I used TH 5 times in the past with varying degrees of success (mostly great experiences) and then our beloved puppy died and I cancelled my subscription at renewal time. I then restarted it when I knew we would have a new puppy, but our current trip will be for our cat only ( pup will come away with us) - in the past, all of the applicants had years of experience, many reviews etc even if I didn’t pick a person with lots of reviews the pool of applicants was a mix of *had Petsit for TH but not many times *had Petsit lots of times * all had detailed reviews
Now, even though I’ve got 5 lovely applicants for my new pet sitting needed, all 5 of them start their message to me the same “I am new to TH” and no reviews (I think one has a single review) so now I have to pick from complete newbies with no reviews or reject them all?
New to TH doesn’t necessarily mean new to pet sitting. They may all be very experienced. Pick the one you feel is most experienced and/or listen to your gut
You say the applications all look good so no need to decline them just because they are new . After all, we all had to start somewhere and you might miss out on a fantastic sitter with this approach.
This is our one year anniversary of our first THS sit. We now have completed 10 great sits . We will always be grateful for the first four homeowners that took a chance on us as newbies to THS with no reviews and just our external references to go on. We did have video calls with them all prior to them offering us the sit . Following our initial sits for them , they have all invited us back.
I do understand that you have some concerns over considering applicants without any reviews. Whilst all of your applications are from sitters new to THS , do they have experience outside of THS ( we did and had external references to back this up )
For reassurance about their suitability if they are local can you arrange for them to visit you ? Alternatively, you can have a video call discussion with them before choosing a sitter.
If after further conversation you feel that they are not suitable you can decline their application and unpause your listing so that you can get more applications.
If you really don’t want sitters with no reviews to apply then you can state this in your listing so that they won’t waste their time applying.
Hi @PepsAndPrince, there certainly has been a great increase in membership this past year so there are many new sitters eager to get started.
You DO NOT have to select any of the 5 applicants who have applied if you consider them unsuitable. What needs to be done is decline those definitely not suitable but remember to thank them for applying etc, then unpause your listing manually to open it up once more to applicants. Again, THS will automatically pause it once there is a total of 5 applications. When you have found someone as a definite possibility, set up a video chat asap with them. This is what happens most commonly BEFORE a sit is confirmed.
One thing to also consider is that you were once a new owner and sitters had to take a chance on you! All sitters start off new so maybe one of your applicants does deserve a chance, providing they meet your criteria. Definitely have that video chat. THS used to require new sitters to have 3 external references but I’m unsure whether that has now become only one.
Hello @PepsAndPrince I would like underscore @temba’s [quote=“temba, post:4, topic:47028”]
You DO NOT have to select any of the 5 applicants who have applied
[/quote] and the comment about the 5 application process.
And you can talk with as many THsitters you wish but do let them know your process and don’t feel pressure to choose.
(I recommend video chats)
My Jan '24 listing was partially complete by THsitters on their first home sit. After a video call, I felt very comfortable offering them the “sit” and the chance to review the welcome book prior to making their decision. They were wonderful!
We had about 5 other applicants that I did not want to pursue at all and so politely decline the applications with a note but no actual contact.
A year ago when I was new to THS, I made a point to do local sits to earn reviews.
We are now looking to use the THS community for a trip to the UK/SCOTLAND we are planning in in the Fall. Home hosts will have to decide on us as THsitters with 3 reviews (maybe more by then) with 4 references.
Ask questions.
Be as frank, communicative and clear about your listing and the responsibilities.
Tell any applicant that you will be in touch during the sit with any concerns or questions that may come up for you.
And have a back up plan…always.
@HelloOutThere the OP has had quite successful sitters five times in the past so I don’t think her listing is the issue. I do believe her issue is the applicants that are applying now are all new members in comparison to the applicants she had previously. Understandable given the changes on THS in recent years.
Lots of new folks joining, but they may have Rover profiles, recommendations from other homeowners, or been pet owners themselves. I’ve had many great sitters who were new to sitting and to THS alike.
You can also try reaching out to newbies, especially if the sit is short and local, and see if you can work together in a way that’s mutually beneficial.
THS has grown by a lot in recent times, because they’ve been pushing for new members. Everyone has to start somewhere when it comes to sitting, whether on THS or elsewhere. The good thing is, if the many newcomers do well and stick, then there will be many more experienced sitters to choose from in the future. And that doesn’t mean that all newcomers will do that, of course.
Personally, I joined THS last February and have now done 11 sits, with great reviews. And I have a bunch more sits booked through October 2024. (I’ve also since joined Nomador for locations where THS is thin.)
When I started, I had no reviews or references, and yet was offered an unsolicited six-week sit by experienced hosts on the U.S. West Coast — two easy dogs in nice, clean home, with a car for my use. (At the start of discussions, I negotiated a break in the middle of the sit, so I could go home, so I ended up bookending another sitter.) I mention that, because some hosts are willing to take first-timers and end up with great results. Of course, you’d have to vet sitters and have confidence if you entrust your home and pets to anyone.
The 5 application limit means experienced sitters are often closed out from applying before we can see your listing. It is my biggest frustration with THS and I am reminded of it constantly – the multiple times a day I have to search for sits that disappear in 10 minutes. I am all for giving new folks a chance. I just want an equal chance for equal fees. To answer your question, yes, you will need to decline some to make room for others.
Hello @ziggy I stand by my suggestion to review the OP’s listing; revisions to listing are sometimes needed and may help in this situation in what may be considered “a new THS environment.”
@HelloOutThere – I mean that I pay the same fees as I did before with less access to popular sits. So my pool of potential sits decreased, but my fees did not.
I suppose I could also mean that I pay the same fees as those who are online enough or lucky enough to make the top 5. But the uneven odds aren’t their fault. It is on THS that has turned down the spigot for all of us.
And I am reminded of this several times a day as I check the listings repeatedly, plus every year when I pay my annual fee.
@pietkuip – I question this on two levels. Do you have any numbers? Do you have any reason to believe that there are more HOs in some meaningful proportion to new sitters? I would be persuaded by that.
But my real point lies in “popular sits”. I live in the US but want to visit Europe. I am a part time nomad. I spend 4-7 months per year traveling and bring my work with me. Most of my time is in the UK (not Europe) because that is where the majority of sits are. I can’t pop over from Sweden when I pay over $1300 US on a flight 2x per year. Sits in European countries are gold.
Long term sits (over 2 weeks) are gold. Sits that don’t require a car are gold. (I don’t bring a bike with me and I can’t bike several miles to amenities as you do.) Sits that allow me to leave the home for over 4 hours now and then are gold.
Gold = popular sits. I have been using THS since 2018. I know from experience that I have fewer options for popular sits.
Out of curiosity, how else would you explain my observation – other than I am imagining it (seeing an unfilled glass)?
I had 20 year’s of Petsitting experience prior to joining “THS” 3 year’s ago after retiring. This is why the video call is important so you can ask those important questions. Listen to your intuition and go from there.
@Shella_in_the_Forum THS is growing rapidly (maybe too fast). I would guess that that is true for the number of sitters and the number of HOs. The proportions should not be changing too much because THS would adapt the targeting of marketing if the imbalance became too large.
So, sure, more sits are getting taken by other sitters than yourself. But there are also loads of remaining sits that one could apply for.
When one is working from home, I don’t think one needs a car for most homes in England. One should be able to get close by public transport, maybe the HO can pick up and drop off at the end to help with luggage. So that leaves the issue with groceries, but also that is manageable for most homes I think. Kids can get to school. There are lots of people in England that do not own a car.
The observation of the glass is the same, the same amount of water. But is it half empty or is it half full? That is a matter of perception.
What you may be experiencing could be due to the 5 application limit. A new sitter, keen to score their first sits, may spend more time on the website in order to be amongst the first 5 applicants.
An experienced THS sitter, however one who doesn’t want to be glued to their screen all day, might not pick up on the sit, before it goes to reviewing status. Before the rule was introduced, that experienced sitter might well have shown up in the mix because it didn’t matter if they saw the sit right away or not until some time later.
Now if there’s a lot of newer applicants, keen to get those first sits in, it might be too late for the experienced sitter to even get an application to you.
The challenge is now that you have to decide whether it’s worth declining new(er) sitters in order to open up spaces that will hopefully attract experienced sitters. Obviously there’s a risk that those 1-2 spaces fill up quickly again, perhaps yet again with newer sitters that spend more time on the site in a bid to secure their first sits…
Same here - we pay the same fees, or actually I pay more for THS than I had to pay in the years prior, but the number of sits I have access to has declined due to the rule.
The only way to overcome that is to up the amount of time I spend on the site - but that comes at another cost…e.g. I have a life outside THS as well.
