I stayed for free in Seattle, Austin, and New York by pet sitting — here's why it's my favorite way to travel

• Madolline Gourley, 31, is a travel writer from Brisbane, Australia.
• She recently stayed in Seattle, Austin, and New York City for several weeks for free by pet sitting.

I discovered house sitting a few years ago, and since then it's allowed me to stay in cities all over the United States and Australia for next to nothing. As a sitter, you house or pet sit for 'free' in exchange for accommodation.

My last international house sit was in March 2020 in New York City right when the COVID-19 crisis began. Almost two years later, I decided to return to the US in December for another house sitting vacation and began looking for available sits.

I use TrustedHousesitters, which is a site where you can set up your house-sitting profile and respond to available listings, to find house and pet sits.

The site offers different membership packages ranging from $129 a year to $259 a year, with a combined owner-sitter option available for those wanting a sitter and to sit themselves. I'll have to upgrade to the 'Basic Sitter' plan (the cheapest option) by the end of the year because my current membership plan, which is the same one I've had since I started house sitting back in 2017, is no longer an option.

The 'Premium Sitter' plan offers cancellation insurance of up to $150 compensation a night if a sit falls through, as well as two airport lounge passes and a premium badge on your profile. Both plans let members apply for as many sits as they want.

By looking early, I was able to line up sits in Seattle, Austin, and New York City from January 19 to February 13. I was fortunate enough to secure two house and cat sits in New York which meant I got to experience both Manhattan and Brooklyn living.

How to find house and pet sits

On TrustedHousesitters, you can search for sits by city, state, or country of interest and refine the results by pet type, length of sit, and start and end dates.

When you find an ad that interests you, the most important thing to do when reaching out is to tell the owner why you'd like to house and pet sit for them. The messaging option is similar to sending a DM, but I look at it more like writing a cover letter.

In my reach-out, I like to tell owners that I'm organized, tidy, responsive, and reliable (I haven't left anyone hanging or canceled a sit at the last minute). I touch on my house and pet sitting experience and point the owner to the reviews and feedback on my sitter profile. If I have past experience looking after their particular type of animal, I'll mention that as well.

Some owners will get back to you within the hour, while others can take a week. The owner might offer you the sit based on your message alone, but some prefer to have a quick video call first.

Both the Seattle and New York City sits were offered to me without a call, while the Austin one was a repeat sit. With all sits, I communicate and organize everything through the TrustedHousesitters website, as it's the safest option for both parties.

What's expected of a house and pet sitter

A house and pet sitter's main responsibility is to care for the person's pet or pets. My Seattle sit was very light in terms of home and pet care — I was asked to feed the two cats twice a day, change their water, and clean the litter box every day or two.

It was similar for the two cats in New York City, but the Austin sit required a little more pet care. The couple's cat was 12 years old and needed a thyroid tablet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at breakfast. I dissolved the tablet in water and mixed it in with his wet food and MiraLAX powder.

The owner's ad should touch on what your responsibilities will be, and they'll typically walk you through everything in person when you arrive. At times, when owners couldn't be there to meet me, they left the keys either with a doorman or in a lockbox and gave me a rundown of their home and their pet's routine over the phone.

I always ask questions like, "Do I need to collect the mail?" and, "What day is trash day?" and most owners are responsive to text messages while they're away. I usually send the owner two or three photos or videos each day of their pet plus a little update on how the pet is doing.

House sitting is a great way to save money on travel

Traveling by way of house and pet sitting might come with a few extra responsibilities, but on this trip alone, it saved me thousands of dollars on accommodations. Reserving 15 minutes of my morning and evening for pet care or house maintenance wasn't much to ask when I had the rest of the day to explore each of the cities I visited.

On this trip, my sits were in desirable neighborhoods like Capitol Hill in Seattle, Chelsea in Manhattan, and Downtown Austin, where basic hotel rooms would easily have cost me hundreds of dollars a night.

In total, I spent around $3,500 on non-accommodation-related expenses over the month-long trip, including:

• $1,451 on airfares, including flights from Brisbane, Australia to Seattle, Seattle to Austin, and Austin to New York.
• $365 for travel insurance with Hey Mondo, which included coverage for COVID-19 medical expenses.
• $57 for an express PCR test in Australia 24 hours before arrival in the US and $14 for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
• $60 for two SIM cards for my phone, with 5GB of data each plus unlimited calls and texts to US numbers.
• $1,500 in cash that I had organized prior to leaving Australia for food and spending.

One of the perks I love about house sits is that you're treated more like a friend rather than hired help. I was given little welcome packages from two of the owners and a gift card from the Austin couple. All of the owners also gave me great recommendations for the best places to eat and drink in their neighborhoods.

I've maintained friendships with different owners long after sits have ended and some have even invited me back to care for their pets again. Since discovering house and pet sitting in 2017, it's become my favorite way to travel affordably, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.