I think it may be a country preference. It’s good to know UK sits don’t default to Facetime 
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I have a stand on my phone, but if I didn’t, it would be a cinch to prop against something, like a mug.
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Ah, that would require buying a phone stand! 
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I have a smallish phone and to use a stand means it’s further away from me and less personal, so I have just held my phone and propped my arm up on a cushion instead.
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You can also use WhatsApp on your laptop. We much prefer that for arranged calls. Easier to get both of us in the frame too.
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ha ha I’ve only ever had iphones and have never used FaceTime in my life. I had no idea it was so ubiquitous!
As HO, I offer Zoom or WhatsApp, but I can also do calls through Gmail or Skype. I prefer something I can do on my laptop rather than my phone, but can be flexible about it.
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Whether as a sitter or host I’m always clear that I don’t have facetime. This has never been a problem. Usually I use Whatsapp. As a host, if people want the sit, they figure it out. As a sitter, if WhatsApp won’t work, I’ll offer to use Google Meet, Skype, or Teams or Zoom in a pinch.
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Yes, agree. I’ve had a few FaceTimes for some US sits. One homeowner downloaded WhatsApp for the duration of our sit also as they didn’t use it usually.
In Europe, it’s been WhatsApp/ Zoom calls and occasionally a Teams meeting but even for a recent upcoming US sit it was Zoom !! 
OP should specify in their application their preference if they find it awkward to refuse a certain platform. Something like “ Haopy to jump on a Zoom call or have a Whatsapp call! “
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As a HO I prefer WhatsApp, for both the video chat and updates and messages during the sit. As @HappyDeb said, it’s easiest to keep all communication on one platform.
Line would be another platform we use, similar to wa, but it’s rarely used outside Asia.
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@strawberryjen We have a super simple phone stand and just pop it on top of a box or book etc to get the right height. (Not too close!!) Then turn the phone sideways so- if you’re a couple- you both fit in the picture. Before the call I always test the correct height & distance using the phone selfie option so we are all set to go at call time- super professional eh?!
The hubby hates video calls so always positions himself hovering in the background behind me so he can escape easily!
I just googled ‘simple phone stand’ (especially for you @strawberryjen!) and millions of super cheap options came up.
You just gotta think outside the box a little bit!!
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Oh my goodness ! I’m not the only one without an Apple phone, WhatsApp, Skype, etc. (or fancy cell) ! Thus far, not being able to Zoom/Facetime has not prevented me from any sits as a phone call or two have made every HO comfotable with “hiring” me. I do know, however, that this will not always be the case. No answers for you but mega-support !
Whenever a homeowner asks if we could Facetime, we just suggest Zoom and that has worked out. I think it is more common in the U.S. for people to say Facetime as that has become the term often used for video chat.
Downloaded WhatsApp for a videcall on THS, and see that others also have preferred that. The hazzle really is to set up the call, and if I had preferences and wanted to stay “in control” i would simply say that I could set up a call and invite them. That’s how the host dragged me in to WhatsApp… 
It might well be country-preferences or preferences due to workenvironment. Previously I have mostly used teams (microsoft) as my employer use that tool, while I see people form other organizations in my country prefer for instance Zoom, and a group of employees in :country: talk warmly about WhatsApp.
Thanks. I choose not to buy a phone stand because I travel a lot and keep my possessions to those I really need. It was a simple throwaway comment, not a problem to be solved.
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Yup, I do that sort of thing all the time. Right now, my laptop is resting on a stack of books in my hosts’ home office. There’d be nothing stopping me from propping my phone on there, either, and no reason I couldn’t move it close up. If there were no home office, there’s a kitchen counter or dining table at sits.
Once, I arrived at an overseas sit with minutes to spare before a work mtg, after the host picked me up from the train station. I excused myself, piled books on a window sill and propped my phone on there. Did my mtg. I hadn’t even bother grabbing my laptop yet.
No books? Use canned goods, packages, boxes of tissues, etc. And online you can find many ways to make a phone stand out of a paper clip, a toilet paper roll, an old credit card or gift card, etc., if money is tight. And you can pull your face so close they could see up your nostrils if you wanted.
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Not quite sure why this thread has turned into a discussion about how easy it is to prop your phone up. I think we’re all smart enough on here to find solutions to simple problems, should we need them.
Propping your phone up works for you. It hasn’t worked for me in the past and I don’t consider the occasional achy arm to be an issue. Please don’t undermine someone or imply they lack common sense simply because they choose to do something differently to you. I’m not going to engage in further discussion about minutiae. I suggest we leave it there.
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Perhaps Skype is still commonly used in the US, but in the UK I don’t know of a single person who uses it anymore. I always offer a WhatsApp video call and I have the app on my phone and laptop. Unlike Facetime it’s not specific to the operating system. I’ve used Zoom but I prefer the convenience of using one app for all communications, voice, chat and video. It’s WhatsApp for me.
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When owners suggest Facetime we say we don’t have an Apple device and suggest WhatsApp or Zoom. It’s never been a problem.
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@TheEnglishFlaneur same same- WhatsApp is king!! We’ve had only one host (from over 100) who did not want to use WhatsApp. He insisted on Skype which we have not used in eons - user name & password long forgotten! But somehow we managed it. Then he wanted to use email for the message updates during the sit and gave his mobile number for absolute emergancies…
Personally we much prefer the all-in-one approach of WhatsApp from day one!
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Not sure what kind of cell phone you have, but for us not having a smartphone is deal breaker. We don’t have a landline in our home, and need to make sure that contact is easy. We also want “proof of life” photos of our pets during sits, so this would be a rule out for us. Whatsapp is very easy to “learn” and free to install on your most phones and laptops or other devices. As hosts the sitter’s having this is a must. Here’s why:
- We think a face to face meeting is important in choosing a sitter.
- If the sitter has an I-Phone, we need something else besides facetime which we don’t use.
- If we are travellig outside of the US, texting is “free” but speaking on the phone is not. However, calls made through WhatsApp are free, so we use it for emergency communication with and without video.
- WhatsApp is popular and common, so if a sitter doesn’t have it, or isn’t familiar with it, for us it’s a slight red flag as it may indicate other issues with tech that could make communication difficult during the sit.
- WhatsApp often works better for quick photosharing then texting on our android, especially from I-phones.
- If I’m trying as a host to set up 2 or 3 video chats quickly so I can make a decision, and I have to change strategies because someone doesn’t have WhatsApp, or I feel like I can’t weigh the applicants equally because one person said no to visual chat, than I’m more likely to just bypass that person.
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