We will be looking for a sitter for 2 months a year from now - when should we put out our post? Are sitters really looking for sits a year from now already?
Once you have your dates, the earlier the better, in general. Many sitters book out a year and even longer, especially for the longer sits like yours. These aren’t normal times, of course, but you would likely not have difficulty confirming great sitters even a year out.
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My husband and I have applied for sits 6-8 months ahead a few times. Might be a bit more of an issue with travel restrictions on and off, but I figure it you know your dates are firm, go ahead and post it.
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I’m sure you will get good applicants, but equally you will get good applicants if you leave it.
We wouldn’t normally know what we are doing a year away, and who knows what could happen to one of us, one of you, or one of the pets in the course of the year. Particularly at the moment I would think too far in advance might open the door to too many variables.
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Thanks for this topic. I am attending a wedding in Feb 2022. My dates are firm and I have already booked most of the arrangements. I want to post my pet sit , but in my experience,
I would prefer to not have to do it twice or three times if the sitter changes their mind. What are the thoughts on this opinion?
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For longer sits, the sooner it’s posted, the better in my opinion. I know I have applied for and booked sits months in advance. The caveat is that things are a little trickier with the travel situation at the moment so it may be harder for some sitters to plan but if your dates are firm I would suggest posting it.
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So I take it you have had sitters cancel their sits?
Yeah. Also, I have a hard time telling applicants “No” I respond to every applicant and apologize that they were not chosen. So, how do sitters feel if I re-contact them and say: " Okay, my first choice didn’t work out , so, if you’re still available…". Am I just being too sensitive? Should I just consider it a business transaction? My kitties are my life! Thanks for responding.
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It’s totally fine to re-contact a sitter and ask if they’re still interested. Especially if you were upfront and responded to them in a timely fashion when you chose the original sitter. Chances are if someone was interested in the first place, they will still be interested and we all understand that situations change.
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When you mention that the home owner or the sitter can change their mind, are you meaning after a sit has been agreed upon? My understanding is that we should never cancel a sit unless we have an excellent reason to do so. Maybe I am misunderstanding you.
( I deleted my first post because I had intended it as a reply to Provence. 
)
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Thank you, that makes sense. And yes, I do understand you are not writing in your first language so that’s why I asked for clarification. Je pense que c’est difficile d’écrire dans une autre langue. Je peux parler en Francais seulement un peu, avec beaucoup d’erreurs, si tu vois.
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I should also add that I would be happy if I had been declined for a sit and the HO later contacted me to see if we were still available. If it’s a sit I was interested in, I’d be happy to be second choice.
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Norie - I think it is great that you communicate to applicants not chosen, I do the same. If it’s an application I liked, I would let them know that it was a close call and ask if they might be interested in coming another time to sit. Do you call and talk to your applicants once you narrow it down? I find that really helpful, as it helps me gauge their responsibility level. I’ve talked to some that I really liked their application but could tell they were not a fit based on the phone call.
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Let’s go back to the topic. There are better threads for discussions about proper communication.
Everyone should post his sit whenever he/she wants. There is no universal recipe for this. There are certainly many sitters who commit to a sit well in advance, and I think very few cancel at short notice because they change their mind. Regardless, sitters can’t technically cancel. Only an HO can do that. So a sitter has to ask, and if the HO feels that the sitter doesn’t want to do it anymore, he can contact the support. I think THS will react if a sitter or a HO does not keep his promise without a good reason. THS is built on trust and to question this from the beginning is strange in itself. The basic rule is no one cancels without good reason. It is, of course, annoying when a sit doesn’t start as it should, but the timing of the commitment doesn’t change that. Something can always happen up to the last minute. There are usually good reasons to cancel and usually not nice reasons.
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Is it awkward to turn them down after you’ve had the call with them? Do you let them know during the call or just an email later? I would have a hard time saying no. It sounds like you get a lot of applicants and I’m sure they are all pretty good. How do you choose? I guess it’s a nice problem to have.
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Trudzie, on the call I tell them I am interviewing multiple candidates and will let them know by XXXX day. Always notify everyone that applied that I selected someone else via email on THS. Maybe we start another thread for how to choose. I’ll start one now.
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We have used TH several times and have had at least 3 people cancel. This has caused us alot of stress. The positive is that our animals have always been very happy when we got home. So TH works well for us. Question - should we be given a reason? The first time the sitter got a better offer. The last time no explanation. Thanks. I think our first cancellation was partly due to us posting too early.
Wow, I wouldn’t even think of cancelling without an extremely good reason, and I would think that’s something you should let THS staff know. There’s no way sitters should cancel unless it’s an emergency. Allowing sitters to do this without a consequence would undermine the whole system.
Home owners shouldn’t be able to cancel sits without every good reason as well.
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Hi @MaryLynne if you have mutually agreed the arrangement and a sitter cancels, without good reason, then please contact the Membership Services Team and they will investigate.
We know there can be extenuating circumstances life and emergencies happen, on both sides, however cancellations should never happen without good reason.
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