Housesitting websites and how to make your profile stand out
This blog post is all about the different housesitting websites and also about how to make your profile stand out from the rest.
Chapter 3 of my book briefly compares all of the major housesitting websites. You may have heard about Trusted Housesitter’s before, as that is the biggest website there is and the one that we use to secure our housesits.
Trusted Housesitter’s is one of the most expensive websites for housesitting (around £129 a year for sitters and homeowners) but I would say this website has the most sits available worldwide. It also has additional features like vet helplines, member support and forums to talk to other users. I find that the website is easy to use but more importantly the app is very user friendly and that’s the main way I access the site now.
Nomador is another big housesitting website. It’s around £80 per year for membership for sitters and I believe it is still free for homeowners. However, I find the website a little clunky and the housesits are mainly limited to Europe, not worldwide. You may find this suits your travel plans so check it out.
Mindahome has different websites for the UK and Australia. When I wrote my book it was free for homeowners and £15 for UK sitters to join up. I also find this website more difficult to use and have found that there are not as many sits available on here. Mindahome is the only website that I know of that allows you to filter by whether or not you can bring your own pet with you to the sit, so it’s worth checking out for those of you travelling with pets.
Housesitters UK also has different websites for Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada. It is free for homeowners and between £30-60 for sitters to join, depending on the country. The website is easy to use and well laid out, however I have found that there are less housesits available on here compared to Trusted Housesitter’s.
As well as these ones there is also Mind My House, House Carers, House Sit Match and many many more. Each year several new housesit websites pop up. It is a growing trend and community.
Before we move on to looking at your profile I’ll just say a brief word about Facebook – there are groups on Facebook where sits are advertised and organised. Check these out if you are interested, but remember you won’t have those additional support systems that you get through websites such as background checks and support whilst you are on the sit.
If you do want to join up to try housesitting and you decide to go through Trusted Housesitters, you can get 25% off your membership with code RAF496153 when you sign up.
Ok, now let’s talk about your profile.
My golden rules to creating the best profile are:
1) Introduce yourself and the people you will be housesitting with. Add in your key hobbies and interests and don’t be afraid to let your personality show.
2) Include ANY experience you have of looking after animals – not just domestic animals like dogs and cats but also poultry, livestock, birds, fish, rabbits and so on.
3) Make your own needs from the sit clear – if you need Wi-Fi to work remotely, put it on your profile. This is an exchange so make sure you communicate your needs too.
4) You are allowed up to 10 photos on your profile. Make sure you include the main people who will be housesitting with you – if this is your family, make sure you are all in the photos, the same with couples or friends. The photos are also really important to get across to the homeowner how much you like animals – make sure you upload at least a few photos of you with pets.
5) Add on any relevant qualifications or occupations you’ve had such as a dog walker/boarder, veterinary experience, pet first aid courses, work in security services, armed forces, police, healthcare, schools – anything that requires a higher clearance check such as a DBS or vetting. Some people are looking for housesitter’s simply for security of the home – they may not even have pets, so all of these skills and checks are worth mentioning.
6) Don’t embellish your profile. Do not say you are confident with strong dogs unless you truly are. Don’t say you love all animals if you actually dislike cats. Do not say you have experience with livestock if you don’t. It is a lie, and will make the sit more difficult for you. And you can be sure that this will show in your reviews.
7) Keep your profile up to date – making sure that your profile is up to date is very important, even if it is small things that have changed such as your occupation, your location or an increase in your experience with pets or a more diverse range of animals. You will find that the more sits you do, the more you can talk about your experience and the more photos with pets you will have to share with homeowners.
As you’ll see from this blog post, there’s a lot of different websites out there facilitating housesitting across the world and a lot of work goes in to creating your profile. But the more time you spend finding the right website and working on your profile, the easier it will be for you to secure housesits in the long run!