Hi Everyone,
I would love some advice & tips please. I’m new to this platform, even though our family have done a couple of house sits and lots of pet sitting for people. I’m also involved in cat rescue and foster cats & kittens as well as having 3 of our own.
I joined THS so that us as a family can travel together and also have a chance of looking after a dog/dogs. My children who are travelling with us are 14 & 16year old and really want a dog. Especially my daughter and my husband who love dogs. Due to me doing cat rescue and not having the money needed to own a dog I thought this platform would be ideal in combining both. We are avid animal lovers.
I especially want to go and visit my parents in Cornwall as they are getting old and my dad has dementia. So far I have applied for 4 sits and been turned down for 3 of them. I’m not sure if it’s because there are 4 of us. I’m beginning to regret spending the money on joining as I feel we might not get anything. I’m desperate to go to Cornwall this summer and air bnb is so expensive. Any tips?
Thanks 
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Cornwall is a very popular destination, perhaps try for a few less popular sits to get a few reviews first. Look for family friendly sits, as not everyone has the space for a family of four.
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I’ve found that there are not many Cornwall sits compared to some other areas which possibly makes it more competitive. Maybe HO do prefer a couple/single to a family of 4 but if you can find a HO with a family of their own, a larger property & really emphasis maturity of your teens & their animal skills I don’t think you should be disadvantaged. A couple of new Cornwall sits popped in my saved search today. Good luck with your searching.
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Welcome @Emma_pets
Cornwall sits during the summer are super popular I’m afraid so HO’s are likely to choose sitters with a number of reviews first. Can you do a few local or last minute sits to increase your chances of getting a cornwall sit? It took me 23 applications to get my first local sit (about 2 years ago). I’ve just completed my 21st sit since.
Good luck.
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Are you choosing sits with the family friendly tag on them @Emma_pets as that will help? Why don’t you try Devon, Somerset, Dorset or Pembrokeshire if it’s for a UK beach sit this summer, none are as popular as Cornwall and you’ll be competing against so many people and are asking the HO to accommodate four of you with no reviews (albeit great experience). There are 2 sits showing that fit your criteria for July dates and both have low applications, have you tried those two? Getting a couple of weekend sits locally so you have a couple of THS reviews when you’re applying is also a great plan. There are quite a few families on here sitting as a lifestyle so it definitely works, it’s just not for as many sits as say a single person. Maybe apply for Cornwall in the off season so Oct half term to go and see your Mum & Dad as they’ll be less applicants that time of year. #happysitting
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Thanks for your advice. That’s a good idea to do some sits closer to home first to get some sitter THS reviews.
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Thanks so much. It’s Cornwall so I can see my family, not a holiday. I will do some closer sits nearer to home and keep trying. Thanks
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The Megavissey one that’s available looks great @Emma_pets & is a fab location depending on where your folks are. #bestofluck
There are lots of families on THS who have plenty of experience. I can think of @Debbie and @IHeartAnimals for instance who are regular on the Forum
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Hi @Emma_pets and welcome to the forum.
I sit with my sons, now aged 15 and 13, and we are dometimes joined by my husband. My boys were 10 and 8 when we did our first sit. Your children are similar ages to mine, and no doubt able to be genuinely helpful on a sit. We sit during school holidays and some weekends and have now done more than 20 sits.
It is always much harder when you are looking for a specific location, especially one as popular as Cornwall. However there may be hosts in Cornwall who would like a regular sitter who could return for repeat sits, so mention your family ties to the area.
You have received good advice to start with some short local sits, or sits in less popular areas to get some reviews, especially last minute sits. If you will have your own transport to get to Cornwall, you could focus on more rural sits where the sitter needs their own transport as these will get less applicants.
You could also look for sits with a greater number of pets if you are comfortable with that. A family can walk more dogs than a single sitter, and more sitters means more attention for multiple pets. The most pets we have sat at one time is 23, but 16 were poultry!
We do apply for family friendly sits, but also sometimes apply for sits without that tag, as my boys are bigger than me! We usually look for an indication that there will be enough room to accommodate us, or reviews from other sitters with children. Many of our sits are for other families, but we have also done sits for retired people and young couples without children.
I have more photos of my chilfren with pets on my profile than I do of myself, and I also introduce the children and their interests in my application.
I look forward to hearing that you have confirmed your first sit.
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Hi, we sit as a family of 5. Feel free to check my profile so that you can see one way of listing your children so that pet parents can see who all are applying and whether the children can be of benefit for the pets. We’ve completed 20 sits so far and although we get our share of rejections, as you can see, we’ve had plenty confirmations. We did start with some local sits in the beginning to get some reviews. Don’t give up, getting 3 or 4 rejections is nothing. The more you apply, the more chances you’ll get to getting some confirmed. Good luck
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