I am just so very weary and do not for the life of me understand HO’s posting so little information about the home, the responsibilities and the pets on their listing.
I really want to post this on the forum for the pet owners…and I wish they would read this.
I cannot believe how many listings I read through that has a ten photos of the pets but precious few good, clear photos of the living quarters, little info on the details of the home (honestly, I don’t need a guide book of your area, I can find that online, I need info on your home - the place we will be living!) and sometimes no more info than “feed three times a day” regarding pets.
It makes it incredibly difficult to decide whether to apply or not with limited info, especially now that the limit is 5. I don’t want to waste their time or ours!
PLEASE, pet owners, tell us everything!! It will help us all make better decisions on whether we are a good match or not. No detail is insignificant!
I have found when faced with indecision if I ask for more information and pictures the host quickly provides them.
If you think this site is bad, try a few more. Dates, one picture of the pet and the area they live in. Try making a decision then?
@carpediem16 it would be a good idea to ask one of the moderators to move your post to the owner chat area on the forum so more owners will see your post.
I agree it’s terribly frustrating to see such little information about owners pets and home in a listing. It’s like they have something to hide and don’t want to tell sitters the full story in case they don’t get applications. Or they are really bad at communicating. This type of listing is a red flag. We just keep on scrolling straight past those listings.
Another reason @carpediem16 @Crookie is they have used the site before and don’t update their listing. If they did they should see they are now required to post photos of bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living area plus complete the new Amenities filters.
It would be helpful if the site did not let a previous listing go live with new dates until it is in compliance with current requirements.
OTOH, if a listing isn’t showing what you want to see, it’s easy enough to just give it a pass, no?
I am on two other house-sitting sites in Oz and it is becoming what seems to be a trend, that HO’s don’t post any pictures AT all!! The sits can sound fantastic but I fell into the “can’t be that bad” trap once and applied before seeing anything. BIG mistake but I managed to wiggle out of it before officially accepting.
I am now super cautious and if no or few photos, I now ask for some and the HO usually obliges. But with the five rule on TH, it could put you in a position of being declined when asking that as they will simply move on to someone that doesn’t ask. That’s how I feel about it and I’m sure it is not always the case but the majority.
I do a lot of city sits and I wish HOs were required to specify the suburb they are in. Some of the other platforms out there have postcodes or maps that show you the suburb which is very useful for making a decision on whether it’s the right fit for me but on THS you have to turn detective a lot of the time and try to triangulate by assessing proximity to landmarks, parks, rivers and train stations
I skip all sits with scanty info. I figure if enough sitters do that, especially good ones, those HOs will end up either not getting sitters or they’ll get bad ones and/or inexperienced ones. Then they’ll end up dissatisfied and either quit or try to figure out what they’re doing wrong.
Personally, I see no reason to apply for a sit with big gaps in info. To me, that indicates that the HO doesn’t think about the sitter enough, in which case I’d prefer to avoid them. Depending on how you look at it, they’re doing sitters a favor — it’s a red flag to me.
Well sometimes the location and dates line up great - and for all I know it’s a great fit but playing detective or interrogator seems avoidable. Now with the 5 application limit I hate wasting anyone’s time but am feeling pushed to apply before it’s too late despite wanting more information and photos. I understand people asking for more photos but it does feel awkward to do so -
I am forever amazed that people get applicants when the listing is poorly posted. The ones that kill me are the outside of the house, the view from the house, the local sights to see and then 10 photos of the pets. Oh and maybe a dark and fuzzy one of the living room.
@belluca - sure, I pass on lots of listings because of lack of photos and details but it’s frustrating because I am actively looking for sits in specific countries during specific dates and when those line up but the rest is not helpful it’s just frustrating. I wish, like airbnb, there was a way to “contact the host” and send a message BEFORE applying. Again, it’s just such a waste of time applying for sits when really what you want is more information now that the limit is a mere 5 (something else I wish they’d change again - 5 is crazy. I would understand 10 or even 8 but FIVE?)
Some listings we are interested in and have “saved” have 5 applicants within minutes of being posted. I can barely type a “hello, we would love to chat with you” note and already it changes to “reviewing” and I can’t send my application!
Yes, venting…sorry - been looking for weeks for sits in southern EU, particularly Portugal and THS has just gotten so frustrating.
@carpediem16 We sitters have to do what we need0 to do! And THS does not make it any easier with the 5 Apps limit AND no provision for asking questions before applying. My suggestion is hit the dates & apply button instantly you find a sit you are interested in, especially if its alread on 3/4. Use another phone or laptop to investigate further whilst keeping your original application page open. This holds your place. If the host has not supplied the relevent info or pics for you to make a calculated decusion on a sit then tell them its not a proper application till they can answer your questions! We’ve done that a number of times & it sometimes leads to a direct invitation to sit (saving you the effort of applying) or it may lead to a quick decline for them to make room for a non- questioning applicant! (perhaps a bullet dodged!!)
OR you could send a quick hello ‘save the space’ message promising an application to follow shortly. Then take your time to study the listing and or ask questions/apply/withdraw at leisure!
You have to get creative and work around the obstacles! 
We always request a video interview with the HO and during that call we ask for extra pictures or a live tour of the home while on the call. We’ve never had the homeowner decline.
@carpediem16 I think there are just as many listings with lots of pics of the home (sometimes several pics of the loo!) and hardly any, or none, of the pets. As @temba says, owners are now supposed to provide pics of certain rooms. However, if they haven’t and I have a video conversation I ask them to show me their home. They might not be ready for that so you’ll see a true picture of the home. That would help my decision.
It’s not a red flag for me. If the sit looks appealing I’d ask them to upload the requisite pics. If they don’t bother, then I’d move on. Not everyone is good at technology so I’d give them a chance
My POV on that: If someone wants to use a technical platform to secure sitting that will save them money and give their pet(s) a better experience than say a kennel, they can either figure out how to use it properly or get some help to do it, if they’re technically challenged. To me, that’s a basic part of the exchange — to provide enough info for sitters. If they can’t be bothered with that or find it overwhelming, that’s not promising to me. But of course, each THS sitter can make their own decisions on what they’re willing to do or not. And if you’re willing to give such folks a chance, more power to you.
If they’re not technical enough, that raises another possibility of unnecessary complications with sits that I’d rather avoid. That’s because we do so much communicating with tech and we all get reviewed via tech. Like at a recent sit, WhatsApp stopped working between me and the HOs, for reasons I’ll spare you. We were easily able to switch to Signal, since the HOs and I are technically proficient. If they hadn’t been, given their anxiety with taking the longest trip they’d done since their pet almost died of an illness about a year ago, that would’ve added unnecessary stress. I’m not interested in potentially having to handhold folks through tech during a sit. In that situation, they were constantly on the go and there was a time difference, so communicating was already done during limited opportunities. If they’d been tech challenged on top of that, that would’ve made my sit unnecessarily complicated. I telecommute from my sits and don’t need that.
Couldn’t agree more ‘Carpediem’, only trouble is the worst ‘offenders’ won’t be reading anything we say here. Not sure what guidelines are given by THS website to HO’s about how to promote themselves, but perhaps it could be more emphatic?
I know. It is frustrating that the forum seems to be divided in general by topics that interest either sitters or owners so you are correct that owners are not likely to see these posts. I wish it was not possible for owners to post listings unless the correct photos are included, just like I cant apply for a sit without my background check and SS number provided to the platform.
It seems incredible that people wanting a sitter don’t provide. sufficient photos and details of their home. Do they want a sitter or not! Personally I provide as much information (and photos) as possible. Conversely, from the sitter I want information about them; particularly whether they are suitable (in my view) of looking after my pets.
From a HO point of view the ‘5’ rule is perfect. Too many applicants becomes a pain in the derrier as I always reply to applicants. As for a sitter wanting to view my home via a video link I think I would feel somewhat insulted! Having supplied as many photos as can be allowed that should be sufficient.
@Ken but before the dreaded five, a HO could stop more applications coming in at any time they wanted! There was always that option. They COULD get five, or ten whatever, then put a stop.
I’m not sure that’s correct. If I don’t see the applications coming in because I’m out for the day I could end up with a hatfull; dozens!!! For example I applied for a sitter just last week and had the five in just two or three minutes!! Had not the ‘five’ rule been in force heaven knows how many I would have received.