I’m a pet owner , new to THS and feeling a bit lost. I would love to go on a two month holiday to visit my family, but I’m not sure how timing works with sit requests especially around Christmas.
I put my listing up just a day ago, and a sitter got in touch, but by the time I made my mind and replied, they had already arranged their sit with another house owner. Since then, I haven’t had any other enquiries.
I am starting to wonder if a two month sit might be too long, or if demand is just lower over the holidays. I also haven’t booked my flights yet, so I really need to know when a sit might actually be confirmed.
Any tips from experienced sitters about how to navigate timing especially during busy periods like Christmas ,would be a huge help!
Demand is high during the holidays. Supply is low.
You took too long to “make up your mind”, and lost the only applicant. Perhaps next time a quicker decision is in order.
I’d guess that 2 months is too long a commitment for many sitters so you’re already deselecting a large part of an applicant pool that is already rather small due to high holiday demand.
(edited by Forum team in line with our Community Guidelines)
Hello @Nyjezz and welcome! Can you link your listing to your forum profile so members can see and potentially help? A day is not long for a new sit to be live on the site and an experienced sitter mentioned on another thread earlier today that they still hadn’t decided on a Christmas sit so not everyone is booked yet. That said, two months is a long gap for the holidays but it depends where you are, what pets you have and how the listing looks! You could be lucky. Add it here please
I hope you’re successful in finding someone. I look for longer housesits so 2 months over Christmas would be ideal, but I booked my Christmas housesit in June. And I booked an additional 6-week housesit almost a year in advance. But not everyone wants or is able to plan so far in advance. Good luck!
One day since posting your sit? It’s far too early to start panicking. Please do post a link on here, so that we can provide feedback to possibly make it more appealing.
Not all sitters are booked up for Christmas. We’re currently taking a break, but still look at the listings occasionally and might take an especially appealing sit, so I’m sure there are others like us.
We prefer longer sits, and quite a number of the sitters who do this full time like us do too.
We (my partner and I) try to sort our longer sits in advance, and then book in shorter ones as it gets closer the date. So it’s likely that those with 2 months free may be already booked up, like us.
There’s loads of sitters on here that would love a 2 month sit, but its easiest if you advertise your dates 3-6 months ahead of time, or even longer if you have your dates sorted.
Whilst I can understood why you are waiting to book your trip ( because you are waiting to find a suitable sitter that is available ) but you also need to consider that a sitter needs to know that you are committed to the trip . It’s unreasonable to expect a sitter to block out two months of their life ( not accepting other commitments) if you are not certain that the trip will actually go ahead .
You could say in your listing I have some flexibility with dates -my trip / flights are not booked yet but my flights will be booked within 24 hours of confirming a sitter .
That will go some way to reassuring a sitter . You first sitters will already “taking a chance” on you -because you are a new host and don’t have any reviews yet . Sitters need certainty because they may also need to book flights / travel tickets which will only get more expensive closer to the time .
Even when you find a sitter it’s important that you have a Plan B incase the sitter becomes ill or has to cancel for another unexpected situation.
Just a quick note to let you know that I moved your post to the Sitter category on the Forum, as you’re keen to hear from experienced sitters - we’ve got plenty of those on the Forum
It’s unlikely either side can make any decision before communicating. If there’s hesitation from the start, even in showing the basic courtesy to respond..well, then the decision’s effectively made for you, and very quickly too.
As for “enquiries, supply and demand,”… this is matchmaking and completely voluntary. The other side are paying members and simply traveling, just as you.
There will always be travelers seeking good hosts and good matches. It’s not the volume of listings, it’s the quality.
You’re suggesting that if a host with perhaps as many as 7 or more applications to review, who is waiting on the first sitter contacted to arrange a video chat, is being hesitant and discourteous to other applicants by not contacting them within 48 hours? To tell them what exactly? “We’ve contacted the sitter we deem to be the most qualified, if that doesn’t work out we may get back to you”.
Yes I’m aware that the Op had only one applicant. I interpreted the post that I was quoting to be referring to hosts in general, as was I.
As far as “hosts are supposed to reply within 48 hours” thing… I don’t see the point if I’ve got nothing to say other than “I’ll get back to you when you’re next on the list”.
When I did invite sitters (before I realized this strategy was futile), some would reply that they’re interested but not at this time. According to section 5.1.1.13 I am required to then respond to that communication, even though I would simply to let them know I received their message and will keep them in mind. Seems to be a waste of time for both of us.
There have been sitters who, after I did contact them, responded with all the reasons I should choose them. Sometimes over multiple messages, providing extensive amounts of information including an expanded autobiography, photos from previous sits, etc.
While I’ve been courteous in some of my initial responses, my responses only invited still MORE replies from some persistent sitters, and if I didn’t stop responding, it would have gone on literally forever even if we wanted to stop, because as per 5.1.1.13, members who receive a message are required to reply within 72 hours. It would be an infinite loop, that would continue until one of the members broke the rules by not replying. Someone’s gotta pull the plug.
And what about all the sitters who didn’t respond to my earlier invites? Are they in breach of the THS platform Terms of Service as well?
@idocsteve There’s a limitation for hosts in that regard. That aside, what I’m suggesting is that timing and courtesy are crucial.
It’s nothing more than an expression of interest and an invitation to connect, giving both sides a chance to explore whether there could be a potential match. If that interest isn’t even acknowledged, it will naturally move on.
Believing it to be anything else is an illusion - an illusion that ultimately puts the OP in a worse position than they’re already in.
Yes, in this particular case, the Op is in a worse position because they didn’t reply and potentially connect with the sitter.
As I said, I took your earlier reply to apply to all hosts and I was simply pointing out that it might not be relevant to a host who gets a high number of applicants and won’t be in worse shape if one or more withdraw because they didn’t get an answer within 2 days.
@Jenny - could you remind me where that mute button is and how it works? Does it mute the thread or the poster?
Never felt the need before but boy do I need it now!
