It would be great if all HO’s could provide potential sitters with some basic information about the location of their home, particularly the proximity to essential amenities like supermarkets, green grocers and markets. For most sits lasting more than a couple of days we will need fresh produce and a lot of us sitters don’t have our own transport.
It would be so helpful to know straight up how easy (or difficult) it was going to be to feed ourselves, and would streamline the decision making process (ie. about whether to apply or not).
Also, if the home is located in a city or shire, it would be helpful to know which suburb it was in - why the big secret?
I feel like this is the sort of basic info that ought to be supplied with every profile, and perhaps specific prompts would be appropriate.
I couldn’t agree more. It’s so frustrating, having applied, to discover the home is miles from a supermarket. Although I have my own car I recently applied for a sit that looked very appealing and was listed as being in a particular town in Devon. During the video call I was told it was a 20 minute drive from the nearest supermarket and was down an unmade road that was very rutted. I declined as didn’t want to damage my car nor be that isolated in winter.
I just don’t understand how a homeowner can overlook such basic but much needed info in their listing. I do a fair amount of local sits in the heart of the city as I live in a suburb of the city. There are certain neighborhoods that I much prefer over others but I’ve seen listings with so much info but not a clue provided as to where the sit is. Occasionally, I can guess where if I see a view of the mountains or water in the listing but don’t apply unless it is specified in the listing.
Thanks, I’d not thought about putting a postcode. Good plan because even though I’ve stated a car is an advantage, I’m not sure it’s listened to. Yes, we’ve a shop, 2 pub and a restaurant, a butchers/bakery, there’s not much else.
You know, I’ve just gone to edit my listing and my postcodes already there but it states that the sitter will only get the full postcode & address after confirmation.
It’s my understanding that hosts are required to input this information when creating a listing ….
However it’s not visible to sitters - which many owners would not realise . So I don’t think owners are deliberately trying to hide this information from sitters.
When the location isn’t clear we have contacted the owner and asked them . We haven’t had any decline to tell us .
As a sitter, there’s no need for me to know a homeowner’s address and/or postal code until a sit has been confirmed but it would be nice just to have an idea of a neighborhood in a listing. I don’t think that’s breaking any confidentiality rules on the site.
I think if I was a HS, I would be very put-off by this; we’re in the very fortunate position of having a medium sized supermarket about 15 mins walk away AND a corner shop, yet we are right on the edge of the countryside (also slightly why we moved here!). It’s possibly one of the reasons we haven’t had any problem securing great Housesitters over the years! We also provide a car when we can (usually depending on the HS’ nationality, for insurance reasons) but we also have 2 mountain bikes and I’ve just bought new helmets too to go with.
I do wonder how a HO expects their sitters to access food if they are cut off?!
@Kimski44 Some hosts — relatively few, fortunately — are self-absorbed and don’t have much empathy for sitters. You can usually tell when someone writes a listing and it’s all about their needs and their pets’ needs — little or no mention of what a sitter might care about in the exchange. You also can see it in photos sometimes — a bunch of pet photos, a sunset and no indoors photos, like of where the sitter will stay.
To me, those listings are helpful, in the sense that they signal that they’re good sits to skip.
Considerate HO often let sitters know what to expect in the post, like this:
“While we’re just a few minutes by car from the heart of town, if you don’t have a vehicle, please note our home is a 10 minute walk to the closest bus stop and a 20 minute walk to a grocery stores, eateries, shops.”
Did a sit where post said the home is a 15 minute drive to the nearby village.
En route to start the sit, discovered construction was on-going all summer on the only road to the home so never under 45 each way. The HO apologized on our arrival, but it was clear they were nervous about our reaction. AND in their orientation talk (not Welcome Guide) asked us not to leave their puppy alone more than three hours a day. Well, with a 90 min commute there/back to the village? Made our enjoyment of the area less than stellar.
Not a fair or considerate thing for the HO to both neglect to tell us about the construction AND constrict our time away.
Yes, agreed. I look for such specifics in listings, because such hosts understanding the spirit of reciprocity and consider what sitters will need. Some people just don’t get it, but they’re fortunately among the minority. And yet such listings often still get applicants. I figure those sitters are probably in for a bumpy sit.
Since sits list location I can figure a lot out on my own - but recently saw a post listed for a city … Reading deep into the post? Not really: 30 min outside of town
Reviews may help with this subject. A one liner stating the dogs are great company and the house was comfortable is not much use to potential sitters. We need details -
Pet behaviour, exercise needed, temperament
House facilities, size of bedroom, bathroom, hanging and drawer space, equipment in the kitchen
WiFi strength
Property jobs
Where the walks are
Bus service
Supermarket location
Is a car needed.
As sitters we are the best to give a true insight of what it is like to sit for the pets and be in the location. Yes, it would be good for hosts to have all that information in their listing but if they don’t we can do each other a favour with detailed truthful reviews.
I look for mentions of which neighborhood and distance to amenities, including food. That’s because say a city or county is too large for gauging whether you actually need a car.
In the U.S., cities can vary a lot by neighborhood safety and amenity wise, and some areas can be unwalkable. Like you might look near something on a map, but find that the way things are laid out / built, you can’t walk directly.
I find good hosts / listings by skipping skimpy listings and instead focusing on thoughtful ones. Like I accepted a sit last week with a new THS member who not only was responsive and decisive, they texted me their street address and cross streets as soon as we mutually agreed on the sit. And they did that unsolicited. From chatting with the host, sounds like they’re logical, empathetic and trusting — the optimal fit in mindset for a THS host.
I ask. And if a HO is reluctant to give me exact information then I’ll settle for a nearby landmark to plug into a maps app. Or a W3W location - either exact or nearby.
But the only way to ask is to actually apply to the sit … taking one of the precious 5 slots sometimes annoys HOs.
The region which I typically sit in (SE Asia) has so few sits to choose from I really can’t dis the ones without enough info. I’d never get any assignments - it’s hard enough even to get in an application before the post gets pulled down.
A ‘question’ tab to HOs, like the one on e-bay to sellers would be super useful.
After reading everyone’s thoughts, I’ve gone back and read our listing and although I’d put the village we live in, this could be anywhere so I’ve altered it to mention the county too. I’ve also done this because we’ve had an application to sit from someone with no form of transport. I’d put that a cars needed and reiterated this to her on our messages but she said she was used to walking. It is concerning when someone applies but has no real idea of the location so hopefully this rectifies this.
