There is so much involved now with international sits. High costs of flights, Customs delays at airports, delayed/cancelled flights and in general, globally increasing costs of food, gasoline, hotels, flights etc.
For sits that are not in preferred locations then the Host would be wise to offer “perks” to attract the sitters.
Being a pet parent all of my adult life, it’s inevitable that boarding costs of pets is over the top!
Why not make ur sit attractive with some perks. After all, the costs of boarding pets far exceed the "within reason"but inviting perks for a pet sitter.
Suggestions; a Welcome gift basket, a bottle of wine, a few food supplies. Just communicate with the sitter.
Respect and appreciation goes both ways.
All of the positives will be reflected in the pet sitters reviews.
Yes I also think the HO by removing one of the sit elements can also improve the chances of getting sitters to apply, for example a paid dog walker on occasion to help the sitter get out and about maybe, or having the horses/chickens/goats fed/watered by a neighbour… or including a car. Anything really to make a ‘menagerie’ sit less work.
Just got invited to repeat sit in Florida for summer and fall. Top-notch hosts in a resort-like community, with one easy, sweet dog. Comfortable, clean home (included a weekly cleaning crew of three) and they loaned me a bike, golf cart and car when I sat for them previously. Left me a folderful of sightseeing info and showed me around a bit before leaving. Plus, volunteered to cover my roundtrip airport shuttle and treated me to meals before they left.
Even if I sit again for great hosts like these, we won’t be going through THS. Last I checked, they hadn’t renewed and I don’t plan to.
I’ll be doing a repeat dog sit near Dublin next weekend. We did it through THS the first time, not this time as the hosts haven’t renewed. Lovely house near the sea with a beautiful calm lurcher.
@lala123 I’ve had a lot of previous hosts reach out for repeat sits, and interestingly enough this continues though I’m not a member anymore (recently paused auto-renewal). This might be worth considering in terms of interest and ‘competition’ - it’s not only the large variety and number of listings available, but also the many off-platform arrangements, which may have increased even further since the changes in December.
Wouldn’t be surprised if this eventually results in THS being forced to adjust sitter membership prices.
Sometimes it isn’t a problem with the listing itself, but the fact that there are simply not enough travelers to meet that side of the deal.
I know that I’m being VERY picky indeed, I’ve read about enough stories now to not want to get caught out myself. So things I’m avoiding atm include but not exclusive to
Entitled poorly worded listings
Lots of pets
Pets that can’t be left for less then 4 hours
Messy homes
Short sits making set up/clear up too high a time ratio
HOs who don’t reply within 48 hours
Any slightly iffy reviews written by the HO for a sitter who normally gets 5* and yes I read the reviews a HO writes then I check the history of the sitter they gave an iffy review to…I’m forensic!
Example: a sitter who had multiple 5* with lovely multi paragraph reviews and all mentioning how spotless this sitter was and often with repeat sits recently got dinked a star on cleanliness. I read the sitter review for this particular HO it was 5* but the sitter noted it was very much a ‘Show Home’. So I’d avoid that HO as it’s now too risky to get dinked a star despite being fastidiously clean myself. Fine margins people.
I’m doing a cat sit in June that passed my personal filter net.
I think you meant to reply to @lala123 the original poster. I dont have issues getting applicants since i’m in a beachy tourist area with well behaved pets and a clean home.