Bend is direct adjacent to the National Forest, with gorgeous lakes everywhere and a river that runs right through town. 250,000 people float down the river every summer, in inner tubes. I paddleboard multiple times a week. People here are very friendly, and it’s usually sunny and dry. Plus, we have 40-50 major concerts each summer at our outdoor amphitheater; it’s eight minutes from our house.
I don’t think we have had any sitters who live FT in another country. We’ve had several Americans who are global nomads at this point, and have made agreements while they were elsewhere in the world.
Can you please explain “the sit fees”? I am not aware of them. And, yes, until very recently, it was incredibly easy to find sitters who wanted to spend time in Bend. We have had several who came back for 2nd sits.
There are now $12 USD charges per sit for both sitters and HOs (after the 1st renewal post-December? 2025), unless they are premium members - makes shorter sits a lot less attractive.
If you don’t have premium membership then both sitters and hosts now have to pay a $12 fee per sit which is putting people off shorter sits and the platform in general. #newfees
Hi, @bkas ; welcome. Sorry to hear you’re having challenges finding a sitter…but yes, it does seem to be a theme these days. Possibly might add the concern about wildfires up & down the PNW states & BC, as folks who don’t know the geography may just be avoiding out of an abundance of caution.
I’m from the PNW as well; usually I’m traveling further abroad but have been doing some regional sits this summer. Unfortunately your dates won’t work for me this time, but if you want to link your listing to your forum profile you may get some folks here offering advice or favoriting for future.
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/how-to-add-a-listing-or-profile-link-to-your-forum-profile/
We love food carts especially because we can bring our dog yearlong. In the U.S., dogs aren’t allowed inside restaurants unless they’re service animals (like for the blind, etc.,). Some restaurants have outdoor seating and allow dogs, but many offer that only during balmy weather.
Great suggestion, thanks. I think I did it. Can you see it?
Yup, I was able to copy and paste the URL. Your sit looks fabulous, but I can’t do those dates. I already have a sit set up for late spring in Eugene and I’m probably going to apply for sits in Bend in late fall. Good luck.
@Maggie8K, noted.
We completed two housesits near Bend. Both were high-value properties with extensive amenities.
Heck, one was the only house we’ve stayed where we never drew the bedroom curtains. There was no other property nearby. And bedroom looked directly onto Smith Rock State Park. Truly spectacular view every morning. Wow. During handover, we always ask pet parents ‘is the anything about the pets, property or housesit that you’re concerned about?’. Question can identify all sorts of undisclosed oddities (e.g. appliance not working, recent pet injury, pet diet change). In this case pet parent responded ‘We are concerned that you may not want to leave property at the end of the housesit!’. A while after housesit, we were approached to return. We truly relished experience in all of pet parents, pets, property and location. But we politely responded no thank you. Was a milestone in our housesit priorities to refocus internationally.
Yup, lots of nice sits in Bend. I’ve never sat there, though, because I prefer to go with my husband and dog for long weekends there.
We happen to be at an Oregon food truck park for lunch, with our dog. Sharing photos for folks who are unfamiliar with such. (The closest U.K. equivalent would be food halls.)
The food truck parks vary amenities wise. This one, near a huge natural recreational area, has a lot of seating indoors and out. The food trucks line both sides, outside. They often have live music and other activities.
Oregon is a hotspot for this, it’s so cool.
I’m pleased that western Washington seems to be starting to adopt the food truck culture & some of these ideas, albeit slowly. Fun stuff!
Land is more expensive in Western Washington, so that’s a challenge. Not cheap here, but cheaper.
Bend is in a favorable location in the mountains. A very pleasant, scenic 3-1/2 hour drive from Portland. There are gorgeous mountain views and nice weather year-round. As in the AI Overview posted, outdoor recreation is very popular there, both summer and winter.
Absolutely, less sit applications to none at all. This last time I had an ad posted I had received 1 decent sounding application, but after the people didn’t respond for a number of days , they admitted that they were waiting to hear back from someone else and took a different sit. I had three sitters who have sat for me before, a couple of them a number of times, tell me they will no longer be with trusted housesitters after their membership expires , and that’s predominantly due to the sitting fee, plus a couple that I attempted to contact and it came up on trusted housesitters that they were no longer members. Granted, a sit at my place isn’t for everyone but i’ve been with this group for many years , and it’s only in this last year that this has been happening.
I think you are avoiding the real answer. In other threads in the forum, sitters express that they are leaving the platform due to the cost. Sitters pay the exact same membership and booking fees as pet owners. Sitters perform a service that pet owners would in most cases pay for elsewhere. Yet the sitter pays the same fees. It is not a trade off. The sitter works and has daily responsibilities and the Pet Owner may blithely enjoy their time away from those obligation worry free. The sitter may not pay for a hotel or AirBnB, however, the sitter actually works and has responsibilities that come with restrictions to the freedoms the pet owner enjoys while away. This has caused sitters to leave the platform to join services that value them and pay them for the service they provide. That is the main reason an owner gets so few applications; sitters are leaving the platform. Remove the booking fees to the sitter and reduce their membership fees and they’ll return. Simple.
I have not noticed a decrease in applications. I have been a HO and sitter for 5 years, with about 21 sitters at my house during that time. I listed a 4-week sit (mid-Sept to mid-Oct) a few weeks ago and got 5 good applicants within a few days.
I am in a major US city, but not a hugely popular one. It helps that I am walking distance from grocery, restaurants, fitness studios, etc and that I have one very easy cat. Also, most of my sits are 3+ weeks, so that attracts people, even in scorching summers.
@Peachy I think the other half of this is some of the responsibilities that the hosts want are very time consuming and honestly a little ridiculous. But I agree, there should be different pricing for sitters and there shouldn’t be a booking fee for them. Hosts will start leaving the platform if they can’t get sitters. Simple as that.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond with local information about BEND (the photos of the food cart areas was illuminating). It sounds very interesting. Maybe if travel to the USA becomes less ‘something’ I can’t think of the right word just now 
we will start looking at sits over the Pond.