The growth partnership was facilitated by accelerator Founders Factory – launched by entrepreneurs Brent Hoberman and Henry Lane Fox – which TrustedHousesitters is a part of.
The tie-up between the SME and airline easyJet will be of mutual benefit to meet the needs of the pair’s travel-loving customers. It comes on the back of easyJet research that revealed 58 per cent pet owners would be more inclined to jet off if they had better pet care options.
In exchange for an annual TrustedHousesitters membership fee of £89 a year, those booking flights on easyJet.com will have unlimited access to choose a free housesitter for their pet or free accommodation as a housesitter through the growth partnership.
“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,” said TrustedHousesitters MD Tim Lyons.
“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.”
It solves a problem found by easyJet’s survey, which found 62 per cent of pet owners say it’s the cost of kennels and catteries prevents them from going away more frequently.
As it stands, there are almost 500,000 members of TrustedHousesitters in 130 countries, resulting in an estimated $500m in pet care fees saved for customers over the past seven years. The growth partnership looks set to accelerate all of those numbers.
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.”
And in a bid to offer more variety to customers, the firms highlighted that its growth partnership will keep things fresh. Beyond cats and dogs, other pets on the books include chickens, pigs, goats and llamas, while accommodation spans apartments, chateaus and entire islands.
Britain’s workplaces are becoming an increasingly pet-friendly environment, with one in five employers now allowing staff to bring animals in from home.
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A fifth of workplaces are now pet-friendly