Hi! I’d like to suggest a feature that could improve the experience for both sitters and hosts.
Many hosts prefer local sitters, but currently there is no filter indicating whether a sitting is for local or traveling sitters from another city or country. Because of this, sitters like me, often spend time applying for sits where the host is only looking for someone local.
It would be very helpful to have a tag or filter such as “Local sitters preferred” or “Open to traveling sitters.” This would save time for both hosts and sitters and make the application process more efficient.
Hosts are at the mercy of sitters applying. So they can write “only locals” or such things in their profile, if they can afford it. Many of them cant or dont want to. They will -prefer- a local (or a singe, or someone over 40 years of age), but they will not write it, as this might stop a good candidate from applying - or even cause no candidates. Often when a host gets annoyed by too many unseating applications, they will write what they dont want.
Everything that makes matching and searching easier is welcomed by me, but this would have unwanted consequences.
Also consider that the hosts tell you they prefer someone local just to let you down easily. The real reason might be something completely else. Check their previous sitters: are they typically local?
While I support making the system as smooth and efficient as possible for all - sitters and HO’s - adding yet another “check-here” box becomes tedious and furthers the latest trend of endless boxes & lists.
Your preference is respected and perhaps highlighting this in your post would weed out a few applicants who don’t meet your needs.
Further, as ChiaGrowth has suggested, you can easily check the applicants’ home base by checking their profiles. Obviously, this is not a guarantee as many people do move around. And asking via THS-mail before “interviewing” will also save you and your applicants from wasting time.
@Luna2000, as experienced housesitters then we find that many pet parents either don’t have fixed housesitter criteria or don’t have luxury of choice. Rather the pet parent seems open to consider housesitter applicants across a range of factors. If any one factor, such as housesitter location, is required or preferred by the pet parent then they are encouraged to add a simple related statement at top of their listing.
Some recent THS listing changes, such as exact start-end time and pet exercise, may needlessly reduce the number of housesitter applicants (e.g. if pet parent is flexible on arrival time but is prompted to enter a specific time in listing).
Good points. As full-time sitters who don’t have a fixed location ,and look at a lot of listings, we don’t seem to come across many hosts that have a strong preference for local sitters. And for those that do, a lot of them tend to specifically note it in their listing.
Also, as far as the departure and arrival times, hosts are not required to enter a specific time frame. You will see many listings where it says something about it being agreed upon later–I imagine that hosts who do have some flexibility with the arrival and/or departure time probably use this ‘tag’. Also I have noticed that hosts seem to have a lot of flexibility in selecting the time range. I have seen sits ranging from a 2 hour window to 10 or more.
Just generally speaking about this option, I have found it very helpful. As a full-time sitter who often books back to back, knowing this information ahead of time can be a good time saver.
For example, I have seen some sits that interested me where the requested departure time was well into the evening and that is not ideal, unless perhaps I already had another sit booked where I wasn’t required to be there until later anyway, such as the case of the hosts not actually leaving until the next day. But if my schedule was still open, it would limit my options; and unless it was a really desirable sit for some reason, or I thought I would end up with a gap in my schedule anyway, I wouldn’t do the sit knowing I will most likely end up having to pay for a hotel for at least that night.
I dont trust the arrival and leaving time, and do apply even if they dont match my preferences. Host might be flexible, or might have stated their own leaving/arrival time.
But there is a point where I do appreciate that info: when the window is veery big, like +10 hours. Thats an independent cat, just looking for some love but can acommodate any crazy timings I have going on.
My two cents: “Local Sitter” can be very subjective. While the
sitter profile may list their home as somewhere not in your town or even country, they very well could plan on being near your town or in your country for the time in which they apply for your sit. As a homeowner, I didn’t think I would’ve chosen a couple from the UK, but for my last sit they were already in the country that I reside in, Mexico, so I was open to their application. After video chats with a few applicants, i chose them and they were great!! I think a checkbox situation for this could become very confusing, as local could mean a few things depending on who’s interpreting it. also, a sitter can simply change their homebase to your location if they want to appear to be local. For me, I’m open to anyone who can speak fluently in my same language, and will be minimally in the country that I reside or can drive here easily near the timeframe in which my Housesit is. I’ve now used Canadians, Americans, and Brits for my sits from THS and Mexicans privately.
I don’t work for the company, but I could see this type of filter never happening because from a company point of view it would be a disaster. The site advertises for sitters with the opportunity to travel and the vast majority of sitters aren’t sitting for free locally. I don’t think they’ll be a filter for that anymore that there might be a filter to keep away sitters with fewer than 10 five-star reviews!
Hosts on the other had are free to vet, and really aren’t limited by the five application rule in a popular location as they can decline applications until they find what they want – whether that’s a local person, a person with no problematic review history, or whatever the priorities are.
While some hosts might prefer local sitters, I don’t think this is the majority, but if it made it even more difficult to find sits in great locations to apply to, that would frustrate sitters and then there’d be fewer sitters available for everyone!
I also think it would be disappointing to homeowners, even those that prefer “locals” or don’t. You never know who you are going to click with or who may be the perfect sitter for that sit. In cases where the five application limit hasn’t been reached, the most sutiable person often isn’t the most local person.
Exactly. If we define local by “same or neighboring town”, which could be one reasonable expectations.
I think Tallinn and Helsinki are neighboring towns - just a sea between them. A lot of neighboring towns are across the border, and in some cases the same city can be in two countries. Does someone look for a cat sitter in the Vatican City? Is the Pope local for sits in Rome, or not? Usually these border crossings a no big deal - and then the neighboring towns are in Finland and Russia, and you cant gross the border even with the straight road connecting these two. Indeed, in one place it is a 15 minutes drive to the neighboring city, and in northern Sweden it is a a 4 hour drive that is only accessible during the summer. And people know there things and they plan and ask and tell accordingly. A tick box would be meaningless.
Thanks everyone for your opinionss, just telling this as we have more then 50+ reviews in our account, and this is a thing we heard from time to time, that the owners decided to pick someone local, and from time to time, that make nonsense for us. But yeah, “local” could mean LOTS of thingsss
(e.g. if pet parent is flexible on arrival time but is prompted to enter a specific time in listing
HOs can enter a range or click “To be worked out in advance,” or words to that effect.
Of all the features we’ve (sitters) asked for, THS put this one in which is so WORTHLESS. I wonder if the times for leaving one sit and starting another knock us out of applying.