In another thread, Carla reminded us to keep on topic. She invited us to start a new thread about spin-off topics, such as other house sitting sites. I have been a little ambivalent about posting on that topic - it felt a bit cheeky to use the TH forum for that - but it sounds like it’s okay.
I did find an old thread that @mars started in Feb 22, but it was closed in June 22. As things have evolved considerably since then, I thought I’d open a new thread.
So to kick off: the other sites I’m aware of are Nomador who seem to currently have mostly mainland Europe sits - quite a lot of them - though some find the site quite basic. And Housesitters which refers to house sitting jobs, and some sits are paid, which could create a different relationship.
I’m interested to know what sites others have come across, where they operate, and their pros and cons?
I had a look at Nomador a few times in the past: always felt that 1) most of the sits where in France and geared towards a French speaking audience ( = not me), and 2) the site was difficult to use and didn’t have a lot of Europe-but-not-France sits.
In the early days of being a THS member, I was also a member of 2 other petsitting websites, however THS was so much better that I didn’t renew. Now after (9) years of THS, I’m increasingly starting to long for alternative petsitting sites again as a result of the recent changes of the past ~1.5 years.
Hello
Some other sites you might check out include
Housesittersamerica --I think this site is run by the same people who run some of the other country-specific sites like Kiwishousesitters,etc. since the layout appears to be the same
Housecarers: Originates from Australia I believe, but sits are a mix and don’t seem to be dominated by any one country
MindmyHouse: I think this site was started in NZ, but a mix of countries
These sites do not have as many ‘bells and whistles’ as THS–no membership services, no insurance,etc… The layouts are more basic as far as how the listings and profiles look.
The primary drawback of other sites when compared to THS is the number of listings. On any given day THS might list a couple of hundred new sits or more. Most of these sites may list a handful a day at most, and only have a few hundred total sits available at any given time, many of which seem to be very old. So either they are still waiting on a good applicant or they are not actually actively seeking a sitter.
For anyone looking to sit full time or travel for an extended period while relying on housesitting, taking THS out of the mix would probably prove difficult.
The exception would be if you were planning on sitting in countries that have their own dedicated housesitting sites with numerous listings, like Kiwihousesitters in New Zealand for example. Looking at this site–which I joined when traveling through NZ a few years ago–they have over 250 listings just posted in the last week.
I am also on Mind my House and I actually like it, because as a homeowner I can simply post my listing with “ongoing and flexible dates” and sitters can get into contact with me without having to apply for a certain sit. So if I know about my next dates I can either ask the sitters, who have shown an interest in our listing and ask if they are available or I post the dates and wait for applications. There’s no restriction as how many I can receive.
What they don’t have is a review system, although some sitters do have some references from previous homeowners on their profiles. But most sitters give you the option to get in contact with their previous homeowners. What is not a problem at all is that you can send them the link to your THS profile, where they can see all reviews/feedback.
Unfortunately it’s much smaller with not as many sits as THS but it’s easy to navigate and the website owners are just a couple living in NZ and are not interested in massive growth of memberships. It’s free for homeowners and sitters pay 25(€,$…? Don’t remember but not much)
From a sitter perspective, Nomador seems to me like driving on unpaved roads. I joined to get exposure to sits in countries where THS is limited. I immediately got response for a sit in such a country, but otherwise I find Nomador subpar and don’t check it much. I doubt I’ll renew unless there’s significant upgrading.
For my purposes, THS offers much better value for money and I’d recommend it over Nomador.
Most users don’t need to worry about overlapping sits, for instance. That’s because relatively few people are serial sitters or full-time nomads. For those folks, it seems like multiple memberships might make sense, though I’ve seen some folks complain about membership costs. That seems odd to me, because membership is easily covered by a sit or two usually. But maybe some sitters are super limited on finances.
That brings up a tangential question: If the cost of membership is a big deal, how can such folks cover themselves if a sit falls through or runs short? And would hosts want to risk sitters with so few resources?
Yes, that’s right but as a sitter can contact homeowners, who have put their listing online without current dates and show interest, I think as a consequence many sits aren’t posted. I would also first contact the sitters, who have reached out to me and ask if they can do the sit. If they can, I certainly wouldn’t have to post dates. I think many sits go away like this.
Maybe I’m missing something, but why can’t hosts post date-flexible listings on THS and have sitters apply?
And I mean be specific that your dates aren’t set. I don’t mean dumb listings where hosts post dates and then tell sitters after that their travel plans aren’t set. That’s a total waste of time. Personally, I withdrew from applying for a sit because the host didn’t have their crap together.
Same goes for sitters. The higher membership fee on THS acts as a threshold. One would expect that the worst homes on THS are better/larger/cleaner than on sites that are free for owners.
Not necessarily tidier. I’d expect people with fewer resources to have fewer resources that make sitters comfortable, whether that’s in location or space. But I focus on city locations. Folks who do rural sits might not find that to be the case.
Not necessarily in all of those respects, but people that choose THS must have some money to spare. I find it likely that the worst homes on THS are more desirable and have a higher standard than the worst homes on websites that are free for owners.
It’s chicken or the egg with applying as well. Like on Nomador I find even more listings that are skimpy, so I’d never bother applying or contacting the hosts to see whether even flex dates would work. It seems like a random time waster to apply for a bunch of sits like that. Of course, that’s my POV. For me, sitting is optional and I can afford to travel in other ways, so I’m not going to put in a bunch of effort to find sits.
I wasn’t talking about Nomador but MindmyHouse concerning flexible dates. I have never used Nomador, because the applications were too short and didn’t meet my expectations. Completely different on MMH, however. I’ve had really nice conversations with potential sitters there.
Glad you’re finding what you need on that other site. I figure different sites will evolve at different stages and some folks will need to change what platforms they use so they can get what they need. No company will satisfy everyone and some folks might end up having to use the best they can find and still not be satisfied.
For me as a sitter, it’s easier to walk away and be agnostic of any site. I also don’t have platform loyalty or expectations that specific companies will necessarily evolve to fit my needs or preferences.
I’d say it’s tougher for pet owners who want to save money for sitting — fewer choices, because otherwise they could just pay someone to sit their home and have more control.
I have a dog with special needs and just pay for what serves him best.
Yes, I was talking about Nomador in the other thread and I do have a listing there, but I haven’t had any sitters coming from there.
But I have been in contact with some sitters on MMH and found the conversations very nice.
I wasn’t comparing platforms for homeowners, because I don’t use any for that purpose and have zero exposure to them that way. I meant that folks who can afford to pay sitters have more choices overall, because they could use a site like THS, Nomador, etc., or not. Meanwhile, folks who want to avoid paying for sitting must contend with whatever platforms offer.
If MMH or another platform works better for you, makes sense to use them instead.
I’d expect various THS sitters to migrate to other sites if they likewise can find better fits for their needs.
