Is anyone else tired of the ‘whole sitters get a free place to stay’ in exchange for caring for someone’s home and animals being touted as some major benefit for sitters in this mutual exchange with HOs
Yes, it is technically true.
But the sit in itself involves the sitter staying in the HOs home. The vast majority of listings I’ve seen generally require pet interactions first thing in the morning/last thing at night and then multiple times during the day. And quite a few listing go further to state animals can’t be left alone for more than X number of hours or animals need company after dark/overnight.
And the whole point of THS is that the pets can remain in the familiar surroundings of their own home and stick to their routine etc
So for THS or anyone else to claim sitters are getting a free place to stay in exchange for caring for a HO’s pets and home for free is a bit like your boss all of a sudden asking employees to work for free and in mutual exchange they will be given a free office to work in and a free desk to work at and free electricity to power your computer.
Hmm… it seems you might have the wrong impression of THS. The point of the platform is exactly to offer a mutually beneficial exchange, not just so the pets can stay in their own environment. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a very attractive site, and not many people would offer free pet care with no other benefits
The purpose of THS is to be a win-win program with benefits for all parties - owners, sitters & pets.
Owners get free, quality pet care by reliable people who love pets.
Sitters get to spend time with pets they enjoy, while also staying in free accommodation and having the opportunity to see and experience a new place (perhaps a different country or a new area of their own country).
Pets get the comfort & security of being in their own home rather than a kennel service that can be quite daunting for many.
When a sit has good balance, all usually works really well and is a win-win situation.
Some listings, however, are certainly not reflective of a mutually beneficial exchange, and perhaps this is what has gotten you frustrated or confused. Listings with high demands and few opportunities for a sitter to have free time & see the area are usually written by owners who lack understanding of the platform, and often their listings don’t do very well. These owners usually believe the platform to be nothing more than free pet care provided by locals. This is why educating people about the purpose of THS is so important
It’s a great opportunity to experience a different lifestyle in a different location that wouldn’t necessarily be possible (or even desirable) on a long-term basis. A bit like living out your day-dreams. And, for me, the animals form a large part of that.
For those who don’t want to commit to providing animal care, there are several other ‘exchange’ sites, where the focus is solely on the accommodation.
There is definitely an issue with the use of the word ‘free’. Neither side is getting anything free. As a sitter, I am providing home and pet care in exchange for accommodations in a location I would like to visit. I’m not getting those accommodations for free, I’m providing a valuable service. Neither side is providing or receiving anything for free.
But I do frequently see hosts saying that sitters are getting free accommodations. That’s the same as saying hosts are getting free pet care. If people stop using the word ‘free’, maybe we can get back to thinking about this as the exchange that it should be.
This comes across as feeling put upon, maybe burned out on sitting. If so, maybe take a break from sitting.
From my perspective, THS is bartering and no one with sense barters unless they get what they think is a good exchange. Everyone has a different sense of what that is, for their own needs and preferences.
When hosts post listings, I just skip ones that don’t interest me and don’t take offense if so, because maybe someone else values them. If they get few or no applicants, that can signal that what they offer is unappealing. And shrug, then they’ll have to come up with alternatives to THS sitters.
Just don’t apply for sits that require a lot of pet care. But a lot of people now work from home, and don’t mind it. I’ve been to places that I’d never heard of before THS. Once applied for a sit on a tiny Caribbean island that I’d never heard of. The cost of getting there was a bit eye watering, but considering we stayed for 5 weeks in the Caribbean, definitely worth it.
It’s just a word. It’s how we interpret what it means to us subjectively.
So it is us that have to ask why does that bother us so much?
It doesn’t matter if we are doing and receiving what we desire.
Free barter exchange give it no name and just enjoy it if it’s what you really want and it’s working. If not then, that could be the real underlying issue.
Even if they threw in a free place to sleep or more, that is not usually enough to attract people (but it seems that there is some volunteering for the privilege to work in media etc).
I feel a bit sorry for some HOs that seem to have been fed the idea that there is this huge pool of free sitters out there that are looking for a free place to stay and that they can just invite for some random dates.
Or for the HOs that have unrealistic expectations about how much interest there would be for their out-of-the-way home with special-needs pets in a season with dismal weather.
Some of those HOs are not wealthy and regret spending the annual fee.
It is work, sometimes more and sometimes less. It is also a lot of responsibility.
But it also allows us to travel to places that otherwise we couldn’t afford to travel to with hotels and B&Bs being pricy.
Both side get something that they would have otherwise had to pay for.
That is what THS for.
You should also note that THS is exactly that - staying in the HO’s home. It’s against policy to not stay in the home - owners here must provide a minimum of a 1 night stay, and cannot request day care only.
Most dog owners on the planet also require that their dog is let out/walked morning and evening (unless they have a dog flap with access to a secure garden). This is essential for a dog’s daily needs, unless you’d prefer that they have an accident in the house You can always just sit cats or other animals if you’re not a dog person & not looking to provide dog care. Dogs are social animals who need some company, interaction & play-time to keep them happy & healthy, as well as daily exercise. Of course a HO’s expectations should be reasonable & appropriate for THS, but so to should a sitter’s.
I love pet sitting and THS is a valuable tool to help me find amazing sits. And everyone of those sits so far has been amazing.
I’m just getting weary of this whole ‘you’re getting a free place to stay’ mentality.
I clearly view sitting very differently than most. I’m not motivated at all by the opportunity to supposedly stay somewhere for free so I tired of people assuming that I am.
I don’t apply for sits based on location thinking I’d like to stay there and see that city/region etc. Partly because as sitter you don’t really have the freedom to set your own schedule.
I look at sits ‘everywhere’ that match my availability and apply based on the animals I’ll be caring for first and foremost, the HO and whether I vibe with the profile and their listing and of course the setting and location of their home. But it’s the whole package… and whether I think I would have a fulfilling and enriching unique experience doing that sit.
Most HO’s expected sitter responsibilities actually make it infeasible not to stay at their home - and that’s the whole point of THS - sitters caring for the animals in the comfort of their own home. The home is essentially just a tool to facilitate the execution of the sister’s responsibilities. So to constantly plug ‘free accommodation’ as a separate distinct benefit is just encouraging this rather pervasive expectant view of sitters where people are mentally monetising the ‘value’ of their ‘free accommodation’ and setting their requirements to match.
If your work send you on a business trip to another city hundreds of miles away for several days… does your boss constantly remind that the hotel they are putting you up in is a ‘free place stay’. Of course they don’t - because providing accommodation is vital and necessary to allow you to perform what is expected of you.
My last sit was truly incredible… looking after scores of various animals in an amazing setting for over a month. One of the last things the HO asked me before we said our goodbyes was that they ‘hoped I had enjoyed my free vacation’ - It took me by surprise. I don’t think they really meant that but it’s still a glimpse of how many view the motivations of sitters.
The whole ‘free accommodation’ thing grinds my gears.
I love pet sitting. It truly is one of the most rewarding things I do in life.
I sit professionally and on THS… and my sits on THS have been some of my very best.
The mutual beneficial exchange concept is amazing - but when ‘free accommodation’ is specifically listed and pushed as one of the benefits sitters are receiving it muddies the waters.
Sitting should be viewed in its entirety - as an opportunity to have a an enriching unique experience. That’s why I do it.
Not at all.
I’ve responded to other posts with my motivation for sitting etc so I won’t repeat them - feel free to scroll up to see my thoughts on it
I just find the whole ‘free place to stay’ thing annoying
