Could house or pet sitting help cut the cost of travelling alone? We look at how it works, what it really costs and what to check before you book.

Anyone who reads these articles (or has chatted about travel with me) will know there’s a bit of a love-hate relationship with the solo traveller tax. Book a hotel room alone and you’ll often pay almost as much as two people sharing it.

That’s certainly no reason to give up on travel. And plenty of people clearly feel the same. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data, published in May 2026, showed that solo journeys through England’s eight largest airports had risen by a staggering 89% over the past decade, from 50 million to more than 95 million.

The figures also showed a 91% increase in journeys by women travelling alone, while a separate CAA survey found that 47% of 18 to 34-year-olds expected to fly more in 2026.

The appetite for travel is clearly there. It’s the cost that sometimes needs looking at differently. That’s where house and pet sitting caught my attention.

Look after someone’s home while they’re away – sometimes with pets included – and, in return, you get somewhere to stay. That might be a London flat for a weekend or a house near Porto for a couple of weeks.

Of course, the arrangement still comes with some responsibilities. If there are pets, they may well have a say in how you spend your day! Even so, house or pet sitting abroad changes one of the first questions to ask when planning a trip: do you actually need a hotel?

How Much Does Pet and House Sitting Really Cost in 2026?

Calling house sitting “free travel” makes it sound simpler than it really is. Most platforms charge a membership fee, some add booking charges, and there can also be extra costs for getting to the property or covering a night between stays.

There are several different options, from dedicated house- and pet-sitting sites to broader work-exchange platforms. Here’s a quick look at some of the main ones and what you could pay in 2026.

Prices and membership details are correct at the time of writing, but these can change, so it’s always worth checking the individual website before signing up. Prices shown are in pounds where possible.

* Sterling equivalents for platforms that price in other currencies are approximate and can vary with exchange rates.

Calculating the Costs You’ll Still Pay

A membership fee is only the starting point. Take something like TrustedHousesitters: if you paid £99 for Basic and then completed four sits at £9 each once the booking fee applied, your platform costs would be £135 before you’d even travelled anywhere.

That’s why it’s worth looking at the available sits and destinations before paying for membership. If there are places you’d genuinely like to visit, the numbers could make quite a bit of sense. But there’s little point paying £29, £49 or £99 for a subscription you never use.

Then look at the cost of the whole trip. If seven nights in a hotel would cost £840, for example, and your sitting involved £99 membership, a £9 booking fee, £60 extra transport and £70 for an additional night around the handover, you’d still be £602 better off.

That’s where house and pet sitting gets interesting. It may not be free travel, but it could make an otherwise expensive trip considerably more affordable.

There are a few other costs to remember, including travel insurance and any cancellation cover you might need. If you’re travelling abroad, check what your policy covers before you book.

How Do You Land a House or Pet Sit and Make Sure It’s the Right One?

Landing your first house or pet sit is likely to be harder than your fiftieth. You’re asking someone you’ve never met to trust you with their home and, if there are animals involved, their pets too. If you don’t have reviews to show, that can be a challenge.

One way to get started is to build up some experience with people you already know. Offer to look after friends’ homes, pets or both, and ask if they’d be happy to provide a testimonial afterwards. Even a little evidence that you’re reliable and comfortable looking after someone else’s property could help when you’re applying for your first sit.

MindMyHouse also has a “Bring My Reputation” feature, which allows sitters to import endorsements and completed assignment counts from services including TrustedHousesitters and Nomador.

Once an owner is interested, remember that choosing the sit works both ways. Ask what looking after the property actually involves. If there are pets, what does a normal day with them look like? How long can they be left alone? Is medication needed? Who is the vet?

For any sit, it’s worth checking the practicalities too. Does the property work without a car? What are the arrangements for cameras, Wi-Fi, heating and arrival and departure times? Are there plants or other responsibilities to deal with?

A lovely location doesn’t necessarily make a good house sit. The property, the responsibilities and – where relevant – the pet’s routine all need to work for you too.

Real-life lesson: ask about the dogs!

One UK house sitter told The Times about a Cornwall sit involving three poorly house-trained dogs. The reality involved considerably more cleaning than expected – a useful reminder that photographs and a lovely location don’t tell you everything about a sit.

Before agreeing to anything involving animals, ask plenty of questions about their routine, behaviour and what will actually be expected of you. (Abbie Meakin learned why that conversation matters. The Times reported in April 2026 that one Cornwall sit involved three poorly house-trained dogs and far more daily cleaning than she expected).

Should You Let the House Sit Choose Where and How Long You Travel?

This is where house sitting abroad could become particularly interesting for solo travellers. Starting with one exact city and one exact week can rule out a lot of possibilities.

Instead, it may be worth finding the house first and then building your trip around it. Search your dream destination, then widen the search to the surrounding region or even neighbouring countries. Just remember to check transport costs before getting too excited about a particular property.

A rural house might look like a fantastic bargain, for example, but not if you need to hire a car for two weeks to get there and get around. There’s also something to be said for staying longer. Once you’ve paid to get to a destination, a longer house sit could make better financial sense than moving on after a few days. The cheapest accommodation isn’t always the best choice. The right sit needs to fit the trip – and you.

But longer isn’t necessarily better for everyone. Before committing to a month-long sit, think carefully about whether you’d be happy with the same house, location and responsibilities for 30 days.

Hannah and Jack Cleaver took the idea much further. BBC Wales reported in April 2026 that they had spent three years pet sitting through the US, Singapore, Australia, Thailand and Japan while saving about £1,000 a month. They’re a couple, but their story shows what happens when house sitting for accommodation stretches beyond a week-long holiday. For a solo traveller, I’d only accept a month-long sit after asking whether I could live happily with that exact pet routine for 30 days.

What If House or Pet Sitting Isn’t Right for You?

There are other ways to trade some flexibility, time or even your own home for cheaper accommodation.

Pet-free house sitting is the closest alternative. MindMyHouse, for example, has a “No pets” filter, and there are also house-sitting opportunities where the main responsibilities might be looking after a garden or watering plants. Read the duties carefully, though. Half an acre of thirsty plants could take considerably more work than one sleepy cat.

If you have a home to offer, home exchange is another possibility. HomeExchange currently charges around £185 a year for unlimited exchanges. Reciprocal swaps are available, but its GuestPoints system means the person staying in your home doesn’t necessarily have to be the person whose home you visit.

For a solo traveller with some flexibility, home exchange could be worth considering – particularly if you’re happy to travel outside the busiest periods. If you’re renting your property, check your tenancy agreement and get any permission you need before offering it for exchange.

Work exchange is another option, although it’s a different proposition. You’re giving some of your time in return for accommodation, so it makes most sense when the work itself sounds like part of the experience. Workaway and Worldpackers offer opportunities in countries around the world, but this is less about finding somewhere cheap to stay and more about combining travel with a structured experience.

For me, the useful test is how much freedom each arrangement leaves you. A cat that needs breakfast and dinner gives you a very different day from a dog that needs several walks and company between them. And a house with a large garden may come with more work than the photographs suggest.

The best option isn’t necessarily the one that gives you the cheapest accommodation. It’s the one that gives you somewhere you’d enjoy staying without taking away too much of the freedom that made you want to travel alone in the first place.

Can British Travellers House or Pet Sit Abroad?

One thing to check before you book.

House and pet sitting may seem like a straightforward way to find somewhere to stay, but immigration rules vary between countries. In some places, looking after a home or pets in return for accommodation could be classed as work, even if no money changes hands.

Before booking, check the latest advice on GOV.UK and the immigration rules for the country you’re visiting. Look out for information about unpaid work, volunteering or accommodation provided in return for help.

If you’re still unsure, a quick check with the country’s embassy or immigration service could save you a lot of hassle later.

Maybe Solo Travel Has an Upside After All

The solo traveller tax still irritates me. Paying almost the same for a hotel room as two people sharing it can feel pretty hard to justify.

But solo travel does give you something useful in return: flexibility. The dates and destination are yours to move around, which makes house sitting particularly interesting.

A Tuesday cat sit in Edinburgh could become the reason for the trip. Porto might suddenly look very tempting because a two-week house sit appears at exactly the right time. And if pets aren’t your thing, there are sits where the house itself is the main responsibility.

There’s also something appealing about living somewhere rather than simply checking into a hotel. You might shop at the local supermarket, work out which bus actually turns up and, if there’s a cat involved, discover that the chair you’ve chosen was never really yours in the first place.

Not every sit will be perfectly located and some will involve more responsibility than others. But if you’re looking for ways to make solo travel more affordable, house and pet sitting are certainly worth adding to the search alongside hotels and other accommodation.

It could be a different way to travel – and perhaps one of the more interesting ways to beat the solo traveller tax.