But after applying and following all advice (local sits, personalized message etc…), I finally managed to be approved for two sits, the first which will happen today (I am so excited!).
The thing is that, statistically, I got these two sits from around 16 applications and the percentage rate seems quite low to me.
From your experience as experiences sitters on the platform, would you say that it is the first review after which things drastically improve and the chances literally multiply and start to be approved for much more sits?
Do you guys have any personal stats for percentage rate with zero reviews and with other tiers of reviews numbers?
Thanks for reading and sending blessings for your next sits!
Hi @pet_sitter
A very warm welcome to the forum. Congratulations on securing your first two sits.
I am sure it is going to be a lovely, positive experience.
Once you have that first 5 star review, I believe you will be well on your way.
Please add your profile to your forum profile, as this will enable other members to meet/see you, and give you additional advice.
We don’t really keep track of that but I think that it really does get easier each time. Nowadays we feel almost snobbish when we get offered invitations to beach holidays with a cuddly cat and we are thinking if we should accept. The first few sits were far from that glamorous lifestyle. But there are also tons of really good sitters out there and we don’t always get picked. There are also sometimes very specific requirements e.g. some listings ask for “only quadruple vaccinated”, “only mature single female”, “only vegan cooking allowed” or “only with Malinois experience”, just to name a few examples. Some hosts will pick you even with zero reviews if you meet the criteria.
It’s not foolproof. When we sat in Australia, there were lots of choice and we got many sits we applied for, meaning it was a high success rate (mostly other platforms) even without many reviews - of course it gets easier when you rack up reviews. Now with THS, sitting in Europe, there are far fewer sits, when you exclude the UK. In reality for us, over this winter (Oct-Mar) we had a very low success rate (maybe 1 in 20), because there were very few sits, and many sitters move to Southern Europe over winter to enjoy some warmer weather, and so the competition is incredibly high. So to recap, it depends on the locations you’re after…
Hello @pet_sitter and welcome to the Community Forum and most importantly congratulations on securing your first two sits!
Now you can start to build up your review profile and this will certainly help when applying for future sits and as @botvot mentions it really depends where you would like to sit, some areas have far less sits so the competition will then increase and certainly popular locations will attract many applicants.
I wouldn’t get too worried about reviews.
A few of us started house sitting before THS was founded, using other platforms. Reviews were not even thought of then. So I would say that the first 20 or so sittings that I did were without the benefit of a review system.
I know that competition is greater now but an excellent profile and photos is the foundation for your sittings.
So it seems it’s not that matter of literally no reviews or one review.
I thought it was supposed to be this way: after the first review it gets sharply much better, and after 3-5 reviews or so it barely makes a difference if you have 5 or 15. But from your responses I rather feel each extra review, even the first one, has the same weight. So I will definitely try to keep staking them!
@pet_sitter Please remember that the value of reviews can be equally as important to the owner member (‘feedback’ for them). Your response after a sit will be in the form of feedback (just different wording). See steps in the link below:
As for reviews, if you get invited back to a sit and choose to repeat one, I think it’s good to still ask for another review. When I see that sitters have been invited back by an owner, it gives credibility to the positive review, in my opinion.
Hi @pet_sitter. It took me 23 applications to get my first sit. So congrats on getting yours. I joined in mid May last year. And have found the more great reviews the easier it is to get sits. I’ve just done my 10th sit. So just keep going and building your reviews.
Hi @pet_sitter - congratulations on getting your first review. It is difficult to get any credible statistics on the value of reviews as there are many factors that home hosts will be taking into account when choosing their preferred sitter.
However, your profile with one review when up against a similar profile with no reviews is definitely going to be positive for you.
Home hosts don’t know the sitters and so can only go on what the sitter says about themselves which, let’s be honest, is always going to be a biased opinion. Or, they can go on the opinion of what other home hosts that have actually met the sitter think.
For this reason, I think reviews are really important. They become less important the more you get. Once you have a handful of good recent reviews then that is enough for home hosts to get a feel for your character, reliability and honesty. Having hundreds of reviews is nice but unnecessary, after a few the home hosts will be satisfied and probably will stop reading.
The location of the sits you are applying for will have a big impact on the number of declines you get. If you are applying for sits in less popular locations then your ratio of acceptance will be far higher than if you are applying for sits in the most popular locations.
Don’t let getting declined a few times knock your confidence though, it happens to us all!. Just keep tweaking your application to improve it and keep it up to date and keep applying
You will soon see the number of acceptances you receive grow and with them will naturally come the all important reviews. - Good Luck!
Hi,
Enjoy your first sit, this will open up some great opportunities.
It does take a while before getting “jobs” becomes easier, I think my average was about 9 applications for a sit.
Here are some hints that may be handy.
Keep the place clean, make sure to leave it as they did. Send photos of the pets, and little notes, but not too chatty - friendly but professional.
At the end of the sit, if you have time, make sure to launder sheets and towels.
I always leave flowers/plants/chocolates and a card, thanking them for having me in their home. Sometimes if they’re coming home from an overseas or interstate trip and they have children, I will leave food items, such as milk, bread, sandwich fillers, so they can have a snack when they get home. This is always greatly appreciated.
Another thing to keep in mind is the neighbours will be watching, at one sit (I have sat for the same couple 5 times now, they just ring me when they’re going away) I’d sweep up the fallen leaves and mow the lawn. I’ve had 3 different offers from their neighbours.
I’ve sat in Australia, the UK, and Spain and think I will try Greece next. It all started from sits I did in my neighbourhood.
Enjoy!
@pet_sitter: Congratulations on starting your first sit! And good for you on being diligent and applying, even if the approval rate seems low.
Don’t forget @Therese’s advice: If you link to your profile, then members here can give feedback on your profile. People here are so experienced and helpful; might as well utilize that!
There was a topic on how many reviews sitters have on average. It’s not quite what you asked, but it’s the best we have from crowdsourcing:
