Sure there are rules everyone is following. Updating a useless calendar isn’t one of them.
I agree that it’s common courtesy to reply to messages but some people don’t, Hos or sitters. In fact there’s a rule about that, which is very difficult to enforce.
5.1.13. respond to communications from other Members in a timely manner, but in any event, within 72 hours;
@Jay the calendar would only be useful if sitters could put where they are available in addition to when. It doesn’t matter if I’m available if I’m in a different country. Generally, I’ve found HOs don’t look at the calendar before sending invites. The vast majority of the invites I’ve received have been for dates that I have confirmed THS sits which means the dates have clear strike throughs on the calendar. I get a lot of unsolicited invites (I’ve received two in the last two days). I always politely respond, but I would prefer not to get them at all.
Sitting through THS is not a job, or even a club. Sitters pay a membership fee to be able to search for sits and connect with HOs looking for sitters. We can use the site as much or as little as we choose once we pay our membership fee. If sitters only do one or two sits a year, there is no reason to expect them to put in time logging in frequently to check messages for invites they didn’t ask for or want and there is no reason for them to spend time filling out a calendar for the entire year if they only plan to do a couple sits.
I understand it’s frustrating to have trouble finding a sitter. Unfortunately, THS is not set up for HOs to search for sitters. They have chosen not to have a functional calendar or effective method for searching for sitters. If THS decided to make a useful calendar where sitters could put both when and where we are looking for sits, most sitters would be very happy with that. We’ve been asking for it for years.
@Jay I think the big problem for HO’s is THS advertise there are thousands of sitters waiting for a sit. Not true. I suspect many sits are going unfulfilled. I see so many that honestly offer me nothing. I personally had an invite last night, 15 minutes away from my own home, inferior accommodation compared to mine, 2 cute but high need dogs. What’s in that for me? Will the affection from those anxious dogs be enough reward for the described work? I doubt it. So yes that HO is going to find it hard to get a sitter. No guarantees in life.
@Jay Do keep in mind your listing was inaccurate because you had not updated it when you listed it this last time. Sitters take notice and move on if there’s uncertainty or a potential issue. So, it’s not just the system eg calendar availability of sitters that is at fault in your case.
There’s no guarantee by THS that hosts will secure a sitter and no guarantee sitters will secure sits they apply for.
I was in your situation when I first joined THS. No one wanted to care for my senior cat. I joined another site (one of the ones you alluded to that deducts like a star for member’s lack of response) and had success in gaining a wonderful sitter. That site also was free for me to join as an owner. We do need a backup plan if we wish to travel.
Hi, @Jay . First, I’m sorry to have been harsh. I took umbrage at the suggestion that unpaid sitters should somehow be punished or held to account for not responding to unsolicited sit invites, which for many here are basically spam — and further, that it’s our job to update a calendar that is effectively meaningless within this platform’s model. As others have noted, being uncommitted does not equal being capable or willing to perform an unsolicited sit in a random location — or in a local one, for that matter.
The irony is that I actually do have a great deal of empathy for your situation, and I’ve also probably accepted more unsolicited invites than many on this platform, since I do have a flexible schedule & I try to help people out whenever I can. At minimum, I always answer the invite with a personal note thanking the host for thinking of me, & with suggestions to try to help them locate a sitter…even if it’s just directing them to the “Last Minute Sits” category here on the forum. (You’d be surprised how many members don’t even know there IS a forum.)
The takeaway for you is understanding that Sitters here can be very helpful & generous, going out of their way to assist people in need even when there’s nothing in it for them. However, we’re quite sensitive when it feels as if someone is treating us as unpaid labor, available for their use at the asking. Being members of this platform doesn’t obligate us to be available to whomever, whenever they like — in the same way you wouldn’t expect to be asked by a sitter to vacate your home on demand so that I could stay there, simply because I’m in your area & need a place to crash for a week.
I do wish you the best of luck. You seem to have a lovely home/pets, and THS can be a great service when used as intended, although both hosts & sitters should always have a backup plan for when the stars don’t quite align.
Glad you found a great sitter there, although that last bit astonishes me — sites that charge the sitters to perform a service for free, while the hosts aren’t charged for receiving that service.
Don’t get me wrong - I’m happy with the exchange nature of this model, when both parties have mutual respect for what the other is providing. But it definitely feels exploitive to charge people for the privilege of providing free labor — particularly when it’s a 3rd party who’s collecting the money while contributing nothing tangible to the exchange. (It’s also the primary reason I find the new booking fees so offensive.)
@MerryPuppins that site @temba is referring to is now charging homeowners as well, accepting that it has to be fair to both sides and charging both parties. The star issue also on that site is also a bonus I feel as it does weed out the ones not being fair to sitters in slow or non existent responses.
I completely agree with you @MerryPuppins. This was back in 2015 when Aussie House Sitters and others associated with them only charged sitters. At that time, I needed a sitter so it was very desirable.
However, once I started as a sitter on THS, I really appreciated equality in membership fees. When restricted to being in Australia during the pandemic, I reactivated my Aussie House Sitters membership but as a sitter so that I could get my pet fix, something I was really missing. It irked me to be paying to sit whilst owners paid nothing and the quality of sits was not the same.
The last couple of years has seen owners now pay a one-off lifetime fee (AUD$49) yet sitters have to pay an annual fee, currently AUD$89. Still irks me (my membership hasn’t been reactivated post-pandemic) but I think these sites think more about the cost sitters would be paying for accommodation and not how much owners are saving on pet and home care.
@temba my membership is now $69 as I have had continuing membership. Maybe yours can also?
Yes, I think you’re right @ziggy that mine would be that but for newbies it would be $89 unless they get a referral.
Wow, that seems so odd to me. Is pet-sitting a lot less expensive in Australia? In the US, it frequently runs $55-$85USD/night for a dog in cities like Seattle (and that’s for just ONE pet…it’s significantly extra for each additional one.)
Lodging is more, of course - but a host needs a sitter, whereas a sitter doesn’t necessarily need to travel, in most cases.
I was surprised of this on another platform.
In workaway, I have been a host, and only later learned that “sitters” there pay the fee - the hosts are the commodity, and the platform sells access to them. The platform sells access to “employers”. On that platform, the host stays at home (often a farm, but I did it in a city), but must provide meals. Work can be anything, maxed at I think 25h a week. I have not too ideal location in a big city, yet yes, a lot of interest.
I do bit hard to understand why - I had practically au pairs trough it, surely they could have gotten a normal au pair gig and being paid?
I dont find that site itself exploitative (“giving the money to a third party”), as it seems that the cost to join is low and just used to keep the infra going.
But I think that since there is a clear interest towards volunteering in exchange housing, this is also why THS manages to function. Would be fascinating to study the complex motivations people have for this kind of “work”. For me I think the first reason is the hassle-less freedom that it provides. But I also have thousands of other reasons.
@MerryPuppins I just did a check and it does say sitters can charge for looking after pets, house, garden or do it for free on these related sites.
As I don’t do paid sits, I don’t know what owners are paying but I’d think it would vary according to location and not just number/type of pets.
I am a professional pet sitter in Connecticut, U.S. with a solo business. In my area, which is not the ritzy part of Conn. right outside NYC, the going rate for a 30-min. visit with dogs and cats, including feedings, scooping litter, dog walks, etc. is $20. The going rate for an overnight (which in my case includes last potty for dogs, going out to potty in a.m., and breakfast for all pets) is $75. I’m sharing my fees as an example for those who have no clue what pet care costs. I have a years-long network with other pet sitters and know that this is what others charge. I don’t charge extra to administer medication or for each extra pet, though if the animals are a lot of work (e.g. a farm with stalls to muck, buckets of water to haul, etc.) I will charge $30/hour.
In our area (southern California) its similar rates but a bit higher:
30 minute drop in visit with dogs: $30 (we have a local sitter who charges us much less for our cats only drop ins as they are easy - $20).
Overnight stays in-home (with a sitter with good reviews): $90-$100 (for a dog and 2 cats, a bit less if you have less pets, or a bit more for more pets). This usually includes walks or time at the dog park for the dogs and being home for one or two mid-day potty breaks. If you want your dog taken somewhere, like the beach or hiking, that is extra.
Overnight stays at a sitters home (usually 4-5 dogs including the sitters own) is $70 per night and includes walks and mid-day potty breaks.
In all cases sitters will leave mid day for a couple/few hours to tend their own needs (eg groceries or appointments) or to care for other clients pets.
Frankly I would not pay a sitter on a travel site no matter how great their reviews are. I would rather pay a local sitter as they know the area, have their own transportation, won’t get stuck with travel/flight delays, and don’t need to sightsee. Also if I’m paying someone I would rather keep the business local in my community, and I have those relationships in place already. No need to post a listing, have a video chat, find a match, etc. Also paying someone travelling into the US on a tourist visa is not a gray area anymore, it is clearly illegal.
For ‘fancy’ boarding kennels - the base overnight rates start at $70 per night but there is a dazzling array of options - everything from optional swim time, group walks, individual walks, group play, individual play, agility, training, puzzles and enrichment games - these probably up up closer to $100-$120 a night. But man the dog is so flippin’ happy there!