r/trustedhousesitters

Sharing what I saw online today. https://www.mandy.com/aa/project/3165771/trustedhousesitters-ugc-opportunity/

Casting UGC for TrustedHousesitters - a service which connects home owners with house sitters they can trust to look after their home and pets! Seeking Women 25+ based in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Austin.

The company will be writing the scripts and coordinating the edits, so all they need is for talent to submit the working files as per the script's instructions. Working files only - no edit required.

Shoots remotely. Scripts to be submitted and completed within three days of assignment, most likely 26-30 May, unless otherwise agreed with talent.

Rate: US$150 flat rate

Total Pay: US$150 (est. 2 hours of work)

Additional: Production states: "Scripts are commissioned at a fixed rate of $150, and are estimated to be completed within two hours. We do not require the creators to edit any footage."

I've had Trusted Housesitters for 3 years. I live outside of Orlando, FL and have never had a challenge getting sitters to reach out when I've needed someone.

I posted dates 10 days ago and have not gotten any responses at all.

Is it possible people just don't want to come to Florida in June?

Suggestions?

TLDR: Thank you for your anecdotal experiences of times you aimed to get reimbursed for cancellations and it worked, or if it didn't (and why). I am curious about the nitty gritty.

I see a lot of "at THS' sole discretion" in the terms and conditions.

If the sit doesn't match the description, or seems unsafe, or something not allowed like a host sharing the home briefly and I want to cancel, would this coverage apply...

or if the host doesn't hit the "cancel" button but tells ya not to come does coverage not apply...
if THS isn't notified within 24 hours of the cancellation, as they say they need to be, have the refused coverage
etc-- basically what should I know? Thank you!

BONUS CHATTER:

Seems like it's only $130/year more and means no $12 fees to book each sit so seems like a no brainer for frequent users.

Perusing reddit posts it seems like people sometimes have to wait months to be paid but it seemssssssss like THS is good about honoring it? Caveats like finding new housing within 20 miles seem unfortunate for rural sits; and I see that it is up to $1500 total and $150/night; $150 deductible, up to 30 days a year or first three sits even if longer.

https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/pages/sit-cancellation-terms-sitter/

Happy sitting and hosting, all

the sit i'm doing now is for a very intelligent and demanding cat. the owners warned me that she would wake them up at all hours so they usually keep her locked downstairs at night, but that it wasn't strictly necessary.

she was yowling the first night and i felt bad so i let her up. big mistake for me, as even though i had my bedroom door closed, she was utterly body slamming it, jumping for the doorknob, meowing super loudly for an early morning breakfast, so i got pretty bad sleep then. she also gets into cabinets which sounds like someone breaking in with how she slams them!

it was only about that bad the first night though. i decided to tough it out, and waited for a long lull in her doing anything before getting up and giving her brekkie, and same the next day.

its been a week now and she no longer tries to bust down the door nor meow desperately into the night. i've noticed this with dogs i've sat sometimes, too - for example, if they're leash pullers, they often learn to stop with me simply because i use the method of pull = we're going to stand still for a moment. i feel for people not wanting to be strict with their pets/wanna give in instantly to what they want but i think kitty's distress level is actually lower overall rn. (plus she has a good amount of weight she could stand to lose...)

Does anyone have a referral link and discount code they'd mind sharing? All the ones I've tried on here have been used/expired... thank you!!!

I wanted to share my experience as a homeowner using TrustedHousesitters because it honestly changed how I view the platform.

I recently had a sitter who ignored clear pet care instructions, improperly fed my pets, and left a pot burning unattended on my gas stove to the point it was completely destroyed. There’s no way someone in the house wouldn’t notice the smell. He was also disrespectful toward my cleaner during the sit.

I brought everything up with the sitter and all I received from him were excuses and gaslighting. So I left an honest review, and instead of accepting it professionally, the sitter responded by threatening harm toward my pets.

I reported everything to TrustedHousesitters, including screenshots and details about the threats. Their response was basically giving him a verbal warning while allowing him to remain active on the platform.

What shocked me most was that I asked THS for a basic safety feature: block him from contacting/viewing me and make my profile invisible to him since he can still see my travel dates and listings. They refused and told me to stop communicating with him and contact police if I felt unsafe.

That response really exposed a bigger issue to me: THS seems to lack even basic protections for their customers after serious incidents happen. A platform built around trust should absolutely allow users to block someone after threats or unsafe behavior.

In the end, they kept the sitter and lost a responsible host. Just sharing this for anyone considering using the platform as a homeowner. Stay safe out there!

I’m in Canada and everyone keeps talking about THS
I have a lot of
Clients here and I use rover a tiny bit I love to travel so ive
Been considering it but its a pricey membership
So much negativity on this sub im assuming for a reason! But wanting to hear some thoughts

I was wondering if anyone on this sub who owns one of the latest Google Home models with the cameras could clarify if the camera setting is truly turned off if the device can still move with motion tracking?

At a house sit with lovely seeming people but it wasn't until after the sit was agreed that I came to collect the keys that I discovered that there are Google Home devices with cameras switched on in the living room, kitchen and upstairs. I turned them all to face the wall and then realised that one had 360 motion tracking and would turn around and track my movements. Is it possible for the camera setting to be off but the tracking still moves?

Will the HO be aware of or notified if I unplug all of these devices?

Hi all,

Just seeking some advice. I've got a sit coming up in a weeks time and I went to message the HO and I've noticed that their THS membership has lapsed. Should I be asking them to renew before the sit starts? Anyone had an experience like this before?

I have their whatsapp so I can still get in touch with them.

Cheers,

Edit: Thanks for the replies everyone. HO is renewing their membership after realising the renewal emails were going to a different email address.

Hello all! I’d appreciate some advice on a situation I’ve found myself in this morning. For some context, I am a full time housesitter for the last 2 years who doesn’t own or rent a place, so I’m fully based in housesits.

I booked a housesit a few months ago which is due to start on Wednesday for two weeks. I had a welcome call on Friday and all seemed fine, and found out the flat is three housemates who are all on holiday.

However I received a text this Monday morning saying that for the second week of the housesit, one of the housemates will be back early from the trip so will be living there too. They’ve said the housemate is OK with me being there or they understand if I want to move out at that point.

I’m feeling annoyed as it feels like my options are to agree to a housesit experience I haven’t signed up to, or make myself homeless at the last minute. I don’t mind the housemate dropping back in if she needs to but feel like there should be a third option where the housemate finds somewhere else to stay for a week. Is this unreasonable? Has anyone else had this happen before or can give any advice?

Thanks so much!

UPDATE - RESOLVED

Thanks all who took the time to comment and offer me different perspectives and advice! This was really helpful in my communication with the homeowners. They were calm, kind and understanding throughout the communication and they’ve now organised for the other homeowner to stay elsewhere.

I have had cancellations and requests to shorten housesits before due to compassionate reasons, which I’m happy to work with. But in this situation, I wasn’t given a reason for the early return and felt like they’d been disorganised and hoped I’d be OK with the proposal. They also never originally framed it as a change of dates, it was that someone else would be present in the property, which I’ve now learned (thanks to this thread), is against T&Cs of TH.

I’m hoping this is the last of the issues and will certainly mention my experience in the review. Hopefully my experience helps others in this situation!

5-day sit in good location. HO is youngish and was working the day they left/handed over. Fridge/kitchen is fine/clean. Tub/shower was full of hair and grime. Duvet cover also not washed but sheets were clean/fine. Place not vacuumed. HO's hair sticking to my socks and clothing.

Would you give grace for her being young and new at this and give 5 stars and write something to signal that there may be a few cleaning issues?

I would do the sit again, FWIW.

I wanted to share this story because we honestly had no idea this could become an issue and maybe it helps both HOs and sitters to clarify things before a sit starts.

We once had a sit in a very rural area. Lovely home, not many tasks and the communication before the sit was clear. The main things were a bit of gardening and simply making sure the house was not left empty for a month.
Before the sit started, we asked if we should check the mail or if they were expecting any deliveries during our stay. They said no.

About two weeks in, on a very rainy day, a mail van came up to the property. The driver handed me a small parcel. I was a bit surprised, but I accepted it and signed for it because, in that moment, it felt like the responsible thing to do.

Later that evening, we wanted to place the parcel on the desk in their office. That was when we noticed that the packaging had the name of a very expensive brand printed directly on the outside. We already thought, okay, that is not ideal if something valuable is being sent so visibly.

Then we noticed two small cuts, one at each end of the parcel. It looked like someone had opened it. I carefully tried to feel inside through one of the cuts and quickly realized that there was only filling material. No actual item. It seemed like someone had opened the parcel and taken the content out.

We felt absolutely awful and quite unsure what to do. We immediately messaged the HOs and explained the whole situation. That someone had unexpectedly come to the property, handed us the parcel, that we had signed for it, and that we had now noticed it looked like it had been opened.

We felt so bad. As sitters, you obviously want to do everything right and this suddenly felt like a situation we had somehow become responsible for, even though we had no idea a parcel would arrive.

The HOs only replied the next day with: “Do not accept parcels and do not sign in our name.”

That made us feel even worse. We immediately offered to replace the item, even though we did not know what had been inside. Based on the brand and size of the parcel, we assumed it might have been glasses or something similarly expensive.

The next few days felt really uncomfortable for us. We were still taking care of the house and doing everything as agreed, but the situation was hanging over us. We kept wondering if the HOs thought we had done something wrong or if they were upset with us.

After the sit was over, we asked again if they had been able to sort out the parcel issue, or if they wanted us to replace the item.

Their answer was basically: All good, we had only ordered contact lenses and they were still inside the parcel.

We were so relieved, but honestly also a bit upset. They could have told us that during the sit and saved us several uncomfortable days of worrying.

For the future, we definitely learned our lesson: deliveries should be discussed very clearly before a sit starts. Should we accept parcels? Should we refuse them? Should we sign for anything? What should we do if something arrives unexpectedly?

Has anyone else had a similar situation? How would you have handled it?

Before reading: please don't bite my head off! I'm just seeing if there would be people interested in something like this. If it wouldn't be your jam, I totally get that!

I am soon to be based in Taiwan and plan on using Trusted House Sitters for my dog there. I travel a few times a year, have used it previously, and am looking forward to using it again.

One thing I am wondering - I have a job where, a few times a year, I am extremely busy with work. I'm not actually away, but I have really long hours for about 4 weeks out of the year (2 weeks, twice). Are there sitters who would be interested in a "sit" where the homeowner was still technically there, but was gone a lot?

Dog walkers, dog daycare etc. are of course a possibility, but dog walkers don't stay that long and dog daycare hours are not always amenable to my work schedule.

Pros: Less commitment, really only have to hang out with the dog a few hours and go for a walk or two during the day, the rest of the time would be yours - no plant watering, no mail gathering, literally just hanging with a dog and having a nice apartment to stay in

Cons: the homeowner (me) would be there!

I'm just curious if this would be something that would appeal to anyone, or if I'm way off the mark.

HO here. I recently started feeding a feral cat. I have just the one indoor cat but should I be counting this feral as another pet even though he's not technically mine and sitters just need to put out food 2x a day at the same time my indoor cat is fed? I don't wanna misrepresent my listing.

Our sitter didn’t seem to have any red flags. I interviewed her and she seemed great. She had volunteered for the same charity that we got our dog from, and that meant a lot, since I knew the betting that volunteers go through. When she showed up for the sit, she seemed to be extremely excited for the sit, had scoped out a yoga studio she goes to regularly that is nearby (she is from a nearby city with the same studio). Our first day, she sent an update of her playing with our dog in the park, and things seemed good.

We hadn’t heard from her a couple of days, but we didn’t have a plan for update cadence, so it wasn’t too big of an issue. By the fifth night, we reached out to her to ask if she could take out the garbage. She didn’t respond right away, and I was starting to get a little worried. But I got a reply the next morning, so felt a little better. I asked a follow up question, but got no response. I was a little concerned, but at least we got a response.

The day after, we were heading back. I sent her a message about is getting back. We got back after midnight, so I told her that if she could leave as late as possible, that would be great. I got no response. As we were getting back, I was a little concerned to have not hearing from her.

We got back, and there were lights on in the house. We opened the door, and our dog barked, and came down, happy to see us. We went up to the living room, and noticed there was pee on the floor. He does that when he is left alone, so thought nothing major was wrong. Then I went into the bedroom, turned on the light and she was there passed out. It took me a minute to take in the situation, and noticed that there were more than a few empty liquor bottles around the bedroom. I yelled at her to wake up. There was no response. I kept trying to wake her, but there was no movement at all. We started to look around the house, and noticed more empties. We looked at our spare fridge, and noticed that it had been emptied out. We looked at our liquor cabinet, and it had been mostly cleaned out. We started to mop up the pee and some of the other spilled alcohol from the living room, hoping she would wake up while we did that, making as much noise as we could. We found a sachet that seemed to contain some drugs (at some point). We did some more tidying, and more attempts to wake her, but to no avail. We started to try to figure out what to do for the night. We have a second bedroom with a bed, so we made the bed, and tried to get some sleep while this person sleeps off her binge. We got mobilized around 7, and went up and woke her up. We managed to wake her, get her stuff to the entrance and after a fair amount of cajoling, get her out of the house. We did more cleaning, and 45 mins to an hour later, we saw there was an ambulance out front. We did more cleaning until we got the house to look reasonable and went to get a coffee and a snack. While we were walking to the coffee shop, the ambulance was still there. We heard them talking about which was the best hospital to go to.

Today, she sent a message that her purse was at the house and if we could leave it out for her, it would be appreciated. She said she was just getting out of the hospital.

As best we can figure, fairly soon after she started getting into our liquor. I have no idea how much she took our dog out or even fed him. And the person that we came home to was a completely different person than who we left. Obviously, this person was an alcoholic that relapsed at our house. It was something that we didn’t think about in our vetting process. We’ll have to figure out how we can be confident something like this happens again.

Am I overthinking this, or does this seem way too long, especially because the sit hasn’t even been confirmed? I have completed dozens of sits and have 5 stars, and I don’t believe any intro call (before the sit is confirmed) has been over 30 min..

On Care dot com, they can do this and it’s messed up. People can leave reviews about you who never even talked to you, let alone hired you.

I had a spare bedroom for house sitters in the past. However, im in an apartment 1/10th the size of my previous home and am not comfortable with having someone use my bedroom, for alot of reasons. I have a drop down horozontial murphy bed that I could install in my living room - with a full density memory foam mattress and topper and some new pillows, choice of weighted blanket and comforter. Would most house sitters be ok with this kind of arrangement? It would be set up in such a way that the bed could be left down and unmade and they could still walk around and use the space. I'm in the bay area so I suspect there are other folks with studio apartments that have house sitters staying with similar setups as housing cost is exorbitant here. As long as I show pictures and accurate description, I shouldn't really have any issues right? I know people prefer a guest bedroom, myself included - but this is the best we can do for now.

Edit:

More about the apartment : its walking distance to the beach, but also right next to the street and train tracks so the windows have to be closed if you want a good nights sleep. There is a super quiet mini split ac/heat in LR.

The pets : I have a female senior cat - and an abandoned teenage cat that visits nightly who I'm working on TNR. My cat is quite fond of him and waits every night for him - he is terrified of both of us but is warming up. I would probably trap him and bring him in before the next sit, and he might just hide for the majority of the stay - just coming out to eat and poop at night.

The senior ladycat has assorted sleeping locations since she's active at night (not crazy, just walks around to drink from various water bowls, check closets and survey assorted walls). She has a quartz emf pad she sleeps on so wherever you put it is likely where she will sleep, though she may come up for some a la carte cuddles so if you don't like a cat in the bed it probably wouldn't be ideal as she does enjoy human companions.

Personally I don't mind crashing on a sofa for a sit - sometimes the ambiance of the living room is better and the sofa is more comfortable. But I know folks all have their own standards and preferences.

Hi, all. We have had 3 excellent housesitters over the past 7 months (1 dog, 1 cat)— maybe too good, because it has set our expectations pretty high. We are thinking about leaving a four star review (for the fourth and most recent) for two reasons.

Before we confirmed the sit, for 3 nights, she came over to meet the dog and we mentioned that we would expect a photo and a brief report every night. She said OK. We confirmed, she was happy, & we sent her our welcome guide two weeks in advance. We also printed it for her. At the top, it asks that she send a photo and a report every night.

Issue #1: While she confirmed that she had arrived that afternoon, she didn’t send us anything the first night, so the next morning I asked if it worked for her to please send us a photo and a report. She was extremely confused. She said she did not know what a “report” meant, so I said we’d just like to know one thing that our pets did that day. She then did so, but we’re scratching our heads about how this could be confusing.

Issue #2: Although she has several five star reviews and said she was experienced, we failed to explicitly ask how much experience she has with dogs. When we got home, the pets were happy enough, but it was obvious that our dog had snuck upstairs to poop *three* separate times. In three days. This never happens— he never poops [edited: inside]. My sense is that she did not let him outside enough, or did not walk him enough, or otherwise ignored his signals that he had to go. (Honestly, I don’t fault her for not going upstairs; she had the entire downstairs to herself, and we told her there was no reason to go upstairs.) In our welcome guide and in our conversation, we had told her that he’s used to a lot of activity and she indicated that she was going to take him on long hikes. It’s fine that they didn’t go hiking— but again, I suspect she ended up taking him on very short walks that didn’t give him time to do his business.

It would be helpful to have some input on whether we are overreacting. (If it sounds like I’m overreacting, I will add that we had to make an emergency vet visit this week because of the dog eating part of a tennis ball – and part of me wonders if he ate it while she was at our house and she wasn’t paying attention to what he was eating. I watched him pretty closely the day we got home, and he was sick the next day.).