Grrr… I just got hit between the eyes with the result of this test. I’m looking for sits in a country that doesn’t offer many. While I was asleep, 2 (!) notifications came in - by the time I woke up (6am), both were gone…
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@Wetravel I agree totally with your comments. I would add that other improvements could be to monitor HO applications to ensure 1. that day sits are not permitted (I’ve seen a handful just this past week) as they go against the ethos of THS which is a mutual beneficial exchange - pet and home care for accommodation) and 2. that sits mentioning family members visiting / staying / ‘popping in’ should not be allowed as they go against THS rules. The first shouldn’t be difficult with a software programme that picks up dates - when a listing shows a series of one day ‘sits’ as I saw recently this should flag up on the system and not allow the post to be uploaded. The second is a bit more complex but could perhaps be mitigated by having a checklist that comes up on the screen before a post is uploaded around the lines of “Does your listing meeting our requirements?” and then a quick bullet point list of key things e.g. no cameras, no family visits, minimum overnight stay etc. Having joined only in May I am dismayed at the 5 application test and have only recently realised quite what the implications of this are but it is clear that the number of sits that quickly disappear has increased exponentially (in fact one interesting one disappeared whilst I was writing this post!) presumably because they have reached the 5 applications within minutes of being posted. I fear my first year of membership may also be my last if this ‘test’ continues.
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Here you go everyone - my husband (our account is in his name) received this email from THS. Those who wrote about increasing profits this would appear to be the start of it. It was written that fully verified members they could pay an extra $2.46 (or $2.49 - he’s deleted the email so I’m not sure which!) and get unlimited sits! I’m taking this to mean that we haven’t been able to see all the listings up till now even though we are fully verified as far as I am aware!
When did he get this email? Did any other sitters get it as well? We are premium members but I haven’t seen anything like that (yet).
You might check the trash in his email and be able to pull it up. I’d VERY MUCH like to see that!
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[quote=“KiwiSwede, post:733, topic:18883”]
It was written that fully verified members they could pay an extra $2.46 (or $2.49 - he’s deleted the email so I’m not sure which!) and get unlimited sits!
[/quote].
So we figured it all out pretty well. Perhaps we should have been happy about the change. That way there wouldn´t be any need for “extra services”
Are they “testing” now how much more can people pay to have access to unlimited sits?
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Hello @KiwiSwede @Kelownagurl @Wetravel @RadarInc Just jumping in here as I have checked and there have been no emails sent out to any members suggesting that you can pay extra for unlimited sits. @KiwiSwede if you can bear with me we can get the team to check what emails you’ve received so we can clarify where the confusion has arisen. I will DM you shortly with an update. Best, Vanessa
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I’d be inclined to check if this is a genuine THS email. Here in Spain we have received a whole series of odd messages quoting relatively small and unusual amounts of money purportedly from the post office, delivery companies etc. - all have been scams to get bank details. This email seems especially odd given we were under the impression that our membership gave us full access to all listings anyway unless I have mis-understood. If no one else has had it I think it raises a big red flag that it might not be genuine. UPDATE: I’ve just seen Vanessa’s post which makes me wonder even more if this is just a scam email.
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Thanks for your clarification and thank you @Kelownagurl for your comments - I didn’t entertain the thought of spam as was repeating what he read out to me. I asked him to show it to me but it had disappeared!! Sorry if I have misled anybody - guess I need to take my foot out of my mouth!! Have a great day everybody 
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Ben and company:
What you need to realize is that your platform has been wonderful, and it’s successful. What has made you the market leader is what will continue to make you the global leader in this niche. However, if more members is what you are seeking, you are certainly going about it the wrong way.
What you team seems to not grasp is that you are alienating the lion’s share of both segments of your members. You will NOT grow the membership because not only will you lose members, you will also lose what made you the market leader in the first place: word of mouth growth through customer satisfaction.
More importantly you are about to create an opening for a new or existing competitor to steal away your membership pool, and most likely spell the end of your dominance, or even your existence.
A great number of your members are digital nomads seeking a new method of revenue. You have a reproduceable product that has no clear trademark on the process, so anyone could make a similar platform and out market you simply by attracting unhappy members over at a much lower cost.
Think about it. Most of us can understand when a company wants to innovate to remain competitive, but your method should be to create customer loyalty and bring new members onboard, not the opposite.
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I agree wholeheartedly, I have recommended THS to friends and family over the years. Dice this 5 application restriction is being tested I am actively telling people not to join, and will be not be renewing myself if this is implemented.
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I don’t often post in this forum but I had to comment on this pausing test. I’m a full-time housesitter without a home base and rely on THS to keep a roof over my head wherever possible while I return the favour by looking after treasured pets. I try to do several sits in the same area before I move on to save travel costs so it’s very important to me to have the opportunity to apply for any sits that come up in those particular areas. I’ve carefully set up my searches and get notifications for each. At the moment nearly every sit I get a notification for is already gone when I click to have a look. I don’t have the time to (or nor do I want to) be on my computer all day and night waiting for sits to be posted just so I can be in the first five. That not only takes away the enjoyment of the time spent on a current sit but also takes focus away from the thing I came to do … caring for the beautiful animals and home that have been put in my care.
This is not what I signed up for and truly goes against the whole atmosphere that THS had initially built up when I joined several years ago. My renewal to THS is coming up in November and if this test becomes a permanent thing then I will be looking elsewhere for alternatives. So sad as I’ve been on this platform for a while and used to love searching for sits and found the application process quite fun. Now it’s just a stressful mess. I feel like the experienced housesitters are being disadvantaged even though we worked hard to get our many 5 star reviews.
I’ll be watching this pausing test with interest over the coming days/weeks and I suspect that if it is made permanent then there will be many experienced sitters who will not renew. Please THS - don’t go ahead with this nonsense. You’ve just put so much unnecessary stress on people who have supported you for years. Not cool.
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Yes, SandC! I found your comment just now as I came to write my own
cri de cœur:
To the THS Powers That Be:
This Applications Pause Test is upsetting on a deeper level than just its (abundantly documented) operational dysfunction.
THS’s bland refusal to acknowledge the hundreds of anguished, frustrated comments here seems even worse to me than the idea itself. On other topics here in the forum, it feels like the various THS staff members respond in a very human way, and at least try to empathize with whatever issue is being brought up.
But now? All we get are corporate non-answers that just say “Thank you, we’re still evaluating the test results.”
How is this even possible, THS? Surely you can see the alienation and the anger and the discouragement that are building among countless loyal THS members. How can you just keep on acting as if this outcry isn’t happening? How can you not acknowledge our pain?
And a lot of that pain comes from the discovery that THS doesn’t seem to care about us as human beings at all. If you announce eventually — as we all fear you will — that this “Test” is now established policy, you won’t just lose members due to the lack of platform functionality. You’ll lose members who are deeply hurt because we thought that we and THS were part of a joyous social sharing.
But now the whole sense of personal connection that THS fostered is dissolved into cold corporate blandishments. It makes me so terribly sad.
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“THS has received an investment of 10 million USD”
Translation: THS has become a US corporate company whose main goal is to make profit.
The gap between the previous casual, personal British approach and nowadays cold corporate American-style communication is a huge one!
One that Angela, Vanessa and many other forum volunteers might not be able to close, despite their huge and much appreciated efforts…
I so hope I’m wrong!
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Hi everyone
Many of you are feeling that we have somehow moved away from putting our community, our members, our customers first and if our messaging has given that impression I apologize for that.
It’s not always what one says that’s important but the way it is said. One word, sentence or entire paragraph can leave a lasting impression and people don’t always remember what was said but they do remember the way the delivery made them feel. We all need to be very conscious of that.
We will be giving an update on the test next week. Until then we’d ,like to thank each and every member for the valuable feedback, suggestions and ideas we have received here on the Forum.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Angela and the Forum Team
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Angela,
Thanks for posting.
It’s obvious from the comments on the Forum that we will all be shocked if the 5 application pause is kept. I think we’re all shocked it’s still continuing!
It’s good to try new things to improve. However, you may want to do a survey BEFORE making anything active. The 5 application pause wasn’t even mentioned in the last survey which came out just before the 5 appllication pause test began!
I’ve mentioned this before (and it’s probably before your time) that even Coca-Cola can screw up and did big time with New Coke in 1985. The Coca-Cola website - yes, their own website - calls it “One of the Most Memorable Marketing Blunders Ever”.
The 5 application pause is your New Coke. I hope you learn and get rid of it even faster than Coca-Cola got rid New Coke.
Coca-Cola brought New Coke out in April and brought back original Coke only 79 days later in July because of all the protests!
Please stop the 5 application pause insanity NOW!
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Whether a survey sent to you by THS asks about the pause or not, , I suggest you add your opinion of the pause after five feature in any space that asks for a personal comment. I have.
I feel like applying to every sit that is advertised, and inviting every sitter to a fictitious sit at my house, just so i can inform the unsuspecting THS members of the pause and encourage them to complain.
I think that THS management will only care if the majority of members complain - not just the majority of contributors to this forum. At the moment, a lot of infrequent sitters and HOs probably have no idea the pause is happening, so they don’t know to complain.
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