I state on our profile we are retired. That gives us the time to do what we do, full time sitters, travelling the world and having adventures. I’m proud of what we do and the age I am. I know I’m inspiring friends, former colleagues and even family to get off their backsides and go and do something. They have told me.
I don’t know who said it originally but age is just a number. I know 70 year olds that put me to shame but I also know 30 year olds that have given up and see life as a bind. Age is not the problem it’s outlook that matters. I never take it as a slight when someone uses the age excuse as a reason for not accepting us for a sit. Their loss. I thank them and hope they get a great sitter and enjoy their holiday then move on. I actually do that for all “sorry you have not been chosen this time” messages. Life’s too short for “what ifs”.
We are fit, healthy, up for anything and OLD.
Love it. Thank you for my nightly giggle.
Age definitely matters to some homeowners, but so do other elements.
I quickly began landing good sits even though I started without reviews or references. Age and gender likely worked in my favor, but probably so did my being a telecommuter, solo sitter and homeowner.
Personally, I’ve had a 20-something sit my home. Why: I know her through work and she’s one of the most responsible, trustworthy, thoughtful problem-solvers I’ve seen — more so than many people decades older.
I’d easily trust her with my dog, if he were right in the head. He’s a damaged rescue. My husband usually stays with him. When we’ve left our dog, we’ve trusted only professionals whom he knows, like someone who worked at the shelter where we found him, or his trainer. We pay them.
Wow amazing !!! You guys should write a book or definately a how to guide Very inspiring tale
Interesting that the owners of the last house sit in Switzerland (for owners new to THS) replied to our question on ‘what was your selection criteria on selecting sitters?’ replied that their 21 daughter put them onto THS and indicated that they should look closely at mature sitters. Hallelujah, there is hope for all of us mature sitters out there.
I’m 70 years old and have had 6 reviews as a HO and 7 reviews as a sitter. So, here’s my example of 1 (me).
As a sitter, I’ve sat for two 30 somethings; 2 40-something’s; 1-50 something and 2-60 somethings. All 5 stars.
As a home owner, Ive had 2-20 somethings (and I thought I really wouldn’t want this age group; 1 50-something and 3-60 somethings. All 5 stars.
So, I think my take away from this is that - age doesn’t really matter. While it might initially be an appealing factors, more than anything I think, for me, its the communication. Do we ‘connect’ in that initial and subsequent communication?
There are many tales amongst us who have made unbelievable and unconventional lives home and pet sitting.
Never ceases to amaze me what is possible.
Cheers to all!
I am a more mature aged sitter and like to think this works in my favour and also like to consider while my body is measured by a time allotment in chronological years my spirit is well ageless and timeless really Granny rocks on 
Do you know for sure it was because of your age because they told you? Often times, it’s merely coincidental that the HO chooses someone who happens to be of a certain age, gender, race, etc., but there was another factor or two that had nothing to do with such that won them over. Sometimes our own confirmation bias gets in the way.
No of course not @FreeSpiritManette - they were the same type of HOs that don’t reply to applications. Change the date, ask for a second set of applications and still don’t reply so it’s all my surmising. Not people we wish to sit for so really no problem. My comment was tongue in cheek to @Lokstar who knows us 
I have a combined membership and only signed up to sit recently. I was a little freaked when my age showed up immediately in my sitter profile. In fact, I even wrote to THS about it, and never got a reply. I hadn’t really noticed it before when I chose sitters. I’m not saying revealing my age is a bar to sitting, but I’m not crazy about it. We live in an agist society. If sitting was a paying job – which is not in THS – this would be absolutely illegal. I calmed down about it when I realized that my age was an actual advantage. That people would view me as “mature” and “responsible” in a way they might not if I were younger. However, even if it is an “advantage” I’d rather not share it with the world this way. On the opposite end, as a homeowner, if I felt someone seemed too “immature” to sit, that wouldn’t be based on their chronological age but on their experience and how they present themselves.
@Marion it would be more fair if hosts ages were also shown, and a picture of them too! Sometimes we know next to nothing about hosts we sit for especially if there is no personal handover.
For consideration: We do live in an ageist society, but if older folks are invisible rather than visible, it only feeds into ageism. I say this not only about sitting, but about work life in particular.
For instance, I work in the tech/startup world, which is well known for being explicitly ageist in many instances. Despite that, I’m open about my age — I’m 54 now — and don’t color my hair or otherwise try to hide my age at all. I also hire cross-generationally, including people from their early 20s into their late 60s. That’s so my teams can benefit from different levels of experience and younger folks can see the advantages of learning from older folks and vice versa.
My hope is, that with visibility and collaboration (and coaching and mentoring), as younger folks progress in their careers and maybe start managing, they won’t age-discriminate. That’s how I learned — coming up often as the youngest among coworkers and seeing the benefits of working with all ages. That also made me want to pay it forward.
As long as older folks stay invisible, it perpetuates the stigma of age. Visibility helps. Like @toml posted that he’s 70 and still sitting, while making adjustments that fit his health. That’s inspiring. If he didn’t share his age, many folks would miss out on seeing how someone continues to add value even as they age.
And to me, ageism isn’t just upward. I see some folks broad-brushing sometimes and discriminating against folks who are younger as well. My POV: One of the best ways to not be age-discriminated against is to stay open and judge individuals on their own merits. Like I mentor / coach a number of people across generations and I keep learning from them as well. Many of my mentors and trusted allies also are generations younger than I am.
I don’t think it’s a question of staying invisible. On my sitter profile there are several photos of me being me, my age, not much to hide it, playing with pets. I don’t think my age, reduced to a number, needs to be on my sitter profile.
Edited to comply with posting guidelines
Now in the UK they’re crying out for older people to rejoin the workforce because during the pandemic many decided to retire.
My POV: No one is reduced to age alone on THS, since we write bios and share a good deal of context. It’s just one element of us.
Yes, the pandemic created many early and disruptive departures from the workforce. That’s more noticeable among a smaller population / labor force.
On the other side of the pond, we’re encountering a mixed bag in supply and demand for labor, so we’ve not had calls for folks to return.
I work in the tech/startup world, where even large and successful companies have gone through layoffs. In many cases, they’ve been done in anticipation that the U.S. economy will worsen before it recovers. There are many experienced folks looking for work.
Admin Notice: Hi everyone let’s bring this conversation back to the original topic. Do PP/Owners pay attention to a sitter’s age and does it influence choice relative to the task, for instance, which was the original question.
Thank you
This does sound like a snub but Maggie8K had not written anything wrong.