Maybe it’s just UK. I’ve had invites where HOs unable to find sitters and now having to put dogs in kennels, seen posts where HOs have been let down. Lots of listing’s under low applications. I’m curious is it because sitters are worried about HO travel plans being cancelled or the booking fees so members not renewing or anything else?
I see a lot of low applications or 0 applications in the US as well. I think there are so many reasons and each sitter you speak with has a different reason why they would pass on a lot of listings. It could also just be there are more houses looking for sitters than sitters looking for houses. I know in the
US there are many states in the summer that get extremely hot. Lots of homeowners like to flee their area during this time. Sitters are not rushing in to apply to extremely hot areas in the summer especially if walking a dog in the heat is involved or no car and having to even walk to places or bike.
Having that problem in Portugal. All I get are 20-something’s who want to party, because Lisbon has that reputation.
I suspect due to booking fees experienced sitter have gone to other sites or making private arrangements
I think a lot of people are JOINING THS as sitters and homeowners. I base this on noticing sites that offer discount codes and codes getting used, advertising, new members showing up in the forums, and tons of new members applying when I list a sit.
But I also think a lot of people just get burnt out with sitting as a “lifestyle” and while most sitters aren’t full time, the part time sitters may be choosier about sits since they are recrreational. So I’m sure people in London, Dublin, New York City, Paris, Madrid, etc don’t have to worry much about finding a sitter, probably many in other places do.
Airfare and other travel expenses make a big difference as well and the economy is changing. There was kind of a remote boom, including a lot of jobs that are being eliminated by AI (including jobs building AI models!) A lot of other jobs that became remote during COVID are now “hybrid” or back in the office.
I remember reading an article a few years ago – might have been in The Guardian about a sitter in the UK, sitting with family full-time and saving for a home while working remotely. It made sense as a strategy at that time, but that type of lifestyle especially with kids who might be better off in school and with stability may not be sustainable and even with savings, housing costs may continue to be out of reach for many.
One question that homeowners might need to ask themselves is: With all the thousands of sits being offered, who would want mine? What am I offering? How can I make my listing more attractive without sacrificing what’s important?
I’d be interested in sitting for you, and I’m not in my 20s (etc.).
I would imagine with Lisbon unless there is something difficult about the sit – eg a dog that can’t be left alone more than 2 hours or something – that if you just decline the unsuitable applicants, you’ll eventually get the great ones, and then you’ll just need to act fast. I live in New York City and this is what I find. Sometimes the first five will include people with no note on the application, no reviews, bad reviews, etc, but if I keep “managing’” the sit by declining and “unpausing” I’ll start to see great applications.
The other possibility is something off in the listing, so you could start a thread with your listing posted asking for advice on making it more attractive.
Can you send me a direct message?
Anyone who lives in a multi-family building is likely to have neighbors who report on anything amiss. Especially a dog barking at all hours. It does not sound like the HO here is asking neighbors to spy on sitters, but honestly, any sit does not occur in a vacuum. If there wasn’t anything to report on, the HO would not hear from the neighbors.
Before people come at me, I know there are examples of HOs asking friends or neighbors to “stop by” for the purpose of checking in, and that can be overbearing and uncomfortable. I just don’t see it in this example.
Agreed! I’ve never had any of my neighbors complain about a THS sitter but I had a past paid sitter who I believe was smoking in the apartment or possibly stairwell and boy howdy did I hear about it.
As a sitter, I’ve had the homeowner contact me about an outdoor light I’d accidently turned on that a neighbor noticed.
Neighbors are gonna neighbor!
Are sitters leaving THS? Quite a few of the most experienced ones have already left due to the booking fee. I certainly won’t be even considering sits of less than 2 weeks.
IMO, “busy-bodies” is the key word here.
I’ve sat in (and in my much younger years lived in) multi family housing. That’s included caring neighbors, but not busy bodies. We can all agree that there’s such a thing as crossing lines. and when people are described as busy bodies by the host(s), that’s not a good sign.
Demand for sitters are growing as the awareness of the platform grows, much due to heavy marketing. Availability of sitters on the other hand is more limited- it’s not for everyone. I think we are currently seeing an unbalanced market where demand is higher than supply. Maybe THS should put more focus on attracting sitters? As a sitter I am delighted in the overwhelming demand, but it’s not a sustainable market as it functions today.
It of course also has a lot to do with the attractiveness of the sits offered. A lot of homeowners aren’t really going the extra mile to attract sitters, with low quality photos and unfair expectations.
I’m currently on my fourth sit in Paris - and absolutely loving it.
Doggy too 
@JulieT I think you’ve now put people off! I certainly wouldn’t want to sit for you if I felt people were spying on me.
Trouble getting sitters in Lisbon? Wow, that is very surprising. Anything in Portugal seems to get the 5 applicants so fast we can never even apply! (we are in our 60’s with over 25 five star reviews but we’ve never even been able to get an application in for the sits we’ve “saved” in Portugal! We finally gave up and just booked a trip there with Airbnb’s and hotels)
If you want to post your listing we might be able to explain why you aren’t getting the right applicants.
@Chrissie I agree. Think some are making private arrangements with repeats and no need for THS. Really think THS made a big mistake with booking fees.
I am grateful whenever an owner has their regular cleaning person coming close to the end of a sit. All sitters should be aware that the cleaning person might report back to the owner if there is something unusual/atypical. That is only natural. I don’t see it as “owner spying on sitter.”
Likewise, if an owner has “friendly neighbors” in their community, this might mean that the neighbors might notice the activities of the sitter. Again, it is only natural for some neighbors to pay attention. I don’t think this necessarily means that the owner is “spying” on the sitter. No worse than external cameras, in my opinion. Disclosure would be nice.
@JuliePT, as @carpediem16 noted then lack of strong applicants for Lisbon housesit is surprising. We’ve completed three housesits in Algarve and visited Lisbon several times. Happy days.
That said, one of our Algarve pet parents was so frustrated with housesit applicants that they told us that if we ever wanted to return to Algarve then let us know dates and they’d book a trip - bless!
@Sarah22, THS does not publish statistics on housesitting. Simply from observation, we suspect that the number and quality of applicants to listings varies enormously. Some listings offer trade-conscious hosts, attractive locations, reasonable pet care, good properties, thorough listing content and receive oodles of applicants. For various reasons, some listings seem to struggle to receive any applicants. We’ve not observed any related change over recent whiles.