I’m a HO and these are great questions. We have all the answers to these questions on our profile, except for arrival time and departure time as these might change per sit. The answer to the arrival/departure time is discussed in the initial video call. We want to be as transparent as possible.
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I’m not sure I’d go with your vetting methods. The lack of recent reviews could have something to do with the new system. Many homeowners aren’t even aware of the change or the two-week limit and may not be leaving reviews resulting in sitters not leaving them either. If everything else looked good, I’d apply and ask about this in an open-ended non threatening way during a chat: “I notice you were getting a lot of great reviews on your sit, but lately there have been some sits with no reviews. What’s changed, do you think?”
As for your cancellation, I’m not sure I would judge a new homeowner that harshly. The Welcome Guide can be a struggle because of the way it’s formatted and the host might genuinely not have understood what you were talking about. If slow to answer questions, I would have basically asked nicely and then firmly for another chat asap to get some answers before cancelling unless you had other indicators that made you believe they were being purposely evasive. (Did you contact them to tell them you couldn’t do it? Or did you contact THS to have them cancel it for you? ). I had a recent “communication” issue with a sitter who completely missed some links in a message I’d sent them and sent me some messages that made me concerned that they thought I hadn’t sent them the information and didn’t have it. I proposed an additional chat since the texts back and forth weren’t working too well “for either of us” and that really helped get everything back on track. They did a great job and had a great time. The experienced challenged me to be better at offering more visuals because some people don’t get a lot from words, and to really push more for timely replies because the matter could have been resolved sooner.
If you are finding enough sits to apply to, then be as particular as you want. But if you aren’ I wouldn’t necessarily rule something out because of a bad review or a missing one or if communication wasn’t perfect. I’d go for direct communication with the host to try for clarification. It might be an awkward conversation and your gut may have been right in the first place, but sometimes there is a reasonable explanation for something.
That said, sometimes with the 5 application rule you want to get the applicaiton in quick. Nothing wrong with taking the time to read the lisitng more thoroughtly and really trying to imagine what it would be like and if you want it and then withdrawing if it won’t work. As a host, I’m fine with that.
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I was able to decline the sit when the dates were changed. I confirmed I was available, but then I still had to accept the sit and I declined. I got a much better sit instead. Saved me a 3 hotel night wait in between. I sort of felt guilty but then didn’t. But this is an exchange. I don’t think I owe them the cost of 3 hotel nights in between sits, when I can book a far better sit without the cost. And I find there is a big variety of quality of sits. Like the quality of home. I am in very nice homes lately. And I am enjoying NM now, at the base of the Sandia Mountains. Luckily not snowing and walking the dogs on the trails. So good for my body and head. Getting a sit in New Orleans, during my week window is getting elusive. I thought I had one, then a family member is doing the sit. I may have to compromise as it gets really close.
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Absolutely! That’s why I said it’s different for sitters who are aren’t full time nomads and don’t do back to back sits. I’m not “burned out” because it’s not my “lifestyle” it’s my escape and adventure.
I’d expect that even the best full-time sitters would need to balance sit time vs. non-sit time. And it’s more likely than not that most folks will eventually want to scale back or take extended breaks from sitting, even if they continue.
Personally, I don’t ever want to sit full-time. And I could see at some point stopping sitting even part time — I’ll just do it as long as I enjoy it.
THS is a nice option to have and someone can always rejoin later if they change their mind. If it were me, I’d take screenshots of all of my reviews and keep in touch with favorite hosts off the THS platform. That way, you have options.
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I was thinking that, before I got to this sit. I could have managed without the sit. But anyway, I am here. I am at the base of mountains, taking the dogs up trails. Getting out in the mountain air, then getting my wine and sitting in the hot tub. Sometimes the sits work out really well for your head.
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Reading old thread. Here’s a few more question, supplemental to those by @Silversitters. Mostly from learning experiences.
- Where do the pet(s) sleep? After two experiences of pet in human bed then we have decided no more … decline.
- Are Pet Parent travel plans booked? Two-way commitment seems important, especially as we probably need to arrange flights/life/stuff to execute housesit. “we plan to book trip in next few months” … decline.
- What are PP flight/equivalent numbers? As HS, we simply seek transparency on logistics. We’ve had prior confusion on whether a stated date represents day of HS arrival or PP departure (and at end too); and whether stated time represents departure/arrival at property or of flight. Flight number seems to resolve this, and to give comfort that PP trip is actually booked.
- If possible, what would PP ideally prefer for date/time of HS arrival/departure? We ask this upfront. Many of our PP travel internationally and - for reasons of comfort or sheer friendliness - ask that we arrive day early and/or stay day extra. No guarantees in video call but it is value-add insight and we would try to accommodate if possible.
- For dogs, what distance/duration do they walk on a typical day? Objective numbers are important. We don’t mind if PP thinks in terms of distance or time, so long as specific numbers or range. A “good walk” or “long walk” are unhelpful as they can mean very different things to different pet owners or dogs. We want to understand/assess appropriate exercise expectations.
- Do you have any concerns about your pets or property? Consciously open-ended question. Sometimes HS does not know what they do not know. So a broad question can uncover topics that PP forgot to mention in listing.
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Hi @themavericksitter,
I am just here to say it’s okay to have super high standards so that the homes & sits you say yes to offer you an easeful, peaceful experience. I am a paid sitter first (4.5 years prior to joining TH when we went full time.) We use TH to fill the gaps of our paid sits and it’s all gone wonderfully, but I am sure that we have landed such lovely TH sits because my bar is VERY high for comfort, ease, tidyness and HO communication & clarity. These are skills and standards that I’ve curated through being a paid sitter on my own and learning the hard way that a sloppy sit, with a strange HO in an iffy home is not a situation I want to repeat.
So we do only cat sits, I look for uber tidy & clean homes, with responsive hosts. A video call with a home tour is a non negotiable so I can confirm the home looks like the photos, and that we can feel a resonance and ease with the HO too.
I would suggest re-evaluating you standards when it comes to where you apply and where you accept. I think too many good sitters don’t realize that we are also vetting the HOs! We hold cards too and just because they want to confirm with us doesn’t mean that they match our standards.
Definitely put your mental & physical health first and aim for easeful, low maintenance sits with kind, responsive, experienced hosts if you can!
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