Hi everyone,
As some of you already know, we have been testing pausing applications over the past 6-8 weeks, and I’d like to give you an update on our findings and next steps.
Firstly, thanks to everyone for your valuable insights, thoughts and feedback as we’ve tested this functionality. The needs of pet sitters and home owners have changed dramatically over the past several years, and we need to continuously evaluate how those needs are changing and adapt to ensure our member’s continued success. This test was part of that continuing evolution.
We have seen some very positive results following this test, and as such, have made the decision to implement the five application limit across the platform - with some key improvements to be made.
We appreciate you taking the time to share your ideas with us and we gave all suggestions careful consideration. For those of you in our forum who have expressed some concerns about this new process, we trust that you will find it helpful if we share some of the insights from our test with you.
What did the results show? We are always looking for ways to improve overall success on the platform. Previously, there were a couple of challenges: a small number of sitters taking a large majority of sits, and a small number of sits taking a large number of applications. This makes it extremely difficult for new sitters to find success on the platform, and means owners may fail to get applications.
As our community grows, it’s important that the platform works for all of our members - existing and new. This new process ensures a greater and more even distribution of sits and applications across the platform, which is a fair and positive change for our members. Ensuring sitter and owner success is also key in acquiring new owner and sitter members, which in turn creates more sit opportunities and sitters, benefitting all of our members.
Following our test, member success is now the best it has ever been. We are seeing:
- Overall, there are more sits happening than ever before
- New member success is higher than before the test, and the highest this year
- A higher percentage of owners are getting more applications
- Owners are now more responsive and confirming their sitters faster than ever before
- Sitters are also receiving quicker responses to their applications
We are also pleased to say that the quality of care given to pets and homes by our sitters has remained consistently high throughout this test.
Next steps: improvements are coming
The test also revealed some valid concerns with elements of the experience. Thanks to those of you who shared feedback and suggestions, these have led us to the following list of improvements that we will be making.
1. Sitters who have started an application will be allowed to submit it. Some members shared their frustration in having to write short or rushed applications to ensure their applications were one of the first five to be submitted. An enhancement we will implement is to allow any sitter who has started to write their application to submit it, regardless of whether the five application limit is reached prior to submission of their application. This will enable sitters to once again craft and submit well-thought-out applications.
2. Exact number of applications to be shown on listings. Currently, we show a range of the number of applications submitted for each sit (e.g. 1-3 applications, 4-7 applications, etc). Moving forward we will show the exact number of applications.
3. Sitters will be notified of unpaused sits via saved search alerts. If a sit matching the sitter’s saved search criteria is unpaused because the owner has declined some of the submitted applications and unpaused the listing, the sitter will receive an email and/or app push notification depending on their preference settings.
4. Paused sits will be visible within search results. Sitters will be able to find these sits in the ‘Owner not currently looking for a sitter’ section. They will also be able to favourite them and will receive a notification via the app if and when the sit is unpaused.
5. We will investigate the issue of paused sits being shown in saved search notifications. We’re currently looking into this to ensure that, at the time of being sent, only available sits (i.e. not paused sits) will be shown in saved search emails and push notifications.
6. Automatic listing boost for unpaused sits. When an owner unpauses their sit, we will automatically boost their listing. This will increase visibility in search results and saved search alerts, and will give owners a better chance of securing a sitter.
Some members were concerned about this new process affecting their chances of applying to international sits in different timezones, and suggested imposing a 24hr limit. We considered this suggestion, however, we found it reduced the positive impact on success that we saw from the test.
We understand that some locations have limited inventory, and those sits are extremely popular. Previously, these owners would receive up to 100 applications - this isn’t efficient and is difficult for owners to manage. We believe adding a 24hr limit would not improve this and instead we will be focusing on getting more great sits in popular locations on the platform, so that sitters have more choice.
Some other members also questioned how we settled upon the 5 application limit. We found that 5 applications are the right amount to help maximise member success. Our surveys also showed that most owners find 5 applications are just enough (or more than enough), and they can always unpause their listing to receive more.
(It’s also worth keeping in mind that this process will only affect a small number of listings, as only a small percentage of sits receive 5 applications within 24 hours).
We will further share this new process in our owner member newsletter later this month. We will also update some of our key owner and sitter emails with the new process. Owners will continue to receive an email when they have reached 5 applications, letting them know their listing has been paused, and a message will appear on their dashboards and in the member’s inbox, too.
Again, thank you all for your patience as we tested this new functionality, we will always value your perspectives and appreciate you taking the time to share them with us.
Many thanks,
Ben and the TrustedHousesitters team
