Transitioning to paid HouseSitting / Pet care

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
41

I’m a combined member, and I think rules and guideline “instructions” are minimal for both petparents and sitters. So I know as a homeowner, I get an email reminding me to leave room in my fridge and freezer for the sitters groceries. I know as a petsitter I recieve an email telling me to replace anything I use.

As sitter I’ve always either had access to the Welcome Guide or recieved a homemade guide of some kind. A few times, I’ve asked the HOs to share the guide or used Whatsapp or text – which is my usual for communication once a sit is confirmed, to ask them to send me a guide. So I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve arrived and there was no Welcome Guide or written information.

HOs like sitters are a very diverse group with different approaches. The last sit, the host invited me to use whatever I wanted from her kitchen cabinet, but apologized for not having very much. Some petparents have left written instructions like: “Help yourself. Don’t bother replacing anything!” Others have said it was okay to “use stuff to round out a meal.” Following the guildelines from THS, I just try to replace anything I use or use a significant amount of, especially if I know it’s expensive like maple syrup.

I had a paid sitter who would use my spices, oils, etc, on overnights, but buy her own food. I didn’t actually treat her as well as I treat my guest-sitters. For instance, I have a one bedroom and she would sleep on the pullout. THS sitters are guests and sleep in my bed.

I haven’t had any homeowners treat me “like an employee.” I think this could be because of the way I approach them, and because I am an older person. If I got that vibe in a video chat, I wouldn’t take the sit. Honestly, I think if you approach with the confidence of a person who knows your value as a sitter, they will treat you as an equal. If not, move on.

As a petparent in a competitive area, I decline sitters who don’t have the experience and the knowledge I’m looking for, so if I contact a sitter for a chat, I am interested in that person because I believe they have the skillset and if the chat goes well, I will be lucky to have them. I’m not going to blow that by being condescending. They might take another sit!

I’ve done some compensated pet care and I’ve hired compensated people. I don’t think THS sitters are treated with less respect. I don’t think getting paid means you are more valued. I’m supergrateful to sitters doing this for the exchange and excited to meet people coming to my city for a variety of reasons. You may be overestimating how “professional” petsitters are viewed.

1 Like
42

I started out (and still am) a paid local sitter since 2019. I have always only done exclusively housesitting (it’s just what I prefer best. I never wanted to do drop ins or boarding.) I live in NJ and charge $70/day, but I started out at $40/day when I was just starting!

The rates you charge should be within the range of the area you live in and for the services you offer. I now also only do cats, but have had many dog clients in the past. If they needed multiple walks or if there are various pets, I charge more per day.

As others have mentioned, some HOs on here are wary of paid sitters, although I’ve only had this happen to us once. And when that HO gave me that feedback after my application, to me it was just not a fit. Anyone who thinks I’m here to be shady or who has an initial distrust of us vs. openeness to my experience as a sitter is not a fit for me.

It would make sense to me that TH draws folks who are ALREADY paid sitters, obviously b/c it’s like we can use our skill sets to stay for free in lovely places, while doing something we already love like taking care of animals, instead of paying for a place.

As for making the switch the other way around - I definitely think it’s doable! It seems like everyone is becoming a pet sitter nowadays and you just need a few great reviews or personal referrals, and you’re on your way.

Insofar as how to divide paid vs. free - I offer the same quality service, communication and even leave welcome home cards & gifts for all HOS (be they my private clients or TH HOs) however my paid sits also receive a detailed “Sit Summary” - going over pet care, house care, anything worth noting for their records. I don’t do a full write up for my TH people, which I think is fine as they don’t expect one. I also always leave the guest room sheets & towels freshly cleaned for both.

It’s true what folks say about paid sitters - well, I know that my paid clients book me like 1-2 seasons in advance b/c they want to lock me in. Having a paid sitter (aka - this is their livihood) - it’s less likely they will flake, this is their business in most cases. But I’ve also locked in sits on TH many months in advance, which as a sitter is also great!

Lastly, it’s true, depending on where you live - most folks have not heard of TH and would find it WILD that it’s a free service. Being on the East Coast USA, it’s still very unconventional here and not the norm route when it comes to finding pet care. I’ve also had TH Ho’s who do both depending on what suites their needs/dates, etc. I always tell pet parents to have a local paid sitter back up incase they cannot find a sitter on TH. So being that local go-to (paid!) person is a good thing!

Go for it! People love their pets and many pay good money for quality care of them!

7 Likes
43

Don’t know where you live but I am in Washington state. I do paid pet sits all the time. I’m retired vet tech. I started with a few friends and some clinics that recommended me. I currently have pet sits schedules through November. Most of my clients were word of mouth from other clients. My dog comes with me or I won’t sit for people. I do THS when I travel afar. I sometimes take a THS locally when they contact me. I have even been invited by THS owners from other countries. I have been very tempted by those.

3 Likes
44

What sort of special needs ? I am a retired nurse and could look after most animals health needs.

2 Likes
45

Personally I am happy to sit without payment as I only choose places I want to visit so I feel it is worth it for me to travel there and get the accommodation free. However if it is more of a job for people I understand that may want to be paid and at least get their travel money back. I was offered payment at a house sit recently but I refused the money as it really did not feel right to me. I had wonderful accomodation by the ocean and an easy cat to look after so it was a pleasure to be there as most of my sits are.

3 Likes
46

We don’t leave him with strangers. With his trainer and the shelter worker, they’ve had a prior relationship with him. We chose them for that, as well as their dog experience.

2 Likes
47

I do quite a bit of paid sitting, have insurance for both ways and enjoy both equally. As to how much is too much I guess it depends on how much you want to travel, to where and how much remote work you have to support you if needed.

2 Likes
48

This exactly. My brother lives in the suburbs of major metro area that draws tourists. I wanted to check on him as he has some mobility issues, is getting on in years, and lives alone. Staying in his home was not an option. A hotel would have been costly. I was able to get my “own” space in a catsit in the nearby metro area and use mass transit with Lyft from the station to his house. There was a supermarket across the street from the sit, so I could use the well-equipped kitchen with staples to make my own meals. Thanks to the cheap bus options, the “cost” to me for the entire 4-day was minimal.
Updated to add: And having the company of a friendly cat was a plus for me!

2 Likes
49

I really am sure one could do it as a gig and there are a lot of homeowners who would like to hire a petsitter but have trouble finding one. BUT, if the friends I know are representative of typical petowners (who can’t believe I invite strangers into my home to care for Luna!!!), they want to know the sitter well; they want the same sitter each time; and they definitely want the sitter to live locally.

Many of our sitters have been living the full-time nomad life, enjoying traveling while getting to stay in nice “airBNBs” for free; others do it for vacations or long weekend getaways, and a few have been checking out where they might want to actually live next. They very much appreciate our hospitality and enjoy our cat and it shows in the things they do and say! We very much appreciate them coming to stay, consider them guests (and we strive to make their stay comfortable, enjoyable and that they get to enjoy the area’s cute towns, hikes, etc. We love when they can come the night before for dinner the night before we leave because it feels even more like we are friends! We entrust them with our home and pet, we enjoy the texts while we travel, we often have long “conversations” about life/what they are doing/what we are doing and we enjoy the pics of them enjoying our home (cooking, sitting outside, in front of the fire, and cuddling with our sweet cat.

We love the arrangement on THS and not just because we don’t have to pay cash for a sitter. I think that if it were a paid job, I’d feel differently about the sitters, and they might feel differently too, and our relationship would just be so very different. I find our sitters also like to do sweet things for us (as we do for them) and I think it’s because of the appreciative relationship that happens when money isn’t involved. (I could be wrong however, as we never paid a sitter before THS. We had friends with a son who lived less than 10 minutes away who adored our cat and who treated our home as their vacation home when we went on vacation. We had another who would borrow our dog when we went away. The family moved to Canada and our dog passed. And now we have THS.

The ONLY down side we find is we have to have a start and end date to be back, and can’t just decide to stay longer if we’re enjoying our time away, but we could have with our friend situation, but prob not with a paid sitter either.

We’ve only had one vacation stress where the sitter cancelled last minute, and out of about 15 times over the past 20 months, that’s not too bad.

I think there is nothing wrong with wanting to get paid. I think the world of petsitting is being enough for both arrangements and prob other creative ones, too! But I wouldn’t want a “professional pet sitter” taking my THS offer if they might be thinking that they could be getting paid instead of “doing it for free”.

2 Likes
50

I have two different pet services. I use the free THS gigs to travel to locations that I want to see . I also won’t do more than 2 pets.
I sit locally for a fee. I specialized in overnight sits and older or smaller dogs.

2 Likes
51

I’m not in total disagreement with your therapist, care for dogs is way more responsibility and if it becomes something that takes away from how you make money- then you should consider making money from it. I also see the other side of the exchange if you have a scenario where you earn passive income or the way you earn a living is not distracted by the responsibilities of more dependent or time consuming animals like dogs, farm animals, young animals like kittens/puppies.

Overall my experience getting paid sits has been better suited through natural interactions and word of mouth. Repeat sits for me in the same area that are sort of last minute or shorter will yield payment. Especially when you are that person’s preferred sitter. I do contract work and will be in an area for months at a time, so I tend to get repeat sits off the website. If you’re traveling around a lot and don’t stay put too long, then trying a site where you can list your services might be a better fit. I don’t know much about Facebook groups because I don’t have an account but I saw earlier comments mentioning this. You could also join a site like Rover (or whatever you have in your area) but I find that once the fees are taken out, the sit isn’t even worth it. Especially if it’s shorter than a week.

1 Like
52

I got into TH, because the people I know who had a farm where I used to live, mentioned they needed someone, but wanted me to sign up, to keep it hassle free. I’ve done 16 sits in the last 11 months, and now I spend as much time away, as in San Diego. Always got to be in driving distance. I love the Central Coast. Five star reviews, and now I can pick and choose.
TH is free, but on my 3rd visits to some places, they stock the house for me.
My community in San Diego, which is well to do, found out what I do, and pay me well. People I have sat for, have referred me to people who can and will, pay me quite well.
To me, it’s still all about the animals, from a fully flocked working farm, to one indoor cat that needs insulin shots. I learn so much.

7 Likes
53

I did paid house-sitting for nearly 20 years before I joined THS and honestly, I go about it in almost identical ways. Same get-to-know-you initial chat, same list of pre-screening questions, same handoffs, and expectations about cleanliness, both arriving and departing.

The biggest difference is that I got paid (and still do sometimes) for local sits by people I already know, or have found via word of mouth. THS adds the travel aspect and now that I use it for travel full-time, having a roof over my head is payment enough, plus many hosts are generous with gifts, food, or even extra cash or gift cards.

I’d be interested in doing more paid sits, since my cash flow is getting lower. I wish house-sitting could be my only job - wouldn’t that be amazing! But I don’t think any kind of paid sitting would get me that far.

But I’m also slightly afraid that paid sitting would require of me more than I already do - for pay that isn’t quite enough to keep me afloat.

1 Like
54

I totally agree with this! I have found in this setup that both parties are grateful for the opportunity. Honestly, as a HO, I feel like I have had better care from the sitters at THS than when I have paid for sitters.

3 Likes
55

I have been pet and farm sitting for pay for the past two years. I charge depending on the number of animals. The largest farm job I have done has had a dog, two cats (one of them pregnant), goats that needed milking, a llama, pigs, ducks, chickens, and four rabbits, plus keeping the garden watered. The smallest just had chickens. I just signed up with THS and am happy to work for free in order to be able to travel. I wouldn’t, however sign up for as many animals as I mentioned above. I always provide the best service possible and will treat both paying clients and HO on here the same. I believe all animals and HO deserve the best I can give.

7 Likes
56

Hello @LittleFlower and welcome.
Lovely first post🙂

1 Like
57

Thank you so much! :blush:

58

i’m interested in your comment that you use THS to travel to see places. i’m finding more and more sits are wanting you to be available to feed/walk their pets few times a day or not leave their pet for more than three hours. i’m wondering how you get to see anywhere. my daughter recently had a cancellation because the pet owner didn’t want her to even leave for shopping or go to the gym. while i just skip these sits it of course reduces your options

3 Likes
59

Not being able to go the gym or shopping for an unpaid exchange is bonkers @bubble. That’s just not on! We have travelled to 18 countries with THS and done about 30 sits overseas. We tend to hang out as a local during the sit & mooch around that neighbourhood (we don’t take sits if you can’t leave the pets for around 4 hours or it’s too demanding). That said we are digital nomads so proportionately are in the home quite a lot during work weeks. We tag our tourist fix onto the start or end of the sit.

2 Likes
60

I’ve just received quotes from both companies the first one asked for £10 a month the second was £5 a month if you paid annually. Thanks for the links :+1:

2 Likes