If you’re really interested in getting a refund and canceling your subscription I would ask THS. IMHO it should come under the no application policy.
As far as I know, THS does not inform owners that part of the information they provide is not shared with prospective sitters. There’s also the fact that not all communication with an owner that has published a listing is a real application, it’s the only way sitters have to get in touch with owners or ask questions about their listing.
I don’t usually like analogies with jobs and work but from the point of view of THS as a company offer money back guarantee, we could compare this company with a job agency, if they offer money back guarantee in case you don’t get an offer in two weeks they can’t clame that you being a teacher have been offered a job as an engineer; if you are not qualified for the job that is a nonexistent offer. I believe this would be the same case.
Yes, it’s been mentioned before that, although owners tick boxes with info, that’s not usually available for sitters. Hopefully the team might sort this!
@Deej I totally agree with your points about the confusion of ticking boxes when creating your profile, only to later find out the information is not displayed in the listing (I’m a sitter, by the way).
It’s always a good idea to search your own listing, anytime you create or edit it. To do that, use the website or app as a sitter would. Select search to find a sit. Put in your location and listings will display. You may want to also click on ‘sort by’ (the app currently gives more options than the website under that option).
You will see:
what competition you are up against under your location (stop and read what other owners have written & see how you measure up against your competition for sitters )
how your key photo displays (is it eye-catching?)
how much of your title displays (does it highlight your best ‘feature’?)
how all photos display (avoid a photo album of your pets - sitters are often looking to see size, especially with dogs)
how your details display (avoid long paragraphs - you may need to edit to add paragraph spacing back in).
These are just a few tips to help you along the way. I hope things work out for you.
Your location is wonderful and the pets are great too.
Maybe worth adding if Amber is neutered or not in your listing.
Contacting sitters rarely brings success unfortunately but personalising your messages, even by simply mentioning the sitters name will increase your chances.
Had we been able to sit, we would certainly be applying as we love the Cotswolds and have stayed in Winchcombe on our first ever Cotswold holiday.
The very best of luck to you, hope you get sorted.
Regarding invitations, it is much more tempting if it is personalized. For a last minute sit, i who am working would be more enclined to accept if it is quite local so I can go to work and/or find room to do my other obligations. Are there sitters in your local area that could be available?
Remove the bit about the sitters-with-pets, there’s no reason to put a negative tone to your profile when there are loads and loads more sitters without pets than there are with pets. You should write your profile to focus on the people you want, not the odd person that you don’t want, so personally I’d remove that bit, ie why sound negative in your introduction, when you aren’t negative people.
Your listing looks just fine, and your home is lovely, sometimes certain dates are more difficult to fill than others. I wouldn’t leave the site and ask for a refund just yet, give it a chance! Sitters need to work dates into their schedules in a way that enables more efficient and sensible travel. I’ve gotten a little ahead of myself at times with applying for a sit and communicating with the host, then realizing there was another sit that might fit into my calendar a bit better, but I never do that when a sit is less than a month off.
So I’m going back on the road soon and trying to line up some sits along the way. I need to apply and talk to lots of people to see if they will have me, and some turn me down.
So should I only apply to, say, three sits that I can do back to back, and cross my fingers that they all accept me? 1/3 of my recent applications have been rejected without an explanation.
Or should I apply to ten or more, hope to get into conversations with five, and then put together a schedule that allows me to do three of them?
The latter means doing video calls, discussing details, then having to go back to a few people later and tell them “sorry but I’m not coming.” And that’s exactly the same as making the same call, planning round something that seems ideal, and then getting a message saying they’ve gone with someone else.
We’re all just trying to find a way forward here. Nobody is being unreasonable by changing their mind before a sit is confirmed.
We all just have to out ourselves out there, negotiate, plan, and try to find an agreement that works. The more information you share, the more people you talk to, the more likely you are to get the deal you want.
I always tell HOs if I have a lot of applications in process, and that I can’t commit straight away. We generally agree 48hrs for a final decision, with the caveat that they might find someone else in that time.
@therealchrisgray What we do when planning a longer trip is to try and line up a couple of ‘anchor’ sits and then fill up the gaps from there. It is complicated and time consuming to try and coordinate a bunch of applications in advance that line up perfectly as there will likely be one or two that don’t pan out. But once you’ve secured one or more sits you’ll have concrete dates and locations to work around. We’ve found this a very effective approach.
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