Some people are so all fashioned!
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Maybe they’re robots and we just can’t tell.
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I’ve had several contactless handover-sits, so who knows… 
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I recently had an experience that had a similar vibe. I applied for a sit pre-christmas that was local. Typically i withdraw if i don’t hear back within 48-72 hour’s. Anyway, 5 days later HO replied saying they were changing dates and would I be interested in longer sit. I replied with my availability that i was only available for original. Another 2 days went by and they said they’d be returning from a Thanksgiving trip and wanted to do a video chat over the weekend, i replied with my times. Anyway, i didn’t hear back and then yesterday got a noticed that listing was removed. No further communication from HO. It would of been curtious to updste me after i gave them available times for chat. My instinct initially was to withdraw as i sensed some flaky vibes. Interestingly they had seversl reviews all positive. Anyway, it does happen and i agree. People find friends, or other arrangements snd forget to update.
Right now there are approximately 8,500 sits listed on THS.
Not sure how many sitters are both active & available right now.
Sitters/HOs should keep in mind is that this is an exchange platform which depends on both sides being mindful and while the numbers seem huge, most quickly learn very few Sits/Sitters actually fit your personal plans/needs.
I understand putting up a post when plans aren’t 100% set: but make it clear: “Our plans are not yet firm but we expect to leave within 48 hours of the date given and will be gone five days.” Perhaps the HO will only get local sitters with flexibility applying - but that might be best for both sides!
Many (most?) HOs/Sitters like repeats: not going to happen if either side is inconsiderate.
I’m surprised at how many people on both sides of this equation behave as though they were ordering a pizza!
Home Owners: it’s your home, whether grand or cozy and your precious pets! Be considerate of the people you are entrusting to care for them.
Sitters: before applying, know if a sit is somewhere you can reasonably reach by $$$/time & if you find the requirements of a post reasonable for you.
As Home Owners of a lovely house in a desireable area before applications were limited, we got 20-30 applicants quickly. TBH, it was not hard to whittle that down to 6-8 possibles: after a first exchange? Usually only three or four good options.
Just as we had to learn as HOs how to spot Sitters who didn’t fit our needs, now as Sitters we’ve learned to spot Home Owner Red Flags: a big one is lack of consideration both in how the post is written & how they communicate once a conversation starts.
Now that THS limits applicants to 5? No reason a HO can’t dash off a quick note to all five: “Thanks for your applicaiton, we are reading through the ones we’ve received and will let you know within 48 hours if we’d like to chat!” Or, if an applicant is clearly unsuitable, let them know! “Sorry but since you travel with your dog, our dog won’t be OK with that arrangement.”
As sitters? We only apply to Sits we know we can reasonably reach & where the HO needs are OK with us. Usually we only apply to one sit at a time.
Now that HO are only looking at 5 applicants? Increasingly, we withdraw an application if we don’t hear back within 72 hours.
Again: both sides should be aware that the pool of currently availalbe Sitters/Sits is not as vast as it seems!
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I’d really like it if when owners of the post a sit that there was a section to describe the current sit - many owners still have info on their profiles that is out of date…
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Really? So far I have done one repeat sit, in the city where I went to school/university (perfect dog, a home close to the center, lovely owners).
There are maybe two or three sits that I would like to do again. For example in a different time of the year. Or because the owners moved to a new interesting place.
I would say about 20% of our sits are repeats: lovely homes, welcoming HOs, nice pets in locations we enjoy.
But as with all things - everyone is different!
I know having been a HO using sitters, there is security in having a Sitter you know come back: you already know what to expect from them, and you are confident your pets/home will be well taken care of. That’s a lot of peace of mind.
The same is true as Sitters: we do repeats with people who’ve become friends, who welcome us warmly, and with those people? Doing little extras is a pleasure!
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Similar thing happened to me, but the home owner has not yet withdrawn her ad. I applied for a sit a month ago and we had a really nice exchange, discussing the cat and the area. I thought it was a sure thing, especially as I am familiar with the area and the HO said things like ‘you’ll love it here’. The home owner said she’d be in touch the following day to arrange a video call…A month later and I’m still waiting.
I have managed to secure another sit for the dates, but haven’t withdrawn my application as I’m very curious as to what will happen as the dates approach. It would be lovely if people let sitters know their updated plans.
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As mentioned, folks can differ.
The forum seems disproportionately represented by frequent sitters, which makes sense, given their priorities. Many sitters don’t do many sits, though. For folks like that, there probably are many sits, ratio wise.
For my parameters, there are many sits. And if I valued repeats — I’m not partial to them, because I value variety — I could just do those and be overloaded.
If folks value repeats, hosts who are retired and affluent are a good fit — they tend to travel more than most hosts, especially if they have a second home. Or say hosts who travel regularly for work. And happenstance wise, I live a few hours from a city that’s popular with affluent retirees — any good sitter could throw a stick and get repeats.
I’d say generally that hosts value repeats more than sitters, though. Like I accepted a sit last week from a new THS member and they quickly mentioned hoping that I’d repeat sit, because they’re frequent travelers. I’ve encountered that a number of times.
For me, repeats would be the exception, rather than a normal preference. Like if I have a bunch of friends in a certain city, that might make it worth repeating. Or say it’s local and offers a different experience vs. my home, like a city center location that would sort of feel like a pied-a-terre.
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That pretty much describes us.
We have done repeat sits in several European cities because we do have friends or family in those places and I’d rather have a sit with independence! Otherwise, yes , I’m always looking at places I’ve never been…
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I concur, many sitters don’t utilize the community forum, so there’s no way of knowing percentages.
No luxury homes. 4 out of these 5 sits are apartments; the other just a ‘normal’ home. They’re in 2 big cities in the same country
Personally, if I don’t get a response within 72ish hours, I cancel my application. I don’t like having my time wasted. if I really want the sit I might send a follow up message but after that I’m canceling. Usually I then get a message saying “sorry we were interested in your profile” but it’s usually too late.
Just take a look at sitter profiles on the platform. You can see that many people have done few sits.
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We have had this happen twice, the first time there was no communication because his brother had died, we got the sit - it was ana amazing one. The second time there were family problems to sort, again we got the sit which is not until next month, they seem very genuine. Life happens out there, if you are impatient just move on. We are not full time sitters and probably opnly sit two or three times a year in places that we really want to go to.
I don’t think sitters are hanging. If you’re a sitter you are free to apply to multiple sits and withdraw your application or leave it there (just in case). I don’t really understand the point of this from the homeowner’s perspective as most sitters won’t wait around, but I don’t see the point in adding a rule. Then what? Would THS step in and tell the person to pick a sitter? (They do that already once five applicants are in.)
It works the other too. Sometimes sitters who can’t actually do the sit or don’t seem to really want it apply and drag homeowners through a process. To me in both cases, people are flying red flags and giving me needed information to make a better choice.
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I applied for a sit recently and the HO admitted they hadnt booked their travel ticket yet and would let me know as the dates may change or it may not happen. They’ve asked me to wait vaguely (like they’ve said they will try get back to me next week) and it’s already been 3 days. They’ve given no indication if they are serious about me, and I think it’s unfair to ask me to wait so long. There’s multiple other people applied and still space for more and I think this person is fishing to see what they can get. I’ve booked another sit in the meantime, but it’s frustrating. I agree with the 72 hour plan. It takes work to write to them an be able to commit on our end to the point of applying - and to hold the sit as a possibility as they review.
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A bit like putting your shopping into a basket online. If you don’t purchase within xxxxhrs, it’s removed.
I think they doing a lot of things, but I don’t think they are resorting to that. By the time someone who has seen a listing on Facebook actually joins – pays the money fills in the profile, sends out the references and passes the ID check/background check, hours or even days may have passed. Of course those magical unicorn listings will be long gone.