As a sitter I am often invited to sit for pets near where I live. But I sit to travel so I would more likely be interested in a sit that is far away and with enough time to plan. I wish there was a way to let pet parents know I want to travel to Europe in fall 2024.
There is nothing wrong with a cut and paste message in my opinion. Politeness is always appreciated. I dont feel the need to have something personally addressed that comments on my animal rescue work and love of history. Good luck!
@Sandi My experience with HO response time is all over the map and thatâs been the case with domestic and international sits.
Some reply instantly and say you sound perfect for us. In those cases, they often ask to chat soon, but Iâve also gotten sits offered that way and not chatted with the HOs other than trading msgs on WhatsApp or the THS platform. And I had my best sit from one of those instances.
Meanwhile, I applied to an international sit and withdrew after about 48 hours of no acknowledgment. Then many weeks later, the HO msgâd to say theyâd only started reviewing applicants and wondered whether I was available. It was goofy, because the cost of last-minute airfare was so prohibitive that I could instead buy my own vacation there when I felt like, without any pet or home care involved. And that was for a HO who wanted a sitter who was familiar with their city abroad, which I am and speak the language for.
Bigger picture, I avoid homeowners who seem entitled, careless, uncommunicative and such. And I get to decide what that looks like. So do you. We all do.
As someone else mentioned, sometimes you have to get some reviews under your belt first. It sounds like youâve already done that.
It varies with the individual, how they apply and communicate, how narrow the parameters of their searches and so on, how challenging or easy it will be to get sits. Generally, the easier you find it, the more selective you can be.
It also depends on how badly you want to sit. And that can change over time and with your circumstances.
Generally, sitters with strong reviews and flex in timing and location have the most opportunities. But you also could develop a niche. Like if youâre one of those folks whoâll sit for menageries or small holdings, or areas that have low demand, if a HO doesnât reply to you almost instantly, you probably could afford to quickly pass on them and still get plenty of sits.
Yes, Ken, I completely agree!
Communication is key!
Thank you so much, AmyJayne, for this kind and helpful advice. I canât accommodate children (not enough rooms and cats and chickens terrified of them) or other pets, but all the rest I could work with. For instance, I already had a âsitter relayâ once and it went well, and a local friend can help with the handover. Iâm editing my listing and will follow your tips. I did not realise our area looked like Colorado ! Spending hours sorting out text and photos etc so my head is swimming. Hopefully I will reactivate my housesit by tomorrow. And perhaps send a few invitations to suitable HS after checking their calendar. Thank you again for your time !
If youâre overwhelmed, it might help to make an agnostic list of photos youâll need. For instance, sitters typically like to see where theyâll sleep, the bathroom theyâll use and the kitchen. Thatâs not an exhaustive list, of course, but you can write such a list and then start picking out one good shot to meet each purpose. If you do that, youâll probably hit the basics, at least. Then you can always take a look and compare against other sits that are available in your area, because theyâll be the ones youâll be competing against most closely for sitters, typically.
Whenever youâre overwhelmed, try to break things into steps or parts and get started on one part â you donât have to swallow the whole whale if you find it hard.
Plus, you can always share your listing and forum members can give you feedback.
Many thanks, Maggie ! Not sure what the word âentitledâ means⌠Yes, I always put a general photo of the house front, the main rooms, the guest room etc.
Well I followed many of this forum advices (a few did not fit our situation), and have now reactivated my listing. I saw on other threads some people suggested that 2 months notice was good timing for a 4 weeks sit because if too early, situations may change and there are more chances of the sitter cancellingâŚ
But of course things are completely different according to the season. I get loads of applicants for listings between March and October, but obviously a winter sit is much more difficult to fill.
âEntitledâ in THS settings will mean a sitter or host who thinks the world owes them what they want. So if youâre pursuing a sit with someone like that, you can expect them to not care much or at all about what youâll get out of the exchange.
Good word ! As HS we met somebody like this once, perhaps understandably so because she had a very high powered job in government, a sumptuous manor, staff etc, but we promptly backed out because we felt the HS/HO relationship would be very uncomfortable.
I agree with Maggie that even HOs who plan ahead can end up looking for sitters at the last minute. And even in our beautiful area, our Christmas sits are always more difficult to fill than the summer ones.
About booking sits far ahead, circumstances might also change for the HO. In my case, my cats did not need medication 4 months ago, but now Jules is on cancer treatment. I could then be seen as a HO piling new duties on the HS as the sit gets closer. Catch 22 ?
Most people would understand if a new circumstance unfolded, like a pet getting sick and needing medication. In such cases, update the sitter ASAP so they can make an informed choice about whether to go ahead with the sit. At that point, they still have better choice than finding out when they arrive at a sit.
@Visit I do this too. I never sit for more than 2 dogs or 3 cats, but mainly go for one dog/2 cats as its a much better match. I only go for smaller to medium dogs. I never apply for sits that say pets canât be left at all as for me thatâs too big an ask. Iâm happy to do 2 walks a day but as I work part time online too any more than this takes up the entire day. As I sit most of the winter my minimum sit time is 2 weeks on the search although I have a week search near where my adult kids live (not in this country). Luckily I canât say Iâve ever had a bad sit (yet!!) and loved most of them, although Iâve recently accepted an invitation without speaking to the HO, which probably isnât wise!!! That said it looks a very nice place and itâs where I wanted to travel to 
so thereâs always a compromise to be made.
Circumstances can always change, but my point was that some owners donât inform their sitters about new situations. If they communicate and tell the sitter what the new responsibilities are, thatâs considerate behaviour. And I think they need to give the sitter the chance to back out of the sit if the new responsibilites do not work for them.
I had a sit where an animal became sick and needed special food 4 times a day, and needed to be carried around. I even had to prepare this food myself from an array of ingredients, some of which needed to be picked from the garden. This is not a joke, seriously. This was communicated to me a few days before the sit, but presented as a fact, not asked as a request and I was given no option to back out. I could have said no I suppose, but everything was arranged.
@Cecilia48 As a full time traveling sitter, I would disagree with the idea of only listing a month long sit 2 months out. From our standpoint (13 month traveling internationally currently on our 17th sit with 10 more on the calendar), we are planning much further out than that. We are currently looking at sits for next summer as we are booked up to the middle of July. And in our minds considering what part of the world weâd like to be in for next Christmas.
Of course there is the possibility of someone backing out but I donât know that it would be any greater than if you wait. Personally, Iâd list as soon as you have your plans locked in.
Dan and Nan