I joined THS with a couples profile before Christmas and our first ever application was accepted for a fabulous sit at the end of December. We sit as a family of 4 with two young teenagers. Since then we have had 6 applications in a row declined so I’m wondering what I could change or if it’s a case of keep trying. I appreciate that some people may be put off by us having children. I have followed THS suggestions in writing my applications. My profile is here if you want to take a look.
It is a great start that you already have a 5star review
There are always more sits available in school holidays than sitters available so you chances increase if you apply for these periods
You can filter and search for family- friendly sits specifically . I suggest that you focus on applying for these type of sits.
I suggest your profile might benefit from being more concise . Not only mentioning your experience with caring for pets but also mention how you will take care of their home and deal with any emergencies .
Honestly…I think its the children part. I have been doing this three years full time and I would day the majority of sits prefer a couple or one person even if they have a big enough house. And 11 and 14 year old boys…no matter how well behaved they are…are going to scare off most people. Nothing personaal but you’re competing with a solo person or a couple and that’s going to be more appealing
You have been given lots of good advice. I’d look through some profiles of other sitters who have lots of reviews for ideas of writing your profile. If you can find the ones with children, that’s all the better.
I agree with the others that you should filter your sits by family friendly ones.
It’s great that you got a first sit right away. Over the holiday period there are usually more available than during other parts of the year. You may have also have luck during school holidays, and that may suit your schedule too.
Good luck. There is more competition these days, but if you stick with it, you’ll find more sits.
I know you probably want to keep your children’s privacy but I do believe you need to show their faces in your profile. Also your profile does not specifically mention that you’re bringing the boys along it mentions that you have kids but I don’t think it should be automatically assumed. Perhaps some of your references could mention the kids specifically. But you will need to look for a family friendly ones. As I mentioned I think most people will steer away from anyone that has children. I think that some people perceive it as just trying to get a free family holiday and not focus on their pets. So maybe you need to specifically mention that in your profile too as well.
Also when I apply for sits I know they’re reading my profile but they also read what I write when I apply and I think you could mention how your kids are Etc but also I always offer to have a video chat or phone call them at a time and provide my phone number. That might make them feel more apt to you as well
Strongly disagree. In fact, this may even be against the site’s own rules. The site can use photos for advertising and other purposes. My apartment is too small for me to ever consider families, but if I did I’d probably rule out people showing their kids’ faces publicly on the internet.
I do agree with others who’ve pointed out it’s just hard for families. I’m not a dog owner now, but I’d be terrified of liability issues if my dog bit a child – and terrified that a kid I don’t know and am not supervising might do something to provoke a dog.
Your profile says you are traveling as a couple, if you plan on bringing your children, you need to state that. Most of what you have written about Ziggy is irrelevant, I would condense that into a couple of sentences. A lot of hosts don’t want younger children, but some do, concentrate on the family friendly ones. Your pictures are good, and you’ve also got that important first review.
Thanks for pointing this out. I’ve double checked and I have ticked the box that asks if I will be bringing children along on sits but it doesn’t mention that on my profile so I will edit it now. I do always make it very clear on my application though that we are applying as a family and ask if their pets are happy around children.
We sit as a family and make that very clear in our bio. I’ve chosen photos that show the back of my son’s head playing with an animal or a hat covering his eyes rather than needing to put a sticker over his face, as I think those can sometimes look jarring, although I totally understand the need for your kids to have online privacy. We sell the fact there there’s an early riser in our family who adores animals and has boundless energy but also knows how and when to give pets space. We stress that sitting is a great learning opportunity for him and that it fills a pet shaped hole in our lives since we currently cat have any animals. A lot of home owners seem to really appreciate that there will be a child giving their pets (dogs especially) lots of affection and playtime. We do get the occasional knock back from people whose homes aren’t child friendly, which is completely understandable, but to be honest I’ve been surprised we’ve not had more rejections. Maybe start by focussing on sits where the pets are used to tweens/teens and highlight in your application how you’ll be able to replicate a similar family set-up to what the pets are used to.
An Australian family with 2 sons the same age as your boys sat for us about 10 years ago. They had taken the children out of school for a year to travel around Europe. Their profile mentioned the boys’ hobbies and interests and explained how the mother, who was a school teacher, helped them keep up with schoolwork during the year away. They wrote about the chores that the boys helped with and the fact that they’d been taught to respect other people’s belongings. There was enough information about the kids to give us a sense of what they would get up to at our house and reassurance that they were well-raised. The family was really great and our dog loved them. So maybe write less about all the animals you’ve ever had and more about your sons.
Your profile indicates you’re traveling as a couple, but if you plan to bring your children, it’s better to specify that. Most of the information about Ziggy is irrelevant,so make it shorter. Some hosts prefer not to accommodate younger children, but others are family-friendly. Focus on highlighting properties suitable for families. Your pictures are great, and you’ve already received that important first review.
It’s the kids that will put a lot off, and rightfully so as they don’t know your particular kids. So you have a much smaller proportion of sits that will accept you. But then you have decided to narrow down that small amount of pet owners by placing an emoji over their faces. Then you have narrowed it down again by having quite ordinary photos of your kids, albeit lovely photo’s, they do not reflect what kids are like with pets. You have ten photo’s but only two of those show your kids, when that is your main stumbling block.
Your photo’s ‘should’ speak a thousand words, and yours don’t with regard to your kids. You need to show how great your kids are with pets. Such as playing ball with a dog while it jumps to catch it, ie an action shot showing a dog looking like they living their best life, or holding a hamster in a loving and bonding way.
The HO’s who accept you will typically have kids themselves. So embrace those people, by showing animals being happy happy happy with your kids.
I’m going to tag @Debbie for you @Zigzagtothebeach as she and her 2 boys are very experienced sitters as a family and I’m sure she can be of assistance to you.
