Thanks for sharing your experience and updating.
Good luck and enjoy your travel.
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Congratulations Linda! (Wrote more but then saw the happy ending!)
Thanks all I am so happy with our sitters, this wonderful forum and also what the whole THS ethos is. 
I am also now thinking we could apply to be a sitter next year when we are planning to drive through Europe through France, Switzerland to Italy. But how do we go about it if we donāt have any reviews as weāve never cared for other peopleās pets before?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated
Thankyou and have a great day xx
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I think the fact that you are a HO on the site will help you get started. Also, you could try local sits and last minute listings first. Those are usually easier to get.
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Thank you for your pointers, something I will look out to do once I am back from travel in Asia 
Iāve signed up to be both sitters and pet owners. I am excited that this could be something we can do as we are going into semi retirement age and it could be a good way to see the world.
Thank you for your help x
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Hi @lindaWoo,
Glad to hear you have found a sitter so quickly and your concerns have been alleviated!
I just wanted to give some perspective from the other side. I have recently completed a 6-month house cat sit in Cheshire and have developed an excellent relationship with the owners, to the extent I have just been asked to sit for them three times next year! Longer term house sits are definitely preferable for a lot of full-time sitters like me, who prefer to feel settled in an area, to make connections with the neighbours, form a deeper bond with the animals than you might during a week-long sit. So, you are never going to struggle to find a sitter if you are travelling for a month or longer! In fact, I would be very interested if you were looking for a sitter next year 
You can tell a lot from someoneās profile and their reviews, experience and initial telephone conversations, but I think the most important thing before, during and after house sits is communication, for both parties. Open and respectful communication is conducive to trust, and being available and responsive to home owners while they are away (and potentially nervous about leaving their property and pets in the care of a near stranger) can go very far in ensuring they have a peaceful vacation. Any good sitter will know this, but home owners vary in how frequently they wish to be updated, whether they want daily pictures etc. so it might be worthwhile letting the sitter know your expectations of communication while you are travelling (taking into consideration time difference, working hours if they WFH etc) so you donāt worry if you havenāt heard anything within a certain timeframe.
In terms of starting out as a sitter, much like learning to drive, we all had to start somewhere! You mention you are at semi-retirement age. As a starting point, that is a huge bonus for a lot of home owners who prefer a more āmatureā sitter than someone in their twenties who might be considered more flightly, for example. You could also mention that you have explored THS as an owner, and are now looking to start your own house sitting journey. Being a HO in itself suggests you know what is expected from a sitter, which is another bonus for those starting out. While having reviews is always great, it is also possible to be selected for sits based on your profile alone. Having pictures with animals and external references is beneficial too.
Itās an amazing thing to do, and a great way to spend time with animals and explore new areas. Wishing you the best on your house sitting journey! 
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Being a trustworthy person able to care for other peopleās pets as you care for your own is important. Being a hcombined member is an adventage as both a sitter and a host. As a host, if you mention being combined, sitters will āgetā that you get what itās like and youāll probably be a better host ā more aware of little things like clearing some shelf/drawer space. When you apply to a listing as a sitter even if itās your first application, put in a link to your listing so hosts can see your reviews as a homeowner and how important good pet care is to you.
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Thanks @anon6309382 for your very detail pointers. You are absolutely spot on about people are wanting more mature sitters. This was apparent when we were doing our video call with our shortlists and we have gone with a mature sitters ourselves too.
Despite I dont have any reviews on house/pet sit, I do have a good business profile on linkedin with a lot of my peers feedback which hopfully will count towards that I am a trustworthy character. In summary, weāve come to an age now where are going to take a career break and to travel more to see the world.
Yes I would love to have further chat regarding possible sitters for next year. Iāll try to send you a DM if I am able to do .
Thanks very much for your help on this very interesting topic xx
Great points Thanks @Marion xx