This is a very helpful thread, thanks Peter! We get lots of requests (and reply to every one) yet our non-availability is clearly marked. I think the problem is that people assume we are available because the dates are in white. Non-availability in red, like availability in green, would solve the problem. The instructions on the site for availability are ambiguous. It’s not clear when you ‘add dates’ whether you are adding availability or non-availability.
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Thanks, @Dash. The Calender is a major issue now. I really hope THS get this sorted ASAP, as a lot of people are getting a wee bit frustrated (!) about its actual usefulness.
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Hi Arjuna. Not sure if I really want to get any more involved in the calendar discussion.
But a couple of points.
If there is no actual link/correlation between the calendar and searching available sitters, there is no point in the calendar.
If you can just do a search for people local to you and it just pulls up everyone, including sitters with a booked sit, well that is just pointless.
Most people who are showing as “available” on their calendar (green) probably don’t want to sit locally. So there is no point in owners searching for sitters, really.
Until the calendar is updated and actually becomes a useful tool, there really is no point in having it
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I’ve been a member of THS now for a few years, and I CANNOT find my calendar! Well, I CAN find the ‘Manage Availability’ link, but where on earth is the calendar which shows my dates crossed off?
Yours in desperation …
@LTD If you preview your profile, you’ll see your photos, reviews, references, what you wrote for your profile, pet care experience, and then Availability (your calendar). It scrolls left to right using the arrows, and your THS confirmed sits should display with the black diagonal line across the white date range.
Thanks, I’ve found it now, … but ohmydays it is tucked away, and not where you expect it to be!
Why am I receiving invites to sit when my calendar clearly shows that I’m unavailable? Once again this highlights the need to block out the calendar if I’m ‘unavailable’ for long periods. Or is there something I’m doing wrong? To me my calendar shows ‘unavailable’.
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If our calendar shows unavailable then why are we getting invites for sits? The calendar function would be so much more useful if it was linked to show a message to anyone trying to invite us that we are busy! It seems home owners dont look themselves so this prompt would be very helpful for everyone.
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We often find, that when a homeowner is looking for a sitter, they look at your profile, like what they see and message you straight away. I like to think, It is quite a feather in your cap. The downside, is they unfortunately don’t delve deeper to look at your calendar. I would suggest that if you are booked up for say the next 3/6 months, do change your profile title to say this, then homeowners will see this immediately, and generally won’t message you.
Sitters I have spoken to in the past, say this has worked well for them.
Hope this helps.
Kind regards
Therese
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Hi @anon36831737
Would it be possible to include an option within the calendar to specify a location for each selection of dates.
For example I live in Ontario, Canada and am not interested in travelling anywhere in Canada during our winters, but would love to go somewhere tropical instead. For example my calendar could read something like the following;
Jan 1 to Mar 30 - South America, Australia, etc
Apr 1 to May 30 - USA
Jun 1 to Sep 30 - Canada
Oct 1 to Dec 30 - Europe
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Hi I am new to TrustedHousesitters.
I’m searching for a sitter. I am very confused about how the availability calendars work. It seems that some people show dates with lines through them which I assume mean unavailable.
Others show dates that are completely blank but have green highlighted dates indicating times when they are available. I saw one calendar that had some lines through dates but then some completely blank and then still others highlighted in green. What does all of this mean?
Do lines mean a sit is booked, while blank means unavailable for other reasons and green of course means available. Some people show no lines and no green for the foreseeable future, at least 6 months out.
Thanks for your help.
Hello @Dusk and welcome to the forum and to TrustedHousesitters. The availability calendar has been discussed at length on the forum. When you’re wondering about a specific topic, it’s best to use the magnifying glass to search your key words. You’ll often find what you’re looking for that way. In the meantime, we’ve moved your query to this very relevant thread.
A black line across white denotes a confirmed THS sit, and that marking is auto-generated by THS. Not all sitters use the calendar. The default shows white, so all white is often an indicator that the sitter is not using the calendar.
Francine,
Volunteer Forum Moderator 
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Thank you for your response. That’s what I figured.
I scanned the prior comments and don’t believe anyone has commented on back-to-back sits but apologies if it’s already covered. We’ve been arranging back to back sits over a period of three months and I’ve noticed our availability is automatically blocked for the last day of a sit, even though we have no sit for that night (think of it as booking hotel nights - when you checkout on the 29th, you have nowhere to stay on that day, so you are available to sit, potentially). The automatic calendar block associated with a sit should only block out the days up to but not including the last day. Our availability was showing as unavailable for the last day of each sit we booked, meaning we would need to book into a hotel or similar for one night before going to the next sit. And what’s worse, we have no way of marking those last days as available!
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Hi @NigelF, some sits actually finish late in the evening depending on when the owners are returning so the last day does need to be included in the calendar block out.
Yes some do finish late, and then surely it’s up to the pet sitters to arrange their schedule accordingly. Having the date automatically blocked out removes that option.
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You are missing my point. The calendar shows the sitter as unavailable on those days. My point is that it shouldn’t default to that unless that’s the preference of the sitter. If you are looking to book back-to-back sits, the calendar should reflect availability. That’s my perspective and the pov I was making. I can see you don’t agree.
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