How To Get Started With Housesitting If You've Never Done It Before

One of the greatest strategies we full-time travelers use to save money is housesitting. Whether you're traveling solo, or as a couple, or even a family, having use of a home, being able to cook your meals, and enjoy the wonderful companionship of animals is both a fun way to experience new places, and helps you save loads over hotel and Airbnb costs.

However, with the increase of people traveling full-time, this is no longer a hidden strategy. It's gotten quite competitive to get a housesit, and if you have no reviews, and no experience, you're going to face a lot of rejection.

Which Service Should You Use?

The first thing you’ll need to do is choose a company to sign up with as a housesitter. There are many these days, and it can be hard to pick. They all require a fee, which has gone up astronomically over the past few years, so you don’t want to pay for more than one, if you can help it.

To make the decision easier, start by considering where you’re traveling. If all your travels are within your own country, it may be best to sign up with an in-country service. For example, I used Kiwi Housesitters while in New Zealand during the pandemic. I got a lot more sits than with Trusted Housesitters at the time. And, it was much less expensive.

If you’re traveling internationally, then it’s less expensive and more logical to sign up with a global housesitting company, or one that partners with other services in other countries. To find out about in-country partners, contact the service provider of your choice and ask about their potential partners. I use Trusted Housesitters. (This is my affiliate link, and I will earn extra months if you use my link to sign up with them.) I chose them after leaving New Zealand because I wanted a global provider, a trustworthy platform, and one place to build reviews. Unfortunately, the reviews I had on Kiwi Housesitters didn’t move over with my change of provider. That’s why I ultimately opted for a service with global coverage.

How To Get A Sit If You're Brand New To Housesitting

Signing up is only step one. The next problem you have is how competitive the sitting industry has become. If you don’t have any recommendations, it can be even tougher to get selected. Even if you do have reviews, some hosts have a “first come first serve” policy with applications. If you’re not first to apply, you may not get the sit.

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

1. Create a great profile. Make sure that you fill out every part of the profile you can. Include great photos of you with pets, describe yourself, your interest in sitting, and any information people should know about you, and why you’re a great choice. Give your profile as much attention as you’d give a resume. Make sure to update it at least twice a year. In my “experience” section, I spoke about sits and pet-watching experiences I loved, and included details like how much I enjoy their companionship and how some would sleep on the bed with me, so potential hosts know I’m at ease with these traits.
2. Apply for lower-demand sits. Trusted Housesitters has a “low applications” listing category. This is a great way to find hosts that are more likely to consider you. So, apply to a few of these for a better chance of being selected. I found that all the low application sits I applied for got a response, and the hosts were lovely and responsive.
3. Be open to random locations. If you can search “anywhere” or, an entire country, instead of just popular cities, you’re more likely to find an available sit, and, possible, one that has less applications. On my recent trip to the UK, I searched outside of London since the sits there were more competitive. I had no problem finding a plethora of available sits!
4. Have a video call. Make sure to jump on a video call with the host. They may ask you to, and, if not, suggest it. First, this is important for safety reasons. Second, you’ll want to treat it like an interview, get to know the host, let them get to know you, and see if you and the pets, and their housing are all a good fit.
5. Accept the sit! Whatever platform you use, if you get the sit, the host usually has to formally select you, and you must formally accept. Make sure not to miss those steps!
6. Get a review. Ideally, your sit goes well, and, you’ll be able to get a good review. This will help you get more sits in the future! (If you ever change service providers, you could screenshot your reviews – even if they won’t show up on the new platform, you’d have them on hand if you needed them.)

Things To Be Aware Of

There are usually more housesits in countries like the USA, Australia, New Zealand, UK, and Europe, and fewer in Asia and South America, etc. So, depending where in the world you travel, you may, or may not, be able to find a steady stream of housesits. The more obscure a location, the less likely you’ll find a sit, at least not with some of the larger international providers. These are times to investigate whether there is a local sitting company, and whether signing up will save you more money than you paid.

You should also be aware that some countries feel that housesitting requires a work visa. As of publication of this article, housesitting visas don’t even exist, so, it’s quite complicated. You may want to check with immigration in the countries you’re visiting to inquire whether you need any formal visa type before applying to housesits, to be safe.

If you just got the urge to pack your bags and explore the world of full-time travel, I can help you figure out how to get started. Reach out and let's chat! If you'd like some amazing strategies to afford the travel, including how to save up to 50% off the cost of housesitting services (not talking about the referral discount, which is only for one year), click here for some great strategies!