Thanks to everyone for weighing in on this topic. As a HO, I have had about ten or more sits for my two cats and have been lucky enough to have built up a list of repeat sitters. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that they’re all different, with individual preferences. One prefers the fridge emptied while another told me not to bother. As for gifts, I’ve left everything from wine to writing journals (for a visiting editor). Generally, I lean on gift cards from local businesses (e.g., a book store, a hip new restaurant, Starbucks, the liquor store, etc.) Our latest sitter shared that she doesn’t drink wine but likes tea and cheese, so a gift basket of those will be awaiting her on her next sit. (She insisted that gifts were not necessary and only revealed her preferences when pressed.)
Generally, I leave a gift with a minimum value of $25 per week. The average pet-sitting rate where I live is $50/day, so the cost of gift card(s) is a drop in the bucket. On the other hand, we’ve rented our home as a lucrative vacation rental in the past, so it, too, offers some value to visitors.
Bottom line: yes, it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, but pet sitters are heroes to me for taking such wonderful care of my fur babies and giving me the freedom to travel, and I am so grateful to them for that. So a bottle of wine, a gift card, a heart-felt thank-you, fresh flowers and a note that urges them to use anything (food, staples, etc.) they need feels like the least I can do.
@RobS You are the type of thoughtful and generous host we love to sit for! Its disheartening to sit for hosts who take sitters for granted and/or are ungenerous- both in terms of what they leave/offer and in terms of the lack of heartfulness of their review. When a sitter is in your home, using your things, maybe sleeping in your bed and doing anything & everything for your pets it is clearly much more that just a cold business transaction. We’ve had the odd host who does treat us like part of the (unpaid) staff and they obviously don’t value the (free) service sitters offer as you so clearly do!
We’ve also had some hosts are over the top generous and show their gratitude in any way they can- they make us feel so appreciated. Most hosts fall somewhere between the two!
As a Sitter I don’t expect gifts, yet I generally appreciate when an HO leaves a bottle of wine, a gift card and shows that extra gratitude. It’s really all about gratitude. I’ve had some very generous HO’s who truly appreciated my above and beyond care of their pets and house. A couple have brought small tokens from their travels snd or left baked goods, wine etc. I as a sitter and photographer usually have a print made of their pets as a token of my gratitude for entrusting me in the Care of their pets. Once again it’s totally up to the homeowner yet not expected.
I certainly plan to do so.
This is an interesting thread. I think the main point gleaned (and that I already feel) is that gifts are not and shouldn’t be expected- we’ve certainly never expected anything as sitters. I would also say for homeowners- the biggest gift you can give a sitter is to be communicative/clear on expectations, a clean home (not immaculate- but guest ready), and some space in a kitchen cupboard/fridge shelf and closet/dresser/bathroom. This is all relative to the length of the sit honestly. We’ve done a few days and week long sits that were more casual, but most of our month plus sits have been incredibly well prepared- honestly we were blown away and SO grateful for the above and beyond items- things like labeled items/boxes/lightswitches around the house to help us find things easily, very thorough guides, “eat anything in the fridge or cupboards and don’t worry about replacing them” comments, labeled plants for water schedules, and more. As for gifts- a few of our longer sits (1-3 months) have left a bottle of wine or craft beers from local breweries, we had a gift card toward a local food tour at one that was amazing, ones we’ve had overlap with took us to dinner the first night, and we’ve had a sit ask what staples they could stock the fridge with for us (we also asked them on their return what we could have available). None of these were anticipated and that’s really what makes it even more special- surprise gifts. 
My secret gift to longer sits is I clean the fridge. But the main thing is we leave the house really clean and leave a thank you note. For the above and beyond ones- I’ve also left baked goods, made a meal for their return so they don’t have to rush out to the store, flowers, some craft beers… sort of a small reciprocation- but I don’t feel obligated.
I’ve been lucky enough to have received all sorts of things from home owners. This includes being taken for a meal, having a wonderful home made meal prepared, bottles of wine, cans of lager, taken for a day out and one host made me home made fruitcake.
I did sit for a HO though that put post it notes on many things including salt and pepper in the kitchen saying ‘DO NOT TOUCH’.
BTW on a recent sit in Europe the HO revealed the previous sitter had used her landline without asking and had run up a crazy bill calling home to a different European country. I advised the HO to report the sitter.
We’ve been taken out for meals, cooked for, left wine & beer, been given little travel gifts & even beautiful jewellery! (which I’ve worn every day for an entire year) Never a monetary tip though and that’s across 12 countries and cultures and that’s okay, we’re also in the camp of “we’re not employees to be paid”. We always cook for our hosts when they come home and/or leave them homemade yoghurt, bread and soup. We’ve almost also had the post it note experience too @richten1 with instructions to 
“buy your own water & gas” 
Swings and roundabouts.
One of our sitters made us the most amazing Spanish meals when we arrived home. It was his specialty and it was delicious. It was great to come home after a very long trip where we were exhausted, only to find a belly warming indulgence of chicken and rice pilaf. We certainly slept good that night!
This is such a terrific topic. As both a long time host, I have also been a full time sitter for the past 8yr. To help my hosts, I provide them a ‘ready reference’ (for my use during the sit) that prompts them to write about all the things I need to know to care for their house & pets in the way they want. It’s in that proforma that I mention things (mainly to assist first time hosts) that helps set the tone, such as, my joy caring for their pets & no need for gifts or special pre-arrival effort as well as if there are any staples they’d like me to organise for their return. I typically only prepare a meal for a host’s return if I know they’ll be arriving late after a long journey. Having said that, recent hosts bought me a quality lite rain jacket on return from their NZ holiday. I was so appreciative & what an ideal gift for my dog walking duties! I use it regularly & think of them each time with fondness for their thoughtfulness.
Some owners have left gifts for us, and others haven’t. It’s very appreciated if they do, but certainly not expected.
We have typically left a thank you card with a small gift at the end of our sit. Depending on the homeowners’ interests, the length of the sit, the quality of the experience, etc., we have left anything from a thank you card and a clean home only to a card and fresh flowers and a bottle or two of wine. We have never cooked for a homeowner and probably would not do so given how everyone has such different food preferences, allergies, etc.
I know I don’t have to but because I love gifting. I usually prepare a gift bag with makeup and candies.
@donnaganley that is very thoughtful…I would just be a little leary of candles in my home being used by someone other than me…but that’s me, I just worry that someone might forget it was lit. I’m a worrier though! lol
Must have just mis-read @donnaganley as she meant candies not candles but yes I am with you about candles! They can be a hazard and I always forget to blow mine out and I’m very sensitive to most candle scents so that wouldn’t be the best gift idea for someone like me. You gave me a good laugh though 
Yes I went back and looked and it did say candies. Old eyes…lol
I am both a sitter and a cat mom. I like to leave gifts. There is always a nice card, something sweet or a toy for the animals. It gives me a good feeling.
We’ve had one sitter so far and we did give her a gift. She was very helpful and kind. I suppose we’d always give a gift. We also stock up the fridge and pantry. We go for 3 weeks at a time and feel offering food and open policy is the least we can do❤️
@Myhnabird - As a (HO)I recently asked about the thoughts of leaving food for a sitter or not to.
I take care to clean the fridge and leave it ready for the sitter to have a place for their food with the idea that they may not eat the same things or want to eat something we have. This is a good perspective to ask a preference for our next sitters.
@Mal, I could not have said it better! We are similar in both owner and sitter who takes time to clean out and make space and didn’t realize it could be taken differently.
I used to leave things in the past however it was never even acknowledged so I no longer do, on the same note I have never received a gift from a sitter but I do not expect one, frankly now I am just happy if my place is in the same state that I left it, which has not always been the case.
Many of the pet owners who have chosen us have treated us extremely well - left us homemade treats and/or wine, suggested we could enjoy any food/wine they had in the house, and/or took us out for a meal. We certainly don’t expect this but we do very much appreciate it when it happens.
What is more important to us is having space in the fridge for our own food, and space in the closet, drawers, and bathroom for our things. Even when homeowners offer, we don’t feel comfortable eating their non-perishable food or drinking their wine/liquor. It is pretty difficult though when there is almost no space for us to buy our own food and refrigerate it, or to store our clothes.
I encourage owners to think about if they were staying in someone else’s home for the duration of the sit, where would they store their clothes, food, and toiletries. Most of our sits have been great, but a few have been very lacking in that regard.