Non traditional family account help

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

Hello,

My family and I are first time TH newbies. We are a family that is comprised of 3 adults and 2 children (3 year old and 3 month old at the time of this posting). Our non traditional (poly triad) family structure doesn’t seem to lend itself well to TH system of one main account holder and only one extra co sitter. We don’t want to break any of the TH rules and I can’t figure out how to get a third adult on the account. Any suggestions there?

If there is no way to add a third adult to the account, any suggestions on what to do? Do we need to make two accounts (one with 2 people one with 1 person) and somehow link the two accounts?

One of my partners thinks our non traditional family structure will be to confusing to folks and we may not get chosen to house sit because of it. And instead of being honest in our profile we should talk to the owners about it once they choose us. Basically creat a profile with just two of us on it and then explain our family structure separately. Thoughts on that?

Any other suggestions or ways to navigate this new system for us would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

2

All that I can contribute is that you should always be upfront and honest with what you post and most importantly what you tell homeowners in your application for a sit. Don’t represent yourself to be what you are not.

The protection of the reputation of TH and our individual integrity depends upon each of us becoming forthright and honest in every aspect of what we do. One case of food poisoning in a chain of five hundred restaurants can be devastating to the success of each and every restaurant. Similarly, any suggestion that we are not or were not transparent and honest to any single homeowner can and does reflect back on all of us in this era of social media.

You don’t know if homeowners will be reticent because of your living arrangements nor do they need to tell you if that is the case. Forget labels and simple say “We are a family of three adults and two kids.” Nothing more needs to be said nor explained. Keep it simple.

3

There are 2 issues - how to create a profile/approach applications, and likelihood of getting sits.

For the profile, I would strongly suggest making it clear in the profile AND applications that you are a family of 5 with 3 adults. Springing it on HOs after they’ve offered the sit (especially after accepting) is the worst option and would likely be seen as being untrustworthy and result in cancelling the sit.

As for getting sits, there will be some who will have issues with the non-traditional family structure - but you likely don’t want to sit for them anyway. I think the bigger issue will be that it’s a LOT of people, and especially having 2 children 3 and under, especially a baby. HOs may worry that your attention as sitters will (rightfully) be on your own children and not on their home/pets. This is where having 3 adults might be an advantage, where there will always be at least one adult focusing on the animals/home.

There are several sitters on the forum who sit with children and can give advice on how to navigate seeking out family-friendly sits beyond just the listings that say they are family friendly.

4

Please be honest in your profile. Telling them after the fact is deceitful and they will probably decline you for not being honest. Then you wasted their time as well. If you don’t tell them and just show up with all of you they will know and ask you to leave or have you removed. Usually those traveling with kids are older and can help with the pets. When will you have time to care for the pets and give the pets all the attention they need. You referred to one of your partners. Sounds like three adults are having personal relationships with each other. I wouldn’t say yes to you as a host because a three year old and baby can be a dangerous situation around my beloved pets.

5

I agree with what’s already been said: be transparent about yourselves and who will be doing the sit. I’d suggest making a profile as a couple but making it very clear that there are in fact three adults and two children. Use a happy pic of all three adults as your main profile image.

I suspect you’ll likely find it more difficult to achieve sits than solo or couples sitters, basically because there are more of you to accommodate and some people may find your living arrangement a step too far, but then again some surely will be intrigued and may see the benefit of another adult.

It’s worth following the usual newbie advice; try first for less popular or shorter sits initially, just to build up your reviews. Possibly apply for multi-pet sits, where your extra adult can help with responsibilities.

Best of luck to you.

6

Hi @Chanch,
Welcome to the forum!

If you want to sit together, you have to specify on your profile that you are a family of 5: 3 adults and two children aged … That’s important because many sits are not appropriate for small children.

I would suggest that you only apply for family friendly listings or listings which do not specify they are for solo sitters or couples. Some listings mention the availability of beds and that’s helpful, too.

If that’s the case, you will have to accept it but most sitters never really know the reason why we are not chosen. Usually, the more applicants, the choosier HOs can be.

As others have said, that’s really a bad idea. No one wants surprises, sitters or hosts. If you do that, your chances of getting sits will be highly reduced.

7

I suggest one normal account with 2 sitters, (i am a HO turned recently Dual Membership with my hubby so we can sit too). Choose the 2 primary sitters of the 3 adults, get the background check on both to maximize trust out of the gates. Be up front in your profile about your family structure - simple, honest, no overexplaining needed. I feel like there will be Home Owners who will be open to you if you and your family have a lot of pet experience and bring other perks to the table. If you dont have much to offer in this, it may be a problem. Assuming you have a lot of pet experience, here is a general copy past i have written down as advice for new profiles. I kept enhancing my House Listing as well as our Sitter profile along the way. It doesnt come out perfect initially but you have to start somewhere.

Making your profile is like applying for a job. Take time to make it really impactful. Choose Great pictures, fill out the application thoroughly, make sure to mention your experience with pets, types of pets, giving meds, if you’ve owned rentals or managed rentals, your experience caring for homes, and trouble shooting unexpected issues. If you’re doing this as a family, is your partner handy? With what (gardening, plumbing, electrical, general “handyman” stuff)? All of these things matter. Maybe read through some sitter profiles that have a lot of reviews to give yourself an idea of what makes a good family sitter profile. Starting with the short sits that are local to you Is the best way to get things going. Your application note should be very personalized to the sit You are applying to (mention their animals by name or breed, how interested you are in their area and why, why your family is a good fit for their sit). Literally treat this like you’re applying for a job and you should be able to get some sits going. Do a good job and get good reviews and you will get better and better sits. So if you’re not willing to put in all that effort then it may not work out. Assuming you’re sitting with your entire family, you’ll have to search for the sits, that are family friendly. Have you owned pets with your children? Does grandma own pets and the kids are great with the pets? What kind of experience to your kids have with pets? Homeowners want to feel good that their pets will be safe and your kids will treat them well. Also, you can link a Linkedin profile if you have one or a AirBnB profile with lots of good reviews into your THS Sitter profile. Connecting these accounts helps build trust with homeowners by verifying your identity and showcasing your history as a reliable guest.

Once you make a profile feel free to come back here an make a new post asking for feedback to improve it. So many people on the forum have great advice for this!

8

Wow. Regardless of being a non-traditional family, I would think finding a sit that will accommodate five people will be difficult especially with two under 3 yrs old.

Cats aren’t always tolerable of small kids and dog owners may be nercous to have young kids around their dog(s). I’d start out looking for sits with chickens, ducks, horses, and/or other farm animals. I’d imagine it would be a lot harder to find sitters for farm type setting. Having three adults would be advantageous.

Anyway, who cares if you’re non-traditional. If that works for all of you, then that’s great. Best of luck.

9

I would add don’t believe the marketing “travel for free” this is not as easy as they make it seem and as you have realised you are a more complex proposition for homeowners. I can see advantage in 3 adults, but accommodating 5 people potentially knocks out a lot of sits. Young children knock out a lot more. Up front, family of 5, clear photos of you all and have a go. Maybe only pay for basic to minimise your costs.

10

Do not ‘wait until you are chosen’ to spring another adult (and possibly children, wasn’t clear on that) on anyone. Be upfront in your profile and application if 3 adults are wanting to sit.

Frankly you options will be limited as 1) that’s a lot of new people to spring on most pets and 2) the home would need a good amount of space to accommodate you all.

And please don’t randomly apply to profiles that say no families. That means that either the home or the pets are not optimal for more than one person or one couple.

11

Use a family photo of all of you as your main profile picture.

Be clear about how many bedrooms and beds you need—hosts won’t guess and may just skip your application rather than ask.

Only apply for sits that match your situation (e.g. family-friendly, right number of bedrooms).

Finally, remember THS is about mutual exchange , so use your profile highlight what each of you brings (skills, pet experience etc ) and include photos of your children interacting with pets.

12

Create a usual THS profile for two, then, when adding information to the profile, be honest about your family numbers.

The best thing about house sitting is, there is something for everyone - and we are all different in one way or another.

Your sitting opportunities will be reduced because you will only be able to apply to the larger homes but there are more than enough of these types of listings that will be able to accommodate a family of 5.

We don’t ave children, but once or twice a year take my mother in law on sits with us , so apply as three adults, and never have any problems finding a sit to suit our ‘unusual family’ request.

Good Luck!

13

Hello,

I usually sit with my family (1 or 2 adults, 2 kids) and also occasionally do solo sits when i have that luxury. I can tell you, it is much harder to get sits as a family- when i apply as a solo i tend to be successful every time! Even though we have 20 reviews and are really experienced now, i cast the net wide as our reply rate is low so you need to be open mimded about where you look. We also avoid a lot of dog sits which doesnt help!

What i would say is emphasise the strengths you bring in your profile and applcations. yes you have young kids, but with 3 adults, that is easily managed meaning there will always be one person who can be dedicated to the animals. Im thinking of the sits i recoil from because it would be too much work for us especially if i am the only adult- multiple animals, dogs that require lots of walking and attention, sits where the animals can’t be left unattended for more than 4 hrs etc

Presumably you all have different strengths and experience that you bring to the table as pet and house sitters so make sure you add that to your profile too.

Something i do if its a sit i really want is offer to bring bedding and airmats for the kids- it shows youve an awareness that bringing a family does mean more prep on the hosts part and gives a way of eliminating that extra work aspect. Your kids are much younger but i would definately make a note that you will bring a travel cot etc.

Good luck!

14

I think one of the things yiu are struggling with, that others haven’t quite understood, is that you can’t enter the details of 3 adults into the boxes on THS when setting up your profile, and you are worried that you might br breaking a rule by not separately entering details of each member of the family?

THS was originally set up to have one account holder, and you could add in s second adult, who was not identity checked. More recently, THS introduced the “co sitter” add on, where the second adult can also be identity checked. Accounts with this add on are able to book sits that overlap by up to 2 days. However it is not necessary to have the “co sitter” feature to have 2 (or more) adults in the party. It only exists to allow overlapping sits. If you don’t want to do overlapping sits, you don’t need the “co sitter” feature, you can still add the details of a second adult to your profile, but they won’t be identity checked.

If you can only add one additional adult to your profile, you can introduce a third adult in the text of your profile, and also make this clear in your application.

I sit with my 2 teenage sons, now aged 17 and 15. My oldest won’t be a child this time next year, so I guess I can add him in as a second adult. I won’t add the “co sitter” feature because we don’t intend to do overlapping sits (and I think he would have to be 21 to be an official “co sitter”). Once my younger son is 18, we will also be 3 adults, so I probably won’t be able to enter his details separately and would just have to write about him in my profile.

Others have already mentioned that there are less sits available to families with children, or for bigger groups, whether they are families or groups of friends. However they do exist! My advice would be to look for sits with multiple pets where more pairs of hands is an advantage, apply for last minute sits, short sits, and sits at popular times when hosts have to compete for sitters. This was our strategy to start with. We have now done over 50 sits. Look at the profiles of past sitters for the sits you are thinking of applying for. If they gave previously hosted families, you have a better chance of success.

It’s all about finding the right match. If there are people who are put off by the non traditional make up of your family, they wouldn’t be a good match for you. Don’t be too discouraged by rejections, they are part of the process of getting started on THS. Many successful sitters were rejected multiple times before getting their first sit.

Good luck!

15

I wouldn’t feel comfortable posting pics of babies and young children on a public forum. As long as it’s clear they’ll be accompanying the adults, that’s surely sufficient? It’s a sad reflection of the world we now live in, but it’s not worth risking photo misuse of minors, IMHO.

16

@Chanch, we support views of various posters - @Silversitters, @Colin, @Cat-ophile.

We’d add an extra perspective. My spouse and I housesit together, most of the time. But occasionally, for whatever reason, we apply for a housesit where only one of us will complete the housesit. Our profile shows us both. But, where appropriate, our application will state that only one person (named) will complete the housesit.

This is sort of similar to your situation, in terms of people per THS profile being different to THS listing application.

Pet parents that receive a solo application from us are welcomed to decline. But we believe that upfront transparency avoids wasting everyone’s time and initiates trusted dialogue. We suspect that hiding the intention of additional/reduced number of housesitter(s) until the video call may well encourage pet parents to quickly decline - as they may wonder what other key information has not been disclosed.