It’s time to share a little secret in my trusted house sitters review. That I’m a walking paradox might not surprise those anyone who knows me well. Sitting still in one place for too long makes me feel like stagnant water, restless and uninspired. Yet, I also need solitude and routine to write my best work. Pet sitting turned out to be the bridge that connects both worlds. It satisfies my hunger for creative travel while providing cosy, quiet homes and a furry friend or two to focus on writing my novels. Apart from a fee, you don’t pay a cent for accommodation while you receive endless gratitude from pets and their owners.
I joined as a pet sitter in December 2024 and quickly secured my first sit for a weekend away. Almost two years later, I’ve completed nine housesits in total, in both Western Australia and the Netherlands. Here’s my honest take.
What is TrustedHousesitters?
If you’ve never heard of TrustedHousesitters, it’s basically a matchmaking service between house owners and pet-loving travellers who need a place to stay. Homeowners get someone trustworthy to look after their pets and homes while they’re away. In exchange, you get free accommodation. It’s a service based on mutual exchange that benefits both parties, and it makes an excellent option for travel writers who love pets and prefer to explore places from a local perspective.
Why TrustedHousesitters makes the perfect writing retreats
My trusted house sitters review is all about writing retreats. For me it meant that I wrote from beautiful houses in laid-back Perth suburbs to a wonderful, cosy home with a pool at the edge of the rugged Kimberley in Broome. Every stay offered me a peaceful space to focus on my writing. Perhaps the best part is that I still get to enjoy the kind of pet companionship I couldn’t have during my nomadic months. For those who travel far and long, being surrounded by dogs and cats is an excellent cure for loneliness, too.
As an extra bonus, you’ll get to meet the most wonderful locals, who might just become your new friends at the other side of the world.
What are the cons of housesitting?
Writing while housesitting isn’t all wagging tails and deep red sunsets. Sometimes you end up with pets that need more care or attention than expected, or whose yapping startles you awake in the middle of the night. And there’s the uncertainty of not always knowing where your next sit will be, or whether the timing will line up with your plans. Keeping a small accommodation budget for the gaps in between is wise. And while the Trusted Housesitters platform is great, the community wonderful, customer support has been a weak point in my experience. So, my trusted house sitters review also contains a warning you might find that technical issues take significantly longer to resolve than they should.
Last but not least, housesitting is also a responsibility. You’re caring for someone’s beloved pets and home, which means spontaneous getaways aren’t always possible. What’s been hardest for me is saying goodbye to the pets I grew attached to. Still, for me as a writing nomad, the joy of it all far outweighs the hiccups.
A note on housesitting abroad
If you’re planning to pet sit outside your home country, it’s worth checking the implications for your specific visa situation. Whether housesitting qualifies as work is a grey area that varies by country, and some destinations are stricter than others. TrustedHousesitters has a guide on what to consider before your first international sit.
How to choose your TrustedHousesitters membership
There are three sitter membership tiers: basic, standard, and premium. Basic gives you direct access to all available housesits on the platform. Standard adds vet helpline access, membership support, and liability insurance. Premium is the most complete option, adding a sit cancellation plan and two airport lounge passes.
Initially, I started out with a standard sitter membership because it was enough to cover my sits in the Netherlands — I had a home to stay in case a sit was cancelled. But once I made the move to housesitting abroad, I upgraded to premium. It gives me peace of mind accepting sits all around the world without worrying about possible cancellations. Plus, as a perk, I now get two global airport lounge passes, which come in handy for writing quietly at airports on my travel days. Membership prices change from time to time, so check the current options directly on TrustedHousesitters and use my discount code for 25% off your first year.
The table below shows the membership prices from October 2025, in US dollars.
How to create great writing and housesitting experiences
Registering on TrustedHousesitters won’t throw sits straight into your lap. If you were thinking lightly of it, let me manage your expectations a little, because you’ll need to put in work if you want positive writing experiences on your housesits.
1. Make a profile that stands out
Homeowners aren’t waiting for sitters who only search for cheap accommodation while travelling. They fear that you only need a place to stay while you’re away exploring, while their pets are home alone day in and day out. And while most homeowners are okay with you going out, and often even encourage it because they want you to have a positive experience, they also appreciate that you are a writer. Writers are notoriously introverted and like to spend time at home to well… write. If you make it explicit that housesitting is a great opportunity for you to write while you travel, you’ll be a desired sitter in no time.
I put a lot of effort into writing a personal story on my profile. Since you’re a writer too, you’ll have an edge here, so make sure to use those storytelling skills. Adding photos of you with pets you’ve cared for in the past makes your profile stand out even more. Also, I asked my writing bestie to write a recommendation about me. Within a week, I had secured a great first sit with a reliable and friendly homeowner.
2. Start local before you go far
Starting out with local sits is a great way to get your first review, which you’ll need later to apply for the more popular listings. For my first sit, I packed my laptop and a bag and took a train to look after a lovely cat. Apart from building my profile, I got to experience what it was like living in someone else’s home while writing — and I learned a lot, including the realisation that I missed my own desk, which later inspired me to create a portable writing setup I could take anywhere.
3. Write personalised applications to pet owners
When you start applying for sits, don’t think it’s a matter of simply liking an advertisement as if it were a social media post. Put in the effort to show the homeowner why you’d be a great sitter for their pets specifically. It leads to sits faster, and gives you a much bigger chance of attracting positive experiences. Again, your writing skills are a privilege here.
Read to try your own fluffy writers retreat?
So, suppose you’ve been wondering how to write a novel while travelling, or dreaming of a peaceful writer’s retreat in a cosy home in the good company of a pooch. TrustedHousesitters might be your perfect match. Check out the different membership tiers to decide what best fits your situation, use your writing skills to stand out with your sitter profile, and you’ll get to experience your first personalised writing retreat soon.
Want to keep planning your retreat? Read everything you need to know about writing retreats and how to plan your own without the fuss.
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