I’m curious … why do HOs choose to use THS instead of paid sitters if it’s not for financial reasons? If you could easily afford paid sitters, why do you prefer THS?
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You should probably have posted this in the Home Owners’ category for more responses. But, common sense tells me that why should they pay for a sitter if they can get one free? Paid sitters aren’t necessarily better than unpaid ones
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Hi @UKSITTER1
A couple of my sits have been in very expensive properties that has treated me very well. According to both HO’s they had tried paid sitters but weren’t happy. One wasn’t happy with the limited cat care provided and one, the twice daily feeding with little or no interaction with her cats. The lady HO mentioned that one of her cats liked an evening snuggle (which she did!) that a paid sitter didn’t provide. 3-5 hours sat in front of the tv!
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As a HO I can tell you that price does factors in, especially for a long sit. However it’s mostly about the quality of the care. Before finding THS we paid for a pet sitter but it was in the form of a 1 hour visit every day which left our cats alone 23 hours a day. When the sitter visited most of the hour was spent taking care of the litter, food and water which left very little (if any) quality time for the cats. With THS our cats get the same kind of presence they are used to when we are home. We wouldn’t mind paying if such a paid service existed and the price wasn’t prohibitive.
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Because I am also a budget traveler, and I want to give people opportunities to travel that they might not have otherwise - which touches on a financial aspect, but isn’t 100% that.
I also take the exchange notion seriously and like getting to know sitters, however slightly. I know there are lots of sitters on the platform who aren’t into that at all, and that’s fine, but to me, it’s another way in which THS is more than just a transactional relationship.
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Lots of threads on this forum show that for a lot of people THS is, as @belluca says, much more than just a transactional relationship.
For me, as a sitter, it certainly is. I can afford traveling without sitting and I do but sitting adds a few benefits to the experience: the company of pets, intercultural relations, living like a local…
I guess for HOs there’s also an added bonus. They get to know people from different cultures and they know their pets will have good care and company. Their property is also looked after.
I feel we belong to a community, which is diverse in many ways but I think we are likeminded in many others.
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I don’t know anyone who could “easily afford” paid sitters especially when you’re talking about overnights. If I didn’t use THS I wouldn’t be traveling as much period. Pre-THS and especially when we had a dog as well as cats, we hardly travelled at all. I used to use drop in sitters for my cats, which was less expensive, but as their needs changed, overnights made more sense.
It’s sort of a false choice as many people woud do other things besides “paid sitters” including kennels for dogs, travelling much less, relatives, neighbors, neighbor’s teenagers, etc.
We used to have an overnight sitter (precovid). Initially, overnights were her idea as she did dog walking nearer to us than to her not completely legal living situation. She was good enough with the cats but had some boundary issues. She left NYC during COVID and I was relieved frankly. I briefly went back to drop in, but didn’t feel good about it, and then found THS. The quality of the sitters has really been excellent and the fact that they are living here helps ensure my pets are taken care of. For me as a petparent it has been mostly guiltfree “freedom to travel.” I think people who say “Why don’t you hire a professional?” have no idea how petsitting works and are gravely overestimating the skill level of many paid petsitters. For a while during COVID we were out of the city and using a local service that sent vetted pet sitters who were lovely, but you only had service between 8 and 5 so not ideal for cats that need more.
I don’t think this model works for everyone as there might not be much value for the sitters if there is too much work and/or the location isn’t good. But when it works, it’s great for both parties. I also sit. It’s not just “saving money” it’s being able to travel a whole lot more. The travel we’ve done just wouldn’t have happened if we weren’t able to use this two ways.
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That is a very good question. I have a few answers that come to mind.
First, our pets are cats. They don’t board well so that’s not an option.
Second, I want my pets to stay home when we travel and do not want them left alone for hours on end over days to weeks. I have a few locals who will visit for a few minutes per day but no one who will stay overnight.
Third, if I look for a sitter locally, I have very few options. On THS the options are effectively unlimited.
Fourth, we prefer sitters whose lives are not based locally. We’ve learned from experience that locals have busy lives and friends who show up unannounced. The result has been too many distractions and too much disruption in the house.
Fifth, THS sitters have proven to be excellent. I doubt I’d be able to find better elsewhere.
Sixth, barter is preferable over buying. So, yes, the financial calculation with THS makes total sense.
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@UKSITTER1 
I see it as a mutual exchange. I need a sitter while I’m travelling and I enjoy the style of travelling sitting offers me. So the exchange is kind of equal. Although I’ve never done a repeat sit, but have been invited to do so quite a few times, my own sitters are repeat sitters. My sitters have sat for me since 2017. They’ve become beloved friends. Prior to finding the best sitters in the universe I paid once, and I’ve had friends of friends a few times. The paid one was fine, but really expensive after a month long trip and the friends of friends didn’t respect the concept as well as sitters through an organisation like Trusted HouseSitters. (I used Aussie HS for my OG sitters)
It’s not really ‘free’ either, we all pay (on a sliding scale) a fee to access this organisation THS and its databank of potential hosts and guests. With the support network and other perks supplied with membership.
My sitters love my town so much they’ve moved here permanently. So now they’ve changed to my emergency contacts and plan B so I’ve recently extended my membership to a dual one. Which will allow new potential unmet friends to come love on my wee fur family.
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In addition to the reasons already given on this thread, when in HO mode I prefer to have someone in the house full time for security reasons - not just for breakins etc., which are more likely when the house is empty, but also in case of things like a water leak, electrical fire, etc. (both of which happened in my home)
I also like knowing someone is there because they WANT to be there - to visit the area, or friends, or just to have a break - versus feeling like they are there only because it is their “job” to sit. I used paid sitters for many years, and though I could afford it, the expense of it did significantly limit my travel. And I felt like the paid sitters did what they were paid to do and no more. Whereas THS sitters seem, for the most part, to really enjoy the pets and go out of their way to make them happy.
THS also lets me review and approve my own sitters, whereas services I’ve used send whichever sitter is available.
Overall, though, my experience of THS has been one of community - it is relationship based, not transaction-based. That feels good. (This is one reason, by the way, that I dislike the “Trusted Trailblazers” program. It focuses on so-called ‘inluencers’ and their followers, as opposed to a community of equals)
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I never use THS for hosting, because our dog is highly reactive and territorial. We hire professionals to board him. The one we’ve used most frequently knew him from way back at the shelter, when he sat unadopted for months. She and her husband now live on 20+ acres and take great care of our dog, so it’s well worth the expense.
When I was looking for paid in-home sitters, I had them come and do visits first, so I could see how they interacted with our dog. The problem with the best folks is, they’re often booked way ahead, so timing can be a challenge.
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I have an upcoming sit with a host who has also done some TH sitting with her husband. They travel frequently, and she reported that her neighbors have commented that her dog has received far more walks/attention with a TH sitter than with a paid sitter! Most us do it to travel and for our love of animals, not the money!
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Several new hosts who we have sat for previously had a regular paid sitter.
When that sitter stopped doing house sits due to change in circumstances ( moved away , gotten older and retired ) they decided to try THS .
Once they had a positive experience of THS sitter and embraced the concept of having a different sitter each time , they have gone on to stick with THS for their future sits .
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First, financial reasons are certainly a factor. Prior to THS, we traveled much less and/or separately sometimes because every trip meant a significant “pet tax.” Second, while finding reliable consistent local care sounds like it would be ideal, the reality is something else. It is very difficult to make a living doing full time pet care. Many sitters are struggling and/or it is a side gig, meaning at some point they might stop or they might try to double dip and take two overnight jobs at once. (Shocking right?) Anyone can join Rover or most other apps. People are so anxious to get in on this that right now can’t join a certain just for cats paid drop in service because too many people in my zip code are listed! This might make drop in services relatively inexpensive, but it also means that on apps the person might not be ideal.
We used to use drop in sitters for our cats. There were a steady supply of neighbor’s teenagers, and students at a nearby university, out of work theater people, etc. Then my cats’ needs grew as they aged and 3 visits a day would be better than two. We found a sitter with a lot of experience, but let’s just say she had boundary issues asn was a bit… eccentric. Sometimes it’s great to have the same person. Sometimes it’s good to be able to move on.
I’m lucky to live in a place that people want to visit. I’m lucky to have a nice renovated apartment. These are things of value. I do “gig” work. I’m fine with a sharing economy and like that I can use the exchange in two directions – even if coordinating it all becomes challenging at times. Most of the sitters have been interesting people, excited to be travelling and with a significant amount of pet caring experience.
I think THS needs to do a little more to work with homeowners on seeing this as an exchange and bringing up their standards, but most of the homes I’ve sat in have been great and all the hosts have been incredibly nice people.
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I always had paid sitters. You don’t always get quality. And I must have paid over $10,000 during my pet lifetime – we traveled a lot. I was worried about my valuables, so didn’t want some strange person in our home. But now I am in other people’s homes. Realizing I could have gotten a good THS sitter for free.
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