Hello @Ben-ProductManager
In my experience I have been successful without any video call. Most of what we need to know (myself and Ho) is answered in messages and with information provided in listing and profile. I will also say that keeping it to written dialog provides proof of conversation and what has been agreed to. I had one occasion where that proved invaluable.
Warm regards
Amparo
Hi @Wildcolonialgirl there is no poll the Product Team are asking for feedback and ideas on the messaging & application functionality …
Perhaps you have some to contribute?
@Angela_L There is a poll, in addition to the main question.
1 Like
The Video Call Poll … @CatsAndDog, thank you and apologies @Wildcolonialgirl I was still on the Messaging & Application conversation …
1 Like
I meant the poll on video chats
Hi All,
Thanks for contributing answers to the poll and answering the question on video calling.
@Wildcolonialgirl to answer your question
So firstly, I always have a video call as an owner and as a sitter. It was more out of curiosity, do you go ahead and have a call? As a platform we encourage a video call as we believe its key to communicate as much as possible with the owner/sitter.
As a sitter, by having a call you can chat about their pet, home and requirements. It’s a chance to ask any questions you might have about the sit and go into more detail i.e. what’s the pet’s current routine? Do you mind if I work from home? Is your pet allowed in the bed/or on the furniture? etc…
Secondly, the messaging and application flow is an area which we have prioritised to make it more performant and scalable. The desktop and mobile web implementation has also been written in an old codebase which has over the years prevented us from fixing bugs and making improvements.
We are planning to work on the rebuild of the messaging and application flow shortly, as announced earlier in the thread, a new team is being put on this. (FYI we also have a team working on reviews and search)
As we are rebuilding this gives us an opportunity to update and enhance the user experience. In order to give ourselves the best options for scalability we have to consider future initiatives, so we can put the right foundations in place. One of these areas is making the messaging experience a richer, instant service, and to offer video calling on the platform. At this stage, we are very much at the research stage and this thread will be used to ask general questions and get feedback as we work on this project.
1 Like
@Ben-ProductManager as a sitter who thinks video calls are a great idea ; I would not necessarily want to do a video call through the THS platform as exchanging phone numbers /contact details outside of THS is invaluable early on in the process .
As evidenced on this forum by so many members unable to contact the HO/ sitter shortly before the start of a sit and not having alternative contact details to do so because these were not exchange at the time that the sit was confirmed.
1 Like
Thanks. My concern was that you were going to make it mandatory as I’m finding things starting to be rather over-regulated. One suggestion I have after yesterday is the ability to download a pdf of the Welcome Guidebin case of future times when the site is down.
@Crookie i strongly agree with ALL of these and represents many of us well. Thank you for outlining so clearly.
Please do seriously take note THS, as these suggestions are important and relatively simple to address and will save THS a lot of time and members’ frustrations
2 Likes
@MissChef, I strongly agree and support your request to THS.
THS please listen, as I observe recently, the change in a higher level of frustration from members.
I love my THS adventures, but admit I am now half keeping an eye open for an alternative service only recently & reluctantly …
4 Likes
@Amparo I am so relieved you said this because I have had many sits without a video call and often feel “I am doing this wrong.” I would say 75% call and 25% no call following whatever the pet parent wants.
My profile is very detailed, I have good reviews, and some sits are very straight forward with relevant information in the listing. If the pet parent feels comfortable with me and I feel comfortable with them I am happy to forego a call if that is preferred. It has worked well for me.
4 Likes
@Cleeflang, I completely sympathise with your view. All my HOs have said the same thing about the THS welcome guide. You deal with it responsibly & fairly.
But the majority of HOs don’t. Sometimes as they are just busy/inexperienced/disorganised, or sometimes through a window to exploit HSs who are in a weaker position by the current system as a whole.
So perhaps HOs could be made to commit to a prompt to tick an “ I have sent my own doc to sitter” box, or “I have sent the THS WG” box.
It’s been very uncomfortable when receiving a WG (of any format) only a short time prior to the sit, containing previously unknown and now unwelcome/unacceptable duties.
It’s happening more & more frequently and I don’t believe the solution is for sitters to grow a thicker skin or fire fight an already unbalanced situation…
… the solution lies in HOs having to state that SOMETHING comprehensive outlining all expected duties and conditions, has been sent at the point of invitation. Because primarily, they form the main terms of the basis for the sit.
Otherwise how do we know what we are accepting? Any time after that, it’s a potential hijack. Which THS can easily prevent happening to sitters by said solution.
The added advantage of such simple solutions is that it slowly, subtly and fairly starts to address the current very stark and unnecessary imbalance and inequalities between the positions of HO and HS.
1 Like
That’s great stuff @MiqueFrançois.
We HSs need to receive that at the point of invitation so we can see what we are committing to in respect of caring for your home and pets. That way we can make a meaningful, and safe for all concerned, acceptance.
1 Like
I have only NOT had a video call once. It did NOT go well. The sit was full of unexpected and unwelcome surprises. Pretty stressful. And avoidable, I quickly learned. No welcome guide either, btw.
It was my first ever offer and third ever sit. (therefore completely green and naive) They kept promising a video call and WG “soon”. It didn’t happen over the next months. And I chased till the very last day.
They even gave me the wrong code for getting into the house and had already flown to Spain by then. In that case it was definitely - “it’s free labour, who cares anyway?!”
The electronic front door kept opening wide by itself in the middle of the night and during the day. Not great if I went out briefly anywhere. Or wanted to sleep safely and without worry at night. On informing the HO about it, it was “oh yeah, that happens”. Nightmare. Lesson learned.
I now always insist on a video call and manage these on the basis that I am interviewing them, not the other way around. No video call, no chance.
We are forgetting that ultimately, the HOs need US to go away on their trip, leaving their home and pets in safety, for free, and willingly too. The terms and conditions and dynamics of the system does not fairly reflect that. Why? Who knows? It’s not even in the HOs real interest in the long term this way, as they will lose out on the good and more experienced HSs .
In the absence of a more equitable, balanced position of power for HSs, I am sadly now obliged to make it clear to my HO’s that I have my own house, am not nomadic & dependent, or travelling about, or going on holiday with free accommodation. I advise them that my own sitting standards are incredibly high and verified by the impeccable, glowing reviews that are well earned. Almost all of my HOs after that approach, have been decent, grateful and lovely.
As HSs we need to rebalance that currently inherent inequality within the THS setup and a video call, for me, is the only way.
I would not want to use a built in THS video option. Sometimes it’s the only way to getting contact details of any kind from the reticent HOs.
Early on, I had an HO who refused outright any video call. She INSISTED in a most demanding way, that I attend her home in person (2hrs drive each way). I declined and countered with, “I will be on a sit nearer you in … I will visit you then”. She agreed. (1 hr drive each way then).
And then agreed to give an address only on the day of the proposed visit.
She STILL REFUSED TO GIVE ME ANY TELEPHONE NUMBER. Saying she will never give that out to a HS as it’s unnecessary! . What if I’d had a problem in finding her home etc? She wanted me to email her every day providing updates and check my email for her correspondence, twice every day!
She cared only about her terms and needs. She was extremely bullying in her comms and approach. And I’m always unconditionally respectful, for I was brought up that way. I withdrew my application and explained politely why.
In general, I didn’t even get the address till the days before sit commencement. They either trust us or they don’t??? . Now I have to insist: no address & telephone deets, no acceptance. It should not be stacked that way guys.
So please don’t make it EVEN harder for us HSs to get a telephone number out of our (often) already controlling HOs.
@Ben-ProductManager RE: Integrating video meetings on the THS site. Does THS gain revenue if it does this? Honestly, with all the things that need fixing, and with Zoom, WhatsApp, Skype etc available to us, I would really urge the team to focus on real functionality for paying members. At some point, the revenue needed from renewing members will be just as important as the revenue needed from new members. (In nonprofit fundraising, we seek both in equal measure.) It would be great to see THS prioritize both of these revenue sources without sacrificing one for the other.
Some of the ideas below are tangentially related to applications and messaging. I’ve tried to be relevant:
Idea:
- Rather than integrating a video meeting platform into THS as you polled above, perhaps there is a tech-forward (revenue generating) way to integrate THS with other travel itinerary platforms including Airbnb, Hotels.com, Wanderlog, TripIT, etc. It would be awesome to have a practical itinerary App that includes my THS gigs with other stays. Currently I am using Wanderlog and have to hand-enter my THS stays, although I can auto upload my Airbnb and other stays with a confirmation email.
ADDED: Also consider synching THS’s calendar with Outlook, Gmail or other calendars so that THS bookings automatically appear on our calendars. See Meetup for an example.
Improvement:
- Separate our messages as pet parents vs. sitters. (I am both.) See Airbnb where you can toggle between your communication as a host vs. guest.
- Provide more functionality in the message box to allow archiving by folder or labels with the easy ability to change folders and delete messages altogether.
- Allow us to search on long message threads to easily find info such as what time the pet parent is returning or their phone numbers.
- At the top of each message thread, remind us of the human names and pet names of hosts. (My 59 year old brain needs all the help it can get.)
- Allow sitters to post dates & locations they are interested in and allow pet parents to search on those parameters when they are proactively seeking applicants. For example, I am looking for sits in UK/Europe in April, May, November & December 2024. It would be a win win for me and for pet parents to find me.
- Reveal home addresses and phone numbers for both sitters and pet parents when a sit is accepted or at least prompt the homeowner/sitter to provide them at that time if they have not done so already.
- Track the rate of response/communication by both sitters and pet parents and show that on our profiles and listings, similar to Airbnb.
- Consider prioritizing the order of listings in a search according to response/communication rate. Eg: 1) Listings by pet parents with a good response time (72 hours or less); then 2) First time listings & low application listings which I think you now call recommended; followed by 3) Listings by pet parents with a slow response time (over 72 hours down to never responds at all)
- Allow sitting dates to be easily updated if both pet parent and sitter agree to the change. Also, make it clear in the listing when the pet parent is building in overlap at the start/end of the sit. Encourage pet parents to be clear about times needed. For example, if a sit ends on 31 October and the homeowner needs the sitter to stay until 5pm, I would like to know that as it affects my departure or next sit plans.
- When search results are shown in a list, there are cute icons showing the type and number of pets to be cared for. That is a great time saver for me to pass over the sits I am not interested in/qualfied for. It would be great to have similar “at a glance icons” for: Wifi, Public Transit, Car Included etc.
- ADDED: Give sitters a special badge for being invited to a repeat sit. Maybe in the same place that you mention our years of experience.
- Prompt pet parents to include very basic information in their listings which facilitates applications and communication: e.g. medicine or special needs, how long can pets be left alone, singles/couples preferred, kids okay, sitter pets okay…
- Allow us to move/archive messages even if the person is no longer a member of THS.
- It would be wonderful for sitters to be able to message pet parents who have announced a sit even if we haven’t applied (yet), to allow us to ask questions/clarify before we apply. However, this is now moot because we don’t have the time to be thoughtful and communicative as long as the 5 application limit race is in effect.
Frustration:
- I cannot search for sits that I have favorited or see/find new dates posted by my favorites. Given the time and timezone sensitivity of the 5 application limit for popular sits, this is an enormous problem. I would like a chance to apply for popular sits.
- The geographic parameters of the search and map function are close to useless. If I have searched on London, I do not want to sift through sits in West Sussex. If I search on New York City, I do not want to see sits in New Jersey, despite the convenience of Amtrak, NJ Transit and PATH.
- ADDED: Let us search for sits in mulitiple locations (Arizona & New Mexico) or regions (Europe or Asia)
- The calendar is pretty much useless. We need a key to understand the shading/cross out. Sitters need to be able to update it manually with non-THS obligations. (e.g. I can’t sit for anyone in Dec 2023 because I am choosing to stay home for the holidays). Pet parents should not be able to invite us to sits that conflict with our calenars. It is a waste of their time and mine.
- Currently we can search on accessible to public transit or includes a car separately. I would like to be able to search on accessible OR not accessible but includes use of car.
- The home manual/guide is clunky, repetitive and not conducive to printing out. I would like the format to be more concise to make printing easier and I would LOVE the ability to download it as a document in my Android Notes App or perhaps google drive to make looking at it on my phone easier.
Well, you asked. 
Thanks!
4 Likes
It is confusing and just want to add on – NOT the HOs fault but the system. The invitation is separate from the message. The message may be easy to miss because of how the messages are nested. It’s like a set up for bad communication that makes it seem like both parties are not sending messages/ignoring messages.
2 Likes
Idea - a “Flexible dates, Flexible location” option. Some homeowners want to plan a trip (visit family or friends, so flexible dates) depending on a good sitter being available.
Improvement - STOP the five applicant limit!!! Let HO choose their own limit, if any.
Top Frustration - The five applicant limit!!!
3 Likes
I appreciate that THS is trying to make improvements. However, I think adding video calling within the platform would be a huge waste of time and resources. I’ve never seen a single comment about anyone being unable to do a video chat. With all the available options (zoom, facetime, whatsapp, etc), there doesn’t seem to be a need for that and, if implemented, I doubt many would use it.
Why not focus time and resources on issues that actually need to be resolved. Forum members constantly post issues as well as possible solutions.
Personally, I would love to see the calendar get priority. Sitters need to be able to easily add dates that we are available AND WHERE we are available to sit during those dates. Homeowners want to be able to effectively search for sitters who want to sit in their area. Being able to add when and where we want to sit and making it possible for HOs to be able to search by both dates and locations would be an enormous improvement. Currently, the calendar is useless.
Another priority should be the welcome guide. It would be really nice if all HOs used the welcome guide. However, many HOs don’t like it because it’s difficult to use and edit. Why not fix it so that it is easy to use and allows HOs to easily customize for their particular sit. It would also be nice if it was shared automatically when the sit is confirmed rather than making sitters repeatedly request it.
I’ll stop there, but there are many issues that have been brought up repeatedly, many of which would be fairly easy to fix. I’m very curious as to how THS determines priorities.
6 Likes
I quite agree @Marion it is the system and not the HO’s fault. I, too, have a combined membership like you so see the issue from both sides.
@Ben-ProductManager Heres my opinion on integration of a video call platform into THS: It would add 0 benefit to me. I’m perfectly capable of arranging my own video call.
And, when I’ve seen this done other places, it always requires the users to agree that the calls and content of the calls become property of the service (THS, in this instance). I would never agree to that.
As others have expressed, I would prefer THS focus on other, more useful, improvements. There are plenty of good examples provided. Thanks for listening.
7 Likes