We are one of those (both HO and HS) who left THS due to the maximum 5 applicants rule and the recent assignment fees. We have joined two other housesitting platforms and recently got very good house sits from one. But yes, there seems to be a shortage of sitters. So sitters, spread your assets ! Especially as less expensive platforms offer very good service.
Among others, there may be a timing reason why there are more listings than applicants at the moment. Home owners tend to buy their flight tickets up to 12 months in advance (we do, because air flights get more expensive with time). But they tend to put up their listing for house/pet sits 2 or 3 months in advance (we do, because listing too early may result in cancellation). The Iranian war and subsequently the energy, fuel, petrol etc shortage and price rises started two months ago. So home owners are trapped into having to travel or loose their money (which is happening to friends of ours from New Zealand) while house sitters have more recently decided not to travel this year.
@Marion - There seems to be this myth that full-time sitters are ‘less choosy’ about the sits they accept. Based on our experience and that of the many full-time sitters we have met over the past six years, full-time sitters are extremely choosy about which sits they accept.
Just for the record, the vast majority of full-time sitters choose this lifestyle. We are not forced into it. We are not desperate for free accommodation. If there are no sits that suit us, then we use accommodation platforms to book and pay for accommodation which suits us better.
@Colin yes, I am definitely extremely choosy about the sits I do. I research thoroughly and look very closely at each and every listing and if none are what I see as suitable for me, like yourselves I use alternative accommodation platforms and pay accordingly. Now I own my own home but I still choose to sit because I’m addicted to both travel and pets.
@carpediem16 I think there are a couple of things going on in Portugal that makes it hard for sitters. A lot of the dogs here are rescues, and the rescue facilities are generally not very good, so there are MANY reactive and traumatized dogs. That means that a lot of sits aren’t really geared for people who express interest in coming to “explore Lisbon”, because dogs such as ours can’t be left alone for more than 3-4 hours at a time and often require physical strength.
The other thing is that given frequent flight cancellations and the craziness at airport immigration, if I get applicants from outside of Schengen, I generally ask them to plan to arrive 2 days prior to me leaving. However, like a lot of urban Lisbon apartments, we have a small spare bedroom with only enough room for an individual, not a couple. So that leaves the problem that you’re being asked to arrive in advance to ensure that you get here in time, but we can’t really offer a place to stay (for a couple) until the day of our departure. For that reason, I generally give preference to individuals who are arriving from outside Schengen.
Finally, there’s a huge market of digital nomads here who are willing to sit for low prices, since many live in apartments with multiple roommates. I’ve used some of them in the past, but they tend to be unreliable, which is why I returned to THS. Sadly, I’m finding some of the THS sitters to be equally unreliable, so I guess it’s just luck of the draw.
@GotYourBack when I find a sitter I like, I always reach out to them first, even before I post the sit. I’ve had numerous repeat sitters, and that works so much better for my girls! Lisbon is tough, sadly it has become way over touristed and seems to have a reputation as a party destination. It’s really hard for the locals. And I sometimes get so many applicants that I spend weeks just sifting through and rejecting that I have no doubt it’s really hard for anyone with decent cred’s to be seen.
Sorry. I didn’t mean to make a such a broad generalization.
I also did say “may be”. And the way I meant “choosier” is specific. Because I sit part time, and my ability to travel with my spouse is limited by his job which has cut down severely on his ability to work remotely we are less likely to even choose a great sit that would mean expensive air travel or too many days. Even if I got that longed for London sit, it wouldn’t be worth it to me in the summer when air fares are way too high.
I didn’t necessarily mean “choosier” in the sense of full timers taking ANY sit, but I often browse sits and see many I could imagine myself considering if I sat full time and happened to be in that part of the world as opposed to balancing the number of days my spouse can work remotely with his vacation time.
Having said that, I think there are sitters and certainly were a few years ago, who are sitting for housing or because it’s the only way they can afford to maintain a nomadic lifestyle and are sometimes taking questionable sits because they don’t feel like they have a choice. I’ve seen many forum threads (here and in other places) where people are not leaving sketchy situations because they do not have the resources to go elsewhere. It’s important to remember that all sitters are individuals and all sit differently.
So a few days after the membership lapsed due to taking it of auto renewal the " special Offer" arrived, premium for the price of basic, So no fees to pay for another year,
Not sure we can be tempted, after 4 years of being very happy and over 30 , 5 star sits the attitude on display doesn’t really sit well with us
I’ve had that happen. After being at the sit for only one day, and being told initially to only contact them if I needed anything (no pets either), she sent a friend over to check on me and find out why I hadn’t contacted her. You just never know.
I agree, especially about the effort a HO puts into the post. I’ve been wishing they would include more details that are important to many sitters, like myself, like transit.
@Calebsmum I agree it’s a big factor but after seeing many forum discussions believe many experienced sitters are leaving or turning off auto-renew, due to a few reasons mainly the booking fees. With the influx of new HOs because of increase in advertising and possible shortage of experienced sitters the future of THS sadly is not looking promising.
Well, only a small percentage of members participate on the forum. A lot of sitters have mentioned on the forum that they have upgraded to Premium membership so they don’t have to pay the booking fees. So I’m not sure you’re correct.
I rejoined the site last night after almost 2 years away.
Previously a member for 7 years.
I applied for a sit almost immediately, and got a very fast reply. Video call in the next few days, and hopefully I will get the sit. I have 44 5 star reviews, and many other sits from repeats and referrals.
I have yet to see ANTHING about the booking fee since I rejoined.
Where/when do THS actually tell you about this? When is it applied?
How is it paid?
Does it automatically come off the card used for membership?
I do know about the fee, but if I was a new sitter, it would come as a complete surprise.
The booking fee is taken from your on-file credit card when the sit is confirmed. I suspect that the booking fee info is within your T&Cs. Premium membership level is exempt from the fee (for now).
The fee is now mentioned in the informarion about the tiers. So if you read that before signing on again you would have seen the information. There are no booking fees for now for Premium. As bad as the roll out was, the fees didn’t go into effect for anyone until after renewal, so I’d imagine there are still a sizable number of sitters who don’t have premium but do have extensions on their memberships and haven’t faced new fees yet. There is no evidence that they are “for” anything other than to make more money for the company.
It’s really hard for the locals. And I sometimes get so many applicants that I spend weeks just sifting through and rejecting that I have no doubt it’s really hard for anyone with decent cred’s to be seen.
After being at the sit for only one day, and being told initially to only contact them if I needed anything (no pets either), she sent a friend over to check on me and find out why I hadn’t contacted her. 
You just never know.