TrustedHousesitters has teamed up with easyJet to form a partnership that will make it easier for animal lovers to travel the world.
Under the new deal, easyJet customers will be able to choose a free, verified house sitter for their pet or find free accommodation as a house sitter when booking flights on easyJet.com.
The service is due to become available early in 2018.
Andrew Middleton, ancillary revenue director for easyJet, said: “easyJet is committed to making travel as easy as possible for our customers – this new partnership with TrustedHousesitters is the latest step we’ve taken to deliver on that promise.
“By helping holidaymakers find trusted people to look after their pets and homes or by helping them to find free accommodation in return for housesitting, we will make travel possible for even more people.”
The move follows a survey of easyJet customers that revealed how the majority of pet owners would travel more if they had better access to pet care.
TrustedHousesitters managing director, Tim Lyons, said: “There are millions of pet owners in desirable locations all over the world without adequate pet care, we can now enable them to travel more often with peace of mind, boosting tourism while giving people more authentic travel experiences.
“This helps make travel easier and more affordable all round.
“Our speciality is connecting people with authentic and amazing places to stay which include the company of an adorable pet, easyJet’s speciality is getting people there – I think we will make a great team.”
The unlimited house and pet sitting available through TrustedHousesitters comes with an annual membership fee of £89 a year.
When an average family holiday can cost thousands of pounds, with a week of kennels and catteries adding hundreds on top, the savings offered to pet owners boosts tourism as they travel more frequently with greater peace of mind.
As no money changes hands, house sitters can travel the world without having to worry about the often-prohibitive cost of accommodation.
TrustedHousesitters now has almost half a million members in more than 130 countries and is estimated to have saved them more than half a billion dollars in hotels, kennels and catteries over the past seven years.
Members of TrustedHousesitters travel up to three times more often than regular pet owners.