Trusted House Sitters

I've been on great sits through THS, and I've had great sitters. But I was once foolish enough to take a sitter who had no reviews as yet, and she was a disaster. I wrote her a review intended to save others from the experience I'd had - her published response was denials and lies. Several mails and calls with THS were infuriatingly hopeless. They insisted it was my word against hers, and they suggested I had not set clear guidelines (which I had). The fact that I had already got and already had given several excellent reviews counted for nothing, whereas it had been the girl's first pet-sit. Whose account would you believe, in the circumstances? The attested member, or the unattested member? My aim was to protect other members from going through the same experience with a dirty, careless, irresponsible and immature girl. At one point they told me they would cancel my membership! Their best offer was to remove both my review and her response, which leaves another paid-up member vulnerable to having an unfit person in their precious home, with their precious pets. Just understand this is nothing more than a noticeboard whose interest ends with your subscription. You just have to take care that your sitter has several good reviews, and then you ought to have a good experience. Or so I have learned. I've since been on a brilliant house-sit and had brilliant sitters mind my home. It is entirely up to you to choose wisely!

We are so happy with our experience with TrustedHousesitters and especially with the husband and wife team we were so fortunate to get. We hope they come back.

We had a bad experience with a previous pet sitter not thru TrustedHousesitters who we had used quite a few times and paid a very competitive fee to. She took extreme advantage of our home on an increasing scale that was truly unacceptable.

My friend had used a competing site to TrustedHousesitters with great success. While I did initially try that site, I found that the people I was getting were not people I could find a way to be comfortable with so I did some searching and came across TrustedHousesittters. I liked that they charge a fee, had a greater level of verification and had insurance.

As I signed up, I still got requests from some people who I had a hard time feeling comfortable with but I was also able to find a ton of people who I really hoped would come and sit for us. We were lucky enough to find a couple who were pretty knew to the site but who immediately inspired confidence. And, they were AMAZING. Our cats loved them - about as much as they love us which is not normally the case. And, our place was left in better condition than when we left it.

I would give the couple who sat for us 10 stars and hope they will come back. I like the site and would give them 5 stars if I was able to set a bit more criteria as you do end up getting a lot of requests from people who for many reasons you would never consider.

Overall a great experience.

I joined Trusted HouseSitters just over a year ago and had wonderful experiences from four different sits. Upon returning from my last sit (6 months long), I learned of a policy change that was implemented. Once pet owners receive 5 applications, the sit profile goes into "reviewing" status and sitters can no longer apply. This substantially reduces the number of sits available for sitters to choose. We are paying the same amount of money for a fraction of the sits available. In addition, pet owners and sitters are no longer getting the "best fit". Instead, the pet owners are simply receiving applications from those who were the quickest to reply. It has become a race rather than a pairing of the best fit, and not all of us sitters can stare at our phone all day to try to grab a sit before it is no longer available. THS has received a substantial amount of complaints from loyal sitters on their Community Forum. They simply do not care. It was great while it lasted for a year, however, I can no longer recommend THS.

I was able to see Glasgow for two weeks for the price of a plane ticket! I was able to speak to my sit over video chat and we did not move forward until we were comfortable with each other. It was a very positive experience and one I hope to repeat. As with all things, buyer beware... do your own due diligence and make sure that you have your bases covered YOURSELF. This is a facilitation site, not a matchmaking site. It does not do the work for you. If your personalities clash or if you are uncomfortable with the sit/sitter you haven chosen, then part company and start again. Prospective sits, please be realistic. Do not expect your sitter to be a hostage in your home. Sitters do this to travel and see the sights. Prospective sitters, if you chose to housesit, be committed. People are depending on you, so if you are at all flakey, please pass and find another way. Leaving someone stranded is not cool. Spend time with the animals. It's why you're there. With that said, I had a great experience and hope to do it again very soon.

We have been using TrustedHousesitters for three years both for getting sitters to look after our cats and home, and more recently to sit for other people. We love it and couldnt imagine traveling without it now. Weve made many friends along the way.
For our own home and pets, we have used sitters from TrustedHousesitters on maybe a dozen occasions, safe in the knowledge that, first and foremost, our cats are well cared for and happy. They dont have the stress of going into a cattery and are happy in their own environment. Our home is secure and clean when we return. We get regular updates from our sitters.
The process TrustedHousesitters use-reviews and police checks-makes it very easy to shortlist applicants. Its then down to us to do the final vetting and selection via email and Skype. We usually find we have several suitable applicants and sadly have to choose just one.
Contrary to some of the reviews on here, we have never had a problem with our sitters from THS and are always recommending it as we travel. There is a responsibility on us as homeowners to do our due diligence before making our final selection.
As sitters for other people, we have also had a fantastic experience staying in some beautiful places and taking care of some lovely animals who we have fallen in love with and returned on several occasions. Traveling as a house/pet sitter, the experience is enriched by caring for the animals and by becoming a part of the community.
I have no hesitation in recommending TrustedHousesitters whose ethos seems to be very much aimed at animal welfare and member satisfaction first and foremost.