“Having used TrustedHousesitters extensively, I want to share my insights into its dynamics. While I am grateful for the travel opportunities and for the people and pets I have met, I encounter significant concerns that I believe prospective sitters should be aware of, as they reveal a model with inherent dysfunction.
My primary observation is the platform's imbalanced design. TrustedHousesitters charges annual membership fees to both owners and sitters, yet sitters receive no compensation for their labor. While TrustedHousesitters is upfront about the free exchange/uncompensated aspect, they don't reveal how demanding and entitled some hosts/pet owners on this platform can be. While TrustedHousesitters is primarily responsible for this model, I also find that some pet owners contribute to perpetuating it through their demands.
While I know there is significant work involved as petsitting/housesitting is a huge responsibility, I am often surprised by the disproportionate expectations and micromanagement from many pet owners. Many expect daily detailed updates and frequent communication, which often feels intrusive and detracts from the experience. This constant "checking on" creates an unnecessary burden, making it feel less like a collaborative exchange and more like an unpaid supervisor-employee dynamic. Being graded on communication seems to encourage excessive, unnecessary texting, which is draining for unpaid work. I understand the importance of communication and updates, but too many pet owners demand too frequent communication, which detracts from the experience.
The platform's marketing, in my view, can be misleading. It paints a glamorous picture of free travel, but significantly downplays the intensive, unpaid work involved – from extensive cleaning and walking to managing complex pet behaviors. On paid petsitting platforms, sitters earn $50-$100 daily for similar services. The level of demands placed on sitters on the TrustedHousesitters platform is unreasonable considering that sitters are not compensated. I also observe owners frequently listing overwhelming tasks for multiple pets, often trying to restrict a sitter's time away from home, which feels unfair for a free arrangement. TrustedHousesitters benefits and favors pet owners over the sitters, while the sitters are the ones doing so much of the work. It's an exhausting process applying for sits, especially at first.
A critical concern is the apparent lack of accountability for challenging host behavior and minimal support from TrustedHousesitters when problems arise. My experience includes a bitter, chaotic owner canceling mid-sit, leaving me without accommodation, despite my premium membership supposedly offering cancellation insurance – TrustedHousesitters does nothing to help. It is unclear if owners are vetted with background checks like sitters are, and the platform largely expects you to resolve concerns directly with difficult owners with little to no support from TrustedHousesitters.
Finally, the review system feels fundamentally dysfunctional. Being professionally evaluated in multiple categories for unpaid work is exhausting. Owners sometimes give less than five stars without explanation, and sitters might leave the review section blank on some difficult sits as a silent red flag and nod to future sitters, as owners often respond with backlash to any review that is less than perfect. This is an understandable approach for sitters, given how draining it already is to communicate with difficult hosts.
In summary, while TrustedHousesitters can offer positive experiences, its dysfunctional setup makes it draining and exhausting for sitters, especially with regular use. For significant improvement, I believe TrustedHousesitters should consider a model where sitters are compensated. My strong recommendation to fellow sitters is to be extremely selective about sits, prioritizing truly chill, laid-back hosts, and to be aware that the unpaid model makes building consistent relationships harder for travelers who are constantly moving on.”
“Trusted House Sitters offers great access to job opportunities, but there are notable drawbacks. The "tamper-proof" review system prevents correction of incorrect reviews, which impacted your rating. Refund policies are hard to navigate, and there are no background checks on homeowners, adding uncertainty. Additionally, there are concerns over misleading deportations and border patrol issues. Despite these, the platform provides significant access to jobs, making it somewhat beneficial. **Rating: 3/5.** Would recommend with caution due to these concerns.”
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“Had good experiences for first few years then the last two have lied and stolen from me. Last pair said they’d cut my lawn but I could tell lawn looked like it hadn’t been cut, no fresh grass cuttings anywhere and they would not have known where the necessary extension was AND my chunky bottle/cork screw was gone. Second pair seemed genuine also - saw my bookmark about scripture and sent me Bible quotes along with photos. of my cat to get home to find a tiny rocking horse from trunk at bottom of bed is gone. I’m done with so-called Trusted House Sitter.”
“Some house owners live in deluded sense that sitters are a mother theresa doing volunteering work, and all that responsibilities and cleaning etc just because they cant be with pets. LOL you need to wake up to reality-sitters DO expect an airbnb style or at least nicely clean in good working order house as that is all they are asking in return of hard work...if you are so entitled and expect slave like in 1850's, then you need to find a paid service. But you wont, you are too cheap for that.”
