New tiered pricing plans at Trusted Housesitters

Trusted Housesitters - review of new tiered membership options 

After careful consultation with their members, TrustedHousesitters have announced a fairly radical change to their membership model. They are now offering a range of tiered subscription options, to provide more choice and some great new features, including much needed insurance options.

Instead of a one size fits all approach, the company now provides 3 tiers – Basic, Standard and Premium – in line with many other online service providers.

This means that as a NEW member you can pick the service and price that works for you.

What about existing memberships?

We've been told that NOTHING at all changes for existing house sitter or home owner members. All subscriptions are set at the BASIC level and nothing has been taken away.

I know the question on everyone’s lips will be around upgrading existing memberships and for now the feedback is that until the automatic upgrade option becomes available on a separate rollout, you should contact membership services who will be able to upgrade you if that's a route you'd like to take.

What’s NEW in the TrustedHousesitter membership tiers?

To reiterate, BASIC membership remains as it is for both house sitters and home owners and there's no change in the pricing at this level. There’s no advantage in the new BASIC membership over the existing plan that you already have as a house sitter or owner.

Within the STANDARD & PREMIUM TIERS there are several new features, which we have summarized below, first for house sitters, then for home owners:

Extra benefits on new "standard" THS house sitter membership

Free video vet calls on a sit
 

On the basic membership you have always been able to contact a vet while on a house sit if you need advice. In reality we've always contacted the owner's vet recommendation, but it is a useful backup for emergencies. This new feature enables you to have a video call which will mean you can show the vet the problem if you have a poorly pet, depending on the circumstances.

Instant alerts for unlimited searches

One bug bear many of us have had with the saved searches, is that 3 is just not enough. Especially if you want to set up filters for particular countries. This new feature allows for unlimited searches and instant alerts on the app. We'll report back once we've tried this in practice on both the website and app versions,  but the information on the website states: 

"Don’t miss out on that perfect sit - save your searches to be notified by alerts from our app and daily email alerts when house sits which match your criteria become available."

Dedicated member support
 

This is a step-up from the standard support in the BASIC package. TrustehHousesitters say:

"In addition to our basic support, get extra assistance to secure your first sit quickly and easily. We’ll guide you through setting up the perfect profile, getting references and verifications and help you search and apply to sits. We'll also contact you during a sit to make sure everything is running smoothly."

Accident & Third Party Liability Insurance

If this is a full-on 3rd party insurance for just an extra $40 - it makes this option a no-brainer, especially if you are house sitting in the Americas where liability insurance is often expected by people in the pet care professions. The website states:

"For extra peace of mind, if a pet causes damage or injury to another person, their property, or pets whilst under your control during a sit, and this is due to negligence on your part, then you will be covered by our sitter guarantee up to $1,000,000 per incident."  

We'll be requesting more details of the exact cover available and under what conditions, and will update this post once we have more information.

Extra benefits on "premium" THS house sitter membership

Sit Cancellation Insurance

This is a welcome enhancement for those concerned about sit cancellations. TrustedHousesitters state that...

"In the unlikely event of your owner cancelling, our guarantee provides up to $150 compensation per night to cover the cost of alternative accomodation, up to $1500 per sit. You’re covered up to 30 days annually over as many sits as you like. Or, if you choose to do longer sits, then rest assured you’re still covered for your first 3 sits each year, even if they span over 30 days."

Terms and conditions apply so it's important to read the small print. For instance, cancellations due to Covid-19 are not covered.

Global airport lounge passes and a premium badge

For us the main benefit of upgrading to the premium membership is the sit cancellation insurance, but it's nice to relax in comfort at an airport, so a couple of lounge passes are always welcome. 

The premium badge... well, we can't really see the benefit other than a home owner would perhaps know you've got sit cancellation and liability insurance. Not sure a badge is needed ... but then I'm not a lover of badges since I left the Brownies!

UPDATE - The Premium Badge has been removed following consultation with members, and now a Premium Membership Label has been used but only on the main profile or listing. If you search for members you'll not see this at the initial stage of looking.

Extra benefits on "standard" THS homeowner membership 

Home and contents protection

This is the insurance backed guarantee that has been in place for homeowners for a while now. You do need to have an existing home insurance policy in order to make a claim against this and there are terms and conditions - make sure you read the small print. TrustedHousesitters say:

"Some home insurance policies won't cover leaving your home in the hands of a third party, such as a sitter. For extra peace of mind, if you have an exisiting home insurance policy, then our Insurance Backed Guarantee covers every sit confirmed through TrustedHousesitters at no extra cost to you, up to $1 million USD. You're protected against property damage, theft, and public liability, if a sitter has an accident in your home. The Guarantee is underwritten by global insurer GUARDHOG."

Vet video calls and dedicated member support

As for sitters, video vet calls are free which could be helpful if you need some assistance or advice while away, and dedicated member support will always be on hand to help you get the most from your posting.

Boost your listing

This will help you get seen by even more house sitters, and increase the number of sit applications you receive. And if that doesn’t help you find a sitter quickly, and it’s your first listing, the next option will provide extra reassurance.

Money back guarantee

It’s rare that house sit jobs aren’t filled, except maybe at prime times of the year. But if this does happen to you on your FIRST listing, and you don’t get a house sitter application within 14 days of posting, TrustedHousesitters will give you back your money “with no strings attached”.  

If you've got any doubts, we think this will help you take that first crucial step. You can try it and see with the confidence it won’t cost a penny if you don’t get any applications. Take full advantage of the dedicated support and list boost options and there's no reason you shouldn't find the perfect sitter for your sit.

Extra benefits on "premium" THS homeowner membership

Homeowner sit cancellation insurance

As well as the 2 airport lounge passes and a premium badge, if you buy a premium TrustedHousesitters homeowner subscription you'll now get sit cancellation insurance.

In the unlikely event a sitter cancels, this new insurance provides up to £150 compensation per night to cover the cost of alternative pet care. It’s capped at £1500 per sit and the hope is it won’t be necessary. But it does provides some reassurance to homeowners, and in our opinion makes the premium membership an option to really consider, especially if you are a frequent traveller.

Terms and conditions do apply and cancellations due to Covid-19 are not covered, so please read the small print. Once we have sight of the finer details, we will update this post.

How much are the new TrustedHousesitters memberships?

Here are the prices in US Dollars, but you’ll find a currency converter for your local home country pricing when you go to the signup page. So if you're looking for TrustedHousesitter pricing plans in UK, just change the currency to £'s. The pricing is the same for house sitters and homeowners.

BASIC:             $ 129  (no change)
STANDARD:   $ 169
PREMIUM:     $ 259

And remember, our readers benefit from a 25% discount (for homeowners and sitters) which makes these options much more affordable and brings them down to the following prices (shown in USD):

What we think about the new changes

We believe these changes, especially the introduction of sit cancellation insurance, are all positive moves to improve the membership choices at what is still one of our favourite international house sitting sites.

Despite Covid-19 we successfully secured 11 sits last year over periods when lockdowns eased, and we are on our 3rd in France this year with several more booked for this year. All together we've done over 85 of our 100+ sits with TrustedHousesitters and we know we'll be doing many more!

We think they turned a corner when they began talking to and listening to the feedback of their members. Of course it's impossible to please everyone and implement every suggestion, but we think they are moving with the times. It's a shame the insurance doesn't cover Covid-19, but I suspect this would currently be cost prohibitive.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.