I just wanted to give a shout out to TrustedHousesitters for having such an awesome platform for us to use.
I’m in Australia and on another site to expand my opportunities to sit. Ick - it’s just not conducive to a good experience for sitters. There are ads without pictures, or only of the pets and no house pics, and it’s like pulling teeth to get them. And hardly any people leave reviews, so most ads you have no idea what someone else has thought of the place (and because they don’t show reviews not left, you really are in the dark).
It makes you really appreciate the ease with which THS guides homeowners to set up their profile, as well as the quality of homeowners and sitters on the site (you get what you pay for with the cheaper ones, for sure).
Anyone else on other platforms and navigating something similar?
I agree with you. TH is by far the best I’ve seen so far. I’m travelling to NZ at the end of October (I was there before the pandemic & did 8 sits). In addition to TH I’ve this time decided to join another platform (I’m sure you’ll know the one I mean) & I’m seeing the same issues you are. I think the problem is that only sitters are charged a membership fee for the other one (not sure why that is) so the owners don’t bother much. I’ve managed to secure a sit through the other platform however but a sit I’ve been watching to see if they upload pics hasn’t. So I’ve written to the latter and basically been told that if I can do the sit they’ll put some pics up but that there’s been a problem with her phone! Red flag with that one!
@zoemac I totally agree with you. I’m just finishing my second year (1st year was free) on another platform. I only renewed my membership because I saw a sit that I really wanted. It turned out the sit was filled but they didn’t know to confirm it. I felt like I’d wasted my money.
I’ve been invited to sit by many homeowners from that site, but often it would involve a flight and yet most have similar issues with photos that you’ve mentioned, and some with no photos. I’m amazed that someone would think I’d agree to fly to a sit that has almost no information, and no sense of offering to provide more.
I get daily emails from that platform and there are very few sits and the majority have no photos at all. I will not be renewing for sure.
@Smiley I’m pretty sure I know the platform that you are referring to in NZ. We complete 36 sits through them in the 25 months that we were “stuck” in NZ, and only 10 through THS. They have a much larger presence in this part of the world than THS.
I too, found it very annoying that many sits were posted with absolutely no pictures and very few words in the description. If the dates and location worked for our schedule, I would apply anyway, and after communication with the homeowner and ALWYS a video call, we mostly found fabulous sits with wonderful pets, HOs and properties. We joined the Australian version of the same website before arriving in Oz a week ago and have secured 11 sits through them so far.
Have fun traveling in NZ. We were so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend so much time there during the pandemic.
Hi @zoemac. I’m an Aussie sitter and joined that other site as a sitter during 2020 as thought I would pick up a few sits where international travel was not possible plus there were fewer Aussie sits on THS. It served its purpose but certainly did not come close to THS and I did not renew my membership towards the end of last year. The quality of the ads left a lot to be desired and no house or pet photos was a real red flag. @anon1411559 Sounds like you did well in NZ with your sits on the sister site and I hope your 11 sits booked so far in Oz are enjoyable and similar quality to those on THS.
@temba THS does not have a monopoly on the best quality house sits, just because they require that you post at least 5 pictures. I complete my due diligence no matter what platform I use, and find the sit that is right for me and my circumstances. My husband and I have been very successful in securing the house sits we want in locations we wish to experience, through the use of multiple platforms and we find fabulous sits on all of them.
I quite agree @anon1411559. It doesn’t matter which site you use providing the listings meets our requirements and as experienced sitters, we both know what we’re looking for. There’s also more choice available where it is just Australian based (as the NZ one offers) so gives you more options as travellers working out where you would like to visit. Enjoy your time here.
I could have been ‘stuck’ in Melbourne but got out just in time. If I hadn’t think I’d have gone through my savings paying for hotels, if any hotels were open that is! I’m surprised you got so many housesits in NZ during the pandemic….
I did in fact manage 6 months and 8 sits (all through THS) in the North Island July 2019-Jan 2020, before going to Oz. This time I’m going to do 6 months in the South Island, which was part of my original plan.
We have looked for sits near Auckland when we go to visit our grandkids but so far have never managed to find one when we want to travel. I was thinking of checking out the NZ petsit website as well but I agree, it’s nothing compared to THS.
It is great to hear from people who have used various sites, since THS is the only one we have experienced. We meet lots of dog owners while we are walking around or spending time in dog parks, and we are constantly spreading the THS good news. We are going to have business cards made up with the THS logo as people frequently ask for our contact information!
Life, for the most part, was completely normal in NZ from June 2020 until December 2021, other than Auckland. There was some, very controlled, community spread but NZ was able to get on top of it with contact tracing and isolation. Kiwis were traveling in heaps to explore their own backyard. Even when Omicron hit in Nov/Dec, and contact tracing was no longer viable, it didn’t keep people from traveling because there was such high vaccine and booster uptake. We were very lucky and other than a few chosen road trips adding up to about a month, we were booked.
I’ve also used other sites in the past and stopped using them years ago. The UX/UI was bad, the listings were a hot mess, and they all felt very amateurish. I’d rather pay and have a great selection with a site that is actively being improved than weed through the junk listings on free or cheaper sites to find the gold. My time is worth more than that. And with what I’ve saved by joining THS, it’s worth it. And I’m playing on house money now since I have enough referrals to keep my membership active through January 2025 at this point. lol
you are such a bad a…
There are so many advantages of this lifestyle and how to make it work for you. As everyone knows, I am a THS loyalist because I have learned how to make it work for me and it is only getting better the more I learn what I want and how to best make THiS work for me.
I think it’s hilarious. I honestly don’t know how it got that high. I’d not given the link out in ages and was at 40 months for a long time. Then in like a week I went to 70. My guess is a former blog post or something that had my link in it got re-shared or something. But whatever it was, I’m not complaining.
