Hi all,
As a H/O looking to get in contact with H/S.
If a potential sitter has saved me as a favourite… and I have dates requiring a sit, is it OK/ etiquette to then contact the house sitter?
I am grateful to have lots of sitters who have identified me as favourite, but very few, offering to sit. I was just wondering if I am missing something along the way… as a newbie.
Kind regards,
Mel
Hello @MelH and lovely to see you back in the forum. My understanding as a sitter is that I can favorite your sit (with the heart button) but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m available on the dates you list. But most definitely yes, you can reach out to any sitters that have liked your listing. Just bear in mind it could be a date incompatibility that is not resulting in a response.
I’m going to tag @Therese also in case she can give you any other tips around this feature from an owner perspective - she’s back online tomorrow morning UK time. And of course, I’m sure someone from the community with experience as an owner will give you some advice.
Hello @MelH
I confess I would be one of those who favorite and save potential future opportunities.
I would welcome communication though In my case, if I do not apply it is because I am not available on the dates listed.
I favorited a sit several months ago, because it was in a VERY wide circle I look within, but mainly because it tugged at my heart strings (widow, ill, declining dog, trying to get to only child’s wedding). She reached out to me because no one else showed interest.
I wound up driving 5 hours for a two-day sit. I cried when a month later she let me know the dog died.
Go for it!
Aw Edith - what a lovely thing to do… I’m getting a bit teary-eyed myself 
I’m kinda tearing up myself again thinking about it.
Try reaching out. We’re here because we love animals, living things.
Just to add to what others have said: As a sitter, I had no idea that my “saves” were visible to anyone. I assumed it was like Airbnb, where you’re saving for reference for a potential trip, or liking something that looks appealing.
Also, sitters may be doing so full-time–but most, I’d say, are not.
I’m a HO and have reached out to several sitters that saved my listing. I love that option. I try to find out times of year and how long of sits they would like and when we plan a trip I message them first to see if they are interested before posting it to all. So far it’s worked out well!
Hi @MelH, I have a huge list of favourites, because I love the house/pets listing but when the HO published the list we were not available at the time. For example, I favourited a house/pet list in Fuerteventura last October but the time wasn’t ok with our commitments. When the HO pubblished a new date for December, we were notified and I could apply right away. We were chosen and we spent the most amazing New Year’s holiday in Fuerteventura.
Like others, the first couple of years in THS I was not aware the HO could see that I had made “favorite” their sit. I have a Hugh list. These are sits we would love to do, just bad timing for one reason or another. Mostly seasonal…want warm places in the winter, cooler in the summer. If it’s a bucket list place, exceptions are made. I like being notified when they become available. However, we would not mind at all being contacted to see if we were available. I don’t think any sitter would mind being contacted.
@edith you tug at my heart strings. I wish the site had more people like you 
Thank you to everyone who has kindly taken the time to share their experiences, sometimes sad ones. I will take your advise and reach out. I’m also pleased that when a HS saves me, they get notification of when I put up new dates, looks like a good system on both counts.
Thanks for the warm welcome too.
We’re always happy to be contacted and try to reply within a few hours. But usually we’re fully booked months ahead and need to decline. Still, it’s nice to know that the HO likes your profile and to already establish a contact for future sits.
I think there are a lot of people like me here.
If I’ve favourited a listing, I’ve done it because I really like the look of it, and want to be notified when another sit there is available, so I’m absolutely happy for those homeowners to reach out to me!
As a HO I am grateful our membership tier allows us to see who has favorited our profile. If not for that, we would not have sitters because there were only 2 applications for our first sit. One was clearly unsuitable, and the other applicant (that I had some vague concerns about but was willing to give a chance to) was a “no show” for the online meeting that was arranged according to her preference. *
It was only through the ability to reach out to potential sitters who had favorited our profile that we eventually found 2 different sitters for 2 different sits (one couldn’t do the original sit but then per mutual agreement we arranged for a private, last-minute sit). Life saver! We are very happy and speaking for our sitters, I believe they are also.
*As an aside, even after I reached out twice to the prospective “no show” sitter to ensure there was not a miscommunication, internet glitch, or simple forgetfullnes, she still did not reply – even though I knew she had read both of my PMs. The next day I sent a tactful PM thanking her, and that because I hadn’t heard anything, I assumed she was no longer interested and so would be declining her application. I’ve never heard a word back. Perplexing, but it clearly worked for the better for us.
@MtnSk8tr I’m very curious…did the no-show, no-hear-from sitter have good reviews? That degree of irresponsibility/discourtesy astounds me.
@Edith – Two good references although I read between the lines and had some vague concerns which I did not disclose to her. However, I was more than willing to “meet” with her and see if the match might be suitable.
I don’t understand it either, other than maybe she is young & possibly impulsively applied for our sit, then had 2nd thoughts later. Still, to “no show” then not to reply…? She never declined the sit; I finally did that after she read the PMs but did not reply. Reliability and communication are so critical that I believe we may have dodged a bullet. (We eventually ended up with someone wonderful.)
Yes, bullet probably dodged. Glad all worked out in the end.
Hi @anon36831737 @Vanessa_A … Well said @MelH … also to mention, if you are not getting the response you need, please always reach out to membership services as we can boost your listing, which brings it to the top of the website and is sent out to all the available sitters.