Does anyone know the success rate of finding house/pet sitters? It seems like sitters face stiff competition until they’ve proven themselves, but what about hosts? We’ve done two very successful 2+ week house swaps (London, then Scotland) and could get good recommendations from both swap families. Would that be enough? Do references matter less for hosts, as they’re the ones with more to lose?
Paul (soon to sign up)
Hi @Pfedorch,
Welcome to the forum!
It really depends on how desirable your sit is:
The timing of the sit is also important. Christmas is a difficult time to find a sitter unless you’re in a really desirable location.
We have done sits for hosts who also use home exchange. I would see this as a positive as they already understand the concept of mutual exchange. It would definitely be worth mentioning this in your listing.
I don’t believe that there is a way for hosts to request references. You could get around this by putting a quote in your listing, or a photo / screenshot of their reference as one of your photos.
Some sitters avoid first time hosts, others don’t. We have had some wonderful sits with first time hosts who went on to become regular repeat sits and friends. I look for warmth in the tone of the listing and signs that the host understands the mutual exchange ethos of THS.
Success rate isn’t something THS shares, so it’s impossible to quantify. Where are you based?
Hi Paul,
Your success rate really depends on how attractive your listing is, but even that is very subjective, as there are a wide range of reasons for people to want to sit, and therefore what’s attractive to one person will be less so to another.
For some sitters it’s a way of life, so a sit of a couple of months might trump a shorter sit, others might be visiting friends/family in the area and use the exchange as an alternative to expensive accommodation. Personally, I love hiking when I’m not working, and have enjoyed sits as a way of exploring new areas with an energetic dog or two in tow.
I think it would be fair to say that few, if any, sitters volunteer their time and energy purely for the love of doing so – there is always an element of exchange – so your listing needs to highlight what you can offer, and equally what you expect in terms of animal and/or home care. If and when you are ready to do so, you can link your listing to your profile here in the forum, and experienced members will offer feedback to help make the most of it.
I didn’t know that homeowners were able to add external references to their profile, but maybe this is a new feature of the THS website? Or even if it’s not a feature, offering references once you have a potential sitter is a good idea – both sitters and home owners alike are a bit of an unknown entity until they have a couple of reviews under their belt.
Regardless of reasons for sitting, there are some basic requirements that are probably universal for all sitters – a clean home and transparency from the outset about what the sit entails are probably two of the main things. If you explore the forum a bit more you’ll get a good idea of where things DON’T go to plan and the sit falls apart one way or another. Usually pretty obvious, but it will give you a good idea of some of the pitfalls to avoid.
Good luck!
We’ve sat for plenty of newbies with no recommendations, although I know some choose not too.
For me, it’s about the good feeling I get from your profile about YOU as a person. Yes, YOU! Because I already know I’m going to love any pets I sit, and I must be keen on visiting your area with noticing your profile in the first place. So it’s a case of whether we want to sit for you as a person.
It’s the same when you are choosing a sitter, you go with your gut feeling about someone, and we do the exact same as sitters.
So, ensure your profile gives off a good feeling about you and your family, not just your pets and your place. Not in-depth, just basic because people want to naturally help those we like.
So for me, if I feel like I don’t know who it is I am sitting for, then I simply won’t apply. Having cute pets isn’t enough, when there are thousands of them on THS.
I understand why you say sitters face stiff competition until they’ve proven themselves. But it’s very different to owners, because owners don’t take that many holidays per year so it takes a very long time for you to build up a few reviews. Whereas a sitter can get 3 reviews within a fortnight if they take short sits that are closer to where they live, and then they are flying.
Check out your potential competition in your region. See how well their sits have gone, how they pitch their sits, how well your sit and pet stack up to theirs, how long their sits run, when they are, etc.
There’s no way to predict odds generally, because sits, hosts and sitters are so variable.
Personally, I’ve had terrific sits even with first-time hosts. I figure you first have to look for a sense of reciprocity and friendliness in the listing. Otherwise, skip them.
Some first-time hosts seem to think they’re ordering up staff. Maybe they’re just clueless and need to learn, but to me, savvy folks automatically consider the other party, no matter whether sitting or otherwise. If they have to be guided or prodded (or learn over time or via hard knocks), to me, they can learn on someone else. 
To be honest it will mostly hinge on your listing and location on how easy it is to find a sitter. Where are you? How many pets do you have? Can the sitter leave them for at least 4 hours? If you’ve done home exchange then you already understand the whole reciprocal trust thing and making your home welcoming so that’s great. Have never thought about references from a host but yes, add them to one of your images or in your copy. #giveitawhirl
Thanks, Maggie! How do I check out the local competition? Can I peruse other hosts once I’m signed up (or before?)?
I think you don’t need to join. Just go to https://www.trustedhousesitters.com
And go to “find a housesit” you can search for your area.
You can set up an account for free using an email and password. You can then look at the site but you are unable to make contact and arrange a sit until you pay your membership.
If you need a discount code I am sure there are members here willing to send you one.