I’m relatively new to THS and am trying to reach out to sitters who have available dates that match my holiday. I check the calendars which show availability, but when I contact someone they tell me that they already have a sit scheduled. I’m starting to feel a bit weird about this. I have only had one sit and had an excellent review. No one hints at anything in my profile being off putting or not enough information. I would happily answer any questions, etc. This has happened over 10 times in a row now. Help!
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Please search the forum and you’ll find your question has been posed and answered many times before.
In a nutshell the calendar is impossible to update and generally only shows blocked out dates with confirmed THS sits, not sits booked through other websites or sitters’ own holidays. Most sitters don’t touch the calendar.
Also, if you are looking at calendars to invite sitters when they appear to be free, don’t bother. You’ll be extremely unlikely to find a sitter this way. Best to post your listing (and make it the best you can - lots of advice on the forum and website to help with that)and await applicants
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Hi there, here’s an answer I gave somebody who asked the same question a few days ago. Links to how to add your listing are there too:
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Hi @Englishgirl,
Welcome to the forum.
As @Smiley said, calendar is pretty useless. The best way to get sitters is to publish your dates.
If you link your listing to your forum profile, you can get some ideas for improvements so that it can attract more applicants.
Good luck.
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Hi,
It’s not you - the calendar is hopeless and misleading. It only shows booked sits and the rest of the time as available. I only do 5 or 6 sits a year. My diary is pretty full with normal life, work and social stuff, and I also want to spend plenty of time in my own home. If by chance your dates don’t clash with anything, I may or may not be interested in your location, pets, home, level of responsibilities etc. It’s extremely rare for random invitations to work out. In 2 years I’ve received many and accepted one.
If they’ve specifically said they are on another sit, presumably they also book them elsewhere.
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a perfect example of how the calendar is useless, I am off to Canada for the entire month of June on holiday, the calendar will show me as available, I’m not.
it does not factor for our personal life. Sitters take holidays too.
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Welcome @Englishgirl
Here is a link to understanding the calendar
What this means is that I may be available and looking for a sit in Spain in May & Australia in Dec/ Jan . I update my calendar and a host in U.K. will see that I am available but won’t know that I don’t want a sit in U.K. . Also I may want to sit in a specific location / city in that country -
The calendar doesn’t show this - which is why most sitters don’t update their availability .
Additionally the THS App currently has a on- going glitch which means sitters can’t update their availability via the App .
As well as the link @Silversitters has included for you @Englishgirl, the default for the calendar is white which means Unavailable. With so many of us not using the calendar, it’s difficult for owners to know whether we’re really unavailable or not.
Your best bet is to create a great listing that meets all the necessary requirements and wait for applications to come in.
Welcome to forum, @Englishgirl !
+1 to what others have said, and adding that many sitters (as me) have full time jobs to attend to where we live and go sitting for holidays (and perhaps some weekend.). I don’t bother with the calendar as it doesn’t work for me (and have so far declined all «cold» invitations - i.e. invitations with no previous contact). I have applied to plenty sits, though. So just work on your listing and publish your dates. Best of luck!
I’ve literally never used the calendar feature and have been sitting for 17 years, last 4 most sits with THS but we don’t use the calendar feature. I think if a sitter had specific dates they were available it could work but even then, most of us don’t use it.
There’s lots of flaws with the calendar, THS is brilliant in so many ways, but the calendar isn’t one of them.
If we, as sitters, complete it, it makes us look busy when we’re not, and looks completely different on a laptop to mobile, that’s why a lot like us just don’t use it, THS self populates it, and that’s all.
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The calendars aren’t very useful. They only block out dates when sitters have other THS sits. Sitters are individuals who have all kinds of schedules and all kinds of needs. Fun fact: The majority of sitters on the site, are not nomadic and only sit a few times a year although many sits are covererd by nomadic sitters who are going from sit to sit.
I’m a combined member. I have a home. I do a few sits a year. I plan the dates for when I can go or when my spouse can go. It’s rare that I’m able to accept an invitation out of the blue from a host. Even if the location sounds great. The timing may just not work for us.
The best way to find a sitter is to have your dates firmly established. Have a great listing with information about your pets and the responsibilities and also great photos of your home. It’s best to have things about your area and what can be done nearby. You can get help writing the listing from the forum. When you publish your dates the sitters who are looking for those dates and sits in your area will see them and contact you.
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Thanks to everyone who responded. I feel much better - I was really getting paranoid.
I did not realize that the sitters calendars couldn’t be blocked off for personal reasons. THS could help everyone by providing this option it seems.
(BTW - I diligently searched the forums before posing my question. No need to remind)
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I’m wondering why so many people are answering the question that I answered at the beginning! Hey Ho!