If you decide to invite sitters directly, here are some steps to streamline the process. This is based on searching on the website.
Under Find a pet sitter, add your location in the search bar.
Use the filter for Dates. You then don’t need to check their Availability calendar.
Use the filter for Pets, to remove those that don’t match your needs.
Don’t use the Experience filter, unless you insist on either of those requirements. Keep in mind that filters reduce the number of sitters.
The sitters who are most likely to consider your sit are those who have 3 or more references
or perhaps 1 review
When someone matches #5, check their headline and the About section, to see if they mention details of any limited availability. Some may say, for example, Fully booked for 2022.
If the sitter’s profile interests you, send them a short personalized message, inviting them to apply.
This may seem time-consuming, but if you are eager/anxious to get your sitter arranged, then the time spent is worthwhile. You may also connect with a sitter who can’t do your chosen dates but may favourite your listing. That will be to your advantage when you next post dates.
Hi @Snowbird
Can you tell me how to amend the heading of my profile as I’m going round and round in circles! I want to add ‘booked until March 2024’ so that hopefully owners will notice and not invite me before then
We usually write “fully booked” at the beginning of our profile so this is the first thing that HOs read. But we still get invitations, often without a message or without mentioning our names. Not sure there is anything you can do, some people are just writing to dozens of sitters without reading their profiles.
Thanks @Snowbird for starting this topic, and for the instructions for updating your profile headline on a computer.
@Smiley if you want to change your headline using the app instead, here’s how you do that on an Android. I’m hoping someone else can chime in with instructions on Apple devices.
Click “Me” at the bottom right of the first screen shown when you open the app
Click “View & Edit Profile”
Click “Edit”. It’s in the top right corner
Click “Edit” next to “About you”
Scroll way down and update the “Profile headline” field. It’s below your pictures, intro and why you pet sit sections
Click the big green “Save all” button at the bottom of the screen
(next to the Availability section)
