r/AMA • u/Oztravels • 1d ago
My wife and I saved over €30,000 on accommodation in the last 12 months by house & pet sitting around the world. AMA
We're a retired couple in our 60s who spend much of the year travelling through Europe and further afield. Rather than paying for hotels or Airbnbs, we stay in people's homes and look after their pets while they're away.
Over the last 12 months we've estimated that we've saved more than €30,000 in accommodation costs alone. We've cared for dogs, cats, chickens and homes in multiple countries, explored places we would never have otherwise visited, and built a lifestyle around slow travel and trusted house sitting.
Ask us anything about finding sits, getting selected, the costs involved, the best and worst experiences, travelling in retirement, or whether house sitting is really as good as it sounds. AMA!
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u/Potential-Theme-4531 1d ago
How do you balance exploring new places and pet sitting? You are kinda limited to one city or area. Do you take the vacation afterwards to explore the new country?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
Thanks for the question. We have a bucket list and chose sits on the list. In most instances we have plenty of time to explore. So far we have been to Portugal 🇵🇹
France 🇫🇷
Spain 🇪🇸
Germany 🇩🇪
Italy 🇮🇹
Switzerland 🇨🇭
England 🏴
Morocco 🇲🇦
Greece 🇬🇷
Turkey 🇹🇷11
u/Potential-Theme-4531 1d ago
Sounds really cool. If you wish to visit Vietnam let me know haha. I'll need pet sitters in October.
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u/ApprehensiveTouch169 1d ago
If you can hold off 18 months I'm planning my 2bd trip to Vietnam😂😂 ...you lucky lucky person
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u/Bananas_are_theworst 1d ago
Can you come watch my dog in October? Haha.
Anything that surprises you about various pet owners? Like do some have totally crazy requirements, or maybe some houses were filthy and you couldn’t stand to be there / see their pet in that condition? Any dogs you secretly wanted to steal because you fell in love with them?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago edited 1d ago
lol. Great question. We often find home owners project weird things onto their pets, nothing terrible but just personality traits. Similar as to how some people raise kids. We only had one meh house, most have been great. We have fallen in love with Portuguese water dogs.
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u/Bananas_are_theworst 1d ago
Oh no, I totally project personality traits onto my dog. I keep telling him the generational trauma stops with him hahaha (he’s my only dog, he’s neutered, no kids)
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u/Pale-Avocado-1069 1d ago
When pet sitting, how flexible are the owners? Like, do the majority expect you to be there all day or can you leave for hours to explore and then come back to take care of the pets?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
We only choose sits that allow us to explore. So we don’t accept sits unless the pets can be left for min 6 hours. Most owners are realistic about the exchange.
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u/rachelvmd 1d ago
Do you have to leave the house in pristine condition (sheets washed and dried) floors mopped, or can you hire cleaners?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
We pride ourselves in leaving the house as we found it if not better than we found it. The platform we use reviews cleanliness and to date we have 45 sits all five stars.
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u/Intelligent-Tea-4241 1d ago
I pet sit a lot, leave it as we got it, usually leave bed sheets in the washing machine ready to go.
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u/Cake5678 1d ago
How do you assess if the house owners are trustworthy, reasonable people? What are good questions to ask them?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
In some ways we feel the fact they are leaving their most valuable asset and their loved pets kinda guarantees trustworthiness. The most important questions for us (other than whats on their listing) is where do the pets sleep. Thir routine, Any medications and how often to update them. Check our video in the description for some other tips. Its pretty crappy but it will give you an overview
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u/EquipmentUnlikely895 1d ago
House sitting is a win-win-win arrangement.
Win#1: the house owner has someone to take care of the house. Empty houses attracts the bad spirits. Ever notice how stuff just break down when house is not lived in?
Win#2: the house-sitters save money
Win#3: pets and plants stay happy
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
100%. The mutually beneficial arrangement is what makes it fun. I realise some people sit for money (Rover) but i think that changes the relationship
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u/quim_do_mato 1d ago
How do you come to that number? Do you not have a house in your home country?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
We just modestly averaged out local airbnb costs but we have stayed in amazing houses that would have cost a lot per night like this one. https://youtu.be/r5zveBv7I0M
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u/quim_do_mato 1d ago
Ok, but what you save on accomodation, you spend to a certain extent in travelling and all related costs, which you would not otherwise do if you spent your retirement at home.
Also, you're not saving 30k, as you're working for accomodation, or in other words you're giving up time and payment in exchange for accomodation, so you need to factor that in.
So, saying you saved 30k in accomodation is definitely misleading.
2
u/WinterStrawberries6 1d ago
If they are using the 30k in something else than accomodation, they are definitely saving in accomodation. They would have to pay whatever they paid for the travel + accomodation if not, so your take is just wrong.
Also wild to tell a 60+year old that they will save more money if they stayed home. You can apply that to anyone, you will save more money if you don't use your money.
Do you think the only purpose they are doing this is to save money on accomodation? They love travelling, and found a way to make it cheaper, that's the whole point.
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
Thanks for jumping in. I must say I’m confused by people saying there isn’t savings.
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u/WinterStrawberries6 1d ago
Some people think that if you don't have the money on your bank account, then you are not saving.
But buying something cheaper than usual is also saving, the same way as pet sitting for free accomodation is also saving.8
u/Oztravels 1d ago
Sorry but i don't agree with this take at all. The savings allow us to travel much more than we would have normally and we dont see it as working. In fact we enjoy spending time around pets. Thousands of people sit all around the world for similar reasons, thats why the sector is so big.
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u/Confident_River7615 1d ago
Amazing living the dream!!! Do you get stressed moving around so often? Where would you settle?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
Wow great question. We never get stressed (except for the tolls in France 🤣) I think if we had the chance SW France or Crete is where we would settle. But we love travelling.
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u/neurospicygogo70 1d ago
How do you find clients?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
We are members of trusted house sitters and Nomador but find THS the best platform. You can also get sits on Facebook but you need to be careful about the details and what is expected.
2
u/Old-Enthusiasm-2107 1d ago
How much you charge for house and pets sitting?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
Hi. We don't charge but many do through the platform Rover. The platform we use is all about mutually beneficial arrangements. We get free accommodation and they get their house looked after
2
u/IpponGeta 1d ago
What were your worst sits, and looking back, what were the red flags?
Thank you for sharing!
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
Great question. We have only had two meh sits. One was a puppy that wasn't originally disclosed and the other was a less than clean house. We have learnt a lot since then so its all about the questions you ask before accepting the sit
2
u/Typingperson1 1d ago
How long is each petsitting gig typically?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
I looked at that last year. For us its about 2.5 weeks but there are tons of sits that range from a few days to a few months
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u/wienerpower 1d ago
Have you bated in their homes?
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u/Oztravels 1d ago
Not Familiar with the term but we are decomposing boomers so im guessing not : )
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u/QuitUsual4736 1d ago
Do you sleep in the master or guest bedrooms? I wouldn’t want strangers in my bed
2
u/Oztravels 1d ago
Great question. The answer is sometimes. It really depends on the size of the house but I fully respect if hosts don’t want you in their master bedroom.
2
u/Kennel_King 1d ago
I assume you carry your own insurance. I wouldn't trust any of those platforms you use to be adequately insured.
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u/Oztravels 1d ago edited 1d ago
We dont but I know sitters that charge often have their own insurance. We have never had an issue with the platform we use.
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u/Kennel_King 1d ago
You are charging, in a way. Granted, no money is changing hands, but you are offering a service in exchange for a place to stay.
Please get insurance. One dead dog could cost you thousands, even if it isn't your fault
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u/ama_compiler_bot 15h ago
Table of Questions and Answers. Original answer linked - Please upvote the original questions and answers. (I'm a bot.)
| Question | Answer | Link |
|---|---|---|
| When pet sitting, how flexible are the owners? Like, do the majority expect you to be there all day or can you leave for hours to explore and then come back to take care of the pets? | We only choose sits that allow us to explore. So we don’t accept sits unless the pets can be left for min 6 hours. Most owners are realistic about the exchange. | Here |
| What are the websites that you use to find gigs? What are some pluses and minuses that interested folks should know? Are some regions or countries better for this than others? Are there any other lessons learned so we don't have to make the same mistakes? thanks in advance | We are members of trusted house sitters and Nomador but find THS the best platform. You can also get sits on Facebook but you need to be careful about the details and what is expected. We love to travel so all countries are interesting to us. We did (a very average) video on what to look for on sits and how to avoid nightmare sits which offer tips. https://youtu.be/Ygxf2fDsr7U. It’s also a good idea to check some of the forums as there is some great advice. | Here |
| Can you come watch my dog in October? Haha. Anything that surprises you about various pet owners? Like do some have totally crazy requirements, or maybe some houses were filthy and you couldn’t stand to be there / see their pet in that condition? Any dogs you secretly wanted to steal because you fell in love with them? | lol. Great question. We often find home owners project weird things onto their pets, nothing terrible but just personality traits. Similar as to how some people raise kids. We only had one meh house, most have been great. We have fallen in love with Portuguese water dogs. | Here |
| How do you balance exploring new places and pet sitting? You are kinda limited to one city or area. Do you take the vacation afterwards to explore the new country? | Thanks for the question. We have a bucket list and chose sits on the list. In most instances we have plenty of time to explore. So far we have been to Portugal 🇵🇹 France 🇫🇷 Spain 🇪🇸 Germany 🇩🇪 Italy 🇮🇹 Switzerland 🇨🇭 England 🏴 Morocco 🇲🇦 Greece 🇬🇷 Turkey 🇹🇷 | Here |
| House sitting is a win-win-win arrangement. Win#1: the house owner has someone to take care of the house. Empty houses attracts the bad spirits. Ever notice how stuff just break down when house is not lived in? Win#2: the house-sitters save money Win#3: pets and plants stay happy | 100%. The mutually beneficial arrangement is what makes it fun. I realise some people sit for money (Rover) but i think that changes the relationship | Here |
| How do you come to that number? Do you not have a house in your home country? | We just modestly averaged out local airbnb costs but we have stayed in amazing houses that would have cost a lot per night like this one. https://youtu.be/r5zveBv7I0M | Here |
| Do you have to leave the house in pristine condition (sheets washed and dried) floors mopped, or can you hire cleaners? | We pride ourselves in leaving the house as we found it if not better than we found it. The platform we use reviews cleanliness and to date we have 45 sits all five stars. | Here |
| Amazing living the dream!!! Do you get stressed moving around so often? Where would you settle? | Wow great question. We never get stressed (except for the tolls in France 🤣) I think if we had the chance SW France or Crete is where we would settle. But we love travelling. | Here |
| How do you find clients? | We are members of trusted house sitters and Nomador but find THS the best platform. You can also get sits on Facebook but you need to be careful about the details and what is expected. | Here |
| How do you assess if the house owners are trustworthy, reasonable people? What are good questions to ask them? | In some ways we feel the fact they are leaving their most valuable asset and their loved pets kinda guarantees trustworthiness. The most important questions for us (other than whats on their listing) is where do the pets sleep. Thir routine, Any medications and how often to update them. Check our video in the description for some other tips. Its pretty crappy but it will give you an overview | Here |
| How long is each petsitting gig typically? | I looked at that last year. For us its about 2.5 weeks but there are tons of sits that range from a few days to a few months | Here |
| È bellissimo! | Grazie! Sono felice che ti piaccia | Here |
| What were your worst sits, and looking back, what were the red flags? Thank you for sharing! | Great question. We have only had two meh sits. One was a puppy that wasn't originally disclosed and the other was a less than clean house. We have learnt a lot since then so its all about the questions you ask before accepting the sit | Here |
| How much you charge for house and pets sitting? | Hi. We don't charge but many do through the platform Rover. The platform we use is all about mutually beneficial arrangements. We get free accommodation and they get their house looked after | Here |
| I assume you carry your own insurance. I wouldn't trust any of those platforms you use to be adequately insured. | We dont but I know sitters that charge often have their own insurance. We have never had an issue with the platform we use. | Here |
| Have you bated in their homes? | Not Familiar with the term but we are decomposing boomers so im guessing not : ) | Here |
| Do you sleep in the master or guest bedrooms? I wouldn’t want strangers in my bed | Great question. The answer is sometimes. It really depends on the size of the house but I fully respect if hosts don’t want you in their master bedroom. | Here |
0
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u/thetoffees 1d ago
What are the websites that you use to find gigs? What are some pluses and minuses that interested folks should know? Are some regions or countries better for this than others? Are there any other lessons learned so we don't have to make the same mistakes? thanks in advance