We will always wait until the HO arrives back from their holiday, has touched on UK land and that there is a back up locally should they have an issue on the roads - before we leave. Even then we prefer to stay put until the HO arrives home. Naturally this is all discussed at the video call stage before either side accepts. Can think of other info that might be more necessary ie what kitchen contents we are allowed to use (herbs, spices, maybe even perishable fridge contents). Also a section for HO notes - for instance āthe swimming pool is not in use (despite being in photos) or āour dog is confined to home due to allergies during this sitā and maybe you could include a reactive scale 1-10 (how reactive your dog is with other dogs). This scale should be replicated post sit by the sitter too. These are just some suggestions that might help buffer the Ā£9 booking charge!
Dog need a walk in total ā¦
Please let there be a space where HO can add info ā¦ like
- 3 times a day
- duration of each walk
- on or off leash
- what about approaching other dogs
- ā¦
Thank you 
Itās great so see that THS is acting on membersā requests for once. I agree with what others already mentioned here with regard to arrival/departure times. There is a huge number of listings 6, 8, even 12 months ahead. Most people wonāt know at that time when they are actually going to leave. What needs to be clear, though, is if the indicated start date is the day HOs will leave or the day they expect sitters to arrive. Everything else can be negotiated in the video chat.
It has been asked but not answered here, I believe, if the captions you can see in the app will finally be visible in the web version. Iāve been promised this would happen several years ago, but obviously it never did.
Iām missing one important information among the new features: Where do the pets sleep? Some sitters donāt mind having pets in their bed, but for me itās a red flag and I wouldnāt apply if I knew upfront.
Aside from ānew Featuresā, please make your webiste more user-friendly. The site is not intuitive at all!! Things are in odd places and itās always hard to find what you are looking for.
Iāve just checked this re arrival timings as I want to list new dates and my actual options are to specify a time frame or to tick the box saying we will arrange later between us. Personally this is what I would always do as we host our sitters the night before and I make it clear in our listing and sit details.
Re the photos, all of the ones I have already on our listing have a caption which came up at the side when I uploaded the photographs are these captions going to change in some way?
Hi @LOVEANIMALS
Weāll soon be adding a new Pet Care/Responsibilities section, this is the perfect place for this type of information to be included.
@Mark_B Where do the pets sleep? This can make or break a sit.
Re Date & Time Arrival / Departure.
During a phone call with a HO recently which took place before confirmation.The HO stated that arrival time for the cat pet sit could be anytime during day light hours on the first date of the sit. It wasnāt until I asked the HO about their travel plans that they stated that they were not actually leaving until 2 days later. The HO liked to get to know their Sitter beforehand with a 2 night stay before they physically left. Of course that is their right & more understandable to me had there been multiple pets & or a sizeable property. In this particular case, it was a cat sit in a small terrace town property.
I withdrew my application, as a 2 night stay with the HO in residence would feel uncomfortable for me.
With the new booking arrival time criteria would this scenario have come to light at the time of listing?
How would it be possible to predict that, given the hostās ability to input whatever time they want, without context for any overlap? Basically, donāt rely on the new feature. Always discuss with the host.
For example, Iāve never had trouble with timing and overlaps (like being surprised), because I always ask prospective hosts for their departure and return times at the outset of any conversation. Without knowing that, I wouldnāt even bother pursuing any sit further. Then, once I know those times, I ask when theyād ideally like for me to show up.
Note that I mention āideally,ā because itās still a negotiation for what might work for them as well as for me. Itās an exchange and both parties should communicate and coordinate. (How the host phrases their ideal is actually telling, like if theyāre reasonable, thoughtful and such.)
Some folks asked for a feature to indicate departure and arrival, and maybe overlap, but in reality any such feature has its limits, because people are involved in the inputs. Communication and coordination will remain necessary. And personally, Iāll take that any day, because successful exchanges involving people canāt be automated.
@Maggie8K YES! We wouldnāt even need this feature if people just communicated. How hard is it? I love the phrasing with āideallyā, clearly mutual benefit. God so many things they could fix and itās the stuff that can be sorted between the two parties directly that they are trying to improve and micromanage.
Yes, more problems often crop up when trying to solve for the lowest common denominator. THS also can never satisfy everyone, because there have been members whoāve asked for this feature, for instance.
@Randy_KC Conversely, donāt judge a book by its cover.
Hi all. Weāre new to the platform and have been busily hunting through listings and lining up sits. Weāre joining here mainly because I have some suggestions for things I would like to see happen in the update (or another update soon, at least!).
The problem: I get notifications on my phone for new dates for listings that Iāve added to favorites, but my phone frequently kicks me out and makes me re-verify via email. By the time I finish going through that process, I often cannot find the listing that I got the alert on. The same alerts do not appear on my computer (where I prefer to do my research), so as is, the alerts are nearly useless for me.
Proposed solution: Could a section be added to the web based platform that has all of the alerts?
Another problem: Bed size is a BIG issue on whether or not we are able to do a sit. We have found many listings will include what they call the bed size (ie. says ādoubleā but the photo looks like a queen as we know it or vice versa). Also, many listings fail to mention the bed size or any pictures of the bed we will be permitted to use.
Proposed solution: On the bed sizes in the amenities section, including a standardized measurement next to size classification could clear up most of the confusion. Also, requiring the bed size available for the sitters to complete the listing would be very helpful for both sides.
A third problem: In our favorites, we have selected a LOT of listings, as we do intend to do this for quite a while, but the only filters available are nearly useless.
Proposed solution: Add filters to include particular date ranges and regions.
Last problem: As I look through listings, I often have some questions that would determine whether or not a sit is viable for us if we had just a little more information. Presently, the only way to get answers to those questions is to apply (which takes up one of the five slots the homeowner has) and hope they respond. I donāt want to do this, as I really would like everyone to be successful here.
Proposed solution: Perhaps a button can be added to the listing pages - maybe one that the host can choose to have on or off - where a potential sitter can send suggestions to update the listing. I believe this would be very helpful for hosts to more quickly ascertain what sitters want/need to know without a lot of back and forth and applying then withdrawing or declining applications.
We appreciate the opportunity to share our thoughts, and we really appreciate what this platform does for both sides!
@BillMary donāt hold your breath for any of those things. You can filter by date. Iām with you on the bed measurements. Some HOās leave a lot to be desired in their details. However you are very new to this and you donāt yet know what you donāt know. I would suggest doing a few sits before lining up too many, you may find itās not quite as you originally imagined. But reading the forum provides a wealth of knowledge. Good luck.
Are any of the comments going to the team or is this just an announcement so we shoud all say: Itās about time!
IMO as a homeowner and as a sitter, I think the pet care section would be better with prompts leading to short answers rather than yes and no answers.
Yes and no answers might work better for filtering purposes eg petsitters who absolutely wonāt give medication can rule it out. However, my guess would be that very few sitters actually rule out all meds and many sits want to know details about medications.
For instance, I am not likely to take a sit where I have to open a a large dogāsmouth and force a pill down her throat. I might not have a problem ., sprinking some liquid or powder onto a dogās food that they wonāt notice or putting a pill in rollup treat theyāll eat happily.
Some pets may or may not require meds depending on what is happening that week. Iāve stayed on several sits where Iāve been told day of: āIf _____ happens, then give the cat __
There are also more ambigious situations like a dog that might not be on meds, but might need to be carried downstairs. Or a pet missing a limb who needs to take a daily suppliement ā not a medication ā but an OTC supplement to maintain bone or joint health. So maybe in addition to RX Medications, there could be a āOther Special Heath Needs:ā¦..ā
You are never going to get everything you want on a listing. My listing is very comprehensive and even includes bed measurements since US queen and UK queen are different. But Iām sure Iām missing something!
My suggestion would be apply freely to all the sits you are interested in but always have a chat and ask questions to determine your deal breakers. You could also apply and very politely ask in your application letter about some deal breakers. (Too many questions could turn a homeowner off especially if you donāt have a lot of site reviews, but one or two might be fine for starters.
Welcome to THS @BillMary. Believe me, everything you have raised has been raised on this forum many times! THS donāt actually read much of whatās posted on the forum but moderators will often pass ideas on. The app and web are set up differently so same features donāt always appear. Setting up Saved Searches with date ranges and locations is popular rather than favouriting lots.
Thank for the response. So far, if we canāt even determine whether the bed will be suitable for the two of us, we donāt apply. Iād like to be able to make those suggestions to the owners so they may have better success in finding sitters. If they make the change, great. If not, then weāll keep on keeping on.
I would have appreciated the answer ratio, and to know if owners or sitters have cancelled sits in the pastā¦
Hi @Jenny @Mark_B Iāve just noticed that the extra pet information is now showing under responsibilities section, only on the THS website platform but not the THS app. Thatās great if you only use the THS website. I use the app 99% of the time and was interested in applying for a sit I saw on the app. I did a bit of research on the area and flights etc and logged on to the website to do my application. I was very surprised to see clearly under the responsibilities that the dog can be left alone for up to 2 hours (no thanks, I prefer up to 4 hours so I can sightsee), total of 2 hours walking per day (no thanks a bit too long for me) & no medication required (great). I would have had to waste my time and the ownerās time finding this out if I did the application via the app, which I occasionally do, only to learn itās not a good fit for me.
When is this information going to appear on the app?