Petme sitter guide · Solihull

Become a pet sitter in Solihull, where affluent commuters book well ahead

Solihull mixes well-off commuter suburbs with a busy travel corridor, since Birmingham Airport and the NEC sit inside the borough, and plenty of households are away for work or trips. Knowle and Dorridge are villages to the south-east, while Shirley and Olton sit closer to Birmingham.

Solihull is a prosperous West Midlands town on Birmingham’s south-east edge, with a professional, commuter-heavy population and Birmingham Airport plus the NEC sitting inside the borough. Knowle, Dorridge and Monkspath are house-with-garden areas, and Brueton Park and Malvern Park give the town centre its green space. This guide covers what new Solihull sitters need to know.

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Up to 90%

of every booking kept by the sitter

20,000

Protection Plan maximum for eligible vet costs

250K+

members on Petme

4.9 / 5

average sitter rating

Earnings snapshot

What Petme sitters actually earn in Solihull

You keep up to 90% of every booking one of the strongest take-home rates in the industry. The numbers below are the live rate bands in Solihull. Sitters set their own price within these bands, and most active sitters earn £378 to £826 per month, depending on the mix of services and how many overnight stays they take.

Service	Rate range	Per
Dog walking	£11 to £17	walk
Drop-in visit	£11 to £17	visit
Pet boarding (at sitter's home)	£24 to £38	night
House sitting (at owner's home)	£30 to £48	night
Doggy day care	£18 to £28	day

Top Solihull cities for sitter demand right now:

ShirleyKnowleDorridgeOltonMonkspathSolihull Lodge

Ready to set up a profile and pick your rates? Start your application.

The practical side

Everything sitters in Solihull need to know before signing up

Earnings are only half the picture. Below are the tax, scheduling, protection, and payout realities of running a Petme sitter profile in Solihull. We've written them out the way an experienced sitter would explain them to a friend.

Cashback for high performers

Beyond the up to 90% you keep on every booking, Petme pays cashback on top. The more you sit and the stronger your reviews, the larger the cashback tier you unlock. High-performing sitters with consistent 5-star reviews and steady booking volume earn the biggest bonus. Automatic, no claim paperwork, paid out alongside your normal weekly payouts.

Apply in Solihull

Protection on every booking

The Petme Protection Plan provides up to 20,000 on every reservation. Automatic on every booking. No separate purchase required. The 24/7 support team is there for emergencies, so you are never alone with a problem at 3am.

Seasonal demand

Demand peaks over the summer holidays and around Christmas and Easter, with a smaller lift at October half-term. With the airport and NEC on the doorstep, some owners also travel for work or events outside the school holidays.

Payouts within 2 days

Petme releases your payout automatically once a booking is marked complete. The money lands in your bank account within 2 business days. No invoicing, no chasing the owner. The platform takes care of it.

Set your own schedule

Accept only the bookings you want. Pause your profile any time. There are no minimum hours and no schedule lock-in. Most Petme sitters in Solihull start while holding another job and only go full time once their calendar fills naturally.

FAQ

Your Solihull sitter questions, answered straight

These are the questions Petme sitters in Solihull actually ask before signing up, and the ones they wish they had asked sooner. Each answer is specific to Solihull, not a generic template.

What protections do sitters get on every booking?

The Petme Protection Plan, which can contribute up to £20,000 toward eligible vet costs if something happens to the pet in your care. It is a discretionary fund, not insurance. Petme also offers 24/7 customer support so you're never left handling an emergency alone.

What do I need to become a Solihull sitter?

You need to be 18 or older, own a smartphone capable of running the app, complete ID verification, and demonstrate genuine experience around animals during your profile review. Some local rules apply for commercial-scale boarding: see the country-specific question below.

When should I expect my first booking in Solihull?

It depends on the services you offer, your rates and how many owners near you are looking, so there is no fixed wait. What you control is the profile owners choose from: at least 4 clear photos, a written bio, clear service descriptions and rates in line with Solihull. Opening your calendar over school holidays and Christmas, when owners travel, puts you in front of more requests.

Can I pet sit alongside my regular job?

Yes. You set your own availability and accept only the bookings that fit, so sitting in Solihull can run alongside a full-time job: dog walks fit lunchtime windows, drop-in visits fit evenings, and weekend boarding fits around a Monday-to-Friday week.

How much do pet sitters earn in Solihull?

Earnings depend on the services you offer and the hours you put in. As a worked example at Solihull rates, eight dog walks a week at the lowest walk rate come to about £378 a month, and four nights of house sitting a week at the top rate to about £826. Overnight boarding and house sitting pay the most per booking, drop-ins and walks the least. You keep up to 90% of every booking: Petme's service fee is 10-20%.

How many hours a week do Solihull sitters put in?

You set the week yourself. One example: 4 dog walks during weekday lunchtimes, 2 drop-in visits in the evenings and one overnight stay at the weekend. At the lowest Solihull rates that week comes to about £96. Taking more overnight stays is the quickest way to raise it, because they pay the most per booking.

What can Solihull dog walkers charge per walk?

Dog walking pays £11–£17 per walk on Petme. A 30-minute neighbourhood walk is typically priced near the lower end; longer walks, multi-dog walks, or walks in busy city centres command the upper end. You set your own rate when you build your profile.

How much does overnight boarding pay in Solihull?

Boarding at the sitter's home pays £24–£38 per night, and house sitting (you stay at the owner's home) pays £30–£48 per night. Overnight care pays more per booking than any other Petme service, so a few stays a month move your income the most.

What does Petme charge sitters per booking?

Petme takes 10-20% from each completed booking and the sitter keeps up to 90%. The fee covers payment processing, customer support, and the Petme Protection Plan for eligible vet costs.

How quickly is sitter pay released in Solihull?

Payouts are released automatically once a booking is marked complete in the Petme app. The money lands in your bank account within 2 business days. You don't need to invoice the owner or chase payment: the platform handles it end-to-end.

Which parts of Solihull should a new sitter cover first?

Start with the part of the borough you live in. Shirley and Olton are denser and easier to cover on foot, while Knowle and Dorridge are further out, with family homes spread more widely, so a car helps there. Name the two or three areas you actually cover on your profile.

Do I need a home boarding licence in Solihull?

If you plan to board dogs in your home regularly as a business, you need a Home Boarding Licence under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, applied for through Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. Dog walking, drop-in visits and occasional day care usually fall outside licensing, but allow several weeks for the council’s inspection before you start boarding.

How does pet sitting in Solihull compare to other UK cities?

Solihull’s motto is Urbs in Rure, town in the country, and the borough mixes suburbs like Shirley and Olton with village centres at Knowle and Dorridge. Walks here run £11 to £17 and boarding £24 to £38 a night.

Do I need a car to sit in Solihull?

A car helps a lot in Solihull, because the borough is spread out and suburbs like Knowle, Dorridge and Monkspath are hard to cover on foot alone. You can build a walkable round closer to the town centre and Olton, but reaching the outer wards realistically needs driving.

When are the busiest seasons for Solihull sitters?

The busiest booking windows are the summer holidays and the run-up to Christmas, with Easter and October half-term next.

How do I start sitting in Solihull and how soon do bookings come in?

Apply at petme.social/uk/become-a-pet-sitter and build a profile with clear photos and a short bio covering your area and the pets you’re comfortable with. How soon the first request comes depends on your services, rates and the owners near you, so opening your calendar for school holidays and replying quickly helps Solihull owners choose you.

Can I fit Solihull pet sitting jobs around another job?

Yes, and most people do. Walks and drop-in visits take 20 to 60 minutes, so they slot into a lunch break or the hour after work, and weekend and holiday cover is where demand peaks in Solihull. You set your own availability in the app and nothing is assigned to you.

Ready when you are

Apply to become a Petme pet sitter in Solihull

The full apply page has the signup form, service-by-service rate setting, and ID verification flow.

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