Home > Blog > Welcome Gift for House Sitters
Quick Facts
| Is a welcome gift expected? | No — sitters never expect one and appreciate it when it appears |
| The most memorable welcome we have received | Vegetable soup, fresh bread, and a bag of local olives in Cortona, Italy |
| What matters more than a gift | A clean house, cleared fridge space, and an honest welcome guide |
| Best practical welcome | Breakfast basics left for the first morning — milk, coffee, bread |
| Best experience gift | A note with three specific local restaurant or café recommendations |
| Worst welcome | Arriving to a home that needs cleaning before you can settle in |
The single best welcome we ever found waiting for us on a kitchen counter was not a gift basket or cash. It was local coffee, a bottle of wine, and most importantly a clear, honest welcome guide that explained everything we needed to know about the sit.
That combination immediately told us two things: these homeowners respected our time, and they wanted us to enjoy their home, not just maintain it.
This article is for homeowners who want to be the kind of host that sitters fight to sit for. Not the host who spends the most. The host who thinks about what a sitter arriving after a long journey actually needs.
What Sitters Actually Need When They Arrive
The physical welcome (a small treat, breakfast basics, something from the local area) is the part most homeowners think about. It matters, but it is not the most important thing.
The first morning matters most. We often arrive tired from travel. The most practically useful thing a homeowner can leave is what sitters need on day one: milk, coffee or tea, and something for breakfast. A fresh loaf of bread or some fruit. Not a full weekly shop. Just enough that there is no need to immediately sprint to the nearest supermarket before the animals have had their morning feed.
We have stayed at places where this was thought about and places where it was not. The difference is felt immediately and sets the tone for how the sit begins. Our food etiquette guide covers the full picture of what to leave and how to handle the fridge handover.
Local treats and recommendations. A small local item (a bottle of wine, artisan chocolate, something from a nearby market) is always appreciated. More appreciated, in our experience, is recommendations of local cafés or restaurants. Something like "the coffee at the place on the corner is excellent and they usually have good pastries" is more useful to a sitter who has just arrived in an unfamiliar place than a generic box of chocolates they have to carry home.
This is particularly true for sitters travelling light. We move between sits in our VW T4 and we travel minimalist. A physical gift that needs to go in a bag is sometimes more of a logistical puzzle than a pleasure. Consumable items (wine, food, a local speciality) are used during the sit. They do not have to be packed. Restaurant vouchers and food delivery credits are even better.
The welcome note. A short, personal note on the counter saying "make yourself at home, the kettle is full, and the cats like to be fed from the blue bowl" takes two minutes to write and is remembered for the entire sit. It does not need to be elaborate. It just needs to be warm and specific.
The Invisible Welcome: What Matters More Than Any Gift
The physical state of the home when we arrive is the real welcome gift. No bottle of wine compensates for arriving at a property that needs cleaning before we can settle in.
We have high cleaning standards. We treat homes with care and always aim to leave them in the same or better condition than we found them. But arriving to find dirty dishes, an unclean bathroom, or an overflowing bin is demoralising before the sit has even started. It signals that the homeowner does not consider the sitter a guest. They consider them a cleaner.
A clean home at handover says the opposite. It says: I have prepared this space for you. You are welcome here.
Beyond cleanliness, there is cleared space. A shelf or two in the fridge for the sitter's groceries. A drawer or section of wardrobe for their clothes. We travel with our own things: usually a box each for food and clothes. Having a designated spot to put our belongings makes us feel like residents rather than intruders.
The Best Welcome We Have Had
Our most memorable welcome was in Cortona, Italy, looking after Teddy and Lucca, two Labradors. The homeowners had made vegetable soup, left fresh bread and butter, and put out a bag of fresh local olives for our arrival. The soup brought back memories of home-cooked meals. The olives were snacked on throughout the entire ten-day sit.
It was not expensive. It was specific to the place and the people. And it set a tone for one of our best sits.
In Athens, the homeowners told us to use as much of their olive oil as we wanted. It came from their family farm in Crete. We used it with salads for the whole stay. A small local detail that created a genuine connection to the homeowner and to the place.
Neither of these was a planned gift in the formal sense. Both were memorable precisely because they felt personal rather than generic.
Why This Matters for Your Profile
Being a good host builds your reputation as a homeowner, and reputation is what attracts good sitters.
On house sitting platforms, sitters read homeowner reviews before applying. A homeowner described consistently as "welcoming, left a clean home, clearly respected the sitters" receives stronger applications than one described as "the house needed work on arrival" or "communication was vague." Our verified reviews guide covers how the review system works and why both sides of the exchange matter.
The sitters with the strongest profiles (the ones applying for the mountain chalets and the Sicilian farmhouses) choose sits partly based on how a homeowner comes across in their listing and in reviews. If you want experienced sitters, show them you have thought about their experience, not just your own.
The Welcome Checklist
| Category | What to leave | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Day one basics | Milk, coffee or tea, bread or fruit | Sitters arrive tired. First morning without a supermarket run sets a good tone. |
| Local treat | Wine, chocolate, or something from a nearby market | Consumable and specific to the place. More appreciated than a generic gift. |
| Restaurant recommendation | A note with 2–3 specific local cafés or restaurants | More useful than any physical gift for a sitter who is new to the area. |
| Welcome note | Personal, warm, short. Pets' names, kettle location, anything specific | Takes two minutes and is remembered throughout the sit. |
| Clean home | Tidy, bathroom cleaned, no surprise mess | The most important welcome. Nothing else compensates for arriving to a dirty house. |
| Space | Cleared fridge shelf, drawer or wardrobe space for sitter's things | Makes a sitter feel like a resident, not an intruder. |
| Welcome guide | Clear, honest, covering pet routines, emergency contacts, alarm, wifi | The most practically valuable thing. Described in full in our preparation guide. |
If You Want to Give a Welcome Gift: Top Ideas
Not every homeowner wants to leave it at basics, and that is absolutely fine. If you want to give something that lands well, here are the options that sitters appreciate most.
| # | Gift idea | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Local produce | Specific to the place, consumable, always appreciated — honey, olives, cheese, cured meats from a nearby market |
| 2 | Local wine | A bottle from the region is a personal gesture and something to enjoy during the sit |
| 3 | A coffee voucher | Practical and used immediately — perfect for a sitter who will be exploring the local area |
| 4 | Order a pizza or send a delivery voucher | A delivery ordered for the sitter's first evening removes the need to cook on a travel day. If you are already at the airport, an UberEats or Deliveroo voucher sent via the platform's chat is a modern, high-impact welcome that costs minutes to arrange and arrives exactly when the sitter needs it. |
| 5 | Cash | Simple, practical, and always welcome — even a small amount is appreciated as a gesture |
| 6 | A box of chocolates | A classic welcome treat. Choose local or artisan over generic if possible |
| 7 | Fresh milk, bread, cheese, and butter | The most practical gift of all. First-morning basics mean the sitter can settle in without a supermarket run |
Any one of these is enough. You do not need all of them. If you are short on time before your trip, a delivery order for the first evening and fresh basics for the morning covers the two most practical needs and leaves a strong impression.
You do not need to spend a lot. You need to think about what a person arriving at your home after travel actually needs in the first few hours, and to have thought about it before they arrive rather than while standing in the hallway with your suitcase.
The homeowners we remember best across 17 sits are the ones who left the house clean, cleared space for us in the fridge, and left a personal note on the counter. That combination costs almost nothing and communicates everything a sitter needs to feel welcome.
Find verified sitters through TrustedHouseSitters using our 25% discount, or through Nomador for France and French-speaking Europe.
DM us @housesittersguide on Instagram if you have questions about hosting or the welcome experience. We answer everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to give my house sitter a cash tip or gift?
No. Sitters do not expect cash tips or gifts. The exchange of free accommodation for care is the arrangement. A small welcome gesture (food, wine, breakfast basics) is appreciated when it appears and never required.
What are the best items to leave as a welcome for a house sitter?
Breakfast basics for the first morning, something consumable from the local area, and a personal note with local restaurant recommendations. Sitters travelling light find consumable items more useful than physical gifts they have to carry. A note with three specific café or restaurant recommendations in the area costs nothing and is used every day.
What matters more than a welcome gift?
A clean home and cleared space. No bottle of wine compensates for arriving to a house that needs cleaning before a sitter can settle in. A clean home with space in the fridge and a drawer for their things communicates respect and good hosting.
How detailed should my welcome notes be?
As detailed and honest as possible. Do not hide responsibilities or quirks until the last minute. If the dog needs medication three times a day, or the boiler requires a specific step, that information belongs in the welcome guide, not mentioned in passing during the handover when you are heading out the door. Our full preparation guide covers everything to include.
