This is a false dichotomy, and, as with most of the others here, I would much prefer to be in a modest house with lovely owners than being in a palace with an ungrateful/unpleasant owner.
I have experienced scores of the former, and (thankfully) just a few of the latter and know which I would prefer by a country mile.
I have also stayed in many mansions with fabulous owners!
=not stressful, more desirable
=stressful, less desirable
Why is this so hard to comprehend?Differing values I suppose.
Hey… What a GREAT idea! On my Sitter Profile, I am going to put in my title:
“If you hired me, it would be $13,000/mnth”
Yeah… That’s the ticket! LOL
Currently on a sit in a Stunning luxury modern home that if rented would be of similar value if not more …
and the appreciative host is paying me to house sit and look after their beautiful cat .
THS Rule 1024.B “No Sitter will conduct a paid sit outside the THS platform while an active THS membership is in place”.
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Just kidding. Enjoy your sit!
That HO sure knows how to be humble. What a turnoff.
I’ve been fortunate to sit in some very expensive properties in fact 2 of my regular sits are in such properties but these people wouldn’t dream of boasting about the value of their home or the cost to rent such a property. In fact sometimes these HO down play their home and facilities they have access to so they attract the right type of sitters.
This listing leaves me cold. Sounds like a sitter is setting themselves up for a very difficult sit as the HO is happy to mention the equivalent cost to rent!
Then rent it would be my response. And I guess kennel your pets? ugh… awful.
This is where you and several others have the wrong idea. When I say “airbnbs in my neighborhood rent for $400 per nite or $14k per month, it’s stating a fact- pointing out that the sit and the surrounding area is very desirable as per the amount of tourist dollars that are spent on lodging in the area.
It would be like me saying “I’m 6’2”. Some might say “oh look at that guy boasting about how tall he is. Nope, just telling it like it is.
But @richten1 is right. Many hosts would never discuss money, value, earnings or finance of any kind with sitters (or vice versa) as it’s crass. They don’t care what the potential Airbnb value of their home is (and may not even know) so it doesn’t need stating at any stage. Utterly irrelevant to the whole platform. Free accommodation for free pet care period. #simpleas
I am sure the host was well intention when they included this information. They likely thought it would make their listing more attractive. However as you can see from all the sitters responses it does the opposite.
Hosts can dismiss what sitters think as “wrong” but they are missing out on valuable feedback that could improve their chances of getting great sitters .
No doubt. Case in point being (as you pointed out) some sitters being put off by not being contacted within 48 hours. Although it didn’t seem important to me, in order to retain that small percentage of sitters I’ll drop them a brief note which to me is rather meaningless but clearly has merit to some.
And would you say that in your listing?
In my opinion, it’s not only an irrelevant fact, as @Cuttlefish points out; I read past irrelevant facts and concentrate on what is important for me but, in this case, I see it as an indicator that the hosts don’t see the sit as an equal exchange but they think the sitter is getting the best deal. I am only interested in partnering with people who feel we are working together to reach a common goal.
The meaning of that note is not merely informative. As you have repeatedly mentioned, we do get the information automatically from the platform. It’s more a case of attitude, social interaction and manners. If an HO thinks that a brief answer in a process of communication that they have initiated is a waste of time, it feels as a mere transaction and, as a sitter, I don’t want to be a product being traded.For me, one of the highest motivations for sitting is the cultural and social experience that may begin when the person who published the listing answers my message.
There are no “must get” sits for me; it’s just a question of a good match and that has usually more to do with the owner’s attitude than the requirements of the sit. The market value of the property is not even in my list.
It IS a mere transaction, until and unless the sit is confirmed, and then it’s something more. A lot more.
I make the comparison between sitters applying for a sit and someone sending in a resume for a job, or a single on a dating site reaching out to another member in the hopes of striking up a conversation. Or someone who puts a home improvement project out to several contractors for quotes.
In neither case is an immediate reply expected, and if and when a reply IS received, be it a week or a month later, had this person withdrawn because “the other person acted like they didn’t care”, it would have been a lost opportunity. It doesn’t necessarily mean that those who don’t reply within 48 hours are bad communicators or will be apathetic, difficult hosts.
In all three of your examples, but especially the dating app one, there is no chance that I would deal with someone who waited weeks or months to respond to me.
I was thinking a week at the most for a host to get back to a sitter applicant.
I wouldn’t wait a month.
No, not for a host to acknowledge your application and either invite or decline you.. that would be unreasonable.
I also wouldn’t wait a month for a reply to a dating app message or any of your other examples. You compared these to sitters applying for sits, and said that if someone wasn’t willing to wait a month, they would have lost an opportunity.
In one sense, it would be a “lost opportunity”. They would have lost the opportunity to sit for (or date) someone with terrible communication skills!
I waited one time a week for a sitter to respond. I finally told them if they didn’t respond with an answer the next day, I was rescinding the offer. After the offer was rescinded did I hear from them. This was after the video call.
Just last week I was waiting for a sitter to respond to my request for a video call at their convenience. 3 days went by with no response (the email was read right after I sent it, hence the 3 days) so I went with the next sitter on my list. The next day I confirmed the sitter. The sitter who never responded, sent me a note after THS sent the automatic cancellation to their application when my sitter was confirmed. Then the sitter decided to respond. I told them since I never heard back, I went with another sitter.