Hello, we have recently (this month) advertised two sits both in May and have had only one application on one of the sits. We have never experienced this problem before, has anyone else had trouble recently? Normally we would get multiple applications for a sit within days of advertising.
what country/state are you in? I feel like I have been seeing A LOT of Low App badges when I peruse sits. I am a HO and just added Sitter Dual Membership. I look around for sits in the U.S. but my House is in Mexico.
We are in the UK so never experienced this before.
What is the length of the sit? I think shorter sits (a week or less) are becoming more difficult to fill due to the new fees.
If you’re inclined to do so, you can offer to pay the per sit fees on behalf of the sitter and mention it in your listing.
In top of that, with current events gas and air travel prices are projected to spike.
So, lots of headwinds for sits, unfortunately.
We normally don’t use THS for shorter sits but did post one for 4 days in May. It’s been crickets for a few days so I will likely pull it and use a local paid sitter instead.
Yeah they are shorter sits. 4 days and a week, We have just had a 5 week sitter and we covered that no problem. We have just added to pay the sit fees to the add so see what impact that has. Thanks for the advice though, very useful.
Yep I have one upcoming for 3.5 weeks and found sitters for that. I think it’s the shorter sits that are difficult to fill. Good luck and hope it works out.
Thank You!
It’s strange right now. I had 2 short sits this ski season and filled them both the first day. I posted a 2 day sit to start 2 days later (this was in January) and another 2 day sit to start 4 days later (this was in February). For the January sit, my first sit for only 2 days, I had 6 applications and the February sit, I had 5 applications. I was totally shocked. I thought for sure I would have to get a paid sitter.
You just never know. Both sitters were fantastic. I would have them both again.
I take it you are near a ski area? That would make total sense that sitters who enjoy snow sports would be interested 
@felinelover Nope! Not close. The sitters didn’t know my destination until I told them and the sits were for during the week. I still can’t believe how many people applied.
Parts of the U.S. had crummy snow/ski seasons, so some skiers might be chasing snow elsewhere. People who love skiing know where ski areas are, so if your location has them, you don’t even necessarily need to mention that in the listing.
Yep, I’ve done some skiing in my youth and I’d know the distances to the nearest ski areas. And the snow season for most of the US West was very difficult.
Your question has been asked a lot on the forum. Do a search
@Luka100 i have commented on other posts about this. I am finding so many sits going unfilled, even in great locations with terrific transport links etc but still not filled. Last year this definitely wasn’t the case, everything or nearly everything went pretty quickly. Have no idea what is happening sorry. Good for sitters, not so good for homeowners.
Yep. Alas limited, poor snow in Western Canada this season 
. We’re enthusiasts but disappointingly scarce skiing 
@Luka100, if you seek specific guidance then suggest add your THS listing to THS Forum profile.
Magnifying glass at top screen enables search of Forum threads. Lots on this topic. Fyi, there’s currently almost 4000 UK listings. So perhaps timely catalyst to review, and refresh if appropriate, your listing content.
Where abouts in the UK are you? I keep an eye on sits in the Wiltshire area, and see that quite a few really nice looking sits have very few (or no) applications. It seems the HO - sitter ratio is out of balance in the UK.
These are the sits I like - up to a week. I find there’s so many 10 days +, which I understand as that’s when people go on holiday. I don’t like to go anywhere for more than a week, unless I’ve been before, just in case I don’t love it and also there are just so many different places to visit. Good luck.
Oh, yes! We presently have two requests out there. One is now 4 months out, and the other is 5 months out. When we posted them, back at the beginning of this year, we received plenty of offers and even accepted Sitters for each of the Sits, both from outside the USA. By the first week of this month. March, BOTH Sitters contacted us to cancel due to travel & cost concerns here in the United States! With all that is going on in the world today, we, the HomeOwners, can not disagree with them. As it stands, we can only hope that we receive more offers by the time we must travel. What’s even worse, we’ve already paid in full for both of our travel expenses, … and most are non-refundable! It’s getting tougher out here, people.
You might want to share your listing in your forum profile, so your sits gain visibility and maybe you could ask for input to help strengthen your listing.