@Loreemezz my comment doesn’t say HOs should make cars available .
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@Loreemezz Exactly, it should be an exchange. But often I see people saying that sitters are getting free accommodations without acknowledging that hosts are also getting something free. I have seen HOs imply that they are just giving the sitters a free place to stay. Housesitting is a huge responsibility and the vast majority of sitters take it extremely seriously. I take excellent care of the pets, plants, and house and I leave the house as clean, usually cleaner, than I found it. Fortunately. the majority of my 40+ sits have been wonderful. But I have had a few that were bad. So, when I see people on the forums acting like sitters are not providing an important and valuable service, it makes me not want to sit anymore. I’m a highly educated, mature, professional woman with a career that allows me to work from anywhere. I’m currently traveling full-time and I really enjoy the addition of pets into my travels. But I can still travel full-time without sitting at all. HOs are not doing me a favor, it’s a mutual exchange that benefits both sides. Neither sitters nor hosts are getting a better deal.
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I’d be interested in just how common this is amongst house sitters. It has certainly not been my experience and I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with hobby sitter as opposed to a traveller. Travellers seem to me to have a legitimate reason for wanting to stay in my house while I am away.
I’m also interested in the reported homeowners that believe sitters owe them a debt of gratitude - where are they? There are almost no homeowners contributing to the forum, and those that do post are rarely made feel welcome so don’t stay around. What I’ve been reading emphasises the exchange: homeowners don’t pay for pet-sitting, sitters don’t pay for accommodation. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t costs on both sides.
I guess pet sitting is a hobby/passtime for me too. I love my home, and usually when I travel to visit places it’s with my touring caravan which is way cheaper than any rented accommodation. Right now I need to be within about 90 minutes of a particular city which is too far for me to tow to and I’m pet-less so I look for pet sits in this area that are also close to places I want to visit. This way I get the company of pets and can be a tourist at a leisurely pace, and can go to the city if called.
Yes, I get to stay in some lovely homes, but I’d never consider renting something like that so the saving there is irrelevant.
And, like many others posting here, I leave the home cleaner than it was when I arrived, usually giving houseplants a bit of TLC too, and maybe the garden as well.
But my priority is to the pets, and my reviews reflect that - happy, calm pets, which they might not be after a stay in kennels. So if a paid sitter is the alternative I guess the “winner” would be the HO, but I don’t see it like that.
The THS fair exchange cannot be monetarised.
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I’m a hobby-sitter, but I’m not sure how one would distinguish that from a «traveller»?
I travel to sits. I’m at a sit as we speak, right now the pet is sleeping on my toes. 
I chose to apply for this sit for a «mini-break». I don’t «need» this accommodation. My own home is «better» than this one, and I could very well choose a Hotel if I wanted to go here. I Even have a pet at home, currently looked after by someone else.
I chose to apply because this petsit gave me an opportunity to live in a part of town with no hotels, a «real» neighbourhood with «real life», and it is cozy to spend time with the pet.
I have descriced my motivation for petsits in my profile. I think it is any isete prerogative to choose to apply for a sit and/ or a sitter. So if you are more comfortable choosing a sitter that «need» accommodation, so to speak, that is what you should look for. A match that make the involved parties comfortable is of course very important for success.
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It depends. The car we offer is a 2004 CRV with over 100K miles on it. It was the car our kids learned to drive on, and while reliable it is pretty banged up. We’ve kept it because it wasn’t worth much as a trade-in, because of the cargo room and because when the adult kids are home, we aren’t constantly discussing who needs a car today. Because it’s no one’s primary car and we only carry liability on it, the additional insurance costs are extremely low. Since we started offering it for sitters, we’ve gotten a ton more applicants who are flying in rather than driving, so I think we must be attracting a lot more applicants. Doesn’t change your own situation, but for future reference for others who are in the same situation when deciding to buy a new car: if you travel a lot, and you aren’t in a high-demand area, it might be worth considering.
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Doesn’t make me not want to sit, but it does remind me to take care. I understand why new HOs might make that assumption, but if even after people explain the exchange from the sitter’s point of view, they don’t seem to be able to see it that way, it definitely reminds me to read between the lines on listings and reviews.
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I’m not sure what “legitimate” means. I think what you’re saying is that a ‘traveller’ – that is, someone who is coming to your area for some definite reason, like to see the sights or visit family or because they have business there – would make better sitters than a ‘hobbyist’ who might sit because they simply like spending time with animals and enjoy being in different places in general, and choose your sit maybe because “hm, never been to X city, might be fun to see it.” Am I understanding you correctly?
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When I see hosts posting on the forum about how much their home would be worth as a rental or versus a hotel, I make a note to avoid their sits if I ever see them posted. To me, they’re deluded, because their math is based on rentals or hotels when someone cleans after me and I control all of my time and I pick the exact location and dates, rather than making trade offs based on pet and home care.
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That is someone who has travelled to my location and their motivations seem apparent - no problem.
Okay, so I guess I’m misunderstanding what you’re getting at? What is your definition of the type of sitter who is a ‘hobbyist’, someone you might not be comfortable with?
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As the poster who first used the term said - they were bored at home so did some house sits. People who are based locally and can’t explain why they want to come and live in my house for a period.
@Marj
“I’m also interested in the reported homeowners that believe sitters owe them a debt of gratitude - where are they?”
The HO that started this tread is one.
That post could have been titled “how to be a grateful pet sit”
So the comments, I think , are replying to that HO , not saying there are a lot of HOs like this.
I’m not sure we’ve heard anymore from that HO.
Only a small percentage of HOs offer cars , so that’s not where sitters are saving money. I sit for the experiences of travel and by having accommodations, it allows me to spend more time in a location and immerse.
The way I travel fits the description of hobby but I don’t personally use that term.
I don’t consider who’s getting the better deal $$$ out of the arrangement .
From day one I’ve considered THS as animal lovers helping each other travel.
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I must be misunderstanding it too. I sit as a hobby and I don’t get why that should raise concerns to HO.
Could it perhaps be that they are afraid of “wasting their charity in people who don’t need it” ? If that is the case, I would be glad not to be chosen if someone who needs to be in that city, say to visit family at hospital, is chosen instead. The good part is I can practice this hobby anywhere but I need the trust of HOs. I would not like to be regarded as illegitimate.
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If you are travelling, visiting my area, then I can easily understand why you might want to stay in my house. I’m sure I made that distinction clear.
@Marj when you ask local sitters why they want to stay (I don’t think it’s “live”) at your home, they can’t tell you?
What’s wrong about being bored at home and wanting to find something interesting to do while caring for pets.
I find it very enjoyable.
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@Marj is entitled to choose her sitters for her own reasons, whether or not others agree. But there are countless hosts who wouldn’t differentiate between hobbyists or travelers, because they’d find it irrelevant, as long as they have confidence that they’d get the pet and home care they’d need so they can travel.
Some hosts want to know why a sitter wants to visit or stay in their area, but even if sitters share that, there can be no meaningful difference whether they see sitting as a hobby or travel, because they both typically involve travel. Plus, some folks actually live in the area and sit locally, for various reasons.
THS involves matching, so it’s perfectly reasonable that there will be folks who don’t match. For hosts, the more desirable their sit, the more choosy they can be. And by contrast, the less unique their sit, the less choosy they can be. Of course, some can afford professional sitters, but presumably they’re on here to save.
Judging from the OP’s other recent post and struggling to get sitters, I don’t think their sit is in demand, so they don’t get to be as selective. And I think this thread doesn’t help them. It seems more motivated by frustration.
It’s also worth considering that in any financial deal or bartering exchange, both sides decide value. Like someone with something to sell or barter doesn’t get to unilaterally decide its worth. If say a host says for instance that their home is worth X or would rent for X on Airbnb or whatever, that can be completely irrelevant to the people they’re pitching it to, because they can assign their own value or lack of it.
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FWIW, I’ve done local sits. One was because it was a short sit and the views from a balcony out over the river and hills were lovely. One was because it was a brand-new HO who seemed very nice, and I wanted to help them out. My first sitter was a local who was trying to get her first sit, and I wanted to help her get started with a potentially good review. Like others have said, your reasons are your own and completely up to you to use.
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So yes, I guess that was about me. When I am getting bored in my little Swedish town I may start looking for some sits. Maybe in Berlin this autumn, that is on my bucket list. And maybe Copenhagen could count as “local” for me, there is a direct train.
I don’t quite see why that should require any special explanation. It is something that I may choose to do just to enjoy myself. In other words: a hobby. I think that is a perfectly legitimate reason. And like many other things, it costs some money. It does not save me money.
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Too funny!
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