Hi I am new on TrustedHousesitters and just accepted my first housesit for 10 days. The owner has inferred that there may be future weekend sits if the first sit goes well. I agreed if it suits us both. It is a 2.5 hour journey to this housesit and on reflection I am considering to ask the owner for help with the petrol to travel for a weekend only. It would be mainly for the owners benefit that I would go. I live on a pension so extra petrol for a weekend away would be out of my budget.
I know the policy is that no travel expenses are paid and I don’t expect to be paid any for my initial visit but can return sits be negotiated.
What do others think?
@Hannajo welcome to the forum where you will find great help from our great members here who are ready to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have.
To answer your question (or actually you already answered it), you cannot ask for any petrol money for the sit as that goes against THS policies. The platform here is pet care in exchange for a home to stay in. I am sure you will have others weigh in on the subject as well.
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If it’s mainly for the owners benefit then why are you doing it? The whole premise of this site isiwin-win so for example I take sits in beautiful locations
with unique or adorable pets and get to spend time in a new locale with wonderful company for a fraction of what it would cost if paying for the lodging myself
If you are looking for a part time job, there are other sites for that.
Right now I’m looking after the most beautiful Himalayan cat with a view of the ocean in a town where lodging costs upwards of $200/night
Sure, in the beginning I did a couple of more local less desirable sits to get some good reviews but even those I felt were win win as it was an investment in building my reputation
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I’m not sure why you’d want to do that. You haven’t sat there yet so you don’t even know if you’d want to return. I would wait and see how it goes first.
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Please don’t fall into the trap of people pleasing. If you are on a pension and short term sitting for them is more valuable for them than it is to you, you are putting them above your own needs. It is not worth it.
They can put a new listing up for their future dates and find other sitters who might not be inconvenienced. Remember, it’s great to be a THS, but you and your needs come first in order for you to be able able to be mentally well (and financially) during a house sit.
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Definitely do the first sit and then decide if going back would be worth your time. Since you are just starting out, getting multiple 5 star reviews from the same host and showing that you were so good that you were asked back might be worth one return visit if the sit is enjoyable. Also, some hosts are very generous. We have never asked for anything more than a clean and comfortable house, but are often given restaurant gift cards, bottles of wine, flowers, fresh herbs, chocolates, tickets to theater events, etc. as a “thank you”. We were offered cash once as a tip, but we asked them to donate it to the rescue where we foster instead. We are fortunate not to be on a really tight budget. Good luck with your first sit.
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Yes, as the others have said, don’t commit to a second sit before you’ve completed the first. It might not be a good match. And even for repeat sits within an hour, it sometimes start to feel like work instead of joy, so a 2.5 hour ride is a long way to go for a weekend if it’s not magical. For us, the spark that keeps us going, is the magic of new places.
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To me it clearly sounds like this weekend arrangement is more to suit the HO’s needs and financial benefits than your own. If you start this kind of thing, you will become more like an unpaid employee rather than a loving pet sitter. You will also more than likely miss out on longer term sits by being tied down to the “occasional weekend” where I can almost guarantee the HO will call on you at short notice. She needs to pay a pet sitting service for this kind of thing or continue to advertise for each and every weekend sit. You are not on TH to be at someone’s beck and call, always remember that and ALWAYS do what is right for you, don’t get used. Life is tough enough on a pension without putting yourself through additional stress.
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