Just want to say a big hello to everyone and happy new year. This looks like it will be the best thing for us and our fur babies when we travel without them. We have put our first dates for sitting for February just for a couple of days as its my husband’s birthday and would like to see how our dog gets on for a couple of days before we book a whole week away from her 
. This seems like a great forum to get good advice, thank you.
6 Likes
Lovely pup!
Good idea to try it out for a few days.
As many travel internationally, I would guess one would usually get more applicants for a week+ days. A few days could attract more local sitters, which brings the opportunity to meet up ahead of sit.
Best of luck and have a nice birthday getaway!
5 Likes
Thank you very much 
2 Likes
Personally, unless it’s somewhere we have sat before, I wouldn’t apply for a weekend sit. I don’t feel it’s enough time to get to know the pet or the house and things as simple as shopping become a pain.
People obviously do do short sits but I can’t be the only one who thinks like I do
1 Like
Agree with @JackieX. Many sitters won’t bother with short sits. (Exceptions might include someone new, who’s trying to quickly build their sitter reviews or full-time sitters who are looking to fill gaps between longer sits, if they’re traveling through your area. Or say if you’re in a popular location like NYC, London or Paris.)
To improve your odds of getting applicants, you might want to consider how to help make your sit worth a sitter’s time. Like you could mention in your listing that sitters can leave the linens for you to wash. With such chores taking time, many sitters won’t bother with short sits.
Personally, I wouldn’t pay to fly in for a short sit. And if I’m open to a local-ish, short stay, I’ll just rent a hotel room, rather than bother with a sit.
2 Likes
@Kim7570 we are some of the sitters who do like weekend sits. We enjoy a change of scenery for a weekend within about an hours drive of home and some pet company. It helps to break up the time between school holidays (I work in a school and my teens are at school). We especially like rural sits with dark skies as one of my sons is studying astronomy at school, but we do enjoy the occasional city break too.
5 Likes
I’ve completed 12 sits and have never had a homeowner ask or expect me to wash the linens before I leave. I always ask the HO in our video meetup how they’d like me to leave the house, what chores they would like done. They’ve all either said to strip the bed but they’ll do the wash or not even strip the bed. But I avoid one-bedroom apts or houses to reduce covid risk, so maybe if I applied for a sit with only one bedroom they’d want me to wash my sheets and towels.
2 Likes
I like doing long weekends and not super long sits, as I have a cat who’s very attached to me and is still skittish with everyone else who comes in. I also don’t fly but like visiting family and friends within a few hours’ drive just for a change of scenery and affordable getaways, where I can make my own meals in someone else’s home. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of sitters who will do weekends. Welcome to this community, and best of luck!
4 Likes
I didn’t realise this was a site for only overseas sitting thought it might be for people who were local to me too, who would like a change of scenery or like to look after pets as they don’t have their own. Am I wrong? If so I have made a mistake signing up. I will be doing long trips and a few nights here and there this year so need both. I thought I would start with a 2 night as I want to make sure this is right for us as well as our animals.
I would automatically clean and wash linen after people stay anyway wouldn’t expect anyone else to do it, do I need to add this on my post? Thanks
Hi
Well I guess the only way to get people that have sat before is to get someone to sit for the first time. We are looking at a few holidays this year but wanted to start with a couple of nights to make sure this was right for us and our pets. I would. Obviously provide the essentials for anyone staying for a couple of nights. Thank you for your input.
Hi Debbie
That’s great to hear I was starting to think it was for people. Visiting from overseas only! Where abouts are you from? We very much live in the dark 
. We live in the countryside with cows and sheep and fields surrounding us. We get some lovely sunsets etc here. I like the idea of a change of scenery every now and then!
it is definitely not a site for overseas only.
I sit only in my own country, and have completed 16 sits in 2024, which I drive to, with 11 more lined up. They vary from 2 nights (the minimum on the site) to 3 weeks, but mostly I do 7 day sits within 3 hours drive of home.
1 Like
That’s good to hear thank you so much!
No one said it was for overseas sitting only.
The point is, ideally your sits get the biggest pool of applicants possible and that’s unlikely with a short sit, because most people won’t fly in for them — domestically or internationally. That means you’d be dependent on local-ish sitters, a much smaller segment of the sitter pool.
There are of course some of those, but not many. Put yourself in the place of unpaid sitters: What’s their motivation? Most want to travel — that’s the premise and marketing of THS.
If you read various posts, you’ll see that most sitters don’t want local sits. Some are even annoyed that they get invited for them.
Personally, I’ve done a couple of local sits, but I’ll only do ones in cushy homes that offer me a very pleasant change, like urban center within blocks of amenities, places with amazing scenery or great restaurants, etc. Otherwise, I’d stay home or sit elsewhere or do nonsit travel.
@Kim7570 Your location sounds just the sort of place we like! We are in Gloucestershire, UK. I sit mostly with my teenage sons, who are now both taller than me. So far all but one of our 40 sits have been in the UK, ranging from 2 nights to 2 weeks.
1 Like
@Kim7570 it would definitely be worth adding that the sitter doesn’t need to do any laundry, and saying what sort of essentials you’d get in for them (edibles, toiletries?).
I’m sure there are sitters happy to apply for a short sit, for the right location and date - everyone has their own reason to sit, and for some it could be ideal.
Have you linked your listing to your forum profile yet? You could find some suggestions to attract sitters to your listing.
1 Like
Well I have put up a post for 2 nights end of February if you are interested 
but I believe we are 3 hours away from you unfortunately.
Thank you. No how do I link my post?
Listing link added to member’s Forum profile by the Forum team
Welcome @Kim7570
I notice from your listing Margot is a puppy <1 year old.
Many sitters avoid sits with puppies because they can be very demanding and time consuming and leave very little time for the sitter to visit the area .
Could you add some more information to your listing about how your puppy Margot is getting on with her training?
Where does she sleep ?
How long and what time are her walks ?
Can she be walked from the doorstep
or does she need to be transported to an area for walks?
Is she reactive to other dogs ,/ people / cyclist / cars / cats - does she walk well on a leash?
How is her recall ?
Is there a nice local park or local walk the sitter can take her to ?
Does she chew everything ?
How long can be left at home alone for ?
Does she have accidents in the home / over night . Need pee pads ?
Will she behave if taken to cafes , on public transport , is this something she is used to ?
All this information will help a sitter decide if a two day sit for a puppy will be a good sit for them ?
3 Likes