Breadcrumbs: Home > House Sitting Guide > Tipping Etiquette for House Sitters
Article updated: 28 February 2026
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📊 QUICK FACTS:
Is tipping expected? No. Most sits are a fair exchange and neither side should expect money to change hands.
Have we ever received a cash tip? Never, across 15+ sits in Europe and Australia.
What homeowners give instead: Wine, food they have left in the fridge, pantry access, local experience tips, small gifts.
The currency that actually matters: A five-star review. It opens more doors than any tip ever would.
When a tip crosses into a salary: Farm work, intensive medical pet care, or being unable to leave the property for more than a couple of hours. At that point you should be discussing pay, not waiting for a gratuity.
Platform rule: On TrustedHouseSitters, no money should change hands for the sit itself. The exchange is accommodation for care.
I once posted a thread on Reddit asking a simple question: what is the best thing a homeowner has ever given you after a house sit? The replies came in for days. Ski lift tickets in Austria. Cases of wine. Small local gifts. One homeowner in the UK was upfront that his house was not a prize location, so after every month-long sit he gave the sitter a tip of £20 per day. Thirty days, six hundred pounds. On top of that, boarding his dog would have cost him three times as much and with nowhere near the same level of care. He felt the tip was not generosity. It was just fair.
But that story stands out precisely because it is rare. Caro and I have never received a cash tip across all of our sits. And we do not expect one.
This article covers what actually happens at the end of a sit, what counts as a reasonable exchange, and where the line is between house sitting and something that should be paid work.
House Sitting Is an Exchange, Not a Transaction
The foundation of platforms like TrustedHouseSitters and Nomador is that no money changes hands for the sit itself. The homeowner gets their home looked after and their pets cared for. The sitter gets free accommodation in a location they want to be in. Both sides benefit. The terms on most platforms reflect this: tipping is not prohibited, but the exchange is designed so that it should not be necessary.
That is the theory. In practice, the value on both sides is rarely perfectly equal, and most homeowners know it.
The difference between house sitting and unpaid labour is worth understanding here. For a good sit, the sitter gets free accommodation in a beautiful home, access to a kitchen, a washing machine, and a comfortable space to live and work. The homeowner gets round-the-clock care for their pets, someone to take in the post, keep the lights on, and look after the property as if it were their own. When both sides hold up their end, the exchange is fair and no tip is needed or expected.
What Homeowners Actually Give
Caro and I have never received cash after a sit. What we have received is something more consistent: hospitality before we even arrive.
In Leysin and in Bochum, the homeowners told us to help ourselves to whatever was in the fridge. That is the most common form of generosity in house sitting. Not an envelope at the end. A well-stocked kitchen at the start.
Our approach to food is simple. We use perishables that would otherwise go off during the sit: opened cheeses, cold cuts, eggs, things that would not survive until the homeowner returns. We replenish anything we finish from the staples: olive oil, coffee, butter. We do not go through the freezer or eat things that are clearly being kept for something. If anything is unclear, we take a photo and message the homeowner to ask. Most of the time they respond with "of course, use whatever you like."
Coming back to a house where nothing has spoiled and the staples have been replaced is something homeowners appreciate more than most sitters realise. It shows respect for the home without making a performance of it.
For wine, we bring a bottle when we arrive. Bio white wine is our usual choice, around five to ten euros, and it rarely fails as an opening gesture. In many cases homeowners reciprocate, either leaving a bottle for us or telling us to help ourselves to something from their rack. It sets the tone for the whole sit.
One thing worth mentioning for homeowners thinking about what to leave: we travel minimalist. A physical gift that needs to go in a bag is sometimes more of a logistical puzzle than a pleasure. The most practical gifts are consumable or digital. A local restaurant voucher, a Deliveroo or UberEats credit, or even just a written note with three specific restaurant recommendations in the area is more useful to a sitter travelling light than a bottle of wine they cannot carry or a box of chocolates they have to eat in one sitting. If you want to give something that will actually land well, think about what the sitter can use during the sit rather than what they will need to fit in their bag on the way out.
The Currency That Actually Matters
If I had to choose between a cash tip and a five-star review written in detail, I would take the review every time.
A good review on a platform like TrustedHouseSitters does not just make you feel appreciated. It opens sits that would otherwise be out of reach. The homeowners with the mountain chalet or the Sicilian farmhouse or the Athens apartment with a terrace view do not pick from the top of the application pile at random. They read profiles. They look at reviews. They want to see that previous homeowners trusted you, found you easy to communicate with, and left their home in better shape than they expected.
A fifty euro tip is spent once. A review that says "we came back to a spotless home and two very happy dogs" keeps working for years.
If you are building your profile, prioritise the review over anything else. Ask for it directly if you need to. Most homeowners intend to leave one and simply forget. A polite message the day after they return, thanking them for the sit and mentioning that a review when they have a moment would mean a lot, is not pushy. It is professional.
Christmas Sits and Holiday Weekends
I did my first solo sit over Christmas in Ostuni. No Caro, just me, 4 cats, and a fireplace. It was one of the most peaceful Christmases I can remember. I stayed home, kept the fire going, fed the cats, and took some time for myself. The homeowner sent a message on Christmas Day. Nothing elaborate, just a check-in and a thank you.
Some homeowners do leave small gifts for holiday sits. A card, a bottle of something, a local treat left on the kitchen counter. It is a lovely gesture when it happens. But the honest truth is that a Christmas sit is not fundamentally different from any other sit. You are there, the animals are cared for, the house is looked after. The holiday is incidental to what you are doing.
If a homeowner wants to acknowledge a holiday sit with something extra, that is kind. If they do not, that is also fine. You agreed to the sit knowing the dates. The exchange does not change because of what is on the calendar.
When a Tip Is Not Enough
There is a category of listing that sits on the wrong side of the line between house sitting and employment, and it is worth naming directly.
I have seen listings asking for sitters to manage four horses, two donkeys, fourteen pigs, chickens, and four large dogs, and then specifying that the sitter will also be responsible for utilities. This is not house sitting. This is farm management. The accommodation on offer does not come close to compensating for what is being asked, and some of these listings should be reported to the platform.
There are sitters who actively want that kind of experience. That is legitimate. What is not legitimate is framing it as a mutual exchange when the work involved is so far beyond caring for a home and a pet that it has crossed into something that should be paid employment. If you are being asked to provide intensive medical care for an animal, if you cannot leave the property for more than two hours at a time, or if the physical labour involved goes beyond what you would do in your own home, that is a different arrangement. Our guide on the difference between house sitting and unpaid labour covers exactly where that line sits.
Tipping Culture by Region
Expectations vary significantly depending on where you are sitting. Here is how it breaks down by region.
| Region | What to expect |
|---|---|
| USA | Tipping is closer to expected on paid platforms like Rover. On exchange sits, a "dinner on us" voucher or a cash thank-you on longer sits is fairly common. |
| UK | Cash tips happen occasionally, more often on month-long sits where homeowners feel the exchange was lopsided. Less common than the US but not unheard of. |
| Europe | Cash is rare and can feel awkward. Appreciation comes through hospitality during the sit: stocked fridge, wine rack access, local recommendations. |
| Australia | No expectation of tipping. The exchange model is well understood and the hospitality is built into the sit itself. |
| Southeast Asia | Tipping culture varies by country. Generally not expected in house sitting contexts. Local gifts or food are more common expressions of appreciation. |
If you are sitting internationally, adjust your expectations to match where you are. A European homeowner who does not tip is not being ungrateful. The exchange model was their starting point and the hospitality they offer within the sit is how they say thank you. Understanding that before you arrive means you are not reading absence of cash as absence of appreciation.
The Reverse Tip: What Sitters Can Do
Most of this article has been about what homeowners give. But the most reliable way to secure a five-star review and a future invitation is to flip the question entirely.
We try to leave the house in better shape than we found it. Spotless, obviously. But also: a fresh loaf of bread on the counter, eggs from the garden if there are chickens, something simple that says the people who stayed here were thinking about you coming home. It takes almost no effort and the effect is disproportionate. A homeowner who walks through the door to a clean house and something fresh in the kitchen is going to write a different review than one who walks in to find the bins full and the washing up done but nothing more.
This is where the house sitting video call is useful beyond just logistics. A good call tells you what kind of person you are dealing with. Some homeowners are warm and would love a personal touch on return. Others are more professional in their approach and would find it unnecessary. Read the person during the call and match your gesture to them. The welcome back moment is your last impression. Make it count.
Think of it as the professional tip in the other direction. You are not waiting for them to appreciate you. You are making it impossible for them not to.
Konrad & Caro 🐾🚐
DM us @housesittersguide if you have questions. We answer everyone!
[The verdict: Do not expect cash on exchange platforms. Leave the house spotless with a small welcome-back gesture, chase that five-star review, and let your reputation do the tipping for you.
FAQ
Is tipping expected after a house sit?
No. On fair exchange platforms like TrustedHouseSitters and Nomador, no money should change hands for the sit itself. Caro and I have never received a cash tip across all of our sits and we do not expect one. The exchange is accommodation for care, and when both sides hold up their end it is equal.
What do homeowners typically give instead of cash?
Pantry and fridge access is the most common gesture. Wine, local food, recommendations for places to visit nearby. Some homeowners leave small gifts, particularly on longer sits. The most valuable thing a homeowner can give a sitter, though, is a detailed five-star review.
Does tipping vary by country?
Yes. In the United States, a cash tip after a longer sit or a holiday sit is more common and broadly in line with American tipping culture. In Europe and Australia, appreciation is more likely to come through hospitality during the sit rather than cash at the end. Neither approach is wrong. They reflect different cultural norms around how gratitude is expressed.
What is the best gift a homeowner can give a house sitter?
A detailed, prompt five-star review. It does more for a sitter's future opportunities than any cash tip. If you are a homeowner reading this, leaving a review the day after you return is one of the most meaningful things you can do for someone who looked after your home.
When does house sitting cross into paid work?
When the physical demands go well beyond caring for a home and a pet. Intensive medical care for animals, farm management, being unable to leave the property for more than a couple of hours, or significant manual labour are all indicators that the exchange is no longer equal and that payment should be discussed. If a listing asks for this level of commitment and offers only accommodation, read it carefully before applying.
What about holiday sits like Christmas or New Year?
