House Sitting and Home Exchange: Free Accommodation Worldwide

I have stayed in 23 homes across 11 countries through house sitting and home exchange, and I have not paid for accommodation in any of them. The arrangement is simple: you look after someone's home (and usually their pets) while they are away, and in return you get a place to stay for free. After four years of doing this, I have learned what works, what does not, and which platforms are worth your time.

"A trip is best measured in friends, rather than miles." — Tim Cahill

TrustedHousesitters: The Largest Platform

TrustedHousesitters is the biggest house-sitting platform, with listings in over 150 countries. The model is straightforward: you pay an annual membership fee (about 129 US dollars for sitters), which gives you unlimited access to listings and the ability to apply for sits. Homeowners pay the same fee to list their properties. No money changes hands between sitter and homeowner beyond the membership, which means the accommodation is genuinely free once you have paid the annual subscription.

I have completed 14 sits through TrustedHousesitters, ranging from a weekend in a Barcelona apartment with a cat to a six-week stay at a farmhouse in Provence with two dogs, three chickens, and a vegetable garden. The application process works like a job application: you create a profile with photos, references, and a description of your experience, and you send a personalized message to each homeowner explaining why you are a good fit for their sit. The platform shows how many applications each listing has received, which helps you gauge your chances.

The key to getting accepted is a strong profile with verified references. New sitters should start with sits in their own city or region to build up references before applying for international sits. Homeowners are entrusting you with their home and their pets, and they are naturally cautious about sitters with no track record. I applied for about 30 sits before getting my first acceptance, and after building up five positive references, my acceptance rate rose to roughly one in three applications.

HomeExchange: The Swap Model

HomeExchange works differently from house sitting. Instead of caring for pets, you swap homes with another member: you stay in their home while they stay in yours, or you stay in their home while they stay in someone else's (a non-reciprocal exchange, which HomeExchange Make easier through a points system). The annual membership costs about 170 US dollars, and each exchange costs an additional 20 to 50 dollars in service fees.

I have used HomeExchange for six exchanges, including a two-week swap between my apartment in Portland and a flat in central Lisbon, and a one-week swap between a friend's house in Austin and a villa in Tuscany. The non-reciprocal option is useful if your own home is not somewhere people want to visit: you earn "GuestPoints" by hosting other members, and you spend those points to stay in other members' homes without a direct swap. The points system is roughly 1 point per night of hosting, and most homes cost 30 to 80 points per night.

The quality of homes on HomeExchange varies widely, from modest apartments to luxury villas. Read the descriptions carefully and look for listings with multiple positive reviews. The platform's messaging system allows you to communicate with potential exchange partners before committing, which I recommend doing to clarify expectations about cleaning, key handover, and any house rules. HomeExchange also offers a guarantee that covers up to 10,000 dollars in damages, which provides peace of mind for both parties.

MindMyHouse: A Smaller but Serious Alternative

MindMyHouse is a smaller platform than TrustedHousesitters, with fewer listings but a more curated membership. The annual fee for sitters is 20 US dollars, which makes it the cheapest option. Homeowners pay 49 dollars per year to list their property. The lower fees mean fewer listings, but the homeowners who use MindMyHouse tend to be experienced house-sitting hosts who have often used the platform for years.

I have completed three sits through MindMyHouse, all in Europe: a two-week sit in a converted barn in the Cotswolds (England) with a golden retriever, a one-week sit in a canal house in Amsterdam with no pets, and a ten-day sit in a seaside apartment in Split, Croatia, with a tabby cat. The Amsterdam sit was particularly appealing because it required no pet care, which meant I could explore the city freely during the day without worrying about feeding schedules or walks.

MindMyHouse's smaller user base means less competition for desirable sits. I have found that response rates from homeowners are higher on MindMyHouse than on TrustedHousesitters, possibly because homeowners receive fewer applications. The platform's search filters are less sophisticated than TrustedHousesitters, but the listings include detailed descriptions and usually multiple photos. If you are willing to look past the smaller selection, MindMyHouse offers good value for the low membership fee.

What to Expect During a House Sit

The responsibilities of a house sit vary depending on the homeowner and the property. Pet care is the most common requirement, and it usually involves feeding the animals once or twice a day, walking dogs once or twice a day, cleaning litter boxes, and administering any medications. Plant care is the second most common requirement, which can range from watering a few potted plants to maintaining an extensive garden. Some homeowners also ask sitters to collect mail, take out bins, and keep the house generally tidy.

The time commitment varies. A sit with no pets and minimal plant care might require 15 minutes of effort per day. A sit with two dogs that need two walks each, a cat that needs medication, and a garden that needs daily watering can require two to three hours per day. When evaluating a sit, ask the homeowner for a specific breakdown of daily responsibilities, including the pets' routines and any special requirements. I once accepted a sit that seemed straightforward based on the listing, only to discover upon arrival that one of the dogs required a 45-minute walk at 6 a.m. every morning, which was not mentioned in the listing.

The living conditions are generally good, but they vary. Some homeowners leave their primary residence for you to use, which means a fully equipped kitchen, comfortable furniture, and often a garden or outdoor space. Others offer a separate apartment or guest house on the property. In rare cases, the accommodation is basic: a spare room with a bed and access to a shared bathroom. Read the listing description carefully and ask the homeowner about the specific accommodation you will have, including whether you will have access to WiFi, laundry, and a kitchen.

Building Trust as a House Sitter

Trust is the foundation of house sitting, and building it takes time and effort. I always arrive at the property at least a day before the homeowners depart, which gives us time to go through the house together, meet the pets, and discuss routines. I take detailed notes during this handover: feeding amounts and times, walking routes, vet contact information, WiFi passwords, appliance quirks, and any neighborhood tips. Homeowners appreciate the thoroughness, and it prevents the "where do you keep the X" messages that can make you seem unprepared.

During the sit, I send the homeowners a daily update with a photo of the pets and a brief note about how things are going. This is not required by any platform, but it provides enormous peace of mind to homeowners who are worried about leaving their animals. A simple message like "Everyone is doing well. Bella enjoyed her walk in the park this morning, and the cat has been sleeping on the sofa all day" takes 30 seconds to write and builds the kind of trust that leads to repeat invitations and positive references.

When the sit ends, I leave the house cleaner than I found it. I strip the beds, do a final load of laundry, clean the kitchen and bathroom, and leave a small gift (usually a local food product from wherever I have been exploring). These gestures cost almost nothing but make a lasting impression. I have been invited back to repeat sits at five of the 23 homes I have stayed in, and three of those homeowners specifically mentioned the condition of the house when they returned as the reason for the repeat invitation.

Home Exchange Etiquette

Home exchange requires a different set of social skills than house sitting, because you are interacting with someone who will be living in your home while you are living in theirs. Clear communication before the exchange is essential. I send a detailed information pack to my exchange partner about two weeks before the swap, covering everything from how to operate the coffee maker to which restaurants are within walking distance. I also include a list of emergency contacts, the location of the circuit breaker and water shutoff, and any quirks of the apartment (the bathroom door sticks, the third burner on the stove does not light reliably).

Before the exchange, I clean my home thoroughly, put away personal items that I do not want others to use, and leave at least one shelf in the closet and one drawer empty for my exchange partner's use. I stock the kitchen with basic supplies: coffee, tea, sugar, cooking oil, salt, and pepper. Some exchange partners leave a bottle of local wine or a basket of regional food products as a welcome gesture, which is thoughtful but not expected.

If something breaks or goes wrong during the exchange, communicate immediately and honestly. A broken dish or a stained towel is not a crisis if you tell the other person right away and offer to replace or repair the item. Ignoring problems or trying to hide them destroys trust and will result in a negative review, which can make it difficult to arrange future exchanges. The HomeExchange platform has a dispute resolution process, but in my experience, direct communication between exchange partners resolves 99 percent of issues.

Is House Sitting Right for You?

House sitting is not for everyone. If you value hotel amenities like daily housekeeping, room service, and a concierge, you will find house sitting frustrating. If you prefer to have a fixed itinerary and move between destinations on a tight schedule, the requirement to be at the property at specific times for pet care will feel restrictive. If you are uncomfortable being alone in someone else's home, or if you dislike animals, house sitting is probably not a good fit.

House sitting works best for slow travelers who enjoy staying in one place for a week or more, who like having a kitchen and living space rather than a hotel room, and who are comfortable with the unpredictability of living in someone else's home. The financial savings are substantial: over four years, I estimate that house sitting has saved me about 15,000 dollars in accommodation costs. But the real value, for me, is the experience of living in residential neighborhoods rather than tourist zones, shopping at local markets, and caring for animals that I would never have met otherwise.

My advice for first-time house sitters is to start small. Do a weekend sit in your own city or a nearby town to get a feel for the experience without the pressure of being in an unfamiliar place. Build up your references, learn what questions to ask homeowners during the handover, and develop a routine for communicating with homeowners during the sit. Once you have a few successful sits and positive references, you will be competitive for the more desirable international sits that make house sitting such a rewarding way to travel.