Petme · Austin house sitting

House sitters in Austin, your pet stays home

A vetted Austin sitter stays overnight in your home from South Congress to East Austin. AC kept running, greenbelt walks, festival-week cover. $20,000 vet protection, 0% owner fee.

Austin house sitting matches the city's festival calendar and its hot, long summers. A verified Petme sitter stays in your home while you travel, keeps the AC running, walks your dog early along Lady Bird Lake or the Barton Creek Greenbelt, and watches for blue-green algae warnings at the lake. Especially valuable during SXSW and ACL weeks when boarding fills up fast, and for senior dogs that do better in their own space.

Find a house sitter

$65–$130

Per night for house sitting

Owner service fee

$20,000

Vet protection per booking

4.9 / 5

Average sitter rating

What’s included

What an Austin house-sitting booking includes

Sitter stays overnight in your home

They sleep at your place, keep the AC running, and walk your dog early along the Lady Bird Lake Trail, the Barton Creek Greenbelt, or your usual route.

Daily photo + video updates

Sent in-chat from the booking. Many sitters add a clip from the morning Lady Bird Lake or Zilker walk.

Mail, plants, gate and pool checks

Standard. Mention pool monitoring, smart-lock codes, and any festival-week parking notes in your booking notes.

$20,000 vet protection + 24/7 support

Covers emergency care at the Austin Veterinary Emergency Service, Heart of Texas Veterinary Specialty Center, and every licensed Austin-area clinic. No deductible.

Why Austin

Why house sitting works in Austin specifically

Festival weeks (SXSW, ACL) and steady tech-sector travel create sharp windows when boarding fills up and a house sitter is the reliable alternative. Summer heat makes a cross-town boarding drive hard on a dog, so a sitter who stays in your AC is easier. A local sitter knows to check Lady Bird Lake algae warnings and keep the dog out of the water during a bloom.

Neighborhood coverage

Austin neighborhoods Petme house sitters cover

South Congress, East Austin, Hyde Park, Zilker, Tarrytown, Mueller, Clarksville, Bouldin Creek, Travis Heights, Barton Hills, Crestview, Allandale.

Why Petme in Austin

0% fee. 5% cashback. $20,000 vet protection. Same sitter, every time.

The dog-sitter market has been Rover's and Wag's for a decade. Petme rebuilt the economics around the pet owner. Austin owners on Petme pay less per booking, get more protection, and earn cashback on every stay. Sitters keep more of the rate, which is why they show up.

0% service fee for pet owners

Rover, Wag, and Care.com layer a 5% to 11% service fee on top of the sitter's rate at checkout. Petme layers 0%. You pay only the rate the sitter sets. On a typical 5-night booking, that's $35 to $50 you don't pay.

$20,000 vet protection, included

Every Petme booking includes up to $20,000 in vet expenses if something happens during the stay. No deductible, no upcharge, no upgrade tier. Petme coordinates with the Austin clinic from inside the app.

Up to 5% cashback, automatic

When a booking completes, up to 5% cashback lands in your Petme balance instantly. Use it toward the next booking, no expiry, no minimum. Rakuten-style economics applied to your pet's second home.

Verified, background-checked sitters

Every Petme Austin sitter passes identity verification with a government ID plus a background check before going live. Reviews are open and unfiltered. Same-sitter rebooking is one tap, not a matchmaking dice roll.

The cashback maths

What a 5-night booking in Austin actually costs

Worked example at the Austin median nightly rate ($98 per night). The sitter sets the same rate either way; the difference is what each platform stacks on top.

Line item	Petme	Fee-charging platforms
Sitter rate (5 × $98)	$490	$490
Pet-owner service fee (~11%)	$0	~$51
Cashback earned (up to 5%)	−$25	n/a
Effective cost	$465	$541

Competitor column reflects platforms that charge pet owners a service fee on top of the sitter rate (Rover, Wag, Care.com). $20,000 vet protection is included in the Petme price; competitors charge separately or cap medical reimbursement.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much does house sitting cost in Austin?

Overnight house sitting in Austin typically runs $65 to $130 per night, depending on the number of pets, length of stay, and any pool or plant tasks. Festival weeks run at the upper end. Petme charges owners 0% on top.

Can I get a sitter for SXSW or ACL weekend?

Yes, but book early. Festival weeks are the highest-demand windows in Austin; lock in a sitter 3 to 4 weeks ahead. The sitter stays in your home while you are out or hosting.

Will the sitter keep the AC on and walk early?

Yes. Austin house sitters keep the AC running, shift walks to early morning through the summer, carry water, and watch flat-faced breeds for heat stress on the limestone greenbelt.

What about blue-green algae at Lady Bird Lake?

Austin sitters check for posted algae warnings and keep dogs out of the water during a bloom, sticking to the trail instead. $20,000 vet protection covers water-related emergencies.

Will the sitter watch my pool and water plants?

Yes if you ask. Add pool monitoring and plant watering to your booking notes; many Austin house sitters include light pool checks without extra charge.

What if my pet needs an emergency vet during the sit?

Open a ticket from inside the booking and Petme support coordinates with the clinic. The Austin Veterinary Emergency Service, Heart of Texas Veterinary Specialty Center, and every licensed Austin clinic are covered up to $20,000 per booking, no deductible.