Same! Currently cat and I are in a truce, but wow!
Yet the sitter rating for pet care is optional! That’s a big disconnect. The pet care should be a top priority.
@teamjett I think the pet care rating being optional is because some homes don’t have pets
Hi @Purdie I’m with you. I primarily do it for the animal companionship (so miss my dogs), and being able to help people is another big element.
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Then add a choice of n/a.
I think if that’s your reason it’s valid. For me, I enjoy being helpful, but I’m a combined member and I see sitting as a vacation – even if I’m working remotely. It is a travel hack. I’m not doing anything I wouldn’t normally be doing at home but I’m doing it somewhere else and taking advantage of the travel opportunity and free accomodation. It’s not altruistic because it’s fun. There is no sacrifice. Free accomodation in return for petsitting seems like an extremely good deal all around. Getting a little out of my comfort zone with gardening duties is also fun. The small amount of cleaning feels like karmic payback for the cleaning the sitters are doing at my place. I’m grateful to the homeowners who choose me. I really enjoy meeting new cats. I don’t expect to find a lot of sitters like you who are doing this more purely to help out, but it sounds like you are also doing this to enjoy the pets, and wouldn’t be doing it if it didn’t feel good. I don’t expect sitters to do this out of the goodness of their hearts or to feel that they are “volunteers” roped into something. I assume they need or want to visit or stay in my city and that they love cats so the trade is fair and that they are responsible humans who will forego sightseeing for a day or so if something goes wrong and has to be dealt with.
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I think the self-sufficiently rating has to go. It’s just bad. I can understand a homeowner being annoyed if for instance a sitter continually contacted them to ask questions already addressed in the guide. However, for the most part, as a Homeowner I would much rather a sitter ask me about anything they had questions about rather than make assumptions because they don’t want to bother me or get dinged on “self-sufficiency.”
@Marion I saw a star deducted for self-sufficiency because the sitter had had to deal with a recently adopted rescue dog with behavioral problems. And had contacted the HO.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
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When I started with THS I did pet sitting because it was an affordable way to travel. More and more I do it because I love the animals. And I have 2 cats at home too! But there are cats and dogs all over Europe, the US and UK who I have come to love and I now think of my trips as annual visits. Although I still do love to travel and THS hosts make it affordable.
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For me, THS sits are an affordable way to travel and telecommute, while enjoying the company of pets.
I have a dog. And if I just loved animals, I could volunteer at a shelter or sit them locally. I wouldn’t spend airfare and travel time just because I love animals. That wouldn’t be necessary.
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Adding to the list, why are the age of sitters/guests listed and but not HO’s? I didn’t realize an age is listed for sitters/guests until I looked at profiles on the THS app; it doesn’t show on the website.
Not sure why anyone’s age would be listed as long as someone is 18 or over. In the U.S. this is likely illegal.
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@lou28 I started a post more than two years ago on the topic of age discrimination against sitters. With 98 entries, there wasn’t any consensus.
Being 67 at the time, I didn’t like being labelled as 65+. Treat everyone the same, showing their actual age. As it is now, when you reach 65 you’ll be lumped in with all ages above 65.
By the way, age is shown on the website for sitters, under Profile Details, which is currently near the end of most sitter profiles.
If you search ‘age’ with the spyglass, you’ll find lots of posts about age, but usually of sitters, not owners.
Discrimination on the basis of age is certainly illegal in Canada, where I live. However, I’ve addressed this with membership services without any success. I suppose if I’m still sitting in my 80s and 90s, I’ll appreciate being shown as 65+ then. 
@Snowbird I did see your previous post when searching. I can absolutely understand your comments about 65+. But IMO no age should be listed. No consented to it.
I contacted support and the reasons first provided were: safety and identity verification. Well, THS verifies identity, not HO’s. Safety? Not sure we can judge personal ability by age. When asked if anyone was provided information that ages would be made public and signed consents, I was told no. I’d wager in the U.S. - and Canada - you can’t do that.
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I agree, there is absolutely no reason that ages need to be provided, particularly just for sitters and not HOs. The THS inequality between sitters and HOs really, really bothers me. This is supposed to be a mutual exchange, both sides are providing something valuable, we are all equal members but are not treated that way.
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The minimum age on THS is 21.
Thanks for the correction. Although, it doesn’t alter my point.
I’ve written about this in other forums. It’s relevant to the topic in that my age is NOT listed on my HO listing, but it is in my sitting profile I’m also in the same boat as you, as I’ll turn 65 in a few months. Of course it’s fostering discrimination to even have age listed and in the U.S. - as in Canada -this would be illegal for both employment and housing – although I understand that THS is technically neither. I also realized recently that on the phone app one can also discriminate uh I mean filter for age. The effect is hard to determine, but I suspect that there is probably some bias against really young sitters – new grad types, under 26 say, and older people in my soon to be category, but of course can’t prove anything without data. While it’s very difficult to prevent age discrimination as people can claim any reason or no reason for choosing one sitter over another, it’s another thing for the company to actually FOSTER and FACILITATE age discrimination by posting the sitter’s age, and having a filter for age when looking for a sitter. As much as I really love sitting and having sitters care for my cats freeing me to sit, this is really a distasteful aspect for me. The irony of course is that a large percentage of sitters seem to be retired and semi-retired responsible former and current pet owners with a lot of travel and sitting expertise. But I do feel, coming from a country and culture where my age wouldn’t normally be on any kind of employment application, housing application, etc it’s a bit dehumanizing seeing it there. I feel like it’s reducing me to a number and it’s there for HOs to judge my worth without actually seeing me – before they’ve even read my experience. Given that the company needs sitters to expand, I’m not sure why they’d want to do something that would turn off so many sitters. I don’t believe HOs are demanding to see sitter age on the profile or to have a filter for it, but if they were then I would say the company has to lead on this and do better
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I do think it’s unbalanced.
Sitters & HOs pay the same membership price but
- sitters can’t apply to all and any listings.
HOs can send as many invites to sit that they want. - Sitters cannot message HOs.
HOs can message sitters by way of invitations. - Sitters have to ask HOs to cancel sits.
HOs can cancel sits. - Sitters can’t ask for compensation ( I want it to stay this way)
HOs can ask for compensation for utilities, etc … - Background checks on sitters but not HOs
Excellent points!!
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I think all HOs should be required to post a good picture of themselves within their listing pics- not just the tiny- unexpandable- profile pic AND they should be required to reveal their age- as long as this remains a requirement for sitters- it should be the same for hosts too.
These are just 2 of the current inequalities between hosts and sitters.
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Lokstar – This implies that somehow HOs are demanding or asking for age on the sitters profile or as a filter. That this is “them” against “us.” They aren’t. If anyone does, the company should be sending that person a form email explaining that this would be discriminatory in the following countries blah blah. Many of us have combined accounts. Having my age on both my listing and my profile would only confirm the idea that THS believes that this is important information in case a sitter dislikes old people’s homes or HO doesn’t want an older sitter. It would double the discomfort. . Please don’t ask to double my discomfort! Why should profiles or listings contain any irrelevant personal details? My suggestion would be we simple stop posting sitter age on profiles AND stop using sitter age as a filter.
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