When we signed-up and created our profile and listing, we set the slider to indicate we strongly wanted to meet potential sitters in advance. But we get applications from people who are thousands of miles away, and from local people who seem to have an aversion to meeting. Is our preference invisible to potential sitters, or are they just not looking?
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Don’t think sitters see your sliders, no.
Why would you want to meet and for what purpose?
This is an international platform and sitters more often sit to travel and explore great locations. One does limit oneself with that as a requirement and miss out on many ( perhaps «better») sitters with it. But you only need one good enough sitter ofc.
It seems most «meetings» would be on videocall. Before a confirmation of sit as a basis to decide (and both host and sitter might withdraw after such a call), some give a video-tour of home and some make for instance small video-instructions if something would be good to explain with footage.
Local sits - many of us have very nice homes and no need to have accommodation as such. A local sit could be nice for several reasons for a sitter. But chances are it will be more of the sitters starting up and that doesn’t have reviews. But neither have you as a host if you’re new so that could work out.
Some sits do have an overlap where sitter comes before host leaves. I do think many then would expect
The overlap dates being part of sit-dates
Host providing accommodation (in guest room, in hotel room payed by host, or host vacating home to stay oneself at friends/ a hotel).
Many hosts would host a meal - in home, take-away or out. If not be clear what one will do. Make note that host eating in front of sitters without inviting to share is frowned upon as inhospitable. It seems that happens occasionally, though many would not understand how it is possible. 
I have met hosts pre-sit a couple of times. I then was on another pet-sit in same city anyway. It didn’t require me to use money other than a small bus ticket (one of the hosts offered to pick me up, though). Wasn’t required but opportunity presented itself.
Communication is key no matter what one would like. Ensures a good match.
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Many sitters will not be interested in a sit that is close enough to visit before the start date, and instead choose sits in their preferred locations where the HO is happy to meet via a video call.
My own sits have been a mix of video calls and those where I was close enough (one way or another) to visit - as a sitter I like to be as confident with the sit as I am sure the HO is with me, and video calls have worked well.
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That information is not visible to sitters, you would need to include it in the text of your listing.
Keep in mind that this is mainly a site to connect travelers. People who need pet/home care in order to travel and people who would like to provide that pet/home care in exchange for accommodations in a destination they want to visit. It’s typical to meet virtually to discuss the sit rather than in-person. You can certainly require an in-person meeting, but you will limit your sitter pool significantly.
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Unfortunately we don’t see those buttons you select on meeting in person (randomly we also click those selectors and you don’t see ours either??). For an unpaid sitter it would be an added expense for them to come and meet you in person pre sit which then limits their distance from you. A video call is the most usual form of comms after you receive applications. Lots of members (including us) spend most of their very successful sits in international locations so it would never be possible. If you only go for local people, they’re more likely to be on paid sites and/or looking for different locations themselves. #tryavideocallortwo
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As others have said, sitters don’t see that kind of information. If you go to your listing preview through the dashboard on the web page, you’ll see what sitters see.
As you probably know this is a matching site. Sitters don’t get paid to sit here. They are sitting in exchange for travel accomodations. They aren’t trying to build a sitting business with regular clients. Most sitters and hosts meet online using platforms like Zoom, Facetime, WhatsApp, etc. Sometimes with dogsits hosts will ask sitters to come the day before and stay over so the can get to know the dog, or to come several hours before the host leaves for that purpose. Many cat sits have a quick “warm” handover or even a cold handover where the sitter arrives hours after you’ve left with a door code!
This is why homeowners are asked to leave detailed home guides. Usually homeowners select sitters by reading their applications carefully, checking out their profiles and reviews on the site, and having a video chat before they confirm anyone as a sitter.
As a host, I often feel like I have pretty extensive contact with some sitters. We usually go offsite and use our phone numbers or WhatsApp to message and troubleshoot before a sit starts. If a sitter is coming from out of town, I may know details like when their flight gets in etc. This way I’m always confident that they will be here and are taking their commitment seriously. Sitters might contact me with questions about the home guide weeks before the sit! So communication is usually better than when you are using a service or an app like Rover.
But it’s not practical to meet “in person.” Even if a sitter is sitting or lives nearby, they aren’t being paid and may have work and other obligations.
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Personally, there’s no chance of my wasting time meeting any host in person to try to find a sit, local or otherwise. To me, if you’d like that, then hire a sitter professionally.
I’m not interested in paid sits, nor in hosts who want more than is reasonable from unpaid sitters. And there are countless hosts who are fine with meeting via video.
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Hi @RayW, welcome to the forum. As others have said, for some reason we all ignore, THS don’t share the preferences that HWs tick so if you definitely need to meet prospective sitters you should include that requirement in your listing but unless you are in a very popular location and a highly populated area with with transport options, you won’t get many applications.
As others have suggested, I would try video calls to help you find a good match and then perhaps you can meet in person for handover with some overlapping time to get to know one another better and show the sitters all the pet routines in situ.
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Thanks for the replies. We are new to this and consequently a bit nervous. Anyway - no need for any further responses. (It seems odd to have those sliders if they are not visible…)
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You can now tick a solution (it can be your own last post or any other you find useful) That would trigger a message warning posters that the question have been solved. It won’t stop answers altogether and you will probably still get a few. You can also silence the thread or ask moderators to close it.
You may find these threads useful to help you prepare for a video call.
Good luck with your first sitters. I’m sure you’ll have a great experience.
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Welcome to the forum @RayW
You are correct , these preferences are not visible to potential sitters . This includes other information that you would have selected when creating your listing such as how long your pets can be left alone for . This is also not seen by sitters .
According to THS it’s just for their own data collection .
For anything like this that is a requirement for you I suggest that you add it to your listing in the first sentence - so that only sitters who are local apply .
By far the majority of sitters on THS exchange free pet care for a travel experience so won’t be looking for local sits . However there are exceptions.
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I wonder if the admin is simply collecting data? 
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As a sitter who only does local (ish) sits so far, 2-3 hours away max. in my own country, I plan months ahead and can usually accommodate a face to face meet if I am in their area prior to a sit. Luckily I am retired, and have the time. I drive, but I also have a good public transport system and a free bus pass.
I actually prefer to meet the animals before hand, before committing to a sit. It is not only in the Home Owners favour.
I did meet one owner and dog in advance, and decided not to go ahead with the sit, as she could not control the dog on a walk, it nearly pulled her over, and it had no recall whatsover.
She fed the dog cooked liver cakes treats during walk, which she kept in her pocket, there was just no way was I prepared to do that. Also the dog had not earned any treats! 
I was also considering another sit over the same week in a different location and was due to meet with their pets too, (she knew this), and she then tried to bribe me with an offer of payment.!
That was what finally made me decide, NO, as it was morally wrong, and went against the rules of this site. The other sit, which I later accepted for that same week, was fabulous, and that owner has given me a repeat sit, with 3 more booked in 2025 and taking me into Dec 2026.
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It is allowed for a host to offer such on the hosts own initiative re THS-terms, but the feeling it brought considering the whole situation is totally understandable.
This dog would probably be better off in a kennel, preferably one where one could buy extras like training. And then of course follow up by the owner when she came back.
Prioritizing courses and training is so very important when one get a dog, and doing that would be an investment that really pays off in the years to come.
Hi there
We sit every spring/summer in a particular area of south England. We have met hosts before the sit commences. Usually it has already been confirmed on the system and it’s just a “hello” but there there has been times it’s been an in person zoom meeting. It’s a good way of reading the dynamics of the group and seeing the dogs and their behaviour. It also helps with the awkward period of someone arriving and others departing at the same time. Our priorities are to gleem the information we need. There’s is to remember to take everything. The meeting beforehand means we can arrive after they depart and either have keys already or collect them from a neighbour or lockbox. I would call these local sites as we know the area so well and feel completely at home there.
International sits are usually set up with an in-depth zoom meeting. Obviously we are not going to travel thousands of miles for a meeting just to travel back home.
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This is not a handoff or such.
Another perspective : I view a Zoom meeting as “meeting in advance”. Others may or may not agree.
That said, while your request for meeting potential sitters in advance is certainly valid and acceptable, it does limit your pool of applicants to those who near enough to go to your home.
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HeÄşlo @RayW
Welcome to the site!
We have done over 100 sits and very rarely have we met our hosts in-person in advance.
For example our very first sit was in Australia and we arranged it from Bali. Back then we just had a phone call but now I would recommend a video call. Its not usually practical -financially or otherwise, especially for travelling sitters, to meet hosts in advance. A video call is usually enough- and can be very productive and helpful- for both sides to get a feel for each other. However we do often get invited to arrive the night before to meet the hosts and pets. In such cases providing dinner and a room would be expected.
When we housesit around the UK- mainly in the south- we have on a couple of occasions done a pre-sit visit (of an already confirmed sit) but this was, in each case, purely because we were in the area- perhaps on another sit- and/or we would not be able to meet the hosts on the start day.
Only once, early on, we made a 200km round trip to visit some hosts before confirming the sit (thinking it was just a friendly formality) only to find after an hour long visit that another couple were also coming to visit directly after us! We felt so annoyed and misled that we withdrew our application the minute we left!
Don’t forget this is an unpaid exchange so please do not have unrealistic expectations of sitters. If they are close by and/or wish to make a pre-visit all OK but you will significantly reduce your pool of good sitters if you make it a prerequisite for choosing your sitter.
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