Like many here I am having trouble filling an upcoming sit. I have had no interest, and the former sitters I have reached out to are not available for my dates. So, I thought I might try directly inviting some local sitters. Looking for some pointers on this. Do you just search your city and start contacting people with an offer to stay at my place?
I’m in a popular area, with a cute, well appointed house and very nice cats. I"m near public transit. Sitting for me is a fairly low-labor job because I have CatGenie automated litterboxes. One cat gets two pills a day, but he easily gobbles them up in a bit of wet food.
Thanks for any advice. I do need to update my listing a bit because I remodeled my bathroom and it’s a lot nicer now, and I need to update my kitty pix.
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@lesherjennifer I will email you directly from membership services, as we can boost your listing for you once you have updated your listing.
Kind regards
Therese
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Hi @lesherjennifer I’ll just add a little promotional support for you here, along with Therese’s help.
Forum members, Jennifer has added a link to her listing in her username. For those new to the forum, click on her username and you’ll see a link directly to her listing.
Her sit is for Seattle, Washington, USA, for four cats. Her dates are April 3 to 9, and she gives plenty of options to manage this sit without the need for a vehicle.
Francine,
Voluntary Forum Moderator
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In doing the same at the moment - I started off looking across UK and inviting people, trying to tailor the invite for the sitter, ie associate the good points of our sit to things that they have mentioned in their profile. After a lot of responses I’ve narrowed search to closer vicinity to us and getting some interest but a lot of unavailable feedback.
I found it difficult to reach out initially but when it comes to it I’d rather my doggies stay in own home as opposed to kennels whilst I am away.
Good luck 
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Hi @smcinnes1706 It sounds like you’re following the suggestions of forum members, which is great. The more you share your listing (which is embedded in his username), the more people you reach.
I think most sitters are pleased to receive direct invites to a sit, so don’t be concerned about reaching out. I would focus on those who are local, and don’t discount those who are new to THS, as you may be missing out on a gem.
You can also ask for your listing to be promoted on social media. If that’s something you’d like done, please direct message @Angela_L to give approval and she will help you when she’s next online. Some of the photos of your pets are sure to melt someone’s heart. 
If you do get within 7 days of the date, remember there’s a separate section on the forum to get your listing extra attention. Hopefully it won’t come down to that.
Francine,
Voluntary Forum Moderator
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Your kitties are adorable! I hope you find someone soon.
Hi @smcinnes1706, your sit looks great with your cute doggos. I have favourited it in case you are in need of a sitter again late this year when we will be doing some sits not too far from you in Dec & Jan. Regards, Jenny
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Thanks for input 
I was really just sharing what I am doing with the OP as advice but good to know that you can get adverts elevated - thankfully it looks like I have a sitter sorted after inviting them so my tactics worked
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Hi @lesherjennifer 
First, you have adorable kitties, I wish I wasn’t going to be out at sea during that time, as I would have love to sat them for you. I do hope you have luck in finding a sitter for them though.
-Deb
Thank you - but you will be in for a surprise if you expect doggos I have cats. Although one seems to think he’s a dog, so there’s that
Thank you! I will reach out to Angela.
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Thank you - good to know you have had success. I’ll try to tailor my invitations a bit more.
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Hi, thank you - I have updated my listing now. Would love to have it boosted.
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Haha. Goodness knows what I was looking at!
Just a hint for HO wanting to engage a sitter by browsing and invitation…
Recently I have received a few invitations fired off without any sort of “hello” message… just a blank invite…
If a HO wants to trust someone to look after their house and pet, I think the least they can do is be a little more “inviting”, read the sitter profile and make some effort in to being friendly!
Sorry but any invites I receive as detailed above just get a flat “decline” in similar response, many times its a sit I would happily consider but these experiences are a big red flag for me.
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Totally agree with giu @Martin_S
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Having the same problem here. We usually get loads of applicants and our sits are confirmed very quickly over the last decade or so. But this year is very different. We were very lucky to get a very experienced couple apply and confirm for 3 weeks in June within 48 hours of posting. But our week in April proved extremely difficult. We got a couple of unsuitable applicants, then one who withdrew within a day because she had a commitment during that week. We invited a few to return and invited numerous others both near and far. None were available. I contacted THS 3 times I think, and they bumped our sit up to ‘new’. It was very frustrating.
Usually I receive 2 emails telling me about an invitation: one telling me I’ve got a new message and another saying I’ve been invited to sit. I’ve never understood why there are 2 messages. But today I received one invitation without the usual TH email ‘you have received a new message’ and a second one with no invitation but just a message (though it does have dates). One says 'XYZ is looking for a sitter for the following dates:
Select dates you would like to apply for
So are there two ways to invite sitters? @Vanessa_A
Vanessa isn’t online today but @Lucy-B may be available today to provide an explanation.
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