A sitter has saved my listing, looking at their calendar they are going to be free over Xmas/New Year. I have invited them to stay.
I would really like the ability to be able to send a message to them as well, stating my dates are flexible, and I was inviting them on the off chance that they really were free over the holiday period, and if they weren’t, not to worry. Why can you only directly contact sitters only after they’ve sat for you?
Unless something has changed very recently, as a home owner you CAN directly message sitters. But sitters can not directly message home owners.
I’m sure that hasn’t changed.
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You are able to add a message with your invitation @Wavingfish where you haven’t been in touch with them before. Only this week I received invitations from owners with lovely messages and we’d never had contact before. I had not favourited their listings either.
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Yup, I just received a msg and invite, which I declined, and the host thanked me for my quick reply.
I’d not favorited their sit or had contact previously.
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You should be able to send an invite as a host. Invitations rarely work on THS. Most sitters do not use the calendar at all, so if you are not aware of the calendar-issues for sitters (?) then the calendar of sitters are usually not a reflection of their availability. Your specific sitter might of course be the exception.
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I agree with all the others. I just got an invitation from unknown HOs, with a detailed message,
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As the others have said, you can send a message. HOWEVER, the calendar means little when it comes to availability. All it indicates is that they don’t have another THS sit scheduled. It doesn’t mean they’re actually available. Also, sending invites gives the lowest ROI when it comes to getting a sitter. You’d be much better served by getting a review of your listing and implementing any feedback you receive so that you have the best listing possible to attract sitters. And keep in mind that this is a VERY high demand time and there are FAR more sits than sitters so you need to make yourself stand out and you should always have a plan B in mind.
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You can write a message when you invite someone… even if it’s a new one.
But I think not all HOs know this, as I still get plenty of invites without messages attached. At first I thought it a bit rude. Then I thought they must have sent out LOADS of invites! But now it seems not everyone knows you can attach a message. The site and app should prpobably make it more clear.
Hi, You should be able to send an invite direct to a sitter. I have recieved a few this year from home owners. Some had never been in contact previously. A couple I had sat for previously. Not sure how they do it though but membership services should be able to help if not obvious?
Go into your inbox & you’ll see the invitation and can add a message.
I know the calendar doesn’t work/doesn’t truly indicate availability etc, hence why I wanted to send a message.
Yes I can see the invite, no option to add a message…….?
Hence why I want to send a message.
Same here. Owners can definitely contact sitters who have not saved the owner’s listing
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As long as you realize that it’s almost certainly a waste of your time, even if you can send a message. It’s like a 1 in 100 shot that someone you contact will actually be available. Especially if they’ve favorited your sit as they’ll see the dates and apply if they’re available.
Hosts can only send an ‘invitation to apply’, along with a message. If the sitter is interested and accepts the invitation to apply, pet parents then have to send the sit invitation, which must subsequently be accepted.
As sitters we are frustrated with our calendars as well. We often have turn down fantastic invitations because we have other plans. Please know, it’s not that we don’t use our calendars, the problem is; we can’t use our calendars. We are not able to enter our own non-availability periods. We can choose a very large span of availability, but individual commitments during that huge span cannot be entered. So, unless there is an actual THS sit scheduled, we are unable enter those shorter periods when we are otherwise occupied.
We can enter our own availability on calendars I’ve done it
They said you can’t enter your NON availability and CAN enter your availability.
The calendar is just effectively non functional as a calendar and pretty pointless as it only causes confusion and annoyance for literally everyone who interacts with it.
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Exactly @CreatureCuddler - I just block out the whole year as unavailable and apply for the sits I like.
I still get direct invitations as there is no key to the calendar and homeowners assume I am free.
The calendar is a total waste of time in my opinion.
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