This is another deterrent to tourists and sitters. US hikes national park fees for foreigners to put 'American families first' - BBC News
Various countries have a version of this. Makes sense as agencies and institutions look for new ways to grow revenue. Many examples mentioned here:
To be fair most countries around the world already charge higher fees to non-nationals.
Very few national parks in Europe charge an entry fee. Certainly none in the UK. I know in some countries e.g. Austria certain hiking areas night be accessible only by a toll road, but nothing like prices in the US.
Most major national museums in the UK, particularly in London, remain free for all visitors, including tourists, to access their permanent collections.
Also, it is extremely rare to find a stately home e.g. Blenheim Palace to charge foreign tourists more. It’s pretty much flat pricing every where.
All the Smithsonian museums in D.C. are free, because of a British man who was born illegitimate and felt mistreated by British society. He died and left his wealth to the U.S. to start the Smithsonians. He had never even been to the U.S.
Personally, I don’t mind paying to support art or nature. Like I was recently in NYC and visited the Frick. Turned out it was “pay what you like day.” I voluntarily paid the full $30 USD entry fee.
You reminded me of a great experience I had on a sit. The sit was in upstate NY in the Hudson River Valley. I love sculpture and had always dreamed of seeing the Storm King Art Center, especially Mya Lin’s “Waves.” Absolutely breathtaking. I have no recollection how much the admission was, but it was worth every cent. Also on a sit in Philly, I spent a day at Grounds for Sculpture, which is nearby in New Jersey. One of the best days imaginable! Due to financial and health constraints, I only drive to sits in the Northeastern U.S., no flying anymore. But THS has opened up so many options because I don’t have the income to stay in hotels and Airbnbs very often.
Well done 
The point is though that headlines and articles such as the one I quoted add to the overall impression to many would be tourists, that the US has become increasingly expensive. Along with many other factors this could perhaps explain why sits in the US appear to some to be harder to fill.
Same here. These 5 were out of more than 80, but every time it happens, it has a deep impact on me.
None of which quite explain why there are so many reports out of the UK that finding sitters is now a struggle. Given the size of THS’s US membership versus the UK, such reports should be predominately out of the US but that has definitely not been my observation over the past 6 to 8 months.
Fewer incoming travellers from Australia and New Zealand is my guess.
Of course, everyone is more price sensitive generally nowadays, given inflation and fuel prices. But if sights in various parts of the world — whether parks, museums, etc., — need to raise revenue, that will happen regardless.
Relatively few sits I’ve seen in the U.S. involve proximity to national parks. But on forums for road tripping that I’m on, people don’t seem deterred from planning visits to them. We’re heading into summer vacation season and there’s already social media circulating about how to beat the lines and parking limits.
For Americans, trips to national parks are more affordable than say flying abroad. And we have such a large population that just domestic travelers can easily oversubscribe the parks. That’s why they started reservation requirements during Covid.
Even years before the pandemic, popular national parks would be stuffed with travelers during summertime. I recently visited several and notably even at one that’s not among the most popular, they had markers posted about wait times along various spots in the park road. They advised for instance where wait times would take three hours, two hours and one hour, depending on where you were along the way.
I consider myself lucky, because I can avoid that and go to more remote parks and I have more flexibility to go at other times of year. And I remember decades ago, where it was so much easier to go to national parks. I think social media has really boosted visitors.
I think covid was a big boost for national and state parks. Were the only places people could go and feel “safe” or allowed to go.
Anyway, the more popular parks (Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon…) are always packed. Still incredibly gorgeous, but not as serene as you may want.
Yes, Covid definitely increased visitors. Sales of RVs climbed then, too, since people were trying to avoid flying and dense urban environments.
I have a new favorite now, partly because of its amazing beauty and diversity of ecosystems, and partly because it’s remote enough to avoid many visitors.
I’m suggesting that the increase in prices in the US, including national parks, may be another barrier for foreign sitters and that could contribute to an increase in unfulfilled sits. I’m responding to the OP “Are sits accepts waning”.
I was in need of a last-minute sit in the Vancouver, Canada area. There wasn’t anything so I stretched to Washington State and was shocked at the dozens of unfilled sits with zero applications all starting within 48 hours.
I applied for the best one for me and had the phone call and approval within an hour. It doesn’t seem sustainable. HOs aren’t going to stick around if they can’t fill their sits.
Today I start a new sit, a short one, just 5 days.
After this one I have 3 more official THS sits, then my membership expires and I am no longer gonna be a THS sitter. Nobody is gonna force me to upgrade to higher level, or to pay fees in order to sit for free.
I have had a blast for 2.5 years, but with 60 sits behind me and a long list of happy pet owners, I am being kept busy with repeat sits, and paid sits off the site. I don’t need money grabbing THS.
We have no one of knowing that, but it is true that folks are more spending conscious these days in general.
And that’s why I’ve suggested it, rather than announcing it as a fact.
My take is that there are all the problems you mention. (e.g I no longer look at sits in the States, sadly, not as some political protest, but because getting there is now too expensive and hassle-filled). I also wonder if there’s the fact that you have dogs. No, seriously: My impression is that a lot of the Old Guard of sitters are quitting over the new “booking fee” - I will be one of them. And the newer bunch, attracted by the “Free AirBnB” concept, don’t want to look after dogs; it’s too much work and commitment. They’d rather have a nice easy cat and lots of time to… Well, be on holiday.
Well, some of us are simply not fond of dogs. Cats can also be a handful, but I agree, not as much as dogs.