters do, and some just straight up prefer couples because they think they do better. The age gap between us really works in our favour when we're applying, too.

A lot of it is being upfront - about whether it's just you or both of you, and what you plan to do while you're there. We always lead with the fact that we both work remotely, so we'll be spending most of the day at home with the pets.

And once we're there, we split the chores - I deal with the pets, and my partner waters the plants and handles that side of things - so the bigger places are much easier to manage.

Who it's for

It's perfect for nomads, retirees and anyone who loves pets. It's not a good fit for families, or for anyone who wants to travel with children.

We looked at Rover too, but that's built more for people who stay in one place. We didn't look much further than that.

By the numbers

1. 25 sits in our first year - about one every two weeks.
2. 5 homes have asked us back.
3. A month - our longest sit, in Salt Lake City in July.
4. 2 nights - our shortest, and we've done that twice.
5. 2 dogs, 2 horses and a lizard - the most animals at once. We've had three dogs once, too.

My referral link gets you 25% off an annual membership - and if you sign up, I get two months free. (Yep, it's a referral link - thanks for using it.)