That’s a very interesting theory. Pre-limit I would look for sirs every few days. Now when we’re working out a plan/schedule it’s every few hours, and I’ll admit I resent having to do that. And we still miss out…
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Agreed both on @PVGemini 's theory and the time consuming nature of searching for sits now. I saw a London sit yesterday morning and within 2 hours it was “reviewing”. I simply don’t have the time or inclination to be checking that regularly and the notification system often seems to have a time delay according to other posters on this site. Anyway I haven’t bothered to set that up as I can’t be interrupting my day to look at notifications with that regularity. It think it is time to reconsider whether it is worth renewing my membership…
But after that there will pop up new ones. It is better to be one of five applicants than to be one of fifty. That was wasting almost everybody’s time.
@pietkuip - London is extremely difficult. It is practically impossible to get a sit just by waiting for notifications from saved searches. I’ve been trying for a couple of weeks, and usually see listings by refreshing my browser, not waiting for a notification. It doesn’t help that a saved search for London results in listings that are a long way from London, and I have to zoom in on the map to get the real London sits.
I have been sending a quick place-holder application first, and then doing my research on location. This is terrible for the HOs, I realize, because it uses up one of their precious 5 spots. I know that, in theory, I can continue an application once started. However, I don’t trust my phone/laptop, my wifi, or the THS technology to risk this strategy. This means that I have sent an application and then withdrawn it later, once I realize that the listing is not as desirable as I originally thought.
It is not as difficult as in eg Venice. In London, new sits pop up every day.
The number of sitters finding a sit in London would not increase by abolishing the limit of five. It would only make sitters waste more time on applications.
Yes the map is really frustrating extending as far as 100km outside the city - OK you can zoom in but when you type in “London” I really don’t think you should be getting sits as far afield as Cambridge. There is absolutely no sense in that.
When I joined THS in 2022 I found 4 sits in London within a few months and was actively contacted by one host. Now it’s impossible. I understand that sits do pop up regularly but so do the 5 applicants and I have almost given up trying. I also agree with @Lassie that it encourages sitters to apply without really being sure if a sit is a good fit for them.
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And I just did that again😮. I’m in the car, saw a London sit for the dates I want, and send a quick placeholder application. When I had time, about 10 minutes later, I looked at the photos and realized the place was a mess and I would be miserable staying there, so I withdrew the application. I don’t like to do that, especially when many homeowners don’t know that their listing has been paused, but I don’t have much choice if I want to apply quickly
the number of sitters finding sits wouldn’t change, but homeowners would have a better choice of sitters
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Quick question for everyone. Usually at night when I get a notification on my phone for a saved search e.g. Kuala Lumpur by the time I click on the notification in the morning I only get a blank screen with a message no sits available. Is that an expected behavior or a glitch on my side? I was hoping to at least be able to see the missed sit opportunity that has gone into reviewing status. Apologies if this was discussed previously.
It is the ridiculous way the app is telling you that no sitter is needed anymore.
I get this often when I click immediately on a notification. It is incredible that THS sends notifications for sits that are already under review.
@pietkuip Right, but it will make more sense if the listing that triggered the notification is still shown rather than a blank screen? Then in the morning I can still see it and mark it as favorite if I like it.
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i totally agree. i get a ting on the phone for the area i want and when i open up, the sit already has 3 or 4 applications. in the morning when i first open, the first selection of sits have already gone into reviewing and i’ve done this in england, perth where i live and sydney and melbourne who also have a time change of 3 hours. i can’t work it out. but i’m finding it frustrating. especially if i’m waiting on a certain area.
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Before the 5 appl rule, I would check THS 10-15 times a day when looking for a sit.
After the 5 appl rule, I check THS 10-15 times a day when looking for a sit.
The difference:
- I waste much more time than before as I show up too late for a good part of the sits I’m interested in. This can go on for weeks and weeks, sometimes taking even up to a few months of lots of time wasted on THS before I finally hit the jackpot again
- I’ve been a member for 9 years & have never done as few sits as since the rule was introduced
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I have really struggled to even get an application “in” for a major US city. I don’t live on my phone and others do. One night I just responded as soon as my THS sit alert came in, so I was immediately trying. Nope I can’t even write a one sentence introduction without it freezing and not letting me submit it.
I figured that people who just sit on the site and apply without an application likely just read the ad later, as you don’t have enough time to read it, write even one sentence and hit submit before it’s reviewing.
Have you made any progress? Here is an example of what I think is a problem. I just received a notice of a sit in one of my saved searches. 12:35 PM (52 minutes ago) and they are already reviewing applications. So, 5 applications went out in the 52 minutes? Is that possible? Very frustrated!
It is entirely possible. I have seen a sit posted have 2 applications in under 60 seconds and all 5 gone in less than 5 minutes.
I was on the website and refreshed. Nothing new. Then refreshed again less than a minute later - maybe even 30 seconds. New sit. Go straight to apply and already 2 applications in. Start my application and open the listing less than 5 minutes after I first saw it to get some details to personalise my application and it already shows as reviewing applications.
So either the sits aren’t shown to everyone on the website at the same time, or at least 2 people manage to get applications sent in in seconds.
It is very easy for a listing to reach its 5-application limit in 52 minutes.
Sits in desirable locations can reach their 5-application limit in 52 seconds!
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That is very possible. It may even be that there were five applications already when you got the notification, because those are delayed by up to an hour. That is one of the annoying things, that THS is sending out those plings when listings already are in review status.
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Well, if they know that they why don’t they fix it? The playing field needs to be level for all parties. We sit on our computers all day refreshing our screens to get that sit!
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You know the answer not? Many things have been suggested to THS on this Community Forum in response to changes that turn out to not work very well for sitters. The answer from the THS side is usually the same along the lines of ‘we appreciate your comments, but won’t be making any changes’.