Thanks for clarifying @Therese !
With reference to the question that I asked in post #4 above, are the two complimentary months the same membership level as a member’s existing level? For example, if someone has a premium membership, are the two months also at that level?
Thanks!
@Mary-Kay Apologies for missing this … yes, the months are directly added onto your membership account, whichever membership tier you have. ie. if you have a premium membership, the extra months simply extend that membership.
Thanks for the rapid response @Therese ! It’s helpful to know that the cancellation insurance, etc. will still be valid during the additional two months.
That is a different membership than ours. We have the upgraded version which does not show this info.
Hi @long1016 If your RAF code has been used, you will always receive the added 2 months and this will reflect on your RAF block, but just at the moment it does not show who the friends are that used your RAF code, but I am still waiting on confirmation with tech if this feature will be added later.
Bumping this as I wanted to provide the referral link to a few people and to find out how it works.
Can I share a discount code with a person who has already created an account with THS but hasn’t yet paid for any membership plan? If, for example, they want to sign up to explore the platform a bit initially, and then want to pay for membership later down the line, will my discount link work for these members to receive a discount? Or would they need to sign up through my link from the start and have to pay for their discounted membership upon sing-up?
Hi @Lake and welcome to our community. I going to make a presumption here that you are talking about your Refer-A-Friend link? This is something that Membership Services will need to assist you with as it’s an unusual scenario, so I’m going to tag @Lucy-B so that she can assist you when she’s next on line. I do believe that they need to use it at point of signup, but want to be sure you get the right information.
Alternatively, you can contact the team at support@trustedhousesitters.com and they will be able to help and advise.
I’ll take this opportunity to say a big thank you for sharing information about TrutsedHousesitters so that more people and pets can benefit !!
All the best, Vanessa and the forum team
Thanks for your response. Yes, I’ve talked about THS with many people now since embarking on this exploration and I always say that they can create an account for free to have a look at how it all works and see what opportunities pop up and then if/when they feel ready to give it a try, they can pay for the membership to start applying for sits. I usually forget completely about the Refer a Friend link when I bring it up. But, I am not sure about how my refer a friend would work for them if they do not want to get their membership straight away. If they have to sign up through my link from the start in order to get the membership discount (even if it’s some months later), or whether they can sign up whenever and then ask me for a discount link when they want to commit to paying for a membership.
@Lake the RAF can be done in many ways, and not just by you sending a link. The main thing needed is your unique RAF code, which they enter online when paying for their membership.
You can just provide your RAF#, rather than sending a link. When you’re signed in to THS, click on Refer a friend along the top of the page, you have an option to send invite or share. If you look at the URL address in the share option, you’ll see your RAF# at the end. You can give that number to anyone and just say that if for some reason they need you to remind them of it, to just let you know. I have business cards and if the situation is such that I want to share my code, I just write it on the back.
Francine,
Volunteer Forum Moderator 
Hi @Lake I will share my reply here rather than via email as it may benefit other members with similar referral queries.
With regards to sharing your link with a friend who has already created an account, yes you absolutely can. Once your friend has logged into their unpaid account, they can then enter your referral link into their browser and will be presented with the discounted plan options.
Equally, as @Snowbird has highlighted, you can also provide them with your RAF code which is your own unique referral code. This can be found within the URL link that you share with your friends. I have added an example below for you to help you and others locate the referral code.
I’ll echo @Vanessa_A with another thank you for sharing TrustedHousesitters with your friends and spreading the good word.
All the best
Lucy
This may seem like a strange question for this, but is there a cutoff for how many free months you can receive? We have tons of referrals, but it seems our expires date has not increased. My husband made business cards with our referral link on it because we seem to find ourselves talking about housesitting almost everywhere we go, especially when we are traveling and fellow tourists ask where you are staying. Last year in Hawaii we started having a conversation in a restaurant with a couple next to us and when my husband went to give them one of the cards, three other people who had over heard the conversation asked if they could have one too. 
For many Americans it seems to be a very new concept.
Hi @Dawn and not a strange question at all. Yes, there is a limit at 5 years of free months. However, there is also an affiliate program whereby you get commissions for referring new members, something our blogger and active social influencer members often move to. Here’s a link to more information on that:
(As well as working in the forum, I also work on the affiliate team, so if you’d like any further information, don’t hesitate to direct message or email me at vanessa@trustedhousesitters.com)
I love those moments in restaurants when the conversation turns to what you do and you soon have a table full of interested potential house sitters… a big thank you from all the team for taking the time to spread the word!
My favourite story, and I know they won’t mind me telling this here, was meeting a lovely family on vacation in Cuba in a “casa particulares” we were all staying at. We passed on our email to stay in touch after chatting about house sitting. They were also living in Hawaii and within a year had lost their home in the volcano eruption (it was right in the path of the lava flow). They became homeless and house sitters almost simultaneously and went on to enjoy the house sitting lifestyle for several years, before recently settling back on the island in a new home!
All the best
Vanessa
I am surprised to read there is a cut off for referring friends - do you know what is the thinking to stop active members spreading the word and being rewarded for doing so.
It seems an unusual business decision to stop this incentive for members that promote THS heavily - also, I can find no mention of this cut off in any of the RAF info on the site - or am I missing the small print somewhere?
Are THS expecting all RAF referrals to be genuine friends or is general promoting to strangers in the park/on the bus/on Facebook groups acceptable
The affiliate program looks complicated to me - do you have to have a social media following to be involved? how is id different than the RAF scheme? Do new members introduced through the affiliate scheme get a discount when they join?
Hi Colin and good questions and observations as always. For RAF I don’t believe it’s anything other than an inherent limit set a long time ago that has rarely been exceeded and so hasn’t made it to the priority review list (that’s my personal view and we will raise with the team) - I suspect as the company grows and the internal stats show that more people are reaching this limit it will naturally get reviewed. RAF stats are constantly monitored.
The Refer a Friend scheme was created as a loyalty program for friends and family and of course, we know for some of us that includes chatting with other travelers as we house sit around the world 
I believe that most of our new members come through some sort of word of mouth referral and it’s definitely something that is incentivised and frequently encouraged.
An affiliate program (as used by many companies to promote their services or products), is designed for those people who “actively” promote via a small business, for instance as bloggers, professional websites, influencers, etc., to name just a few. And yes they generally have a following/audience of some kind from a website, email list or social channel. It is more involved which is why the RAF scheme exists as a simple member option. It’s easier maybe to think of an affiliate as a small business partner. Each application is handled individually.
If this is something you or anyone else is interested in, please email affiliate@trustedhousesitters.com and we will talk this through with you. Colin I will DM you later today if it’s something you are interested in.
All the best, Vanessa
Hi Vanessa, Thanks for the explanation - it did occur to me when asking the question that 5 years free membership is 30 referrals so probably rarely reached but I also thought the few members that do manage to refer 30 new members must be promoting THS a lot so stopping them at that point seems nonsensical. It’s like sacking your best sales people because they are selling too much?
To be honest, I like the RAF scheme - it is simple and the incentive is generous enough to both established and prospective members so suits me fine. I do have a blog but only with around 100 subscribers and I regularly mention the RAF scheme on it.
Just to clarify, if the affiliate scheme is used is there any discount offered to the prospective member or does only the established member gain from the introduction?
Yep totally agree which is why it’s monitored and tbh most that have reached 30 referrals that I know about were happy to come to the affiliate program because their approach to referrals has changed and increased - happily they go on to refer EVEN more members, just in a different way
As mentioned, each affiliate application and partnership is assessed individually and it depends on many factors which incentives are or can be applied, and that includes discounting. If you are happy with the RAF scheme, I would stay with it for now - that’s what many smaller bloggers do … you’ll notice RAF codes on many of them!!
It’s now 2023. Has this yet been upgraded to show us which friends have joined once referred?
Nope. We get emails on occasion, that we’ve earned 2 months through a referral link, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it mentioned who the new member is.
