Some longtime hosts have been posting about getting few, if any bites, even though they’ve previously had success with getting sitters more quickly and more easily. There have been such comments / posts from U.S. and U.K. hosts, and even one from South America, where sits are usually few and in demand.
Over at least the past couple of years, it seems like hosts have been joining faster than sitters, leading to sits outnumbering available sitters at a given time. And meanwhile, some sitters who might’ve been able to telecommute previously might have been forced back into offices. Travel costs also have been rising, while various economies and job markets have been struggling. There’s been news coverage of people cutting travel spending, for instance.
Bigger picture, there’s also a natural ceiling to how many people can or want to be sitters (many people are ill suited for such anyway), versus countless potential hosts with pets who need sitting.
That all points to hosts generally needing to compete harder for sitters, especially good, experienced ones.
Each host makes their own choices, of course, but maybe more so than ever, maybe you snooze, you lose.
Most sitters have their own homes. That means we can always stay home and sit less, or ones with resources can still travel without sitting. For instance, I sat a lot more during my first two years of THS than I will this year.
I’m still traveling a lot – just not nearly as much for sits. That means I can be even more selective about which sits to pursue. I bet there are other sitters who can easily cut back on sitting as well.
Also worth noting: Experienced sitters with strong reviews are always in greatest demand. Not only with sits they apply for, but also with invites for repeat sits, as well as unsolicited invitations and referrals to other hosts who need sitters.