Less sitters these days?

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
1

Is anyone else struggling to get sitters nowadays? We’ve been members of THS for around 6 years - before pandemic, anyway - and have had the most wonderful sitters over that time. We have also been lucky enough to get really good reviews from them, which are fairly comprehensive and give a good idea of their experience (all 5 * star - phew!). Our last sit was at the beginning of the year and our sitters were great as usual - this couple were from NZ and were travelling all over Europe. We haven’t needed a sitter this year since then as I’ve had two major operations - but now obvs desperate to take a holiday so have booked ten days away at the beginning of October. I’ve updated the listing to make sure everything is relevant and uploaded four days ago I think it was. We are very lucky and often get around. 4 - 5 applications from people so good, it’s not only difficult to choose but also sad to turn down people!!

But this time, none! I’m really surprised to be honest and just wondered whether other HOs, particularly “experienced” ones like ourselves, are having the same problem in recent times? I have read that the rules have changed re sitters not being able to book overlapping stays, which may be a contributory factor. Last September, our sitters managed to get their next sit organised but it was three days before our sit ended - one of them went on to the new sit and the other stayed behind to complete ours, which worked absolutely fine (we fortunately have excellent public transport from our village) but I think I understand that’s not possible for sitter to do now?
Thanks for any input you can give.

4 Likes
2

Are you in the UK @Kimski44? It seems like this subject comes up quite a bit and it feels (no firm evidence) that a lot of HOs are finding it harder to secure sitters than a few years back. Am sure you know what you’re doing but if useful, feel free to add your listing to your profile for feedback. You might hit gold and one of the forum members likes the look of your sit and applies! There are definitely a few different sitter & HO types now on THS and expectations seem to differ wildly depending on when they joined. You can do an overlap of up to 48 hour if you apply and pay for the new “duo sitter feature” but otherwise, yes it’s a blocker to your past solution which is also frustrating. #nothingtolose

3 Likes
3

Could you link your profile on the main site to your forum profile @kimski44? I’m a sitter just recovering from an operation myself and could manage a gentle sit in the right location especially if you can be flexible around dates.

1 Like
4

Hi! Yes will try…!

5

Ah, thank you for this - I didn’t know about the duo link function so will look into that. I will try and work out how to link my listing..

1 Like
6

And yes, I am I’m the UK, in West Sussex.

2 Likes
7

One thing that has likely changed from last year is the awareness of and sensitivity to visa issues. Though in most cases immigration laws themselves have not changed, the enforcement of them has ramped up considerably in certain countries and sitters who do not hold citizenship or work authorization in your country are much more hesitant to apply for sits which might land them in deportation proceedings. Sadly so many people rely on AI for “answers”these days when what they need is an actual immigration attorney with real-world experience. There is a huge (and often misleading) thread on this topic on the Forum.

Suffice it to say, you may not get quite as many sitters jumping on your listing right away (and timing matters too - October is not a top travel time), but with an attractive listing and a bit of patience I suspect you’ll find what you’re looking for!

1 Like
8

Sorry, @Cuttlefish and @Alicatorze - do you know how to link my listing to my forum profile - I’ve tried but it’s been beyond my technical capabilities which are limited at the best of times!!

1 Like
9

@Kimski44 - THS does not publish data on number of pet parents or housesitters, in total or any specific country. So not possible to objectively comment.

We’ve completed ~50 housesits - perhaps 1/3 each in UK, Schengen and North America - over last 2+ years. There seems plenty of UK housesitters on THS Forum. But that does not reflect trends in UK housesitter population.

Other threads for Pet Parents struggling to attract housesitters often recommend that it’s a timely opportunity for a Pet Parent to take a fresh look at their listing. Perhaps peruse listings of other Pet Parents in your area (competition!). Check photos (especially main one) are attractive, clean, clutter-free and complete. Check listing details include info on local area, local transit, local attractions. Ensure information on pets and pet responsibilities is current and complete (quantified exercise, #hours pet left, pet sleep location). Consider experiments to increase appeal of your listings e.g. consider use of car, airport collection, cleaner, periodic day-off on longer sits.

THS housesits are a trade. If your listing is attractive then housesitters will apply.

5 Likes
10

Thank you, yes, great - I will have a look through at your suggestions.

11

I don’t think that there are less sitters but rather more hosts listing -
We have had 6 requests to sit for the same dates in October all in Sussex UK .

But even if the cause is not less sitters , the result for hosts is the same , less sitters applying for your sit .

4 Likes
12

Here you go @Kimski44

If a mod sees this please help @Jenny @Sam_F

#teamworkmakesthedreamwork

4 Likes
13

Nice! I grew up just a county across in sunny Hampshire. Also if it’s Oct half term week could you make it family friendly? (If not already) #southcoastdwellers

1 Like
14

Various hosts have increasingly written such posts, about having previously received more applicants over years and now getting few, if any. It’s probably related to more hosts joining than sitters, because THS has increasingly advertised.

When I joined two+ years ago, it was easy for me to land sits even without references or reviews. By contrast, older members had the experience of needing to do local sits vs. my getting unsolicited sit offers across the country, on the opposite U.S. coast and even in Hawaii. And that timing and ease of offers was well ahead of the second election of Trump and heavy discussion of visa issues. I even quickly landed sits in London, Glasgow and other sits abroad. I attribute that partly to sits becoming more plentiful and easy to land overall in the THS ecosytem.

Meanwhile, THS got $100 million in private equity money and stepped up advertising. Meanwhile also, many people, even if they want to sit, have jobs that require them to work onsite, so that automatically limits how much sitting can be done. Plus, post pandemic, even many telecommuters have been forced back into offices. By contrast, there are no equivalent caps on how many and how fast hosts sign up.

Overall travel costs have also increased, all while economies have grown more volatile and tough. Like overall travel among Americans has declined. People are cutting back, whether domestically or abroad. That’s been widely covered in the news.

Longtime nomadic sitters also sometimes switch to resuming homeownership, like some folks have mentioned in the forum. They scale back on sitting.

Plus, sometimes sitters just sit less for other reasons. Like in my case, I did about a dozen sits annually for my first two years. This year, because I have other priorities, I might do five or six at most, total.

3 Likes
15

The site has grown quite a bit and it is possible that the primary issue is that there are just lots more sits from which to choose. This doesn’t necessarily mean any of them are ‘better’ than the ones that were filled very easily previously.

But with more sits available, there is a greater chance that there are less available sitters at any given point when a listing is posted as they are already booked.

I also think that there was probably a big influx of sitters due to Covid who were able to work remotely, but as time went on, many companies no longer offered that option.

Also as large as the membership is, I think the vast majority of members sit very part-time so the number of sitters actively seeking sits at any given moment is probably smaller than we would think.

As for the political/visa issues, unless someone has done some survey with a statistically significant amount of sitters, or is privy to booking stats on the site, that this is any leading cause of reduced interest in certain places is nothing but pure speculation. Many hosts were sharing this experience long before any of that stuff came on the scene.

Whether it is this issue, or certain other ones discussed here, I suspect that the opinions and bold declarations expressed by a tiny sliver of the membership is probably not representative of the community as a whole. Like any other online space, this forum is not immune to becoming an echo chamber about certain viewpoints.

But I digress… That you don’t seem to be getting the same interest in your listing likely has nothing to do with its attractiveness.

16

I am having fun with math today. It’s Monday! Why not?

So I decided to play with some numbers combining THS “data” (a term I use loosely) and information from the Office of National Statistics.

Supposedly there are 10,000 THS sitters in the UK. I say “supposedly”, because that is the precise number of sitters given for the US, Europe, and Australia also. How can there be 10,000 sitters in the UK and 10,000 sitters in Europe? If you narrow down to, say, France, you’ll get a much more specific figure like “2866”.

In any given group of 10,000 people over the age of 21 in the UK (and admittedly those on THS are not typical of any given group, but I’m not aiming for perfection here, just fun):

  • 28%, or 2800, will be retired.
  • 25-27% will be able to work remotely at least part of the week. So let’s say 2700.
  • Roughly 35%, or 3500, will have dependent children, and thus presumably be unable to travel because of school schedules.
  • So let’s say 45-55% are available to travel in October (Very squishy: retirees (~28%) are generally flexible; add some fraction of child-free employed adults who can take leave or work hybrid/remote that month. A simple split: retirees (28%) + half of child-free employed (0.65 × 0.60 × 0.50 ≈ 19.5%) + ~5% from other non-retired, non-working adults ⇒ ~52%; I round to a 45–55% range to reflect uncertainty.)

So - directionally, not precisely speaking - there should be at least 4,000 THS sitters available in the UK in October. Whether those 4,000 want to travel or are actively seeking to travel is another matter altogether!

According to the site as of 9 am CDT on Monday 25 August, there are only 604 house sits available for those 4,000 sitters.

Which is a long way of saying - the odds are in your favor! If you’d like to enhance yoru chances against those other 604 sits, here’s some advice for making your sit enticing through invitations(which have worked well for me; I realize this is not the case for everyone).

1 Like
17

Thanks for the tag @Cuttlefish :heart: I’ve added the link to @Kimski44 ‘s profile :slight_smile:

1 Like
18

Okay! Now that we can see your actual listing, here are a few things to consider:

  • Because you’ve listed a cat, a dog, and a tortoise, your sit won’t show up for people searching just “cat” or “dog” or even “cat + dog” Sitters have to search “any pets” or have all of your species included, including “reptiles”, to even see your listing. Most experienced sitters filter down to their favorites, so your listing may be slipping through the cracks. (I exclude reptiles from my searches because I don’t want to deal with snakes, but I’d be fine with a tortoise)

  • The dogs’ ages may give some sitters pause. A Coton de Tulear typically lives 14–16 years and a Whippet 12–15. Some sitters shy away from pets at the end of their lifespan out of fear something might happen while the sitter is responsible for their care. You could ease minds by adding a line at the very start of the “Responsibilities” section, e.g.: *“Our beloved dogs are near the end of their lives, and our greatest wish is that they have someone kind with them while we’re away.”*That reassurance makes a big difference when sitters are choosing among hundreds of sits, and acknowledging that you are aware of their mortality allows speaking about “the elephant in the room” [Does THS have any listings to sit an elephant? :thinking: :elephant: ]

  • Outdoor cats can also worry sitters, especially if foxes are around. I’d suggest mentioning the foxes in your video call and Welcome Guide instead of the listing itself. That way, you still explain the importance of having the cat in at night without frightening off potential applicants. As a cat sitter, I would not have applied to your sit solely because of the outdoor + foxes combination.

Other than these small tweaks, your listing is very appealing — such a lovely home and garden! I’m sure your pets will attract a sitter who will love them dearly.

3 Likes
19

But how many hundreds of sitters are there already based in the UK…?

1 Like
20

Funny you should ask….. :smile:

1 Like