I’m a brand new member of THS, just posting my first listing yesterday. I came to the forum armed with quite a few questions, but found that they’d all been answered by other posts, so I appreciate the thorough nature of this the community.
I have also seen some posts outlining negative experiences by sitters and that saddens me, because I could not imagine misleading a sitter, leaving a dirty home for someone, foisting additional pets on them or treating them in any other way than with respect, and with appreciation for the favour they are doing for us by looking after our precious pet. I did read a post where someone saw something as a “red flag” that puzzled me though: she said that “if any host is slow to reply and say they want to chat” she withdraws her application. Isn’t chatting a normal part of the process if it has progressed to that point? I’m sure any sitter would want to get a feel for us, and I’d certainly like the same of them.
And one last thing, with no other listings behind us, how do we make potential sitters feel comfortable that they can trust what we tell them and that we will ensure they have a good experience in our home?
There are some lines of discussion here on writing a good and thorough listing. A poor or incomplete listing is a big “red flag”, especially for a new houseowner.
It sounds like you misunderstood. Various sitters withdraw their applications because some hosts are >slow< to reply (if at all). They’re not saying they don’t want to chat if a host replies promptly.
Hello @DeborahG and welcome! It probably should have read “slow to respond and DOESN’t want to chat.” Most sitters and hosts want to connect by phone or video if not in person (not always possible in this international group) before all sits as it makes for a much stronger connection. Red flags can be things like lots of missing reviews or a very entitled tone in the listing with many “tasks” for the sitter or not many photos so it seems they may be hiding something. That kind of thing. A lot of sitters really don’t mind new HOs as long as they grasp the concept of mutual exchange and the ethos of THS. (which you seem to have already so all good). If you want to, you can always add your listing to your forum profile and ask for feedback or just go for it. Enjoy being on THS, we’ve sat for lots of new hosts and they’ve all been great. #everyonestartssomewhere
Hi @DeborahG and welcome to THS. It’s great to see that you’ve had a thorough read of the Forum and that it’s answered most of your questions as it can be trying when people don’t bother searching before posting a question that’s been answered ad infinitum!
As always @Cuttlefish has given good information. It sounds like you’ll be a really caring home owner, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many who have been very hospitable and thoughtful. I’ve returned to several and keep in contact with most. I would reiterate what @Cuttlefish suggests that you might like to post your listing so that experienced sitters can give you feedback to make it more attractive if necessary, particularly if you get few applications. Here’s how to do that:
Also, it’s good practice to respond quickly to applicants and arrange a video chat with any you feel will be a good fit.
Good luck!
You sound like a great homeowner already @DeborahG.
My first sit was for some new homeowners and we decided that we had a good feel about each other and went with that.
If you want a sitter to have a good experience, you could arrange a videochat before inviting them and ask the questions “What is the best thing a homeowner could do to make you [the sitter] happy?” and “What is the worst thing etc?” The answers will tell you if you are a good match for each other. Just trust your gut and if you don’t sound like the right homeowner for the sitter, decline them - a better solution will come along.
Thank you so much, everyone for the warm welcome and clarification on what is considered appropriate. I’m looking forward to being part of this community.
You do not have anything to worry about!!! We sit as a couple. This forum is full of negative posts from both sitters and home owners, because people come on here for help, and as you can tell, most on here are kind hearted and ‘want’ to help and offer solutions, it’s full of good people, and so is THS in general.
What the forum doesn’t do, is give a balanced viewpoint in the posts that are created. We’ve completed 38 sits with THS, and 3 on a different website, and 100% of them have been great with amazing pets, and fantastic owners.
We’re fully aware from this forum that we’re going to have a bad experience before long, it’s bound to happen, but we’ve had fantastic hosts so far, so good that we return to a lot time and time again.
We never expected to have such great connections with the home owners when we joined, but believe me, it happens! When we first joined it was just about having fun with pets in a different place, their owners didn’t enter our minds.
I can tell from your post that you obviously care, so just be yourself, and you can’t go wrong!
It helps to put yourself in the place of sitters who voluntarily spend time, effort and often money to do sits — imagine the kind of things you’d care about.
Most hosts are well intentioned, but even then sometimes might not realize that sitters want to know why the location is worth visiting, what amenities are within walking distance or reach of public transit or if a car is needed, how long the pets can be left for, where the sitter will sleep, where pets will sleep and such.
Savvy sitters know what to look for in the content and tone of listings, whether from new or experienced hosts — whether they’re welcoming, reciprocal, etc. And video chats can help with due diligence on both sides. Producing a robust welcome guide and sharing it promptly also helps with successful sits.
Personally, I’ve been sitting part time for two years and have done 22 sits with overwhelmingly great results. The worst sit I had — and it was just a matter of different cleaning standards, not terrible — was with experienced hosts who didn’t video chat. That was early in my sitting days.
I’ve since sat for a number of first-time hosts, who’ve been terrific on every front. I’m actually about to start a repeat sit with a pair of such hosts, and have enjoyed sits with first-timers domestically and abroad. Every host and sitter starts off without reviews and experience on THS and most go on to have good experiences. Otherwise, no one would renew their membership.
And BTW, often negative posts and comments come from a limited number of folks who repeatedly struggle with sits / sitters / hosts. Some people just don’t take to THS as well as others.
Sounds like you are doing great so far. Very good idea to read on forum early on - I wish I had, but I’ve been lucky nevertheless.
Regarding answering time, the terms of THS says that a member should answer a fellow member within 72 hours. For the sits I’ve had, hosts have usually reached out within 24-48 hours to arrange a videochat, sometimes both videchat and confirmation has been agreed within 48 hours.
I would say as with any ad one would make, one should be prepared to get answers to the ad and handle those if one wish to go forward with interest in your ad. So as a general advice I would say don’t publish (yet) if you can’t do follow-ups at that time. But of course life happens, and sometimes one planned to do that and suddenly it wasn’t possible.
I have at present an application to a sit that I sent 3+ months ago, and still the host hasn’t answered or reached out in any form. As of now I would say if they answer at this point, they should have a pretty good explanation if I would be interested any longer. That happens more often than you’d think - that hosts publish dates for sits and then just - crickets.
That happens more often than you’d think - that hosts publish dates for sits and then just - crickets.
it’s great to have you here and I’m so happy that you’ve found helpful information here!