Christmas - New Year is when we see very heavy demand by homeowners for sitters. It’s also a time when there are less sitters available for a number of reasons, so competition is strong to be able to secure a sitter. Many astute owners begin advertising their festive dates months in advance, especially if it is for a longer period. This is considerate as sitters also need to plan their travel, especially if it requires international travel and wanting to secure fares at a reasonable price. The actual start/end dates are important too as those sits which begin/end on a public holiday (eg Christmas Day, New Year’s Day) may have fewer/no applicants because some sitters rely on public transport to reach the sit and public transport may not be operating. Sitters may also want to enjoy the festive spirit rather than be cleaning, ready for the homeowner’s return! (471 sits between 25 Dec - 1 Jan).
With nothing better to do (!!), I’ve been keeping a tally every couple of days from 15 November on the number of Christmas sits advertised and will continue to until 24 Dec to give some idea of the demand that is current.
DATE
UNITED STATES
UNITED KINGDOM
AUSTRALIA
WORLDWIDE
15 Nov
2540
979
162
4206
18 Nov
2745
998
154
4459
26 Nov
3019
1022
163
4838
1 Dec
3218
1034
168
5065
If you are a homeowner still requiring a sitter during this peak season, make sure you have presented your listing in the very best way possible, with a welcoming title, clear photos (even including your house decorated for Christmas), well described home and location and why sitters would love being there, and very clear responsibilities for your pet/s and home.
Mustard mitt, I’ve been astonished by how many Christmas and New Year sits are still being listed. Are HOs really that into brinkmanship? Or so seat-of-their-pants?….. My Christmas/NY sit was booked in September. And I thought that was leaving it late.
But sheeesh! No doubt I’ll be damned for a fuddy-duddy…
I find the Christmas listings always interesting @Cathie. I’m in agreement with you; there will be many owners not get a sitter so hope they have a fallback in place.
Nice data set- we’ve learnt that Australians are very last minute mainly due to doing within state travel at Xmas ie they don’t go very far and not for long. When we were visiting our son in Perth WA we were able to pick up x2 sits and meet for a coffee.
Meanwhile our 2 week Xmas sit in Jersey Channel Islands was arranged back in July, the HOs are going to Australia…..
Our sit was confirmed over 8 months ago ! The host lives in U.K. and will be travelling to the other side of the world to visit family in Australia . They wanted to get things arranged in good time .
This time of year offers lots of opportunities for new sitters to get accepted for their first sit and get their first review .
There certainly are many opportunities for first time sitters @Silversitters. If someone wanted a sit in London, the festive season would certainly be the time to get one!
Is it me or is it odd that people are only posting now for Christmas pet care? Most people know what they’re doing way in advance for the festive season and to suddenly think “ooh, maybe someone would like to come here for two weeks if they have nothing to do” seems really odd. Plus it’s the most expensive time for flights! New ones are springing daily onto the Singapore FB pages too #nowtsoqueerandallthat
It’s odd in the sense that people are busy and maybe self-absorbed — they think about themselves and not necessarily potential sitters. Plus, many people are disorganized or procrastinate.
Shrug. So maybe they end up having to figure out alternatives, such as asking loved ones for favors, or they take their pets, or they cancel their travel, or maybe they can pay a professional.
Where I live, there are so many people with pets that all the good professionals are usually booked well ahead of the holidays. There aren’t enough sitters, even for money.
Personally, my dog needs a professional sitter anytime we travel as a couple, so I always ask a long time ahead and don’t presume that they’re available, especially during holidays.
Yes, I started getting unsolicited offers for holiday sits many months ago. And I don’t even sit during the holidays. If I did, I’d wait and be super picky, because many great locations come up late.
@Cuttlefish I actually think because of the growth in membership there are many new homeowners posting for the first time for this period without having a clue that their listing is one of thousands. And I can’t help noticing that it seems like there’s quite a percentage of young people in this category. Most years I usually take notice when the Christmas sits are flooding the site and yes, we will still see many new sits advertised in the next couple of weeks. When they start to wane, it’s more likely homeowners suddenly realise they are not going to secure a sitter so need to think quickly of an alternative solution rather than mass bookings of sitters at the last minute!
These are interesting stats, thank you for compiling them @temba
As a sitter, I only booked my Christmas sit about a week or so ago, knowing that there would still be a lot of excellent options. I’m glad I waited, as I found a fantastic place that ticks all the boxes (and then some!) in terms of pets, property, location and lovely hosts.
I wonder how many of these newer listings are recently-joined first-timers? That is indeed the case with my Christmas sit.
Wow! I’ve had a proper look now. Isn’t it amazing how late hosts leave posting their Christmas sit?! There will be a lot of disappointed people. Perhaps your post will make some of them think ahead next time, that is if they see your post!
I wonder what the folk who inevitably won’t be able to get a sitter will do with their pets? Surely all the dog/cat-hotels are already booked for Christmas. Are there still paid sitters available somewhere?
I’ve just changed my New Year plans and will now be driving across the country to visit family for a week - my own fault, I usually have my plans sorted in September.
I thought I’d share on behalf of all the people who are still finalising arrangements. I see you and I represent you.
. Think I’d better stay indoors checking on Christmas sits 
