HO here - wondering how far in advance should we post our sit listings? We have several trips planned for 2023 spring/summer, but not sure if posting yet is a good idea?
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I’m a sitter and I think it depends on your location. If you’re living a very desirable location I wouldn’t see the need to post that far in advance. I don’t like to apply on postings too far in advance although I have on occasion done so on international sits. For local sits, I usually apply one ones that are just a few weeks or a month away. I’m sure you’ll receive lots of feedback from other homeowners and sitters on this.
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For me, the sooner the better. Once you have your dates finalised why not list it and see if anyone applies? I like to be organised in advance and am finding it very frustrating at the moment the lack of sits being posted well in advance.
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@Murphmag we are sitters and typically book 6 months out, when traveling long distances. We have confirmed sits into May 2023. Do you have prior experience with posting sits in advance? If so, how well did that advance planning work out for you? If I was a homeowner, I’d prefer to have things confirmed in advance, then concentrate on enjoying the time between now and your vacation without further concerns of finding a sitter that fits your needs. The majority of full time sitters I’ve spoken to, book quite a bit in advance, however, I’m sure there are exceptions to that thought process. Best of luck in your search!
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Yes, definitely post them early. You have the option to change dates etc. as it gets closer, if your plans change. But as a sitter, we love to plan in advance and always leave some room on either end of the dates for fluctuations. Obviously, if it’s a sit close to home, we are much more flexible. But if it’s something that we have to fly in for, we appreciate being able to plan early. Flight prices are much better then.
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If your sits are two weeks or longer, I would move forward to post them now. If they are shorter sits, I would wait until 2023 to post them. Good luck.
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Definitely post now or as soon as your travel dates are firm. Sitters also need to plan their travel to your location.
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I agree with @ElsieDownie on the sooner, the better. We’re booked up until Aug 2023 with only one month left to fill. It’s good to get it up if you know you’re going away then in theory, you’ll get lots of sitters applying and give them time to book flights & make travel plans 
This probably already has been debated a couple of times here. We prefer to apply 2-3 months in advance, but others want to plan really far ahead. In general we avoid confirming sits way ahead of time because those sits often end up being cancelled for various reasons (restrictions, health, family matters, work etc.). Remember that for your sitter the situation might also change significantly in the intervening period and don’t be disappointed if they need to cancel a few months before the sit. Once I saw a listing here where the HO voiced his frustration that he was already on his third cancellation for the same sit after first listing more than a year ago (he still had 3-4 months to find his fourth sitter). This must be exceedingly rare / unlucky, though!
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It’s good to get it up if you know you’re going away then in theory, you’ll get lots of sitters applying and give them time to book flights & make travel plans”
If “lots of sitters applying” means more than five applications, then deleting applicants and unpausing the listing to be able to receive more applications is the only way to achieve this…
A post was merged into an existing topic: Admin Notice: Conclusion Of Pausing Application Test - Updated Post
Thanks everyone for their responses. We’ll get our 2023 sit dates posted very soon. Looking forward to applicants.
Julie
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I’ve noticed here in Australia that the listings up north in Queensland have a lot of applicants for winter '23. We are all trawling through THS looking for the ultimate sunny escape next winter. That is one example of listing 10-12 months in advance successfully.
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I’m new and just posted our first trip and confirmed our sitter. We are super relieved and excited to share our place with someone who wants to be here. I was wondering how far out to post but did it anyway…about 5 months. I figured that since I book cheaper flights and accomodations when booking early, other sitters may want the same. Also, it gives that person an opportunity to find other listings in the general area or plan an extended time away from home base.
Perhaps I’m wrong, but I am hoping this was a good idea. We live on the coast which is highly desireable to people living in the valley, so if we have more spontaneous trips that come up, I hope it will still be filled by more local people.
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Hi @Murphmag. As a sitter international sits a few months in advance are ideal as I like to plan my international trips and budget for air fares (as well as hopefully get the best fares).
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Five months is great, and exactly for the reasons you stated. It allows both parties to book better flights, hotels and cars. I also love when a homeowner plans far in advance because it indicates that they are detail oriented and organized. Date changes etc. can happen, of course, and we always add extra days before and after a sit for that reason. But early planning is my favorite. That isn’t to disparage owners that do last minute travel or have an emergency, but I do like to plan ahead. It also gives us that much longer to look forward to a sit!!
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We are heading that way as well next winter. Good to hear they’re already being listed.
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Thank you for the advice. We have several trips in 2023 (a couple of them very close together) and will be posting them in the next week or so.
Thank you for the advice. We have several trips in 2023 (a couple of them very close together) and will be posting them in the next week or so.
I’ve only had one sit so far, but my wife and I are wondering how far in advance we should advertise a sit. We have several cruises reserved over the next year. Most are 28 days. Is a 28 day considered a long sit?