House sitting means very different things to different people, which is how expectations get mismatched before a trip even starts. Here is what the job actually covers, what it does not, and what it costs.
The short answer
A house sitter stays in your home while you are away and keeps it lived in and secure. Core duties usually include overnight presence, mail and deliveries, plants, pets, light tidying, and alerting you to anything wrong. It is not the same as a home watch service, a cleaner, or a property manager.
The core duties
Presence
This is the actual product. Lights change, cars come and go, bins move, and the home reads as occupied. An empty looking house over a long trip invites the exact problems you are trying to avoid.
Mail, packages and deliveries
Parcels stacking up on a porch is one of the clearest signals that nobody is home. A sitter brings them in as they arrive.
Pets
Often the main reason people hire a sitter rather than use a home watch service. Feeding, walking, litter, medication, and company, all in the animal’s own home rather than a facility.
Plants and outdoor areas
Watering indoors and out, and keeping an eye on anything on a timer or an irrigation system that could fail unnoticed.
Noticing problems early
The quiet value of the job. A leak found on day one is a plumbing call. The same leak found on day fourteen is a flooring claim. Same with an AC failure, a tripped breaker, or a fridge that quit.
Leaving it as they found it
Dishes done, trash out, bed stripped or made, bins back. You should walk into the home you left, not evidence of a guest.
What a house sitter is usually not
- Not a deep cleaner. Expect the home kept tidy, not a move out clean. Book a cleaner separately if you want that.
- Not a contractor. A sitter should spot a problem and coordinate the right person, not attempt repairs themselves.
- Not a property manager. Leases, tenants, and rent collection are a different, often licensed, line of work.
- Not a security guard. The deterrent is occupancy, not confrontation. Anything genuinely threatening is a police matter.
- Not on call every hour. Sitters sleep and have lives. Agree in advance roughly how much time they will be in the home.
House sitting versus home watch versus a house manager
These three get used interchangeably and they are genuinely different services:
- House sitting. Someone stays in the home. Best when you have pets, or the property should look occupied.
- Home watch. Scheduled inspection visits of an empty property, nobody staying over. Best for second homes and long absences where no pets are involved.
- House manager or estate manager. Ongoing oversight of a property and its vendors, whether or not you are away. Landscapers, pool service, contractors, deliveries, staff.
On cost, a house manager is the most expensive of the three because it is an ongoing role rather than a trip based service, and pricing usually reflects hours and scope rather than a nightly rate. Home watch is typically the cheapest per visit because visits are short. House sitting sits in between and is generally priced per night.
What it costs with Gillespie’s
For reference, house sitting in Las Vegas runs $50 to $100 per day depending on what is involved, and personal home care check ins start at $30 per day. Scope changes the number, so the honest answer for any specific home comes from a short conversation rather than a fixed package.
Agree these things before you leave
- How many nights they will actually sleep there
- Whether guests are allowed in your home
- What they may use, from the kitchen to the laundry to the car
- The spending limit for an emergency, and how they reach you
- Who to call for plumbing, electrical, AC, and the vet
- How keys, codes and alarm details are handled and returned
Most house sitting disputes are not about dishonesty. They are about two people assuming different versions of the same arrangement.
House sitting in Las Vegas
Locally I handle house sitting in Las Vegas directly, so the person you meet is the person who stays. If your property is empty rather than pet occupied, absentee home checks may fit better, and owners of larger properties usually want luxury estate management instead. If you are weighing cost between options, see how much house sitting and pet sitting cost here.
Common questions
Does a house sitter stay every night?
That depends on what you agree. Some arrangements are full time overnight presence, others are overnight plus daytime absence. Pin it down before the trip, because this is the single most common mismatch between what an owner pictured and what was actually booked.
How much does a house manager cost compared to a house sitter?
More, and it is priced differently. House sitting is generally a nightly rate tied to a trip. A house manager is an ongoing role covering vendor coordination and property oversight, so it is usually scoped by hours or by a monthly arrangement rather than per night.
Should I pay a house sitter if they get free accommodation?
Free stay arrangements exist, usually through swap platforms and often with travellers. But if you have pets, a schedule that must be kept, or a property you need genuinely looked after, you are buying reliability and accountability, and that is a paid service.
What happens if something breaks while I am away?
The sitter should contact you, and if you cannot be reached, act within the emergency limit you set in advance. This is exactly why agreeing a spending cap and a list of trusted trades before you leave is worth the ten minutes it takes.
Need a house sitter in Las Vegas?
One trusted local, clear scope agreed up front, and updates while you are away.