@Colin no you can’t 
. I just tried this on a listing that had 4 dates posted as I was reaching out to them for a possible future opportunity. It allowed me to click on a set of dates and craft my letter, but when I hit send it blocked me and said that I was already booked.
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I get the impression that management thought that the problem was much greater than it is. I guess they did a data run to find out how many overlaps there were, and got really scared. Maybe they saw that the popup warnings had little effect (no matter how threatening the wording was!).
But that count was inflated.
- Partly it was due to couples splitting up for a few days.
- Partly it was sits ending and starting on the same date
- Partly it was due to HOs not changing their dates.
- And now it seems that listings with two or more sets of dates may also have been counted in.
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I agree. It sounds like internally the issue was exaggerated and the drawbacks understated/not considered. Hence, the solution was all-encompassing without taking a nuanced approach to the ‘issue’ (which is still unclear for me). Hence, those of us responsibly doing a few days overlap as a couple, were lumped in with the notorious ‘6 sits at once’ sitter.
- If the issue was a sitter booking 6 sits at once, ban that person, and make a statement about that specific behaviour to deter others.
- If the issue is cancellations, introduce a ‘% of sits completed’ score (like Airtasker) or auto negative feedback for cancellations (like Vinted) or block calendars for those dates (like Airbnb).
- If the issue was owners not knowing about overlaps, introduce a compulsory check box to confirm THEY agree to the overlap before the sit is confirmed
- If the issue was single sitters being in two places at once, allow only ‘couple accounts’ to overlap
- If the issue is trusting new sitters to manage overlaps, allow only sitters with 10+, 5-star reviews to overlap or whatever number they deem ‘experienced’
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Agree. It would be very interesting to be given access to the data to support this decision as it really isn’t clear on what basis this change has been made. I would like to know how many overlap sits there are, how many home owners have not given approval for an overlap, have any pets suffered as a consequence?
If it really is a tiny minority of sits that experience this problem then surely it makes sense to deal with these issues rather than introducing a blanket ban on overlaps which appears to be having many unintended consequences.
If, on the other hand it is to stop couples being able to overlap sits by a few days and THS want to be able to spread available sits more thinly to encourage more sitters to sign up then, please, just come out and say so. At the moment the arguments for the change are, to me, not compelling without any clear evidence to back them up.
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Adding to the pile… As a couple we are always having to adjust dates, and split up, mostly due to HOs trying to nail down THEIR arrangements. By shutting us out of applying to sits you are just creating several problems and not solving your stated objectives. smh.
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It’s a shame that sits will go unfilled due to these restrictive policies. I’ve been watching 2 sits that are for dates I’m available due to an HO date change, but I can’t apply because I’m ‘busy with another sit’. I’ve been keeping an eye on these sits just to see if they get sitters. Both still showing low applications and now a third sit came up for the same dates.
Typically, if I have a gap of only a few days, I prefer to get a hotel. However, if I see sits that may go unfilled, I will apply just to help out. Now, THS has made it so I can’t apply even though I’m available (no overlap at all). But, I would first have to pester the HO for the sit I have to formally change their dates (and walk them through the process step by step) or contact MS and send them screen shots of email conversations about the date change. I would be happy to help out one of these HOs, but not if it means extra work for me to be able to even apply. THS should be making the site easier to use, not harder.
So, I’ve already booked a hotel for the 4 days I have open in the same city where there are three sits open for those exact dates that are very quickly approaching.
It’s really too bad that THS has done this as more sits will go unfilled. They seem to forget that not all sits get 5 applications (or any applications). Those of us who travel full-time often do the low application sits. Making it more difficult to apply could mean the difference between an HO getting a sitter or not.
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I don’t understand. You say you’re available but the system says you’re ‘busy with another sit’. How can you watch the other sits to see how many applicants they get? I can’t if I’m ‘busy with another sit’
Have TH formally responded to this ridiculous overlap rule? There are so many sits now with 0 applicants, particularly over Christmas. There is a sit for a cat in the same town we are sitting for, normally I would let the HO have my details as often a cat can be left alone for one night. But now I cannot let them know we are available. Really sad to see some pets will be heading into catteries/kennels when this situation could be avoided. Not good for TH reputation either if the HO has signed up and receives no applicants, they would be unlikely to renew their membership. Very poor decision by TH, let’s hope they reverse this very frustrating decision urgently
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I am dogsitting until December 18th, and there is a 5 month long sit that I am inter dyed in applying for that starts December 17th. But THS won’t let me apply because the dates overlap by 1 day.
Is there any way I can write to a host to start a conversation?
And at this point in time @Ab.R, owners will have missed out on getting their pets into catteries/kennels for Christmas/New Year so their holiday plans could be well and truly mucked up! With hundreds of listings advertised for the festive season, there are going to be very unsatisfied customers, especially newbies, who have joined solely for this time period and been influenced by THS marketing.
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Welcome @Mr.T
According to THS T&Cs a sitter should be able to message a Homeowner
However in reality you can’t as the system blocks you from applying if you have an overlapping date. Maybe something to raise with member services as THS appear to be breaching their own T&Cs by not enabling a sitter to messaging a homeowner.
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I don’t like this protocol. Obviously, it is good for some obvious reasons.
But I’m really interested in a 5 month gig but there is a 24 hour overlap with my current sit, and I can’t even drop them a line to start a conversation about date flexibility. Not a good solution.
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Hi everyone,
I’ve noticed a couple of posts where members are making suggestions and recommendations about searching for owners and contacting them outside of the THS platform, and I’ve had to remove them as that’s against our Terms of Service.
The Forum team has kept this thread open so that we can continue to keep a note of your feedback, but any discussions need to be kept within the Community Guidelines and ToS that you agreed to when you signed up.
Thanks!
Jenny
Can you find out about the Ts and Cs that say sitters can contact & message pet parents via the THS system then please @Jenny as that would address the issue and mean that members can stay on the platform and on topic 
#winwin
Hi @Cuttlefish
I’m more than happy to do some fact-finding tomorrow when THS HQ is open again.
As you know I’m still the new girl, so I’m sorry that I don’t have an answer for this right now!
I’ll pop an update on here when I’ve done a bit more digging.
Jenny 
The Terms & Conditions do state under 3.2.5 that sitters are provided:
“the ability to communicate with Pet Parents via the Platform’s messaging service;”. Terms & Conditions | TrustedHousesitters.com
However this is vague - does it mean sitters have the ability to communicate with any owner at any time or is it limited to communicating with those to whom applications have been made or indeed those where a sitter has been selected for a sit? Also there is no reference to sitters being blocked from communications if they already have a sit which appears to be overlapping so I do think this T&C needs to be tightened up to explain exactly in what circumstances that communication is possible.
I get the feeling that as THS has undergone rapid expansion and made changes to many key elements of the service e.g. the 5 application limit, overlapping sit restrictions etc many of the T&C’s have not been reviewed alongside to ensure they still make sense in light of these changes.
I can’t see how many applications they have, but they have been listed for weeks and are showing as ‘low applications’.
Very interesting censoring of my post this evening - I suggested that someone in this long thread would send me a message such that I could contact the HO on her/his behalf.
This also for the benefit of the HO, who apparently has a long term sit available and no applications so far, with this sitter being able to do the full dates except a short section at the beginning. I would really like this HO to get a good sitter and not be barred from receiving a valuable application due to the new rule.
Anyway, long story short: my offer was flagged as inappropriate and removed. The offer is no different though than the person who recently created a new thread on this Forum to indicate that a previous sitter had contacted her to ask if she could contact an HO on her behalf - for the same reason. That’s the workarounds people inevitable will be trying to find.
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Yes, me too. I tried to answer a question.
But it is clearly essential for THS that nobody tries to find work-arounds for all those limits (the limit of five, the overlap-block, etc).
It seemed that discussion was becoming more free here. I think that was because people were starting to discuss THS issues on a site outside THS.
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Have you tried putting a heart and hopefully the home owner may contact you.
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