I am being shown numerous sitters who turn out to be unavailable, which is a total waste of my time. How do I refine my search to show only available sitters?
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Good luck with that. The availability calendar is so awkward to use, few sitters bother with it.
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I agree the calendar is very difficult to keep up to date. Obviously confirmed THS sits block out dates in my calendar but we have other times we are unavailable due to appointments and holidays and it is too complex at the moment to enter these individually.
On the other hand even though I state clearly at the top of my profile that I have no availability for the rest of 2022 I am still approached by homeowners who say they have read my profile and would like to invite us to sit.
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I was afraid of that 
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Same here, they know the dates, but if I reply they are unavailable or in one case are not sitting this year at all.
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I have sent out 9 invitations in 2 weeks and not one is available. They must be fed up with getting invitations though.
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I’ve given up trying to find someone for my June sit. I will have to pay someone to come and feed my furbabies which is not ideal but what else can you do?
I have sent out more than a dozen, with just one positive, who doesn’t seem to have read the listing properly as she is asking questions that are clearly answered on my profile. Several who were interested say they are unavailable for that Month, and 2 for that year.
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Please add your listing to your profile, and let us know where you are?
I’m afraid that my story is like the others’ situation - it’s far too complicated to manage the calendar integrated on TH.
Instead, I use a service called calendly for my business appointments. You can sign up and then send people a link to see your availability. I have mine linked to my work calendar. Here’s what I send for my cooking lesson inquiries. I don’t have one set up for TH because I don’t know if anyone would use it.
“I’d love to have a chat about setting up a private class. Shall we set up a phone call? We can talk about what I offer that meets your needs, or if I can create something custom for you. If you’d like, you can schedule a time using my Calendly link (https://calendly.com/[spoiler]myname[/spoiler]/) - my schedule is coordinated with that app, and we can avoid going back and forth to find a time that works for both of us.”
paging @Ben-ProductManager – I wonder if they offer a corporate version that could be integrated here?
Thanks for the advice. I have had another well established member look at my listing and have redone some of the photos. I’ve taken it off for the time being and will try again mid April. I’ve contacted about a dozen local sitters and none of them are available. If I have no success this attempt I will have to make other arrangements as I can’t afford to leave it until the last minute.
I do not get fed up with invitations but it is annoying when it is clear that they have not read my profile.
I reply to all of them even those who have not sent a personal message.
Even if I am available I may not want to do the sitting. I always tell the HO why, e.g. it is too rural, too long, too far, or even if the property doesn’t suit me… If I can, I send a couple of hints to improve their listing, very politely of course.
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@CambridgeAnnie did you consider asking @Angela_L to promote your listing on social media? If you have not done that, if if it’s of interest to you, please direct message her and reactivate your listing.
June 1st is also still relatively far away in today’s sitters world. You still have two full months. Also, if you are a standard or premium members, you can boost your listing, if you have not already done so.
@Sam1 have you considered adding your listing to your forum username, or at least sharing your location (city/country as shown on your listing) and your date range? Forum members can often be the solution, or can give helpful feedback, but they need your listing information. I’ll add a link to the instructions here:
I really do wish that the calendar could be changed so sitters could easily block out dates they aren’t available. It would save a lot of unnecessary effort for both parties.
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I’d love to, if I could only figure out how!
Have a good evening. Vanessa
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June is still quite a ways away, especially with things still changing monthly with Covid.
We are just now looking at sits for summer and there are only 16 that meet our requirements (family friendly + wifi in the US) from late June to December, while there are HUNDREDS of sits before June that match those same parameters.
I know it’s easy to get discouraged, especially if you’re the type that likes to plan things out months in advance, but you’ve got plenty of time my friend. 
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That’s interesting, because I would prefer to block off dates that I AM available and leave “Not available” as the default.
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I’d like to do the same. I am not a full time sitter, but will usually travel for a few months each year and take on a few sits while abroad. I’d like to be able to show my availability during that travel time.
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Is that not what you do right now? ( Maybe I’m reading your post wrong?)