I just had a sitter cancel due to concerns getting into the US from Europe. My sit starts in 7 weeks. I’ve reposted it but I know it’s short timing. Have you had luck reaching out to sitters directly and inviting them to sit?
That’s unfortunate @mtbikelover but you’ll read about sitters’ concerns entering the US on a thread on the forum. Seven weeks is actually not short timing so I am sure you will receive applications. Had it been seven days, that’s different! If applicants are international, it may be wise to ask them are they aware of potential entry issues into the US where your international sitter has just cancelled. Having a US sitter may be a better option at present.
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7 weeks is not short timing. Ensure your listing is appealing and transparent and wait for the applications to come rolling in. Direct invitations rarely work, unless you specifically target those sitters who have favourited your listing (but keep your fingers crossed, since the likelihood is that they’d have applied if they were available).
Wishing you good luck!
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Hi there,
If you’d like any help or feedback with your listing to help gain applicants, you can link it to your forum bio so members can view it - it’s often the best way we can help. Here’s how:
Please add a profile link to your forum profile
As others have said, invites rarely work and are usually just a frustrating time waster. Many sitters just ignore or decline unsolicited invites, as they don’t match their availability or interest. Rather, sitters interested in your location and listing will find you through their own search and apply if they find your listing attractive.
Best of luck!
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Sorry to hear that your sitter canceled. Unfortunately the current political environment combined with the media hysteria focusing on the very few and truly unfortunate folks who have been caught up in it has made some sitters very cautious.
Hopefully with the time line you have mentioned you won’t have any troubles finding a replacement.
My wife and I will continue to sit internationally.
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7 weeks is not short timing!
I haven’t had much luck as a homeowner in reaching out to sitters and I’ve even tried doing it strategically – looking at none nomads 2-4 hours away who might be interested in staying in my city, or people who favorited my listing! The timing is just too difficult.
The better option is to post publicly and get help on your listing from the forum if you aren’t getting applicants
If you are in the US, very possibly some sitters from Europe and Canada may be hesitant to apply, but there are still lots of sitters traveling within the US who either live here or have already crossed the border so that won’t be an issue.
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I had an owner contact me direct last month, to a listing I had favourited (previous dates hadn’t worked for me to apply), and she invited me to do 2 weekend sits in May, just 14 days apart, as she wanted :-
an experienced sitter,
a local sitter, (I live 30 miles away)
and continuity for her 6 month old dog. over the 2 sits
we chatted by video, and I am delighted to be doing both sits for her.
I am actually flattered to be asked, and this is I assume the point of favouriting a sit?
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This also happened to us, happily. Having missed the application window for a sit we fancied doing, I favourited it and hoped to be a bit quicker off the mark next time.
In the event, the 5 applicants did not seem like a good match so the HO reached out to us after noticing her sit had been favourited. We’ve subsequently done 2 sits for them, so it worked out well for us both.
That said, we’ve received lots of ‘cold call’ sit requests which we simply can’t accommodate, so on the whole I don’t think contacting sitters is the best way forwards.
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Thanks for the suggestion to add a profile link. I have done that now.
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You will find someone! Gorgeous dog and home!
@mtbikelover, sometime need to trust the process.
Not surprised re cancellation. Strange days.
But have no fear. There’s many other housesitters out there. Seven weeks should be absolutely plenty time to re-list and secure an alternative housesitter. Suggest open transparency during video call to confirm their travel intent prior to offering sit.
Good luck!
p.s. for what it’s worth, as housesitters we receive a steady trickle of unsolicited invitations-to-sit. Never worked out for us. And other housesitters have expressed similar experience on THS Forum. That said, we have one such active dialogue so perhaps first time.
I deleted all of my favorites and saved searches months ago, with the idea of cutting down invitations and notifications.
I don’t want random invitations anyway — the odds are so slim that they’ll work out interest wise, timing wise.
I still get invites from what must be hosts’ searches for local sitters, but I’d disable those as well if possible. Again, low odds of working out.
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In the four years of using THS, we’ve only accepted one listing invite and only because we had a sit end early due to emergency return of the HO because they had a family death and cut the trip short. That opened up a two week window for us and the homeowner messaged with perfect timing. So it’s possible but lower your expectations for it to work. That said, 7 weeks is a decent time to find a replacement.