Trusted Housesitters’ New Booking Fee: What It Means, How It Works, and How I Really Feel About It
Yesterday, the internet collectively lost its mind - well, a small but passionate corner of it did - that bit populated by house sitters and pet owners. Trusted Housesitters announced a new platform-wide booking fee, charged on every new confirmed sit, and the reaction has been… intense.
Tom and I found out the same way most of you did: suddenly, unexpectedly, and with no prior heads-up, even as affiliates. It seemed to arrive out of thin air. And while we’re fortunate that this change won’t affect us (we’re Premium members, so we won’t pay the fee), I know it will affect a large part of the community.
So let’s break it down clearly, calmly, and honestly.
What Is the New Booking Fee?
Trusted Housesitters have introduced a £9 / $12 fee (or local equivalent), paid by both the sitter and the owner, each time a sit is officially confirmed.
This is separate from your annual membership fee.
They describe it as your “boarding pass” for each sit, designed to:
Fund the services behind each sit
Encourage commitment from both sides
The fee is only charged at confirmation - not when you apply, message, or shortlist a sit - and it is refunded if either party cancels.
Premium members do not pay this fee. They pay a higher annual membership instead.
How This Will Affect Real Users
Let’s be honest. This change will hit some people harder than others.
Who it impacts most:
Homeowners who travel frequently
If you go away monthly for work or take several short holidays a year, this will add up quickly.
Sitters who do short-term or local sits
The people who help their communities with two-night sits or last-minute emergencies will now be paying the same fee as those doing a six-week island sit. That feels… uneven.
Full-time sitters without Premium membership
People who rely on housesitting as their main accommodation, the way we have done for nearly four years, might now find their costs increasing significantly.
And the knock-on effect?
Sitters will prioritise longer sits (better value for the booking fee)
Short-term sits will become less appealing
Some short sits may sit empty
Competition for long sits may increase
In other words, the landscape is about to shift.
Why This Change Feels Unclear
What’s causing the frustration isn’t just the fee, it’s the vagueness.
Trusted Housesitters haven’t clearly explained what this new revenue covers that the membership fee doesn’t already fund.
Their messaging talks about:
“services behind each sit”
“smooth, consistent experience”
“encouraging commitment”
But none of these are concrete.
If revenue was the goal, raising annual membership costs would have been simpler and more transparent.
Which raises the questions everyone is asking:
Are they trying to nudge more people into Premium?
Are they trying to increase revenue without raising membership rates?
Or is this part of a larger shift that hasn’t been communicated yet?
We don’t know. Not yet.
What This Means for the Future of the Platform
I still believe Trusted Housesitters is the best platform of its kind.
It has given us a lifestyle we love: nearly four years, 50+ sits, hundreds of pets, and homes across nine countries.
Realistically, even with this new booking fee, Trusted Housesitters still remains far more affordable than traditional alternatives.
For homeowners, it is still dramatically cheaper than kennels, catteries, private boarding, or hiring a live-in sitter. For sitters, the model still offers accommodation that is significantly lower cost than hotels, Airbnbs, or long-term rentals in most cities around the world. That part hasn’t changed. But it has created a shift in perception.
There are plenty of other housesitting platforms out there - some smaller, some regional, some entirely free to use - and sitters who don’t rely on full-time house sitting the way we do may feel tempted to explore those instead.
My hope is that this doesn’t push the community away from what makes it special: people helping people, travellers helping pet owners, and a shared sense of trust and generosity.
But this update will change user behaviour. It will reshape how people choose sits and how often they travel.
And while Tom and I remain happy Premium members, I also recognise that not everyone can afford that option, and those are the people who will feel this the most.
All we can do now is watch how the rollout unfolds, how the community adapts, and what Trusted Housesitters communicate next.
When I know more, I’ll share more.
In the meantime: breathe, read the fine print, and decide what makes sense for your way of travelling and living.
EDIT — Updates from your feedback
Thank you to everyone who has already messaged, commented, and shared their thoughts. A few interesting points have come up. Some members genuinely feel there could be an upside to the new fee, arguing that having a small cost attached might increase commitment from both sides. If people have to pay before pressing “confirm sit”, they may think twice before cancelling, which has become a growing frustration for many as the platform has increased in size.
A lot of you also flagged the timing of the updated Terms & Conditions, which appeared on the same day. Some believe the new booking fee was used as a distraction so people wouldn’t read the T&Cs too closely. Personally, I don’t think that’s the case - it feels more like they pushed through multiple changes at once. But what is clear is that users were forced to accept the new terms before continuing to use the app or website. With so many changes included, it understandably rubbed people the wrong way.
One update to the T’s & C’s that caught many sitters’ attention was the clause stating that sitters must agree to pay vet fees upfront and then arrange reimbursement from the homeowner later. This is concerning, especially when pets may be older or have known health issues. For us, this is something we usually arrange privately with the homeowner in advance, and many will leave a payment method on file with their vet, so it’s surprising to see it appear in platform-wide terms.
Another rumour circulating is that the updated T&Cs now allow TrustedHousesitters to “sell” member details, including card details. I’ve searched the Terms & Conditions and the Privacy Policy thoroughly and found no such clause. According to their published data policy here: https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/privacy-policy/ which hasn’t been updated since 28 October 2025, this claim does not appear to be accurate. Let me know if I’m wrong!
The Sit Cancellation Plan
The Sit Cancellation Plan has technically had this wording since August 2025:
If a homeowner cancels unexpectedly, TrustedHousesitters may, at their sole discretion, reimburse sitters up to $150 per night (to a maximum of $1,500 per year).
The “sole discretion” part has always felt vague, but the new update goes further by stating that co-sitters are not covered.
The T&Cs now say:
“Please note that this plan will not be available to Co-Sitters as they are not Members.”
For couples like us, this is… puzzling. If a sit cancels, would they support one of us but not the other? Would they theoretically pay for a hotel room for me, but leave Tom outside in the cold? Surely not in reality, but that’s what the wording implies.
And since duo sitting is actively encouraged through their “Duo Sitter” feature, excluding co-sitters from protections feels like a contradiction.
Liability and Accident Cover: Not Insurance
Many sitters assumed TrustedHousesitters’ liability and accident cover was a form of insurance. It isn’t.
The wording is explicit:
“These plans are not insurance policies… We are not authorised or regulated as an insurance provider and are unable to provide or arrange insurance of any kind.”
This means the support you may have thought you had - whether around property damage, accidents, or third-party liability - is not insurance-backed, and not guaranteed in the way many people believed.
And again… co-sitters are excluded, because they are “not members”.
But there’s no functional way for a co-sitter to become a full member within the Duo Sitter system. If they buy their own membership, they can’t be accepted to the same sit as you. If they stay a co-sitter, they’re unprotected.
This is a major grey area that affects thousands of couple sitters.
Off-Platform Agreements: Will They Increase?
A question many sitters raised immediately is whether this new fee structure, and the realisation that the “insurance” isn’t actually insurance, will push more people towards off-platform arrangements.
Right now, you only pay the booking fee after applying for the sit, speaking with the owner, and confirming you’re a match.
So what’s stopping two people from exchanging numbers, agreeing the dates privately, and bypassing the fee entirely?
This is already common in some communities, and these updates may accelerate it.
But is it safe?
Off-platform agreements come with benefits and serious risks:
Pros:
• No booking fees
• More flexibility
• Direct communication
• No platform involvement in emergencies or disputes
Risks:
• Absolutely no protection from TrustedHousesitters (although, with the new wording, how much protection there is is questionable)
• No mediation in case of disputes
• No verification
• Potential liability issues
• No cancellation cover (even limited as it is)
• No record of the sit or agreement
• No recourse if something goes wrong
For experienced sitters who have strong relationships with trusted owners, off-platform agreements can and do work. But for newer members, or for anyone sitting in unfamiliar areas, it removes the safety nets, limited as they may be, that the platform does provide.
This is one of the biggest unintended consequences of the new changes:
people may start weighing the perceived “value” of platform protection against the very real cost of each sit.
The Co-Sitter / Duo-Sitter: A Grey Area
A major unresolved issue is how duo sitters like us are expected to stay protected.
Tom is a co-sitter. According to the new T&Cs:
He’s not covered by the cancellation plan
He’s not covered by the accident or liability plan
He’s “not a member”
But he must still be verified and linked to my membership
If he buys his own membership, he can’t be accepted onto the same sits.
If he stays as a co-sitter, he gets no protection.
This is something TrustedHousesitters urgently needs to clarify.
If anyone from THS can share guidance on how couples can stay fully protected within the new system, many sitters - us included - would appreciate it. And if you’re a sitter navigating the same confusion, please share your experiences.
The conversation around these changes is far from over, and I’ll continue to share updates as information comes in.
I’d love to know what you think of the change. Comment below or send me a DM, I really want to hear how you feel about it.
— Jess ✨