Just be aware that even if the owner is OK with this arrangement that if you have to cancel less than 14 days before even because of reasons outside your control (lockdown, flood, injury or illness, etc) that because the sit was not actually accepted they will not be covered by the insurance as the sit was never accepted.
And yes you could accept the sit and then cancel but that is the sort of thing insurance companies look for and may also get you in trouble.
@LondonUKSitter the other downside is if the sit is not officially confirmed the host cannot give you a review which, most sitters, is very important.
I do eventually confirm the sit.
For instance, right now one of my repeat HOs have asked me to to do a 10 day sit in late-May. We’ve confirmed the sit between us on WhatsApp and the HO has sent me an invite to the sit within the platform. I’ll just wait until mid-May to actually accept it, because otherwise I can’t message any other HOs (or even observe if other sits get applicants) that overlap at all.
It’s less than ideal for me. It’s less than ideal for the HO. However, it is what it is. THS’s product team have really screwed this up by taking a few isolated incidents and making very impactful changes for everyone, and treating all of their members as untrustworthy (the irony of which is likely lost on them).
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That is also what I did now. The HO and I agreed via Whatsapp to a repeat sit this summer, half a year from now. They know their approximate dates (from their employer) but they have not really planned their travel yet. I am keen on doing this sit again and I am fully committed but I also like to keep it a bit flexible at the edges. Informal is fine, we have come to know each other.
We might formalise in July, maybe on THS, maybe create references on a different platform.
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Sorry! deleted by me as my point had already been made!
Hi everyone, as a full-time pet-sitting couple, the recent change in the app that prevents contacting other hosts when the dates clash, even for just a day, is making our lives much more difficult. We’ve been trying to line up pet-sitting assignments for over a year, and on the few occasions when the dates overlap for a few days, we’ve split, with one of us staying in the current assignment and the other moving to the next one. Without causing any harm to the pets, taking care of them with all our love, and, of course, notifying the hosts in advance.
As much as I love the THS community and all it has brought to my life, I’m thinking of subscribing to another similar service.
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My partner and I have the same problem that you just explained. A few days ago I contacted the Support Team and they just told me that they aren’t going to change this because they have to watch over the well-being of the pets, and in this way, it’s a form of protecting them.
I´m so frustrated and disappointed with this new system.
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Hello everyone,
I am just popping on here to share my previous message as it might have been missed higher up.
Just to reassure you during the course of this thread the forum team have collected all of the feedback and passed it on to the Product Team. If you have any new ideas that have not already been covered feel free to tag us and we will make sure those are passed on.
Please also see the new Product Category and how it works here @HelloOutThere Hopefully that will explain how it all works and to manage expectations as to why Ben won’t reply to any direct tags as we have a new process in place, but the forum team are always happy to help where we can and can pass that feedback on.
There has also been the question again asking if sits that start and end on the same day count as overlapping sits. They don’t so you can apply for these. I hope that helps! 
As @Jenny mentioned the Forum Team can not make any internal changes or decisions, but it’s great that there is an open discussion here. If we hear about any more new features or updates relating to the overbooking sits then promise to let you know here. Thank you.
Hi @Carla where should members post new feature suggestions or suggestions and/or feedback about features and new updates?
The product update thread says this…so I am confused about where to post such and going forward I will not tag Ben.
Thanks!
Hello, @HelloOutThere Great question! We want to make sure the new Product Category is kept clear for all of the big updates so that the Forum Team can monitor and share feedback and nothing is missed.
We have a THS New & Feedback Category feel free to post suggestions and ideas here. There is also this thread for ideas and suggestions, but feel free to start new topics in the above category or any of the other available categories 
Hi @Carla so just to clarify, are you closing down this thread titled ‘Product update to avoid overbooking sits’ Very disappointing to hear that the community is not being listened to. The main reason you give is because of pet welfare. This really is quite patronising as the sole purpose of sitters if to manage pet welfare and we take our roles incredibly seriously, often going beyond the call of duty. The irony is that THS is actually putting pet welfare at risk as I am now seeing so many HO’s having 0 applicants that my husband and I could have assisted with. So sadly they will have to go to catteries or kennels, how can that be better for their welfare than staying in the comfort of own home? Surely the knock on effect with unsatisfied HO’s is they will not renew their memberships (why would they?) resulting in fewer sits available for sitters. A very disappointing decision for the whole community, where is the commonsense approach, at the very least giving HO’s the choice to accept overlapping sitters?
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Hello @Ab.R Thank you for tagging me. No, the thread is still very much open for discussion. I am just sharing the message from the Product team about the features they are working on due to the feedback on this thread. Also just to manage the expectations of what the Forum team can help with. Please feel free to carry on the discussion or share any new feedback.
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Unfortunately, we feel this was the worst thing that THS has ever implemented.
After more than 7 years as full time pet sitters with almost a 100 sits worldwide and a few with overlapping dates, we were able to help amazing pet parents and pets in 41 countries and also spend years without paying for accommodation. We are not kids and would never let anyone down. We know our responsibilities and being a couple we can handle a few overlapping dates if needed to cover gaps in our stays in a specific region.
We strongly suggest @TrustedHousesitters to improve this rule and roll back the prohibition of applying on overlapping dates IF the sits are not too far apart from each other AND IF the sitter profile is not a single person.
A couple can easily take care of sits on overlapping dates if they are not too far apart (maybe up to 100km).
Thank you for the consideration.
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Yes we agree @MyrCar. THS is not giving us an option but to start using other platforms, despite all the comments and complains about this topic. This is really a pitty and it was clearly a poor decision. 
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@giuliana_elton if you want THS to consider your comment you can e-mail them directly at support@trustedhousesitters.com as many other forum members have already done.
THS have stated categorically that they are not going to reverse this decision based on the views expressed in this forum.
I understand @Carla , but please consider an improvement to the new feature such as allowing the overlapping in some situations. As a suggestion, sits with overlapping dates could be possible IF the sitter profile is of a couple (not a single person) AND IF the sit locations are not too far apart from each other (maybe 100km max). This is improving even more the platform and listening to experienced customers.
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I’m lately feeling that all the changes are for the benefit of hosts but not at all for the sitters. Just a reminder that we’re humans as well And we take our job as a pet sitter very seriously. We need to feel supported to continue being members of this community.
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Unfortunately having 2 accounts doesn’t solve the problem. I have 2 and now have another issue.
What if I apply for a sit in March, say it’s a great sit for the whole month? How would I know which account to apply with? I haven’t filled in the dates of Feb to know how they will line up.
Also, the system has a bug that sometimes doesn’t allow me to book more than one sit. For one account I have 2 sits booked so it must not be ANOTHER new rule but when someone has 2 different sits and one overlaps, the system now won’t let me book either sit. It’s ridiculous!!
Why when a HO has multiple sits, one of which my account overlaps, will the system not allow me to apply to any of them? I get a message saying I have a sit that overlaps one of the dates and to only apply for one sit at a time. What the heck?
Please advise. (Yes I sent a message a few days ago to support and they haven’t gotten back to me so I sent another today.)
Thank you!
@Carla
Why when a HO has multiple sits, one of which my account overlaps, will the system not allow me to apply to any of them? I get a message saying I have a sit that overlaps one of the dates and to only apply for one sit at a time. What the heck?
Please advise. (Yes I sent a message a few days ago to support and they haven’t gotten back to me so I sent another today.)
Thank you!