To ask this about housesitting etiquette

Completely out of order! We have a relative stay at ours to pet sit for 2 weeks when we go on holiday. Get them a good selection of food, snacks, beer etc for them for while they stay, leave them a bit of money for a takeaway. They are in the house pretty much all day, so using way more electric than we would usually. No way would I ask them to contribute towards the electric or food I get them in, they are doing me massive favour and saving me hundreds of pounds in pet sitter/kennel fees! Prime CF!

Professional housesitters/live in pet sitters charge approximately £500 per week for 4 cats and 2 budgies. They also demand a clear shelf in the fridge for their food and a shelf/space in the freezer. Full provision of fresh laundered linens must be provided on arrival (obviously).
They will allow access for regular maintenance such as gardeners, cleaners, window cleaners etc but they will not pay them even if money has been left to do this.

While they live in nice houses for a few weeks.

Your friends are CF at best.

Yanbu
feel it’s cheeky to ask you for money to pay when your doing them a huge favour
pet care is expensive alone!

Wtf should you pay? What cheeky duxkers! They should pay you.

I've just paid someone £700 to house sit and look after my cat and dog for 2 weeks. It was good to have someone looking after things while I was gone. You're doing them a huge favour by doing this for free but I get you don't mind doing it for a friend. For them to turn round and ask you to pay for the cleaner is a piss take of the highest degree.

I used trusted housesitters. It benefits both parties, and in my case my sitters were almost always people returning from working abroad and needing a base from which to house hunt.

I continued to pay my cleaner to come in, as it meant my sitters had less to do and a pleasant environment, and the house would be clean for me to come back to. In one case it was just as well as the cleaner reported that that particular sitter was really messy! But it was still my responsibility to pay for the cleaning.

Well mostly very positive if you like animals,as I do.Vast majority of owners have been delightful and I’ve done several repeat sits; also done them in Spain,Portugal,Canada and Scotland so a great way to travel while still having home comforts. Negatives would be strong, untrained unruly rescue dogs which lunged at every man,bicycle and cat encountered ( in a medium sized city so a fair number!); very messy and untidy homes with no place to put ANYTHING; batshit crazy owners who lay out a timetable for feeding/ grooming/ cleaning ( one got me up at 6 am to show me how to put out bird food before she left)
But you can avoid all this by reading comments from previous sitters ( no review is a dead giveaway, it’s a code for ‘ this is so awful I can’t comment’) and having a video chat or 3 in advance.

OMG - ‘friends of friends’, so not even actual friends!

Tell them to get stuffed, and they can find someone else to take over from tomorrow. (I know you won’t actually leave the animals, but it will be good sport.)

I hadn't realised you were already there.

They want you to pay for the cleaner who doesn't even come until after you've left?

I would probably respond something like - "Given how much cleaning up and care your pets and plants have required, I think expecting us to pay for your cleaner at all is really ungrateful."

They aren't friends. You don't have baggage to navigate. You just need to be clear with them.

My SiL has just had to pay £30 per day for a house/pet sitter.

Absolute cheek of the devil. House/pet-sitting is a well-paid profession, and good sitters are booked for months (years!) in advance.

I would tell them that you have saved them a minimum of £50 a day, and you find it utterly offensive that they would be so cheeky as to actually suggest you pay to have their house cleaned - and you certainly won’t be repeating it.

Funcamper, I was just thinking about Trusted Housesitters! Have spent the past few days trying to figure out how I can eke more traveling out of my budget. What are the pros and cons?

Another time try Trusted Housesitters- I have done sits for years through them both in UK and abroad. Both sitters and homeowners pay for membership but after that it’s free ( neither side pays anything) Mostly works very well. Anyone who wants a discount to join should DM me.

Great suggestion!

Um, I think they are taking the piss.

I recently house sat / dog sat for a very good friend for 4 days and she paid me £150.

Fuck no! I would usually suggest they get a clean done right as they go away and before I get there, and I will be responsible for cleaning before I leave so they can usually cancel a week.

I use neighbours now - an exchange in that I look after theirs sometimes, but I used to pay £12-£15 for a daily 15 minute visit through cat in a flat.

Housesitting round this neck of the woods is £30 a day. Charge them that.

Looking after animals is always an inconvenience, in my experience of pet-sitting. You can't just go out and do what you want and come back late at night if you're having a good time. If there are dogs they have to be walked and exercised and fed at certain times and there are places you can and can't go with them. You can't go out for the day and leave dogs in the car at this time of year so you're always compromised. It's a job and it's why people pay £50+ a day to pet-sitters or kennels.

They're being CFs, OP. What utter cheapskates these 'friends' are. I'd message back: 'Actually, we're finding the plant watering and garden work and pet care quite a bind and we've been offered a chance to go to XYZ for a week, so if you're proposing to charge us for looking after everything for you I think it will suit us to put the dog/ cat into kennels/ cattery and go home. Maybe the cleaner can water the plants and tidy up the garden and feed the fish when s/he comes.' See how they respond to that.

Or if that's too strong, how about saying 'Let's talk about the cleaner when you get back.' And then leave the house an hour before they arrive home and never speak to them again.

Cheeky fuckers 🤣🤣🤣

On further reflection, I think what really bothers me is they are asking us to pay for the cleaner to come the day after we leave. I mean, they really are up on themselves???

How much mess are they expecting you to make ? Are they coming back on the day you leave ? if not who is going to look after the animals ?

ah, just re read ,friends of friends.
But, nope
Cheeky wankers

I think you need to reply that you are happy to knock off £xx from your fee, say that you were thinking of asking £xx per week but with the cleaner you will reduce that to £xx.

omg ! they are NOT your friends

What are you going to reply to their slightly very odd request?