Greetings from Auckland NZ, sitters - I’m a homeowner. A modest suggestion: in your listing, please specify exactly where you are currently seeking sits. The platform, as far as I can tell, doesn’t allow you to differentiate between where you are and where you’re from as a filter. Thanks for your consideration.
we don’t list anything? You list a sit, we apply on it.
5 Likes
Not sure why it matters, I would address this in my application most likely, ie I live in Australia but have family in NZ and therefore would look for sits both to visit family and to travel further afield in NZ. Better that I apply to you than you invite me really.
3 Likes
Most sitters are seeking sits for travel so their location will be set on where they’d like to go not where they are from or live. If you only want local or only international applications please add it to your listing to help them. #backtofront
3 Likes
our profile does list countries we are interested in sitting in, but it might be very long for you to browse through it. Some of us are interested in a lot of countries, not just 1!
1 Like
You have a sitter profile. I usually invite sitters individually.
That’s a slow process with a low hit rate for the reasons above. They’re from Auckland but seeking sits in Europe and so on….#glowinglistingsworkbetter
4 Likes
It doesn’t matter to me whether they’re local or international. But if their location is listed as Auckland, and their last recorded sit was (for example) two months ago in the UK, I don’t know whether they’re back in NZ or still seeking overseas sits.
It is a slow process. But sometimes when I create a listing, I get applicants who are clearly not suitable, e.g. no cat experience. And I hate saying no to people.
1 Like
Their country preference IS listed in their profile. So before inviting them, just check their list of preference? That said, it’s not because I’m interested to go to Namibia in a year from now, that I’ll be free to go next month. instead, you might want to write in your listing “please apply only if you have experience with cats, if you don’t, I won’t be able to consider your application” and if they don’t have any experience, you won’t have to feel bad about rejecting them.
3 Likes
Send me a PM if you like, family is in Auckland, we sit cats, we will be looking for opportunities in 2026.
1 Like
Like @Cathie, I’m an Aussie sitter who loves cats and NZ, having visited and cat sat there numerous times. I have favourited a number of sits in NZ but often I am unavailable when they are advertised because I am already booked.
3 Likes
@AKSing you are creating unnecessary frustration for yourself by sending individual invitations to try and find a suitable sitter. That method has a low success rate as you are experiencing. The most successful way to find a suitable sitter is to be very clear in your listing about the type of experienced sitter you are looking for. It’s easy to politely say no to those who are not suitable. Most sitters are OK with getting a polite decline.
4 Likes
It would be great if sitters could have a “wishlist” WITH DATES, for example, we are looking for sits in New Zealand in January and February of 2026.
Owners in New Zealand would do a “reverse search” for sitters who wish to travel to their area, trying to find a match.
This could really work well if it was well-executed, everyone knew about it, and people used it. I would definitely use this feature if it was available (I am a sitter).
THS could get rid of the current “Preferred countries” and replace it with the above.
Hint: Look at the Home Exchange website for an example.
6 Likes
Excellent idea!
Thanks for the feedback. I know, I’m too sensitive about the ‘no’ thing. And I really like to look for someone who looks like a good fit. But on two occasions when I used a listing, I did have quick replies from very good sitters.
I do quite like @PVGemini ‘s idea of a wishlist with dates.
My profile is quite long and detailed, and I am often looking for sits over different sets of dates at the same time. I may be looking for a specific location for some or be really flexible on location for others. I think it would add a lot of unnecessary clutter to my profile to attempt to include all of this without there being a dedicated place for it. It woukd also need regular updating and offer little benefit to me, unless I was perhaps looking to sit in an area with few listings. It is far simpler to just set up saved searches for the dates and areas I am interested in.
On the Home Exchange website, entering wishlist desires takes about 30 seconds per entry. Very simple. There is a field for free text, so you can add something like, “This will be a solo trip without my usual sitting partner.”
The owners would be able to see the wishlist in your profile, so it may be apparent that a sitter is planning to travel within the UK over a certain period of time, for example.
None of the present functionality would change. It is just an additional “reverse search” function for owners to find a match, if they want to send invitations.
2 Likes