Yeah, this is so common. But now we can’t even have a dialogue with the owners.
1 Like
@Yvrblog . I was referring to date changes after the sit has been confirmed. VERY common. Communication can continue in this scenario
@Yvrblog . Having reviewed your numerous posts on this topic, I have to say I am really uncomfortable with some of the words you have used regarding owners date changes (ie misrepresenting, lie, tricked, inaccurate). I believe it is more down to plans change and not malicious. Just my opinion
1 Like
Hi Fellow pet lovers,
I wanted to add something to the conversation that no one has spoken about…
I maybe the only one that does this and if so apologies for posting this…
If I see a sit that interests me and im not available I still reach out to the pet parents to introduce myself and express my interest to care for their kitty in the future.
Most pet parents are greatful that I have taken the time to do this. They then decline my sit and open up the application again.
This has been a great way for me to meet pet parents in my area and I have gotten numerous future sits this way and developed long standing relationships.
If you block out the dates I will loose a lot of connections and both myself, pet parents and kitties will miss out.
There are so many reasons why this new system should be reconsidered. I thought the idea of THS was to bring both Pet parents, sitters and furbabies together. This won’t happen. How is this benefiting the community?
Tracey
Cat Lover 
8 Likes
Agreed.
Since 15 sits with THS, there weren’t any accurate sit dates so far…
You end up being trapped 3 days before and 3 days after the sit sometimes which is very uncomfortable.
Also, travelling as a couple, THS sees no problem about one partner staying 1 more week because the owner needed more time to do something that wasn’t preventing him to come back home at the agreed end date.
Leaving the other partner to start the next sit alone, and change all of our plans.
But then when you then want to have some me-time and travel on your own just once in the year using the same couple account where you have all the review and experience, it’s not possible?
We wonder if THS measures the value of the sitters in this exchange system, I have the impression that it’s not fair at all and getting tired of it really.
Also tired of hearing that the membership is peanuts, it’s not. Not having a rent (some of us still have a rent) doesn’t mean that our expenses are lessend. It’s just too bad to hear that because house and petsitting is absolutely not about the money!
It’s about value! And the more we use THS the less value we see, that’s a shame. I have a long list of things gone wrong but not sure it will even be published if I talk about it.
5 Likes
The system was great so far.
But again common sense people who can manage themselves are aggrieved…
2 Likes
As someone upthread pointed out, couples having two memberships actually enables them to have overlapping sits pretty easily, though of course with more logistics using the platform itself.
If the net result is the same, all that’s happened is the creation of a second (paid!!) account and inbox hassles.
For me personally, I’m registering for paid sit sites. There’s no good reason for me to continue trying to help low applicant HOs out of goodwill or proselytizing for THS, since I no longer feel I can in all honestly recommend the service.
I’ve really enjoyed this community and my experiences here, but vulture capital ruins all things in the end.
5 Likes
I shouldn’t have to pay for 2 membership’s just for us just to be able to overlap sits. This is ridiculous!
2 Likes
This is again another change that is unjustified by THS. In the past year we have only be able to apply for 1 sit, whereas before (5 applicant change) it was much easier to acquire sits. Now we are told we can’t do overlapping sits! As a couple we want the option to split up sometimes.
Just another reason why we will NOT be renewing our membership!!!
5 Likes
Thank you @ere @mars and everyone who has mentioned owners having flexible dates and making sure their dates are accurate. I have shared these concerns and feedback with the team. If they share any updates we will let you know.
4 Likes
@Carla Thank you for sharing these examples with the team!
From what I see, it’s quite common for people to post flexible dates.
Here’s one example from just yesterday:
A HO has posted a month-long sit, but says that she is perfectly happy with it being split into 2-week increments for 2 different sitters.
However, none of the sitters who are booked for any part of the month-long sit she’s listed can apply or message her in any way.
She can only receive messages from applicants whose calendars are free for the entire month.
Unfortunately, it’s extremely unlikely that she knows that the very sitters she wants applications from are blocked from messaging her. She just think it’s harder to fill her sits than usual.
…
Another situation that comes up regularly:
On several occasions, I have applied for, or have been contacted about, a long sit that overlaps my booked schedule by a day or two.
The HOs decide I am their best option; the sitter they feel best meets their needs.
In these cases they have either changed their flight or their travel plans so that their schedule matches mine, OR they have family or a friend cover the one or two overlapping days. They feel it’s no problem for them to cover one day if they get a sitter they feel really good about. (especially for a long sit!)
HOs can still contact sitters about the above scenario, which is good.
But sitters can’t contact them.
I have zero desire to overlap sits in any way.
But on occasion I see a sit that has “low applications,” or even zero applications that overlaps my schedule by a day…
I want the HO and the pets to have a good experience with THS, and while they travel, so I sometimes message them to say, “If you find a sitter you like who can do your whole sit, then obviously go with them. But I could cover your sit except for the last day if you need. So feel free to consider me a back-up plan, if you like.”
When I’ve done this, it is to help the HO and the pets, and to help THS. I don’t need the accommodation, but I enjoy helping. (especially when it involves sweet animals!)
It’s a bummer that this will no longer be possible, as I will no longer be able to message the HO if we have one day of overlap, even if they have no applicants at all.
I would have been able to help them out of a jam, if they are happy to change their plans slightly or cover the one day with family / friends / neighbors.
(This coverage would also help THS, of course, because the HO is a happier customer.)
I suspect this situation happens fairly often, and it’s a bummer for HOs that sitters will now be blocked from offering themselves as a Plan B in this way.
10 Likes
This is exactly how I operate, too. “If you are able to locate a preferred sitter for your dates, please disregard my application. If you feel you’re in a bind or can’t find anyone, go ahead and reach out and I’ll see if I’m able to help.”
Goodwill galore, down the drain.
5 Likes
The problem is that now THS only allows five applications before the sit ‘closes’ to review, so a lot of HOs don’t want just an ‘inquiry’ eliminating potential applicants. A lot of them state that they can’t afford the ‘inquiry’ so so they ask that we please don’t apply if the dates don’t align.
However–it would certainly be nice if there WERE the option of just contacting a HO without ‘applying’ (if HO chose this setting) so that there would be option of communicating our availability, for now or future. It’s frustrating that there is NO WAY of communicating unless we’ve done so in the past.
2 Likes
I do sit for cats only and in the same city. My dates were overlapped in the past for a few days as agreeing with pet owners. Many pet owners offered me as an option that I can use automatic feeder if am going away for a couple of dates somewhere else even though I don’t have an other sit booked - (for longer sits). I managed sits very well so far when it comes to overlapped sits as they are all in the same city. This is absolutely sad news - looks like my sitter adventures coming to an end…
1 Like
Has THS even bothered to survey / ask owners, especially cat owners, if this was a problem they wanted fixed?
It’s quite obvious that THS cares nothing about sitters opinions, but perhaps if you did any bit of research, you’d find that HO’s also didn’t think it was a problem needing to be solved?
4 Likes
This is bad THS. And making people get a second account means you just want sitters to pay more and they are still allowed to overlap, as long as they give you more money. Not a good look for THS and really unappealing.
The positives to overlapping, responsibly, outweigh the negatives.
Banning people from getting in touch with pet parents is terrible too. Not to mention incorrect or flexible pet sitting dates but you still can’t apply on overlapping days, when you wait for the pet parent to confirm and be 100% certain of their dates, other sits might have moved on with someone else.
2 Likes
Hi @Carla
Can THS please reverse this overlapping bookings decision!?!
As you can clearly see the community is not happy with this and from our feedback its going to effect sitters so much that you may not have relised.
I love been a cat sitter and have loved each and every furbaby I’ve cared for and loved in this journey. It is a privilege and has changed my life. To know that I’ve made a difference to pet parents and their beautiful furbabies is something i just can’t put into words.
Please don’t make it any harder for me to do this. This is extremely worrisome.
Tracey
Cat Lover
7 Likes
Same situation over here guys. We managed to do sits for over 2 years straight now. We have 55 completed sits all being rated 5 stars reviews and by overlaping eventually we are able to separate and while one goes start the next sit the other will do the handover on the "previous"sit.
I guess I understand the perspective of the platform in trying to manage at scale and prevent possible issues that overlapping may cause, but I think they should give a passa at least for experienced sitters that have done sits overlapping in the pass with success.
2 Likes
A strong point that some people have raised here:
The few irresponsible ‘bad apples’ who abandon pets early or manage to book 6 different overlapping sits on different continents, very likely wouldn’t make good sitters anyway even when they ARE on a sit - no matter which of the ones they actually end up doing in real. If they engage in behaviour whereby they just abandon sits early without informing the HO, what tells us they do an excellent job while still being on the job vs. e.g. doing the absolute minimum possible?
So I would find it very hard to believe that someone who engages in such irresponsible behaviour in terms of abandoning pets would be a sitter who otherwise has a string of 5 star reviews.
Hence this THS solution sounds a bit like “using a sledgehammer to kill a fly”: irresponsible sitters will stand out in more ways than just one. There’s no need for a blanket rule affecting all 90.000 or so sitters on this site, to weed out the <0.5% who shouldn’t be a member anyway.
7 Likes
I just wanted to give a couple examples of sits I would not have been able to apply to under the new rule.
When I had some time open up in my schedule (not sit related), I looked at sits and saw one that was low applications, in an area that it was unlikely they would get many applicants. However, it overlapped with a sit by one day at the end. This sit was in danger of going unfilled, I applied and clearly explained that I would only be able to stay until the day before they came back. They contacted me within minutes of my application and sent a confirmation right away. I asked a few questions, made sure they would have arrangements in place for me to leave when I needed to and I accepted the sit. On the day I left their friend came over, picked up the dog, and off I went. It was a great sit, and when I met them they said multiple times how grateful they were that I was there. They only had one applicant before me and that person had multiple bad reviews and was not being considered. Under the current rules, I would not have been able to apply and the sit would have gone unfilled.
Another sit I recently confirmed has an issue of a conflict of two days. It’s a longish sit (over a month) and I have a family obligation for two of the days. I applied with details about the conflict dates, we had a nice chat and they said it was not a problem at all for them to arrange cat care for those days. In this case, I was able to apply because the conflict was not a sit. Had it been a sit, I would not have been able to apply at all and the HOs would still be stressing about finding someone to care for their cats while they are away.
Often HOs are flexible about start/end dates and are willing to make other arrangements for a day or two if needed (not even necessary for those sitting as a couple). Also, sometimes they have not even finalized their dates so there may not be an issue at all. This rule prevents sitters from reaching out to HOs when it may be a perfect match. There will definitely be sits that go unfilled due to this new policy.
As has already been mentioned in this thread, bad sitters will still be bad sitters, punishing everyone else (including HOs) is not the way to weed them out.
9 Likes