This Travel Platform Offers Free Stays in Exchange for Pet Care

Vacation rentals are an awesome alternative to staying in hotels when you’re traveling. In fact, you can often get a richer travel experience by living in someone else’s home in the heart of a city or town.

But what if you could stay in these homes for free? That’s exactly what the people behind a new platform called Trusted Housesitters asked, and now you can check out neighborhoods all around the world without having to spend a dime — and you may just get to hang out with some adorable cats and dogs in the process.

Here’s how Trusted Housesitters works: First, you create your profile and sign up to pay an annual membership fee. To be considered for the site, you’ll have to undergo a background check and upload references. Once your profile is built, you’ll be ready to begin your hunt for the perfect house sitting and pet sitting opportunities.  

You can even sign up for a dual homeowner/sitter plan that lets you both search for house sitters for your own place when you go away to house sit for someone else.

Each listing on Trusted Housesitters gives you a breakdown of the home, the pets, and the responsibilities the homeowners are expecting you to handle. You can search house sitting opportunities by dates, duration, pets, and location. 

And because there’s no money involved, the relationship between homeowner and sitter is based completely on trust and a person’s love for animals. Sitters even get access to a 24/7 vet helpline just in case they need to ask a question or get advice.

So, if you love animals just as much as you love traveling, then get ready to hang out in some new places with a few new furry friends.