I noticed that my Premium Member badge was no longer under my name at the top right of my profile next to my picture. I asked a friend to check as well just to make sure it wasn’t something internal. No badge.
I used Frankie the Virtual Assistant to ask where my badge went. He was unable to help me and forwarded me to Jeff. When I explained the issue he said that the badges were being moved to the bottom of the profile, below “Why I want to house sit” and above “Availability”! He said they were in the process of moving all of them!
When I replied that I had just seen a badge still at the top of another member’s profile he asked for a screen shot. As I was working on bringing up an example, the chat window rebooted and I lost the conversation.
Anyway, here are the examples of which I speak - mine, and a homeowners.
There is no inherent promise or obligation on the part of THS to place the member badges in any particular location on the member’s profile.
The Premium membership has its advantages in the numerous available perks, such as cancelation insurance, lounge passes and other software enhancements that may increase a sitter’s success on the platform, but being Premium does not necessarily result in sitters being chosen by hosts over non Premium sitters. Prior experience and review history is much more important.
Well, I was confused when I noticed it was no longer under my name. Especially since there has been a lot of chatter about whether HOs have or would in the future prioritize sit offers to Premium Members. I did not find it and had to reach out to support to learn that it had been moved.
I’m mostly wanting to inform both HOs and Sitters of this change at this point.
Thanks for posting this. I didn’t notice they were buried. I thought they had been taken down. It’s interesting because I could see an argument for taking them down in that for many homeowners who don’t use the site often, “premium” could indicate the sitter was somehow “better” than non-premium sitters so it could be confusing.
To me it would be less confusing if for both homeowners and sitters it appeared with some other information. Like with sitters when you click and see ID verified, linkedin etc, it could say Membership tier: Standard or Membership Tier: Premium. I don’t think it makes a difference to most homeowners, but it could have an edge if a say a homeowner was thinking ahead that there could be a legit reason their plans might get delayed and they didn’t want to leave a sitter stuck if that happened.
Similarly with homeowners. It’s not a badge of pride that makes your sit better, but it might be some more data about you that the sitter might want to know about.
I’m a HO and I don’t choose sitters based on their level of membership. Even with this new booking fee going into effect next month, that still won’t deter me to confirm a sitter based on their level of membership.
I think the word “premium” does send deliberate mixed messages. Airbnb Superhost, you assume you are getting someone who really knows what they are doing. Premium implies the same whereas it’s merely achieved by paying for a level and not reflective on any skill on either part. It’s misleading.
I personally don’t think being Premium necessarily defines anyone as a more desirable or “better” sitter, and doubt it’s a defining criteria for a PO choosing amongst applicants. At best, it might lend a slight edge in some cases, by indicating a sitter’s financial ‘commitment’ to the site. (Casual sitters are almost never going to pay the fee difference.) In future, this might be exacerbated due to the booking fees: Sitters who sit often are more likely to pay the higher subscription rate. (Nothing one can’t assess by checking the Sitter’s review numbers & sit count, obviously.)
That said: as a sitter who pays for Premium despite what I consider minimal enhancements for the additional cost — why the heck would you de-emphasize my silly little vanity badge? It costs THS nothing to keep it there; it’s a minor thing you give me to make me feel special, for a significant increase in fee…and I do see it as an indication of my commitment to sitting, as well as my financial independence…it implies straight off the bat that I’m not doing this for free on-going housing, if anyone chooses to read it that way.
Again: it doesn’t make me a “better” sitter and likely means next to nothing to POs…but it also costs THS nothing to give my ego that little stroke. Instead, it’s a perk I pay for that’s being devalued.
Why do this, THS — especially right now? Can you help us understand?
Well, with the new pricing structure, premium also means no booking fees. I’m thinking of homeowners with last minute or low application sits, especially short or otherwise undesirable ones. I’ve gotten a lot of invites over the past couple years, and if it doesn’t put me out too much, I’ll do what I consider a favor to the HO. Now, would I do that AND pay $12? If I were an HO I wouldn’t think a sitter would either. So I would want to filter by Premium Membership and invite those folks. Difficult to do so if the badge has been moved and they don’t know where to look.
On THS, inviting hosts isn’t effective. The host posts dates, sitters apply, and hosts decide from the available applicant pool of up to around 8 applicants at a time, and either chooses one or eliminates them all and goes for another round.
I can’t find the example now (maybe they removed it), but in the browser I remember I kept seeing a prompt to upgrade to Premium (I have Standard only) with the note that Sitters with Premium have a higher chance to secure a sit. I may misremember the number, but I think they stated that 30 % of the community already uses it.
So they pushed hard for Premium, even before the latest change. So moving the badge that low seems a bit strange if up till recently (or maybe still, but I just can’t find the ad) they marketed this an an advantage in the review process.
I would argue that premium doesn’t give any indication on the sitters quality, except for the information on how much they pay for their subscription. A lot of the very reliable/experienced and legacy sitters don’t have Premium and they can sometimes be “much higher value” than someone that someone who just signed up for Premium for “a cheap luxury holiday”. Also both groups can have bad apples, the Premium and non-premium.
Not all listings can be seen by sitters. I have had many successful and repeat sits through personal invitation.
Sometimes a personal invitation is very welcome but I do not appreciate the generic ‘are you interested in sitting for us’ type of contact.
Inviting sitters can work and it’s a good “desperation” strategy if hosts find themselves with no sitter and a pending trip but it’s much more effective to post dates and let sitters apply. This comes from my personal experience with 2 past sits and what I’ve frequently read on this forum from others.
It is the Homeowners prerogative of course. Some prefer to keep their listing private and choose to invite sitters rather than list and wait for applicants.
