Hi,
My confirmed sitter just canceled her sit with me in August and I am extremely worried that I won’t find another person with such short notice. Do you have any tips for me to find someone? I contacted the folks who reached out previously and reposted the sit.
Thank you so much for your help!
Terry
(Post edited by the Forum Team to comply with the Terms of Service).
I’m sorry that happened!
You might still get a sitter. All members should have a plan B, so I would make sure to have one.
Your listing seems nice. However, I would maybe check the photos of pet, are one or two blurry? I would have only one at the start, and show off the home.
It seems from the amenities list that you have a hot tub. It isn’t clear from the photos, as what is possibly the tub looks like a bench or similar. If the sitters can use it, I would take off the cover and take a nice photo of it. Some sitters might scroll through the photos before they decide to read thoroughly, and might miss that the sit has a tub.
As you have two bedrooms for the sitter (?) you can consider opening up as «family friendly». That could well be teens/ young adults if the home is not suited for kids. That would be up to you anyway as always. You would still decide each sitterparty and decline if it isn’t a good match, of course. I say this because some of us housesit with adult children. I will take my two kids housesitting this summer when they have time off from high school/ uni. It could be a father in law or a sister also, some would like that in the summer.
You should ofc never go for anything - or a sitter - you are not comfortable with.
I think your hot tub picture is fine, and you do list it under amenities. For me, the toughest sell for your place is that the sitter needs a car. If you want to attract sitters who don’t have one, you might mention that you’re willing to pick them up from the BART station. Is there Uber, Lyft or Waymo in your area? That way a car-free person could get around for groceries, etc., and to the vet if needed.
I did a sit in Orinda last year and i loved the area. I would mention both the San Diego Zoo and the Safari zoo toward Escondido. I took the Bart train so mention how close you are, or if your willing to offer your car for transportation. How close are you to the beach? Areas of interest. Are you near walking trails? Anything you can think of that you would be interested in if you were coming to Orinda for vacation. Good luck .
Isn’t Orinda near San Francisco?
I just had a 2 week sit cancel, near Toronto. Family emergency for HO. Happens.
Orinda is in the East Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is seven+ hours away from the San Diego Zoo. I would not figure on making such a trip when there are pet(s) to sit.
Oh your right my bad i did a sit there and in Escondido i got the 2 mixed up.
Thanks everyone for your replies. I am feeling much better as several folks have responded to my listing and I’m hoping to get this wound up soon. I think I was more concerned as this my previous sitter also canceled last minute. Both were for good reasons and I understand but it just is very stressful. I’ve never had this happen previously and then it happened twice.