I have been with THS for several years and it has usually been excellent. At the moment we have a listing for mid-April, but we have had no takers. I have now sent out in excess of 51 invites. These are my obsevartions : _
Some are not even read, considering THS send notifications to everyone’s own email as well as the website, I find this disturbing. How can they be reliable?
Some are read and not answered. Again reliable?
The majority of replies say they are not available. This is despite the calendar system , Hardly any are filled in. Some a filled in with coloured squares and seperate dates struck through. Some show dates struck through, what does that mean?
I feel there should be a better system to indicate availability. Looking at the sitters I would say a high number are of working age, including jobs like Dr’s, nurses, firefighters, etc. Surely their availability is limited, but not shown. There are a few that say can work from a computer or from home. Perhaps a traffic light system. Something easier and better than the current system.
THS can this be looked into.
There’s no need to send out invitations. Unlike other some other platforms with THS, it’s the sitters who reach out to you. If your listing is appealing and they’re available, they’ll apply directly.
Hi @Jay It’s best to just ignore the calendar. All it really shows is when sitters have sits booked in through Trusted Housesitters, the dates for which get filled in automatically. Unfortunately a flawed system, as you have pointed out. Most sitters don’t sit full-time, and search for sits as and when work/life allows, so tend to apply for sits that they are interested in, rather than accepting invitations.
Your listing is for two dogs, but three are mentioned in the responsibilities section. You might want to adjust this to reflect the situation so that you find the most appropriate match. Eg. some solo sitters might feel comfortable walking two dogs, but would find three too many to handle on their own.
Also, bear in mind that you are currently asking sitters to block out a 12 day period, for what will actually end up being a 3 day sit. That’s quite a big ask in terms of a sitter being able to plan other sits/work/life around your sit. Depending on when you anticipate being able to confirm dates, it may be more straightforward to just wait until you know for sure when you will be travelling.
It would be worth checking THS policy on security cameras, (I noticed what I think may be one in your photos), which I think need to be mentioned in your listing. Here’s a link:
It sounds as though you are in a great location, and having 700 or so acres of National Trust land on your doorstep to explore with lovely dogs will definitely appeal, especially as all the bluebells should be in full bloom by then. Best of luck.
I hear your frustration. It is caused by THS suggesting that invites work. In general sitters do not usually take sits they are invited to.
So all the improvements: calendar etc: would lead to nothing. Only thing would be if sitters could post “looking for a sit in area x for these dates”. Or “in country x with cats somewhere in March”. But even then the platform would be full of big cities where the hosts anyway dont invite, and it would make no difference (although I am right now looking for a sit in Street, Somerset, and for this rare occasion it would actually be useful to be able to post “availability” and maybe there is a HO who would consider an extra trip now that they can have a sitter).
Unfortunately lack of interest to your sit can not be dealt with by sending invites. And many sitters do not react to invites (read or answer) because they have not the least interest in being invited to sits they dont want. Those replying “unavailable” often mean “looking for something more suitable to our plans” - almost no sitter in THS regularly updates their calendar, and almost no host looks at it.
I see that listed a sit of 12 days but stated you’ve stated that the dates aren’t fixed yet - sitters will need confirmed dates and time to make their arrangements.
Also you say the sit will only be for 3 of the 12 nights listed , that short stay won’t appeal to most sitters . Can you extend it and make it a longer sit -1 week ? That will increase the pool of sitters who may be interested.
Also you need to complete the amenities section currently it only shows wi-fi as the only amenity.
@Jay I will likely repeat some points that have already been mentioned, but even with a quick scan of your listing I saw the following areas of concern:
Your title should draw in a sitter. This is a key marketing feature. Yours adds nothing new.
Your first paragraph likely refers to an earlier sit, which I see has confused a number of members who have replied to you here. Update your content.
As has been mentioned, the calendar is useless. The only thing it can tell you for certain is sitters who have a confirmed TrustedHousesitters sit (black line through date). By the way, when it is used - dark green is available, default is unavailable.
Not accessible by public transit - a negative for many.
Amenities section - Complete this fully. Many will not consider a sit without this information.
Your most recent sitter did not review you but yet she reviewed others she has sat for. This can concern a sitter and you may be asked about that sit, or it may just be off-putting for those viewing your listing.
Responsibilities - update your content to remove Figgy, or add them to your pet list.
To be current on many issues discussed on the forum, you can use the spyglass and search key words. It may answer many common concerns for you.
Thanks for your reply. We used to have three dogs unforunately we lost one which I updated. I will now check the resposibilities and adjust that.
I don’t understand about blocking out 12 and only going for three we are away for the whole period.
Thanks again for your advice.
Sorry to hear it’s now just the two dogs. The first paragraph in your intro says that you’ll be away for three nights, which is confusing as it doesn’t tally with the listed dates. You should be able to view your listing in preview mode so that you can see what sitters see and clear up any discrepancies.
I agree very much with the points raised by @Snowbird in where your listing needs updating. Having read your review of your last sitter, I am wondering whether you actually attended your friend’s funeral in Jan where you needed a last minute sitter and had posted 12 days but would only be away for 3 days. Have I got this right? If so, you need to re-visit your listing and take time and effort to completely make it up-to-date. Remove your dates, update it then re-post your dates and it will become a new listing and hopefully, you will then attract sitters.
I would suggest updating your introduction altogether. I think the areas that are confusing, off putting or just not useful are the first paragraph of your listing and where you mention that unfortunately in the past you have been let down on occasions by local house/pet sitters. Fixing this will be a GREAT start. I think you should delete your active housesit and repost after doing a good review of ALL ASPECTS of your listing, edit to current # of dogs (sorry for your loss of Figgy) THEN make a new post. You will have a fresh sit for people to review without confusion.
(Post edited by the Forum Team to comply with the Community Rules).
To me, it would be risky as a sitter to apply to your listing not knowing exactly which few days you’ll actually be away. I can see why you haven’t gotten applications this time around. I would hold the listing until you have confirmed dates, or if you have the date of the funeral but are unsure which exact days around that time you’ll actually be gone maybe pick the most likely scenario and explain it may not be those exact dates. And as others have already stated, the availability calendar is impossible to use! One of many issues with THS that I suppose will be corrected shortly now that the booking fees are being collected to fund updates
With THS volunteer sitters, who do you imagine would be able to come without firm dates? How would they plan? Why would they not just opt instead for a sit with firm dates?
Even hiring someone professionally when you don’t have firm dates wouldn’t be possible.
I disagree about the paid sitter angle. I’m a professional pet sitter and if I’m around doing other pet care during a span of time I will always be flexible for my clients. If a client told me they need to attend a funeral and will be away from home for a few days, I would gladly agree to cover whatever dates turn out to be the actual few days. I have asked my own pet sitter similar scenarios and she, too, always agrees to care for my kitty whatever the actual dates turn out to be. In fact, this came up recently when I needed to travel for my aunt’s memorial service. Local paid sitters who are around anyway can be far more flexible than many THS sitters, who use the platform for travel opportunities and often need a good amount of lead time to plan.
That’s if you’re not already booked and are willing to turn away potential clients with jobs meanwhile. Maybe you don’t rely on sitting for a livelihood, but people who do wouldn’t just randomly hold 12 days open in hopes of getting three days of work. It wouldn’t be logical.
My experience has been for emergencies paid sitters will always accommodate (or worst case recommend a friend/sitter who can). It’s not a strict hourly-type work were they can accept one and reject another. It may require some less than ideal schedule gymnastics, but for regular clients who pay on time and usually tip as well, they find a way.
Its the situations where you are scrambling around trying to find a ‘new to you’ paid sitter that they will be more rigid with their schedule.
