I’ve searched the forum but maybe the answer is beyond my grasp…. I just joined here looking for an in-home pet sitter. I liked this applicant, but her profile page indicated she wasn’t available some of my dates. When I sent her a message she replied she maybe overlooked something & would get back to me ‘soon’. Well ‘soon’ didn’t happen so I sent another message & her response was having a terrible work week & she was withdrawing her app. Another applicant looked good so I messaged requesting a phone chat. She replied she was looking for a longer sit & wasn’t willing to chat ‘yet’. But then I looked at her profile’s availability which showed her only available dates were the exact same as mine! So my question is……can sitters ‘fish’ for other options even after they’d formally accepted an invite? Are there any repercussions or is the only option for an owner to upgrade?
Hi there @DET
This might be what you’re looking for
A sit is not official until it is confirmed.
Don’t give up.
Once confirmed, they are not supposed to and cancelling because they found a better sit is not a suitable cancellation reason (if this happens, report it), but until they are confirmed, yes.
Yes, it’s like a job interview. You can go to several interviews and if offered more than one position, you can pick which one suits you best.
An invitation doesn’t mean the sitter has to accept the sit.
As previous posters said, once the sit has been confirmed, then it’s a no, sitters can’t cancel it “in case they find something better”.
Hi, I’m a little confused with the situation you describe? There are multiple steps to confirming a sit
Did u put the ad up and they applied and u were in discussion?
It doesn’t sound like they formally accepted the sit invite to make it official.
At any point leading up confirming the sit people may apply and have multiple applications at once so it’s a bit of a juggling job to see what shakes right.
Sorry that you have not found things smooth yet - keep your ad up and wait for more applicants to apply and do not get disheartened
oh, now you’ve done it 
@DET these are the stages for confirming a sit, which usually happens after some discussion between home owner and sitter , either by text, often by phone or video chat.
Once a sitter has accepted a sit then they should not cancel it unless there is an exceptional reason. Another sit would not not be such a reason.
However their application for your dates or you just initiating a conversation with them is not an acceptance. They are entitled to apply for as many available sits as they wish.
Have you offered the dates to them and did they accept, or did you just send them a message?
Hello, and welcome to the forum! I understand your frustrations, but once you read around here you will see that there are a lot of issues which may or may not be down to the sitter. Calendars are notoriously finicky, and won’t reflect any obligations outside of THS (so, another sitting site, for example). Many people disregard the calendar function entirely. I’ve had sits where the dates changed several times but the actual sit dates didn’t change.
But then I looked at her profile’s availability which showed her only available dates were the exact same as mine! So my question is……can sitters ‘fish’ for other options even after they’d formally accepted an invite? Are there any repercussions or is the only option for an owner to upgrade?
I’m not quite sure what you mean here by “fishing,” as at no point has the sitter agreed to anything but an application (an expression of interest) and an invitation to have a phone call. The invitation to sit is a multi-step process within the platform that requires you both to confirm the sit will take place.
As you have not moved past the expression of interest stage, there is no obligation on either end to do anything else. The sitter can withdraw, you can decline her, or the sit can be changed or even cancelled altogether.
As for upgrading, that won’t change anything in terms of securing a potential sitter. To reiterate, a person applying to a sit has not done anything other than express an interest in doing it. An invitation to talk on the phone is not the same as a formal “invite” to be a confirmed sitter within the mechanisms of THS.
No one is “fishing” for other options, unless they have accepted your sit and then tried to find a better one and cancel yours. You will see that sitters absolutely apply to multiple sits at once, especially if they do this full-time. This is no different than you reaching out to more than one applicant in order to secure a sitter.
Hope that helps!
Did I miss something? Did you publicly post the sit and wait for applicants? Or are you combing through profiles and looking for sitters? (Much less likely to work?)
Thanks so much for all the input, suggestions etc, very helpful. Yes, I have publicly posted my inquiry. I guess I was a little surprised when 1 of the initial applicants said she was available my dates when her profile calendar indicated she was only available about half the dates. Another applicant replied to my request for a phone chat that she was looking for a longer sit, which I completely understand. However her profile calendar indicated she was unavailable either before or after my specified dates. Im beginning to think I’m putting too much emphasis on the calendar feature as another thread said the calendar is ‘useless’. It’s a learning experience….
Calendar function is utterly useless @DET - confusing, clunky and rarely up to date. It’s a shame as the theory of having one is good……
A belated welcome to the forum, @DET !
In your post you mention applicants and invitations. They’re two different things. If these people submitted applications to your listing, you would have responded, set up a phone or video chat with the one you were most interested in and if you and the sitter felt it was a match, you would have confirmed the sitter. The sitter would have then accepted and it would be officially on the books.
You also have the option of seeking sitters out and sending them personal invitations. It’s important to send a personal note with an invitation if you hope to get a reply. You may find a sitter that way but it’s a long shot. The same confirmation process takes place, you confirm them, they accept.
Until a sitter accepts there is no commitment.
As has been said here many sitters don’t bother to update their calendar as it’s not very user-friendly. What it is good for is to see when a sitter is already booked for a THS sit. These dates have slashes through them.
A good listing is the best way to find a good sitter. I would suggest you add your listing to your forum profile. Forum members will then be able to give you helpful suggestions to make your listing as effective as possible! Here are the instructions: How to add your listing or profile to your forum profile
It’s also a good idea to read the forum. Use the spyglass icon on the upper right to enter questions or keywords. Many subjects have been discussed.
Good luck. You came to the right place for assistance
@DET Although I agree with the comments that many sitters don’t use the calendar, I thought I’d review the settings with you, given you said you’re a newbie.
In previous years, the calendar used to display a legend at the start, to show the meaning of the different colours. For some reason that was removed, which makes it almost impossible for an owner to understand the calendar. Here’s an example of the variables:
- Green means the sitter is available
- White means they are unavailable
- A line through the date means they are booked for a THS sit
As others have said, a top-notch listing is your best chance of attracting and landing a good sitter. Private invites to sitters are a long shot.
@DET to add to what @mars says above:-
White is the default colour, so may mean unavailable, or may just mean that the sitter hasn’t updated their calendar.
The calendar doesn’t allow sitters to add unavailable dates, only the dates they are available to sit. This is a source of frustration to many sitters who would like to be able to add dates they are not available.
Which is very theoretical. I might be available in Denmark or in the Netherlands but that does not mean that I am available in Argentina. (Unless the HO offers to pay the airfare - hint, hint.)
The calendar option is worthless. It doesn’t let you mark private commitments, so for example, if I am not available because of work commitments, the calendar still shows like I am free. Don’t bother with the calendar. Just post what you need and trust that if someone has applied, it means they are available. As there’s a limit of 5 applicants, you might have to cancel and repost several times until you find the right person. Once confirmed, I never cancel a sitting
@pietkuip Very true and one of the reasons I don’t fully update my calendar. I work in a school, and my boys are at school. We are, in theory, available to sit in term time, but only locally, and only for cats or small pets that can be left during the school day. It’s easier, and feels more honest, to not mark this time as green
/ available, but to leave white, which realistically means “maybe”! I just wish that there was also a red colour we could use to add unavailable dates such as @SalomeL describes
@DET My concern here when you say the sitter’s calendars indicate they are not available during some of your dates and about looking for a longer sit is that they are already booked somewhere else and if they were offered your (or someone else’s) ‘longer’ sit they would then cancel an existing sit.
When you compare their calendars with your dates are their dates crossed out (slashed like this /)? If they are that would not be a good sign. If the dates are just white then they ‘may’ be available. The only thing the calendar will show with certainty is THS bookings, the crossed out dates.
Ok all you sages of wisdom: I (think???) added my listing to the forum website so please feel free to advise/suggest away on any helpful additions/deletions I should make….much appreciated. BTW, the process to attach my listing was also very user unfriendly, kinda like the calendar feature 