Continuing the discussion from Homeowners please invite sitters who have favorited your listing when you have flexible dates:
To THS management, are there any plans to change this policy in the near future so that sitters can contact homeowners/pet parents directly? I’ve also found myself in a similar situation where I have a pet sit that ends on the 13th of the month but the owner let me know that she is fine with me leaving on the 12th, because they are arriving that evening. However, with the way things are currently, I cannot apply for a pet sit starting on the 12th because of the date overlap, I would have to trouble her to change her dates. I have found that a lot of owners are flexible on their dates and it would be really helpful if there was a way for us to communicate with prospective sits. I hope that there’s a workaround for this in the near future.
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Hi @savoryandrose
This has been asked before (that sitters can message HO’s) but I can’t see THS changing it as this let’s THS control the membership for sitters.
Of course not. It would defeat the limit-of-five.
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@savoryandrose, if I were doing the sit and the sit was to end on the 12th, I would trouble the home host to update the dates, regardless of any other intentions.
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@savoryandrose THS don’t read the forum so if you want THS management to read your message you need to send an e-mail to support@trustedhousesitters.com.
We have been in a similar situation several times. We just asked that the first HO (who we already had commit to ) to amend the end date to the correct date that they were actually returning . Problem solved. We could then apply for sits starting that same day.
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I sent them an email, hopefully they will revise this policy in the future because we have a lot of members who travel for long-term sits and they have general dates. There should be a way for us to connect directly with members through the app without having to necessarily apply for a sit.
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Thank you @savoryandrose - do let us know how you get on.
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@savoryandrose you may be interested in reading this thread where the topic has previously been discussed Messaging owners
I did, thank you. Glad to see that others have spoken up as well, I’d like to see more of an opportunity for communication. Thanks to all who responded.
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If THS maintains the five-applicant rule, it’s to control applications. So why would they make it easier to communicate with hosts without applying? Wouldn’t that subvert the five-applicant limit?
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@savoryandrose We had that happen recently. The host announced, on the day we arrived for a 5 week sit, that they were actually arriving back one day earlier. We immediately asked them to contact THS to get the end date altered as we were actively looking for the next sit. They did so and we landed a great sit directly after theirs that we would have otherwise not been able to apply for. So don’t worry about ‘bothering’ the host- It is they who changed the date & THS who has caused the complication! Before the no-overlap policy was introduced we frequently had informal date changes with a host and never bother to change it officially if only a day or two. But now it can mean the difference between being apply for a great sit or not!
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Thank you, I appreciate your insights and to all who replied here. I think I’m probably not explaining myself too well, but for me, it’s about more than just applying for pet sits. I’ve been a member for many years and have enjoyed the relationships I have formed with other members, that’s the heart of what I do here, is the relationship building with potential owners and pets. Since the recent policy changes, I feel like communication has been cut off. I like to be able to network with other members, even if I’m not able to sit for them right away. As I mentioned previously, we have members who travel extensively and have flexible dates. In the past, it was easier to communicate and build a relationship. Now, everything comes down to an application and has become very cut and dry. It’s difficult for me to explain, but I’m glad there have been others in the previous thread who share my sentiments and brought it up to THS. I met my best friend through THS and many of the relationships I’ve formed have been priceless to me, I hate to lose that. I hope that in the future, there will be a way to message each other without applying for a sit. It’s about meeting like minded people, I feel like that’s why many of us are here, we joined to be part of a group of like minded animal lovers and to connect with each other.
Thanks again to all who replied, my apologies if my explanations have been less than clear.
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I absolutely understand. The ‘no overlap’ policy is more than frustrating. Not just the fact we can no longer arrange a convenient overlap- when circumstances allow- but the fact we are blocked from making any contact at all! The message ‘You are busy on another sit’ drives me nuts!
THS- I KNOW I am busy on another sit but I want to make contact with the host anyway- to ask questions, maybe to ask about future dates, even just to see how many applicants there are!! Its already a pain that we have to use an application space to make contact but if you are ‘busy on another sit’, or miss the 5 app limit, you can forget it completely.
The 5 app limit & no overlap policies have completely changed our user experience. It used to be fun and relaxing to browse the site for interesting sits but now its a race against the clock if anything catches your eye -so the whole search for sits/application process is now a lot more stressful.
Sadly I think those ‘good old days’ are gone for good- THS seems adamant not to reverse any of the new unpopular policies despite a huge amount of negative feedback from members. The bigger the company gets the less personal it is becoming.
Sigh…
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@Lokstar @savoryandrose I was randomly browsing listings in different parts of Europe last night, and came across several longer sits where the host had said “Please get in touch even if you can only do part of the dates”. I expect they don’t know that sitters can’t do that any more. They must be wondering why they aren’t receiving applications.
THS needs a solution for hosts of long term sits whose dates are flexible to be able to receive applications for partial dates.
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@Lokstar @Debbie Exactly, you hit the nail on the head. We have members who advertise flexible dates and there is no longer a way to communicate with them. In the past, I would also scroll like you and virtually meet other members, especially in parts of Europe that I planned on visiting, and also in the US. I would frequently stage my own “meetups” with members if I was in their area, and they were interested in meeting in person. A lot of members appreciate that personal connection. It was about more than just “hiring a sitter”, it was the opportunity to be a part of a larger community. Hopefully we raise our voices and THS will see the value in this. I believe if you limit the value to just a service offering transactions, then members are going to approach it from the perspective of cost vs value and how frequently they use the “service”. Rather than with the understanding that they are part of a community and building relationships - that’s how you create long term memberships with an eye on retention and success.
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When listing dates on the app there was a tick box for owners to indicate “only rough dates”
Can an owner please confirm if that option still is showing when you list dates on the app ?
This tick box doesn’t help anyone and just causes confusion because it doesn’t actually show on the listing or allow a sitter to apply if they have a confirmed sit that overlaps with the “rough dates” …
I now always ask owners “are these dates set in stone ? “ as owners may think that as sitters we can see that they have listed “only rough dates” where we as sitters can’t see that tick box and are assuming that they are confirmed dates 
@Silversitters I asked a while back about that button and it does not seem to be active yet.
It comes up if you attempt to modify dates, not when first posting.
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@savoryandrose the only work around I can think of, if it’s allowed, is if HOs included an email to contact them in their listing. Is this allowed? Does anyone do this?
I’ve never known anyone to do this, I think most members want to keep their personal info private. Usually we message each other through the app via the application and exchange cell numbers only if we’re both interested in connecting. I find it very odd though that pet parents/owners can message sitters and offer invites, but sitters no longer have a way to connect with owners. Hopefully this will be addressed in the future and forming a human connection will be encouraged. From my experience, a lot of our members really appreciate the outreach and have no idea that anything had changed.
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@savoryandrose I didn’t realize sitters were ever able to contact HOs other than sending an application. Before I joined, I guess.
Before the 5 app rule anyone could send an application and converse that way.
