Our Entire Year of Family Accommodation Cost Less Than Two Nights in a Hotel
Five Months of House Sitting, Animals, and Unexpected Places
Just over a year ago, our landlady of twelve years told us she was selling her home.
After more than a decade in the same place, we suddenly had no idea where we were going to live. We weren't behind on rent. We hadn't done anything wrong. In a rental market where prices had nearly doubled, finding somewhere new wasn't just stressful, it was impossible.
We had to find a completely different way of living, and fast.
So we bought a van and converted it into a campervan.
It sounds romantic when you describe it that way, and parts of it genuinely are. But we also have a son, and van life, as wonderful as it can be, has its limits. He needed moments that felt more like home. A sofa, a proper kitchen, space to breathe, and just be somewhere for a while. We needed that too, if we're honest. The ability to sit down and focus on work without the background hum of a service station or a campsite. A few days of feeling settled.
And then there were the animals.
We all love animals. Our son, especially. But travelling full-time doesn't exactly make for a stable life for a dog or a cat. We'd quietly accepted it as one of the trade-offs, without quite realising how much we'd miss it.
Then we found TrustedHousesitters, and quite a lot changed.
What It Actually Is
The idea is straightforward: look after someone's home and pets while they're away, and stay there for free in return.
Trusted housesitters operates all over the world, which means you can effectively sit in any country for 'free'. However, you will have to factor in travel costs such as fuel or flights, depending on where you choose to sit.
There will, however, be absolutely no accommodation costs beyond the joining fee.
Just an exchange built on trust.
We weren't entirely sure what to expect when we first joined. Five months in, it's changed our lives.
We've stayed in peaceful countryside homes in Yorkshire, a hillside village in Crete with views stretching down to the sea, and a magical home in Kinver built into the cave rock itself, parts of the cave actually forming the walls inside the house, where two tuxedo cats ruled the garden alongside squirrels, woodpeckers, pheasants and frogs. We've also cared for dogs, cats, pigeons, chickens, and, perhaps most unexpectedly, twelve peacocks who wandered a garden as if they personally owned every inch of it. Guinea pigs are booked in for the end of summer.
It Doesn't Feel Like Tourism
That's probably the biggest shift.
You're not racing through places trying to tick things off before moving on. You settle into a routine instead. Morning walks with the dogs, feeding animals before breakfast, finding the local bakery, and sitting outside in the evening once everything goes quiet.
You experience places differently when you're living in them rather than just passing through.
Some of our favourite moments have been opening the doors in Crete to mountain views and silence, drinking coffee while peacocks wandered past, and watching a dog slowly decide that yes, you are now its person for the week.
Those are the things that stay with you.
The Animals Make It
Every sit has felt different because every animal has been different.
Some dogs bond with you almost immediately. Others keep their distance for a day or two before eventually appearing beside you on the sofa as if they've known you forever. Cats tend to make the rules from the start, which feels pretty standard.
The peacocks were probably the most surreal experience so far. You don't expect to open the door on a quiet morning and suddenly find yourself surrounded by them in full display while you're still on your first coffee.
As strange as it sounds, the hardest part is usually leaving. You settle into small routines with animals surprisingly quickly, and saying goodbye never really gets easier.
The People Behind the Homes
One thing we didn't anticipate was how genuinely welcoming people would be.
There's a lot of trust involved in handing someone your keys and asking them to care for animals that are part of your family. Because of that, most homeowners have been incredibly thoughtful from the start.
We've arrived to handwritten notes, welcome baskets, home-cooked meals, and messages checking we'd arrived safely. We send photo updates during sits and have ended up staying in touch afterwards. Some owners have messaged weeks later with pictures of their pets, telling us they were still missing us.
Most telling of all, every single pet parent so far has invited us back. We're actually on a return sit as I write this.
Every sit has felt less like a transaction than we expected. More human, really.
Why It Works for Us
For us, it fills the gap that van life can sometimes create.
You get the freedom of travelling but also real periods of stability. A proper kitchen. Space to spread out. A slower pace. Time to actually get work done without constant interruption. Plus something we genuinely hadn't expected to value so much, the chance to just have animals around for a while.
It also takes us to places we'd never have chosen otherwise. Some of the best sits have been in spots we wouldn't have thought to look.
Would We Recommend It?
Definitely, but only if you genuinely like animals.
This isn't free accommodation in exchange for doing the bare minimum. People are trusting you with homes they love and pets that matter to them.
But if you enjoy the quieter side of travel, like the idea of living somewhere rather than just visiting, and don't mind early-morning dog walks or the occasional muddy paw print, it's hard not to love.
It's become one of the most rewarding parts of how we live now.
How Much Does It Cost?
This is the part that surprises most people.
TrustedHousesitters offers three sitter plans:
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Basic — £99/year (£9 booking fee per sit)
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Standard — £129/year (£9 booking fee per sit)
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Premium — £199/year (no booking fees at all)
All plans include unlimited sits worldwide. You can join as a couple or family under one account, so that headline really is accurate. One membership, the whole family, everywhere.
We use Premium. With no per-sit fees and the number of sits we do, it pays for itself very quickly.
The platform does evolve, so if you're on the fence, it's worth joining sooner rather than later to lock in current pricing.
Ready to Try It?
Use our link, and you'll get 25% off your membership from the start. That brings Premium down to around £149 and Basic to £74. Either way, you're looking at less than the cost of a single hotel night for an entire year of accommodation worldwide.
Get 25% off TrustedHousesitters here →
We'll be transparent: when you sign up through our link, we receive two free months of membership — at no extra cost to you. We'd never recommend something we didn't genuinely use and love, and everything in this post is from our own experience. Referral details correct at time of writing (27 May 2026). Terms & Conditions apply.
