Are U.K. folk struggling to get sitters?

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
1

I’m in the U.K., and the applications seem to be very low to non existent this year, I have a sitter, arranged pre all the trouble for June. My July sit I keep getting someone has saved your listing, but 0 applicants. I wonder if others are experiencing issues due to world issues, flight prices increasing etc. what are people’s thoughts re timings. Arrange something more local/change plans etc .

The first year I used this site I had numerous applicants, not things seem very uncertain and unreliable re pet sitting. Appreciate others thoughts

2

I’ve just saved your listing it’s a location we’d love to visit .

However the July dates you’ve listed are only for 3 nights . Thur- Sat

This is too far for us to travel for just 3 days . Added to that THS charge the sitter a £9 booking fee for each sit . So many sitters are put off from doing short sits .

I suggest that this short stay won’t appeal to international sitters unless they are doing a tour of UK and your dates happen to fill a gap between other sits .

I think that’s why you are struggling with the July dates you have listed compared to previous dates which have been for at least 1 week .

Some suggestions which might make this short stay appealing to more sitters -

Can you lengthen the stay by a day each side ( So it becomes a 5 day sit ) ?
Can you offer to pay the sitter’s £9 booking fee ?
Or shorten the stay to start on Friday ? That would appeal to a U.K. sitter who works in the week and sits at the weekends only .

3

I have yesterday put a similar post up " Are sitters leaving THS" you may get some answers/advice from there. Though Silversitters gives good advice.

4

Yes we agree it’s too short to make the effort to go that distance. It’s 6 hours by train then bus and £105 rtn train tkts x2 also we’d have to pay to stay at the local hotel before and after, looking at the early arrival and late departure unless the HOs offered guest accommodation before and after. A nice location and pets but too many cons despite us being ‘available’.

5

I agree with what others have said about the length of the sit but I wouldn’t despair, the dates are still some way off and there may well be people nearer the time who are wanting a short sit in that area between longer ones, particularly people with premium membership who won’t be hit with the sitter’s fee.

I think your listing is very good, it’s detailed, both about the dogs’ needs and routines and about the area’s attractions. One thing that would put me off personally is the need to let them out at 6.30/7.00 am (by the way, you have that as pm) but I’m sure there are plenty of early risers on the site. Good luck, I’m sure you’ll find a (good) sitter.

6

As an international sitter, I’m looking and favouriting but not applying yet as I’m still not sure what I’m doing later this year. I suspect I’m not the only one. The “early” rising would be fine for us and there is nothing in your listing to put us off, although we do usually look for a week. I think at this point you still have plenty of time on your hands but a back up is always good.

7

I agree the sit is a bit too short to be attractive. You are asking sitters to arrive between 10 and 12 in the morning and leave early evening. This is limiting you to people based within about a 2 hour drive/ train journey or who are prepared to spend money on a hotel.

Since you have a 4 bedroom house it would be hospitable to offer sitters a bed for the nights both before and after the sit which would also make it a better length and more attractive to sitters from further away. If you don’t want to cook you could offer a takeaway on the first night.

I would also put a photo of your house on the main page rather than of Durham which is half an hour away.

8

Booking fee trouble, after more then 30 five star sits, our membership expires next week, we do mainly 2/3 night sits, around 10 each year, THS has become very greedy and we like many others are voting with our feet.:man_shrugging:t2:

9

I sent a list of questions today to a HO regarding a UK November listing, asking about the Annexe, the required gardening, the heating, the dog bathing (daily) etc…. tbh it was a nice house/location/dogs and they answered my questions (apparently most sitters are willing to do gardening!) BUT I had a weird feeling … so passed.

10

@BonnyinBrighton gardening in November in the UK??? How long was the sit?

11

Sounds like a host who had not updated their listing - like the ones with the title ‘Spend Christmas in…’ but the dates are for July. Or the listing shows one pet but the narrative refers, by name, to 2 pets. Infuriating, confusing and sloppy! Not sure why I’m having a rant, it’s a lovely sunny day :rofl::rofl::rofl:

12

I have joined a much cheaper platform which doesn’t charge £18 to both sitter and owner, and had more applications to sit than THS. The last sit I posted was for 5 nights and we had a very successful sit from a lovely couple on the other platform. I had no applications from THS. I have posted another sit, two weeks, in September. It is a long way off but I anticipate that I will get no applications from THS and plenty from the other platform. I received two free months from THS this year due to all the issues I had with the authentication not being received on various email addresses. I will not be renewing THS when my membership ends and have cancelled automatic renewal.

13

I agree, people offer and apply then are evasive and have “changed their plans.” I work all week and 4 evenings volunteer - sometimes on the weekends too so my time to contact is precious. I wasted an hour this evening waiting to speak to some who then once again changed their mind. I’m starting to think I have been conned by this platform, the sitters seem very unreliable and I feel I’ve wasted a lot of money for nothing.

14

I wonder if there’s anything about your listing that’s attracting the wrong/unreliable applicants? It’s worth considering this maybe? The Platform works pretty well for us all but not for outliers both HOs and sitters. The aim of the Review system is to work to eliminate the outliers.

15

Gotta say I see some sits and think “who would want to do that?” But I have the privilege of my own home and the ability to pay to travel or choose not to. The stat nerd in me would love to know how many sits go unfulfilled.:thinking:

16

Yup. THS has varying value to people, especially sitters. For some of us, it’s more expendable than to others. And without enough good sitters, some hosts will end up with questionable value.

17

Choose sitters with more than a few good past reviews if you’re being messed around. If we say we’re doing a call then we do it as do all the sitters we know in this community. As for being time precious, sitters are busy too & often have jobs, homes and volunteer roles of their own, so your lack of available time isn’t actually their issue, you need to be flexible on when you can chat. An initial 10 minute what’s app call can fit into anyone’s diary. #strategyrethink

18

That’s quite a patronising response! I have made time and been fobbed off when I have made the call! Such as yesterday.

I don’t think I am alone in my opinion and happy to share further details of my sit for advice. A week with 3 cats easy to care for and 3 chickens easy to care for in a beautiful part of Wales.

19

You’re not alone in having your time wasted. Absolutely. But you must be choosing flaky individuals & my response was intended to point out that there are plenty of non flaky ones out there if you are more selective. Sorry it’s happened to you but it’s not a patronising reply, it’s advice based on 5 years of full time sitting for a wide range of hosts from 27 countries in over 60 sits so it’s a very good cross sector of the community and their noted behaviour traits. Cats chooks and Wales :wales: sound glorious. If it’s the Brecon July sit then you need some better pics as the rooms are hard to see properly and there are 3 of just a lawn. A stronger cover image will help you too. Hopefully someone great will find you soon! #welshhillsbeckon

20

@MJBannau unfortunately I am experiencing much the same issues as you but in reverse. I have applied for multiple cat sits these past few months and the non response from homeowners has been overwhelming, and exhausting to say the least. I’ve been on THS full-time sitting for 7 years now and never experienced anything like I am now.

I write a very detailed application and only 10% of homeowners actually even read it or they read it and it goes unattended. All are still in reviewing. One I waited two weeks for a response and then sent a short message saying sorry I’m withdrawing my application as I need to lock in dates before and after and cannot wait any longer for a response. That particular HO then finally sent back a message saying, sorry I’ve been busy working and getting ready for the trip please send me your Whatsapp number and I’ll arrange a call. Purely out of curiosity, I sent it - and waited, and waited, and waited - crickets, nothing. So I then withdrew my application saying I had found something else. I kept an eye on that listing and it was still in review another two weeks later, now it’s been relisted. Obviously every sitter moved on. This is in a highly sort after area with everything going for it. My point to this long winded story is, we don’t wait around holding our breath for responses, I wait 48 hours now and I’m out. It’s funny how people have time to go to work, volunteer, care for their homes and families, shop, etc etc etc, do all their normal things, but don’t have 5 minutes to have a quick and TIMELY chat with sitters who apply in a reasonable timeframe, to listings that YOU posted. We don’t write the listing, the homeowners do, we only respond to your listing so where is the courtesy. I am personally finding this example just one out of numerous apps I have sent, no acknowledging my communication, nothing. I have over 60, 5 star reviews, so it’s not like I have nothing going for me.

We all have “time” when we want to have time. “My time is very precious”. That’s a terrible statement to make! MY time is extremely precious, I don’t have a lot of it left!! It’s when we don’t find something or someone important enough to FIND that time, that’s where the problem lay. THS has changed dramatically recently and I am noticing it big time. Thankfully I have back to back sits now from HO’s that responded in a very timely manner, done and dusted in 24/48 hours. They found the time.

If your listing is in the Brecons as @Cuttlefish noted, maybe a few more pics would help as your current ones don’t show much. Also the location is difficult unless it’s a UK sitter with a car. There are so many unfilled sits in the UK at present in desirable locations with public transport, you need to take that into consideration before making such statements that you feel you have been conned by the platform. I wouldn’t have been privileged to have done this full-time all these years if I had been conned. But unfortunately the times they are a changin’

Nice to see the OP @annepolet has obviously found a sitter as their listing is currently showing “Not currently in need of a sitter”.