Excellent tip @luckycat. It’s the old, “she said she’d marry me before she knew I was rich!” plot line. Your pets should be the draw. Find a real animal lover and follow with normal due diligence.
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@Edith - I think sitters sit for a variety of reasons - all of which are perfectly acceptable.
For us, As animal lovers, they are the final piece to the jigsaw when we are looking for a sit as we are happy to care for almost any animal.
The biggest draw for us are the dates, next the location, after that, we have to like the home, and yes, a ‘luxury’ home will definitely get our attention finally, as long as the pet isn’t a 
or a 
we will consider putting in an application!
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@colin - what a shame you don’t consider caring for horses. You could make use of the stetson from your hat collection 
is only for eating Check the reviews, do a video call, meet in person 1 day before or invite them to come 1-2 days earlier to know each other. When we did long house sits (>month) we normally sleep in their guest bedroom and live with them for 1-2 days. At the moment we are in New York City, arrived 4 days before and met the home owner 1 day before. When we made the application we were in Australia. So we flew via Hawaii (7 days no sit) to NYC. Until now it was a fantastic way. The location must be nice and it should be clean.
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References and do a video interview. Follow your gut 
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I recommend selecting sitters with background checks and great references. Also, interview them via WhatsApp or FaceTime and ask to see the space they normally live in while you video chat. People who already live in a nice, upscale home may be a more comfortable choice for you. We have also had prospective clients ask us for our address so they could look up our property online. Once they see that we also live in a nice home, they seem to relax.
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Hi, I am an Italian sitter. Whether I sit for in a ‘normal’ flat or in an expensive property, I feel the same, and that is: I respect every house, flat, mansion, no matter what! I think that in THS, you will find only sitters who simply enjoy travelling and sitting for pets, not even thinking for a moment to steal from houses.
Raffaella
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We have been sitting for years and have done several millionaire plus homes. (Often contacted privately before opening it up to everyone).
The homeowners criteria for choosing us, they said was because all our reviews are 5* and we have many repeats.
All the sitter needs access to is a bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen.
They do not need free reign to your entire home, but need to be able to go where your pets do.
I also suggest just a few key photos when listing. Someone will then apply for the animals/location etc, not the luxury.
All sitters are vetted.
Do a video call to meet the potential sitters. Then can then see what they have truly applied/been contacted for.
It’s a lovely trust based exchange. Housesitters can end up with terribly dirty hoarder places or aggressive animals if they don’t do due diligence too.
Research on both sides is needed.
Good luck!
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Reviews reviews reviews. I have stayed in luxury homes all over the USA and Europe. My career was in a major American Art Museum where I personally handed Art from Leonardo to Picasso. Not everyone is going to have those kinds of references, but you can always look for those kinds of references and ask the right questions of your top favorites. Such as their background and if they could ask for further references that might help to ease your concerns. People that I have worked with and several of my semi regular pet owners I know would be happy to give additional information for you. I see no reason why you may have the same opportunity from other pet sitters since many of us have years of experience. I hope that helps.
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Thank you for all the additional responses. They are very helpful!
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Hi CAnomeowner,
I have sat at many very luxurious homes, one with an indoor swimming pool and others with outside ones. Some of these homes have been very grand and in huge grounds. But you will get a good feel for somebody by reading through reviews that other owners have left. Also anybody who sits for you would be traceable through Trusted Housesitters. Many of these have not even had a phone call with me before confirming my sit. But you can also have video calls and just go with your instincts and past reviews. Good luck.
I very much agree with the recommendations.
Video calls, references, asking directly for references from previous sits and give it a call (always with consent of the previous HO, in our case it has never been a problem) and following your instinct is for us the most important thing.
We have been in flats of only 60m2 (I can say that in Barcelona it can also be a luxury) or super luxurious houses of millions of usd, and both have had the same care.
First we look at animals / dates and then location. Fish and reptiles, no thanks 
.
We have a nice house here in Spain in a beautiful setting. Squatters have very good laws in their favour here so we are very careful too. Because we have Tamaskans, and they are VERY particular about certain men, we require a trial sit beforehand at the sitter’s expense. We get to meet them beforehand (and I only choose sitters with lots of good reviews) so we can judge for ourselves. If they can’t manage that, then unfortunately we reject their application. We have lots of sitters apply from all over the world, a lot of which look at the pretty pictures and do not read our very specific requirements for (1) a couple as one person cannot hold both dogs (2) being in mainland Europe so they can come for a trial sit and (3) big dog experience. We have had no problems finding sitters. Good luck with your searches and reach out if you need to for anything. I’m a bit ruthless when it comes to someone looking after my babies and my house. Deb x
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