Having trouble finding a house sitter? Well, at least one who is friendly, reliable, privacy-oriented, professional, insured and competent?

“I cancelled a family holiday. I felt a failure.

Then I found House and Home Sitters.

My wife was happy again.

You can’t put money on that.”

Could this be you?

Life is full of the unexpected, but you can still be prepared as far as is humanly possible. Floods, fires and earthquakes strike at any time – having a professional insured sitter from House and Home Sitters in your home will at the least alleviate problems in regard to the first two and, who knows, possibly even the third one of these natural disasters.

The romance is not over simply because the wedding ceremony has been postponed. All the current impediments to travel and going away on your family holiday will at some point be lifted. The time is now, begin planning your getaway, and your plans will naturally include arranging a really solid house sitter through House and Home Sitters. Nothing could be easier or simpler, as you will see here.

You may have to delay your travel plans when faced with unexpected issues or new travel restrictions, but there is no need to cancel them completely. Defer rather than drop is the buzz phrase to keep in mind. We are all in this together. Simply postpone your holiday and arrange new dates. This will also be an act of kindness on your part, given the many individuals and supply chains in the travel industry who ultimately depend on you. For you as a travel lover, it is not just about the small hotels, airlines or other businesses having bookings cancelled, but more especially about the livelihoods of all the people employed in travel.

You will find hotels, B&Bs, travel agents, airlines and cruise lines more accommodating. They have had no alternative but to adjust to the seemingly ongoing Covid saga despite the extra man-hours and juggling involved. All in the face of fewer bookings plus cancellations, and therefore declining incomes; indeed many of these businesses now with their backs to the wall financially-speaking. Travel agents have been particularly proactive and inventive in finding travel solutions and bargain package trips. There is real value in using a personal travel agent, which also provides cover against the business failure of suppliers, and travel agents are familiar with small print and can advise you on the Ts&Cs attached to any booking. Rather than view a replacement booking voucher or delayed trip negatively, try to feel you are part of the solution and, for example, see this as a way to repay the loyalty of your travel agent.

ABTA is doing its best to protect agents against suppliers unable to refund, including talk of emergency funds to reduce consumer losses, although the better option might simply be to postpone your trip, probably best for everyone in the big picture.

The commitment to you by one of our sitters is a contractual one. This needs to be so in order to provide certainty to you. If your sitter did not arrive for your house (and pet) sitting assignment that would be quite unacceptable. At House and Home Sitters we have backup sitters on standby to cover any emergency situations. On the flip side of that coin, you will surely agree your sitter cannot be expected to juggle his or her calendar and make a firm commitment to you without a corresponding commitment from your side. It is decidedly better to have a contractual arrangement in place rather than some casual wishy-washy informal one. Our 4.7 star rating on Trustpilot bears testimony to that.

The circle of life and the C-virus have aptly shown we are all connected and interdependent. Let us constantly remind ourselves of the positives which have emerged in the midst of all the upheaval caused by lockdowns and other Covid-related restrictions on our personal freedoms. And when we get back to “normal” one day, let us resolve to protect our environment, avoid littering and plastic pollution. Until then, many of the more than 200 billion face masks thrown away are ending up in our seas and waterways, causing untold devastation to sea and water-life; may we remain mindful and watchful of safeguarding our environment for coming generations.

Why not use this time to plan your travel arrangements down to the very last detail? The very best family memories are almost always times spent together on holiday. Begin creating your next memorable family trip without delay. Today has always been a good time to get things done.

David Price