Is anyone else struggling with this issue?

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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Hey fellow international sitters,

I recently renewed my subscription to Trusted House Sitters, as I had many successful sits in the past. However, since rejoining the platform, I’ve been facing a huge issue that I believe many of you might also be struggling with.

The problem is that the majority of homeowners (around 90%) prefer local sitters, but this crucial detail is not mentioned in their listings. As an experienced international sitter, I now find myself constantly rejected purely because I am not local, and often, homeowners cancel calls the moment they find out I’m applying from a different country.

In addition, some pet owners prefer only female sitters, and as a male sitter, I also experience rejections based on that – again, something that is not visible anywhere in the listing.

My suggestion to Trusted House Sitters to fix this issue:

When homeowners create their listing, they should be required to select two mandatory filters:

  • Do you accept international sitters? (Yes/No)

  • Do you have a gender preference for sitters? (Only female / Only male / No preference)

These two filters should be mandatory, just like writing a description and uploading photos is mandatory.

As sitters, we should also be able to filter these options when searching for opportunities, exactly how we can already filter for things like “car included” or “accessibility options.”

This would save us from wasting time applying for sits that we will be rejected from anyway and help both sides avoid unnecessary frustration.

I am sharing this because I am curious:

Is anyone else here facing the same issue?

Do you think these two filters would actually improve our experience as sitters?

If Trusted House Sitters doesn’t address this soon, the platform becomes almost useless for international sitters like me. I’ve already paid for the subscription, but right now, I feel like I’m paying for a service that I cannot actually use.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this.

Let’s make some noise about this issue, maybe we can push them to take action.

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I’m not sure whether that will really help, as the tick boxes today are not working. Hosts could mark their sit for instance «family friendly» and will not accept families, they would say you need to be two, but if you are two adults travelling together but not in a relationship they decline. In reality hosts (and sitters) could decline for any reason. I only sit international and get good sits. Sometimes host prefer another kind of sitter, sometimes the sitter decline. Some want a vegetarian sitter, some a buddhist (have seen it, true story).

I’ve found that hosts are more likely to accept a sitter «as themselves». Couples tend to like couples, solo females prefer solo females etc. That is sometimes for the pet, so that the pet get a sitter that is like the host they are used to. Which make sense. I’ve also seen solo females that tend to not apply for sits at a solo male.

If my impression is «right» you might have more luck applying to a solo male host than a solo female, for instance.

But with a host getting 5 applications and only one can get the sit, the statistics would say 80 % is declines. I’ve also experienced several times that a host prefer a previous sitter which makes sense.

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Although I have 0 expectations of THS taking any actions to address this or other issues which have made a lot of noise on the forum, I find this is an interesting topic and I will share my thoughts.

I do. Other filters would also be useful but there’s already information which the HOs are required to tick (like how long the pets can be left alone) which is not visible on the listing so I really don’t think THS is going to change this.

On the other hand, I don’t think many HOs would be willing to say they don’t accept international or male sitters; they may prefer local, female ones but if they don’t find a good match in that pool they may be willing to go with a male international sitter.

I have often been declined because they preferred a local sitter but I have had great international sits in 8 different countries so, for me, the experience is worth the membership fee.

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For me, the only issue is gender and when I get a HO who tells me they will only accept female sitters, I write back and ask them to add that to their listing. Most that I’ve written that to thank me for suggesting that and write that they will change the listing.
Some HOs do note that they don’t accept intl sitters and maybe that is why I’ve gotten some rejections, but I wonder if a categorical ‘no intl’ would work or if people might have preferences for country or region.
But, I’ve not had problems with intl. In fact 3 of my first 10 sits were intl - 2 in the UK and 1 in South Korea (and I was surprised to get my the 2 UK sits with only 3 reviews). And had covid not shut things down I was going to be going around the world in 3 months - Hong Kong, Sweden, 2 UK and then back to the US. When I apply for intl sits I do add something about travel plans and commitments. That uncertainty may be a reason some HOs reject intl sitters outright.

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A sit that I am doing later this month in Scotland, which stated " not accessible by public transport" a woman from Australasia had applied and asked the host will you collect me at the airport?

The location has no airport!

So if potential sitters don’t read the spec properly before applying, and then waste HO’s time, I would imagine they are more inclined to pick someone from their own country/continent in future.

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What is an international sit for you? Any country outside Romania? Outside Europe? For me, as a HO in France, anyone in an EU country is “local” because there are no visa issues of any kind.

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We sit both locally, and overseas, and we don’t have any problem getting sits overseas, but we also return to sit for the same people both locally and overseas, so we’re more likely to be asked back.

I can’t imagine THS would change it, what you are proposing would potentially make most home owners click that they prefer local sitters, without realising that it’s about finding the sitter who suits you best. So sits would go unfilled, and ultimately people would leave.

I don’t think the number of ones that request specifically a single sitter, or females etc, is that large for THS to do anything about it. Their money is potentially better spent on other tech issues.

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I’m shocked that you find more HOs prefer local sitters - although you might just mean from the same country. My country is huge, and I consider “local” to mean within 25 miles of my city. My preference, however, is to have travelers.

I am cautious right now about international sitters, just due to current border issues.

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Plenty of people sit abroad, but yes, hosts can save applicants time by specifying if they want certain types of sitters. They can already do that by writing it into their listings.

I doubt THS will spend resources on doing what you suggest.

Personally, I was able to land sits abroad within three months of joining. I think it helps that I’m a solo sitter who telecommutes and is an older woman — we tend to get benefit of doubt.

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I am interested in where you got this statistic from.

Like others, I have carried out many international sits and my locality has never been a problem.

Just last year, I was looking for a dog sitting in USA ( I live in the UK) and submitted around 17 applications. I was offered around half of them but it was me who rejected them apart from one due to them having the dogs sleep in the bedroom.

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We recently applied for a sit where the PP was new to the site. On replying, he said he’d checked travel times for us…he’d assumed we’d be travelling from our listed home address and had given absolutely no thought to the fact we might be travelling from another sit.

i think any PP who specifies local sitters, possibly is looking for a regular and accessible sitter who can potentially agree short sits on an ad-hoc basis.

As for being turned down by virtue of being an international sitter, we’ve found we’re offered lots of sits once we’re actually in a different country, or simply by stating our travel intentions. I think the fact that we intend being in the country regardless of sits adds some weight to our applications. We’ve no experience of travelling abroad solely to complete sits, so maybe this is an issue?

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I’ve done five U.K. sits and flown there from the U.S. only because I’d lined up sits. Added some travel around those dates, to sightsee without responsibilities, after I’d landed the sits. My hosts never asked whether I was flying direct or would be traveling in the country otherwise. In my applications, I did say that I like to arrive at their location 24 hours before the sit starts.

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Hello Andrei,
I’m a HO and I don’t accept local sitters. Local to me is within 30-60 minutes from my home. I’ve had international sitters and they were wonderful. I’ve had many international sitters apply for my sits and the reasons I chose the ones that I did, they told me in their letter to me that they were planning on visiting the US from x date to x date and my sit fit in their time frame. They also stated if they had other confirmed sits here in the US. So, they are not buying airline tickets just for my sit. Once we have a video chat, we discuss all logistics. I also have no preference on male or female, solo traveler or couple. It’s having a good match that counts.

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@Andrei, THS is a platform that requires satisfaction of both party needs.
We have completed almost 40 housesits. Across a hearty handful of countries. And majority outside our home country (Canada). Indeed we’re off shortly to complete four (so far) housesits in Europe.
Some homeowners may prefer local. We find that many homeowners resonate positively when we outline our broader travel plans. We’ve booked flights to that part of the world and are clearly agreeable to reasonable incremental travel costs. We’ve thought through reasonable travel logistics and they are credibly doable. We find that all this makes the application credible.
For what it’s worth, we suspect that many THS housesitters do not seek local housesits. Rather they seek travel or adventure. Such people have different objectives (stay home + earn living/cash) and often seek compensation through platforms other than THS.
Suggest keep applying.

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I can understand your frustration @Andrei. Things have changed a little since perhaps you did your last sit. It’s easy to make generalisations such as “the majority of homeowners (around 90%) prefer local sitters” when, in fact, you don’t know this. I’m thinking this is what you personally have encountered with your applications which, by no means, reflects the majority of homeowners on THS. With over 230,000+ members, none of us know this type of statistic!

Maybe look at your profile to see if it needs updating. And just keep on applying!

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I live near Madrid when I’m in my property in Spain. During the pandemic I wasn’t able to travel about freely, nor were most of the world. I’m 45 mins from the centre of Madrid and people do commute to the capital for work.
I still seek sits in Madrid for adventure. It’s massive and there is a plethora of choices of what to see and do. During the pandemic museums and galleries, theatres and parks and palaces were closed. I like to be in Madrid and not worry about the last bus home. I’m local but adventurous. If you lived in any big city this would be true too.
I once took my camper over to UK (where I also have property but my family live in it at the moment). I lined up 2 months of sits and slept in a hotel only for one night. Just because I have a home address doesn’t mean I’m living in it all the time, if at all! I do explain that we straddle Spain and UK because of owning property and wanting to see family and friends.
in my application I will state I will be in the country anyway , hoping to increase my chances of being accepted as a result. Maybe some Home Owners don’t want local sitters because they are more likely to want to pop home or have loads of friends nearby to invite over for a party! Who knows? Maybe some questionnaires might reveal surprising trends and facts.
I went to one sit and the Home Owner opened the conversation with “ you weren’t our first choice” which I didn’t think was a very promising start! I should have said “ Why not?” But maybe that would have sounded arrogant! But a sitter’s life can be permanently roaming.
I think every sitter is adventurous. Not everyone would relish meeting strangers and living in their homes wherever they may be.
So well done Sitters of the World. You are all risk takers and animal lovers and that’s why I take every chance to meet up with you when I can. Every sitter I’ve met has some great tales to tell. This forum gives us a slice of that colourful life we all enjoy as a result of stepping out of our comfort zone to help others with home and pet care, if they have pets at their property and possibly explore. Madrid is a good spot for demand in pet sitters. Each home offers a unique experience in that neighbourhood. Wasn’t it Samuel Johnson who said “ When a man is tired of London he is tired of life” ?
To boldly go!
Bravo Brothers and Sisters. We are an adventurous and widely diverse Furry- Loving Family! I hope to meet you in person one day soon.

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I can understand it being irritating from your perspective but if you look it at from a HO perspective I can see they might want to keep their options open.

Eg, maybe they would prefer a local/female sitter but if they don’t get applications from them for certain sit dates, then they will accept international/male sitters. Having the tick box you describe wouldn’t work in that instance. I think it’s about supply and demand.

With seemingly increasing tightening border controls, and immigration authorities probably becoming more aware of services like THS I can see HOs being wary of some international sitters. Unfortunately it’s just a fact of life.

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I agree. This new Trump factor where people from certain countries are being banned from travelling to USA must be a nightmare for USA home owners to negotiate around!

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Exactly – ‘can you provide me with your nationality?’ Nothing personal :grimacing:

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By local do you mean from the same town or same country ?

We are sitters and our experience of 30 + sits that we have done is they have THS sitters from all over the world (as well as from their own country) .

We sit as a couple and see many listings that say single female only so we don’t apply . Not every sit will be suitable for every sitter . A host can only choose 1 sitter from many applicants ( at least 5 ) .

Whilst additional filters could be useful and might make finding a suitable sit a quicker process (and avoid wasting time everyone’s time applying for an unsuitable sits )
However, it would not increase the total number of suitable sits available.

There are many things that members have suggested would improve the THS experience.

THS hasn’t implemented most of them for example, many listings don’t meet the basic requirements of having 5 internal photos of the home and often there is a listing that states that a third party will be living at the home . I personally would prefer that THS invest resources into sorting these fundamentals as a priority.

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