I used this platform for many years pre-COVID and never had issues getting many applications. Post-COVID for a few years it was dismal and I didn’t use it. Now I have paid for a subscription this year and not having any success at all. I live near a ski mountain I would think someone would want to ski in Utah with the greatest snow on earth or visit the mountains during the holidays.
Anyone else having this issue? I’m just wondering whether to give up the ghost on hoping for applications for a holiday sit.
I’m a sitter, and your question has been brought up and discussed here on the forum a lot.
I suggest you add your listing to your forum profile so we can offer any advice to improve it if necessary. That has helped owners in the past.
You mention the ski area, but do you state how long your pet(s) can be left in the listing, as many people leave that out?
Here’s how to add your listing:
I think it is probable that the travelling patterns have changed, in addition to some areas being more competitive for either sitters (prime tourist locations, Asia, South America) while others are more competitive for hosts (UK, North America). For instance will many international travellers now avoid going to USA for various reasons these days (so in the USA I guess the main sitter group would be tourists within the country) and in some areas people have less money to travel or avoid travelling for other reasons.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t get sits or sitters, but that you need to put in some more effort. For instance in an appealing listing. An example could be living near an attraction as a ski mountain - but that would only be a perk if the responsibilities for the pets allow that one can go skiing in said mountains. So for that to be actually meaningful the pets must be able to be left for a day in the slopes, if necessary, providing someone to take care of the pets during the day some of the days to allow the sitters to go skiing. If not, then one would be better off choosing something else as a selling point.
There is great advice here on forum if you’d like some input to maximise your listing. Often small tweaks can make a big difference.
There are many sitters, and we travel more petsitting than we would otherwise, I would think. Some of us also travel intercontinentally to petsits if it is an appealing listing and a location we get tempted to explore. So it might be worthwhile to see if some tweaks could make that difference for you.
I have an Ikon pass and work remotely, so I’m happy if I can ski for a couple of hours a day, but I would want to know how long it takes to get to the chair from your home, do you have a locker the sitter can use, and how long the pets can be left. Also, consider if your travel dates require the sitter to travel on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day, you might be limiting your pool of applicants.
As a sitter, something I have noticed since rejoining - though perhaps it is just the time of year - is a trend of advertised sits generally appearing shorter in duration. I would never really consider a sit of less than 2 weeks - even though everything else about the advert may be very appealing.
Travel in the US has become difficult. Flying is awful now, very stressful. People are worried about the future in terms of money too due to what’s going on here. If your sit is less than a week and I have to rent a car I’m not doing it. It just isn’t worth it. I can buy a package at at a hotel that will shuttle me to the mountain each day to ski and I can be gone as long as I want with no responsibilities. That is what you’re competing with. Offer your car and try to list for at least a week.
Thanks for all the input it seems this platform has become more like airbnb for petsitters than in the past. I’m out, too high maintenance. Found someone affordable on rover less hassle.
256 sitters have favorited our listing. When we advertise a sit date, we get so many applicants that we hit our maximum within an hour and sometimes we get as many as 7 or 8 applicants since several have the application page open at once and are not shut out when applications are automatically paused for review.
Point being, there are lots of available sitters on this platform and clearly your property is not desirable to the vast majority of them. While I get that you’re frustrated, blaming the platform isn’t going to help your situation. Look to see what changes you can make (if any) so your location is more desirable. Or just continue to pay for sitters, but that adds up. I figure we save a couple of thousand bucks each time we take an extended vacation.
You’ve hit the nail on the head. If you have a great listing that appeals on location/welcome/pets/freedom/balance & more then sitters will come flocking! The hosts that aren’t getting applications anymore are in a competitive market and haven’t upped their game. As you also say, the savings are great with no kennel fees and the pets are so much more relaxed at home. #rightonthemoney
Well if you go away for two + weeks and get a paid sitter it might cost you a small fortune. Along with the fact that that sitter is not doing anything for your home like collect mail or water plants. But yeah if you can afford hundreds or thousands for pet care that’s def an easier choice.
Hi Starlinmggai. I have seen quite a few sits that are only one or two nights. I did do one opf two nights once, only as it tagged omto sometnhing but really it was not worth the effort as it was arrive afyter 5pm then one full day and leave at breakfast time the next.
I saw another for two nights and it said pl,ease note we cannot put you up the night before, lots of hotels in town. They wanted very early in the morning. And they had nil applicants. Nobody wants the expemce of a hotel for an extremely short sit.
@idocsteve, spot on.
There is a steady trickly of THS Forum threads by pet parents that struggle to secure housesitters. Sometimes it appears an expectation gap (THS does not guarantee sitter!). Sometimes it relates to poor listing quality (unappealing photos, incomplete text/details). Sometimes it relates to geography (some locations have excess demand). But sometimes the issue is simply an lopsided trade - some combination of location, property, pets, responsibilities, amenities, expectations of pet parent is simply not attractive to volunteer housesitters.
Common advice on THS Forum is that struggling Pet Parents review other active listings in similar geography/region. That’s the competition. Can highlight great ideas to enhance attractiveness of opportunity, or may paint reality of need for a Plan B.
I’ve never had a problem getting sitters. My sits pause at 5 usually within hours. I posted a sit for a week in February 2026 and I received only 3 applications in over a week. One, the sitter did not read my profile and the other 2 were brand new with no reviews or references. So, I pulled the sit and will post again in a few weeks. Don’t know if it’s the time of year or if it’s only a week sit.
I think this might be happening with me, too. It’s so strange - I normally have applications fill immediately. I boosted it, too. Nothing. It might be, as some are suggesting here, that the time is too short (only a week, but not quite), and the time of year. I also usually get European travelers this time of year for Christmas in New York, and maybe there is less of those people traveling now?
That’s it right there. You seem unaware of the reluctance among the sitter base to risk being turned away at the US border upon arrival.
It’s been happening with greater frequency. The numbers are low compared to the high volume of sitters entering the US, however, as the old medical diagnostic saying goes when it comes to diagnosing a patient and ruling out certain conditions based on the presenting symptoms: “It’s not rare if it’s in your chair”.
