Does anyone have advise about tipping, or gift card or gifts for your sitters? So far mine have all been great and I tell them that personally and in their review, but should I do something extra?
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Itās not expected but entirely up to you. If you search the forum youāll find this has been asked a lot. E.g.
And
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Asking me back and letting me stay on for a week. These gifts mean the world to me. Also recommending me to friends and relatives!
Really shocked by the thread of Home Owner feeling a check list is necessary before the sitter can leave .. after missing sheets and pens!
Some people really let themselves and the THS ethos down badly.
I donāt expect any gift but usually leave one as a welcome back to the Home Owners.
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I have received vouchers for supermarkets and a local restaurant. I have received hampers, chocolates, jewellery, Prosecco, wine etc. Four out of 30 sits have left cash in an envelope. I appreciate it all. I too leave gifts for the owners - usually a bunch of flowers or a plant. Some people leave nothing, not even a drop of milk and thatās fine too. I do a lot of repeat sits and usually go back to the generous hosts. The people who leave me nothing often ask me to go back. But I donāt. It is not because I canāt afford to buy myself wine and chocolates, but it is about being made feeling very welcome, or not made feel at all welcome. The home owners that leave nothing are the ones who seem to think that you are luck to be getting a temporary roof over your head. They are not the sort of people I wish to keep in contact with.
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@Dkrumblis, welcome to THS Forum. Great question. Thoughtful mindset. Nothing is required by THS. Housesitters have no expectations. But itās amazing how token gestures at start of housesit and/or appreciations at end housesit (PP to HS, and HS to PP) can evolve the experience from transactional to relationship; and from āstaffā mindset to civil people. Need not be financial - even a lovely meal, bottle wine, or even offer to optionally stay extra night are often most welcomed in themselves and as gesture.
We have received kind gestures from many Pet Parents (and left gifts for many too). Specifics vary greatly. But suspect positive impact.
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Kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity work both ways. I go above and beyond .. itās my choice. The pets come first and Home Owners a close second!
How Iām āTrustedā and āTreatedā is a good indicator of if I ever return.
Itās amazing how a small gesture can bring so much colour!
The animals are never a disappointment. Iām here for the pets!
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It is you personal choice, some home host donāt leave tips/gifts, which is fine. Other home hosts do leave tips/gifts, which is also fine.
Personally, we expect nothing, but do appreciate anything given to us.
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So agree with your last sentence. Then they go into shock when they ask you back and you donāt jump at the chance.
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The best gifts I have had on a pet sit was having their bike and car to use. Homeowners have bought me dinner, left chocolate, wine, brought me back things from their travel, but its never expected and always appreciated. Do what youāre comfortable with.
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My ultimate revenge is to show them how fully booked I am with other sits lol! Just to drive the point home!
Not everyone deserves 5 star travelling pet sitter!
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I have received $50.00 gift cards to local supermarkets a few times. Always a nice note comes with it thanking me for coming to take care of their fur babies. To me that puts a warm welcoming start to the sit. I then know I am not with an entitled host. These host usually tell me to help myself to the pantry. I only use spices and olive oil if the olive oil spray I bring with me runs out. I also leave whimsical thank you gifts related to the type of pets they have. I have left tea towels with a cute cat cartoon with a saying, made from scratch written on it. I have tea towels with different dog breeds on it to match the breed I am sitting for. All those tea towels say, Every meal you make, every bite you take, Iāll be watching you. Gifts from hosts are not required but doing something thoughtful is wise. I always want to scrub the toilet harder for these hosts. Just leaving breakfast food for someone arriving at your home late at night or leaving homemade muffins is all it takes. Or leaving snacks in their room if they flew in late. A nice gesture goes a long way.
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Not everyone deserves 5 star pet sitter, so true!
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I never expect āgifts,ā and would not think less of a host who didnāt leave something. But I appreciate the thoughtfulness of a comfortably prepared guest space.
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Itās really up to you and how you want to show appreciation. Examples of what Iāve experienced:
Post-sit: Gift cards, wine, liquor, boxes or bags of candies, confections or jams from their travels, a hand-blown glass Christmas ornament, invitations to thank-you meals after the sit, invitations to return and stay even without a sit.
Some hosts also have dropped me off at the airport, train station or hotel at the next city I was visiting.
Thatās separate from hospitality or gifts I received as sits started or during sits, including being picked up.
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Blimey! Arenāt you the lucky one! 
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I think thereās a bit of luck involved, but primarily when I screen, I look for kind, thoughtful hosts. Their listings ā in content and tone ā signal that. I also check the reviews theyāve given, as well as received. I ask for welcome guides (in whatever format or platform) early and check those for content and tone. And of course, the video chat and other exchanges are revealing as well.
My primary question to myself is, if this sit went sideways, would these be good hosts? Would they be good at partnering on problem-solving? Would they show grace? If the answer is yes, then theyāre probably kind and thoughtful in other ways, too. The gifts and such are just icing, which Iād be fine without.
The signs can be small, like my next host and I were coordinating a video chat at the outset and I said Iād be finishing a work meeting at X time, so would be free after that. The host then suggested a time that would give me ābreathing room.ā So I had seen in their listing signs of kindness, thoughtfulness and reciprocity, then other signs continued to reinforce that impression.
By contrast, there was a host who tried to reschedule video chatting unilaterally, without regard for when I said Iād be busy. (I was on a sit and would be walking the dog, which I had conveyed.) That host seemed to think Iād drop whatever at their convenience and change of plans. I politely withdrew my application, because I avoid hosts who show signs of being self-centered, mean, etc. To me, better to avoid trouble.
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As everyone else has said, it is not at all required ā and cleanliness, kindness and thoughtfulness are the most appreciated by most of us.
But there are special sitters and special hosts (or perhaps āspecial fitsā) and in those cases, I would say āfollow your heart.ā If you feel like doing āmoreā because someone feels especially āspecialā to you, please do.
Also, you will have a good sense of what āthatā person might appreciate, having truly developed a relationship, and how they are traveling (gift card vs something to carry, ya know?). Or a bottle of wine or cash tip vs. chocolate.
Your question indicates kindness, so follow through as you feel moved.
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The best ātipā you can give us is a clean and comfortable house with lots of room in the refrigerator and freezer. A powerful shower and cleared shelf space in the bathroom. Some empty drawers and hanging space. Clear instructions about pet care and no surprises sprung on us when we arrive.
Give us all this and we will love you forever.
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Yes, I find freezer space a luxury as I hardly get it.
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