We spent $300 for our subscription so we could find a housesitter for our trip to Europe for 3 weeks. The money was a waste as we received no applications. We have 5/5 reviews and any issue with lack of air conditioning is rectified and very obvious in our profile. I have also mentioned that dogs do not have to be on the bed if you don’t want. I just feel that we have been taken for a ride and our money has gone down the drain. We gave 7 weeks notice. What is the policy if you do not receive any applicants and won’t need housesitting like this in future. It always wored in the past. We worked so hard to make the house perfect for everyone. I look forward to hearing from you. do you know if I can receive a refund? Thank you, Frances
I’ve just had a quick look at your listing and you have had two previous sitters which appeared to go well, so I’m not sure why you think the subscription is a waste of money.
I think your pics could be improved as the house does look quite untidy in places. The pics of the animals could also be improved and some deleted.
How long can the dogs be left once they’ve had a walk?
Where is the nearest supermarket?
It’s showing that you don’t currently need a sitter so presumably you’ve removed the listing or have found someone not on THS.
There is never any guarantee that you’ll find a sitter and there are more sits than sitters.
Thank you for your response. I think everyone has an opinion, someone else said maybe because of the reviews that put people off. Thank you for the info on the photos of the house. Perhaps the kitchen is a bit busy or the living room. But I do not think it is that. We never had a problem before. Though I will take what everyone has said in consideration. We had to take the listing off as we had to find someone through other means and they charge. It was too stressful waiting. We had the listing up about 3 weeks with nothing. Once the paid sitter commited we had to take trusted housesitter down to honor the sitter’s commitment.
It may just be that there are now more sits than sitters in your area for your dates so simply supply & demand. Not sure on the exact Ts & Cs but there is something like no applications within 14 days and you can get a refund. Contact support for the details in full. #smallprint
A small glitch could be the mix of pets that you have. Many sitters will search for sits for dogs, or sits for cats, or sits for small animals. Someone who only searches for, say “dogs”, will not find your sit. I sit only for cats, and would never have seen your sit. If I don’t specifically select “any pets” or “Dogs, cats, AND small animals” your home will not show up in the search. The challenge with “any pets” is that then the sitter sees livestock, too (there are a surprisingly large number of sits with livestock. I know nothing about livestock and will never apply to those).
Seven weeks notice is actually not that much, especially for so many pets. I am already booked up through November as are many other experienced sitters. I’d say the chances of finding a sitter comfortable with such a mix of pets with less than two months’ notice is slim. If you’re able to post earlier next time - like MONTHS earlier -that would likely help a lot. I’ve had hosts contact me about sits for summer of 2026 already.
Did you try contacting any sitters proactively and inviting them to apply, instead of waiting? There are mixed feelings on this forum about that but I’ve established repeat sit relationships with multiple homeowners who have done this with me.
Glad that it worked out.
Whether $300 is fair value for your prior two completed housesits is something that only you can determine. The tonality of the post does strike of privilege. Housesitters are not somehow obligated to apply or agree to any sit. Your pets (2 dogs, 2 cats, rabbit) seem significant relative to typical housesits. No car seems to be provided (clearly not a requirement but may be attractive to non-local housesitters).
As @limegimlet rightly noted, there may be significantly fewer international housesitters considering US housesits. So greater competition. We’ve completed housesits in multiple US states - wonderful times. But no longer.
I am American and it was recently announced that tourism from other countries is down 12% and Visa applications to the US is down 18%. Also, even the forum here shows people outside the US are avoiding traveling to the US. I think this is part of it. Some people on here book months out so only listing three weeks before the sit would find many sitters who would have otherwise liked your sit, already booked.
The “copyright” on one of your listing photos is jarring. Sitters are here looking for a good match of their animal care needs with suitable homes. No one is here to steal intellectual property. The photo is lovely but provides no information to a potential sitter about what it would be like to stay at your place for three whole weeks, so I recommend removing it.
The three weeks in and of itself is both a blessing and a curse. Many sitters, myself included, prefer longer sits. But those take planning. LOTS of planning. Seven weeks out is absolutely not enough time to plan to be in another state for almost a month to care for so many pets. I have a four week sit coming up in the fall; the owners and I agreed on this back in February. As a rough rule of thumb I’d say that for every week you’ll be gone, post two months ahead if you can. So a three week sit, especially with so many animals, should be posted at least six months in advance if at all possible. A three week sit for a single cat or a single dog would likely still get applicants, but two cats, two dogs, and a rabbit will usually require a couple or family for suitable care and that means coordinating multiple schedules. (The air conditioning thing wouldn’t have even hit my radar since the rest of the reviews were so positive, by the way)
The above things are your problem, you need to allow more time, because you’re after a sitter who will take care of 5 pets, of which there are plenty of THS, but there aren’t as many as those that will care for 1, 2, or 3 pets. However, there are still loads of sitters for you to pick from, you just need to allow more time, that’s all.
The number of sitters who are available just 7 weeks before your dates is reduced again. We’re booked up for most of the year, and for part of 2026, but a lot of sitters organise themselves about 3 months ahead of time… not just 7 weeks.
I agree with @KittySitter seeing copyright in a photo on THS is strange, also because the photo within it, isn’t copyright-worthy, so simply remove that photo. Plus the flowers in the garden images are blurry and unclear, in comparison to other peoples profiles when they show beautiful flower images.
You’re expectations are too high. @Smiley is right, you’ve had 2 great sits within the last year, so it hasn’t been a waste of money in my eyes. The problem is leaving it until just 7 weeks beforehand, when you’ve got 5 pets, you’re expectations are unrealistic, you ‘may’ find someone, but your chances are slimmer.
Anyway, you’ve sorted your pet care out now, I hope you enjoy your Europe trip
The initial issue that I noted on your previous posting where people gave feedback, was that the sitter had to use the local library to work from due to the lack of AirCon. This seemed pretty significant so you were right to address this- however it’s the manner of addressing it that needs work I fear. The whole tone of the listing feels abrupt, somewhat lacking in warmth, and perfunctory in sharing information, with not even complete sentences, rather a list of bald statements. Perhaps by the time of the rewrite you were feeling irritated, because that would impact how it comes across.
I think you need to step back and rewrite the listing (for future success) as if you’re selling the idea of this sit to a sitter who likes the idea but isn’t sure- be persuasive, be warm, show the sitter the ‘big reasons’ to fly across the world to sit for you. Best wishes for next time.
Honestly, I don’t think 7 weeks notice is enough time. My personal opinion. I have a 3 week vacation in October and I posted my listing in April. It’s peace of mind for me. Some sitters like to book up far in advance and some do not. I figured I had plenty of time to find the right sitter.
As others have mentioned, 7 weeks is not enough notice, particularly for sitters who would be flying there. I’m currently looking for sits for a few weeks I have open in Nov/early Dec, and have some sits booked in 2026. In the future post your listing as early as you can.
Keep in mind that THS is just a matching platform. It’s not an organization that provides sitters. Both HOs and sitters pay a membership fee for the opportunity to connect with others and find a good match. Your post sounds a bit like you expect THS to provide applicants or guarantee that you will get applicants. But sitters are members the same as HOs and choose which sits we want to apply to.
If you joined a dating app and no one asked you to connect, you couldn’t say you’d been taken for a ride. Same with THS — no one is obligated to sit for any host.
Get a sense of what your competition looks like, make your listing as appealing as possible, post with enough lead time.
If no bites, then consider how to make your sit more attractive. No one is guaranteed a match for every sit, though.
Sitters pay for membership, too, and we choose which suits to pursue.
When she paid doesn’t come into it here , her sits are still within the last year, because everyone looses a small amount of time when they first start with THS, that’s just the way it is, whether you’re an owner or a sitter before your first sit dates start.
She takes a break every half a year, and filled her first two breaks, so it was a success, and it is still a success overall, because it’s only her unrealistic expectation that’s let her down to find the type of sitter she needs within 3 weeks, that happens to be free in 7 weeks, and then suggesting it’s THS fault by saying it’s a waste of money, she only gave it 3 weeks.
, her sits are still within the last year, because everyone looses a small amount of time when they first start with THS, that’s just the way it is, whether you’re an owner or a sitter before your first sit dates start.