I would take off the ‘sitters need a car’ then add the distance info in your description . How far to the bus stop/train station/shops/pub.
We sold our cars when we started sitting because they are more trouble to us than they are worth - We have not found it a problem at all. Honestly, I would leave it to the sitter to decide if they need a car - you just give them honest information to make an informed choice.
No Clare you are definitely not the only one. I am awaiting clarification about why the verification filter to find sitters has been removed. It now states housesitting experience - and as someone else mentioned surely it should say pet sitting experience which I would think is pretty important.
I seem to remember a sitter on the forum saying that they were “reported” to THS for asking for travel costs to be reimbursed. But I am sure it is fine to ask for travel expenses to bring the dog to places that are required- like vet or groomers, but not to get to the sit or to go an optional place, like a hike that the sitter wants to do and will take the pets along. I found a list of acceptable expenses in the sit agreement that is in the forms section of the website.
“The Homeowner may agree to pay or reimburse the House sitter for:
Service charges such as council tax rates
All animal costs paid by the House sitter in the care of the animals listed in this agreement
All costs of emergency repairs or pre arranged routine maintenance of the premises
The House sitter may agree to pay
Utilities and telephone, Internet and any cable or satellite television
At the end of the Assignment the House sitter should ensure that all financial responsibilities agreed upon by him are discharged.
Any financial liability outstanding at the end of the House sitting assignment may be reclaimed by the homeowner from the security deposit.”
ADMIN NOTICE:
This topic is about helping the TEMPORARY imbalance some owner members are experiencing in arranging sitters and about helping sitter members return to their pet and housesitting lifestyles with confidence … positivity is key so please keep this thread on topic, positive and helpful to everyone.
Any off topic comments will be repositioned to a more applicable conversation.
Thank you
@CambridgeAnnie Your sit looks brilliant and I like how much detail you have added. Are you able to put the county in the listing title? I hadn’t heard of the town but I’m looking for a summer sit in that area though I might have missed it.
The dates don’t work for us so that rules out a sit straight away.
From my perspective I look for family-friendly homes, where the pets will accept a young child. There doesn’t need to be extra beds as we can all squish into a double bed but often it takes a few conversations to establish this and homeowners don’t realise that their sit is family friendly for us after all.
The only reason I’m not able to apply to many very attractive sits is because of location.
I wonder, what’s the distribution of HOs and sitters by region? I don’t suppose I’d ever see any answer to this as it’s probably treated as a trade secret…
Hi @Angela_L, it’s a week since Vanessa started this important thread yet no email with blog attached from Danielle has been sent to members. So the only advice being offered is to those owners who are on the forum and are aware of the situation. Of course positivity is important but so is reality.
Hi @temba this post was a collaborative team effort to address this very important issue.
Danielle is in the process of creating the blog post, the team were out for a conference which has put some projects back by a few days.
Rest assured it will be published and distributed very soon.
HI @Twitcher Apologies, I’ve been off unwell and just catching up again this morning. You may have missed Angela’s answer above…
Thank you that is good news and I hope you feel better soon.
I have ensured my calendar is up to date - all year is blocked out and I have a header saying no availability but still receiving numerous requests to sit. Although this is very flattering I am unsure if our profile has actually been read. It must be so disheartening for HO to get their requests turned down. I always have a look at their listing and many look fabulous.
Very well said Solo Traveller. It’s just a sign of the times perhaps also for the change in the sitter/owner ratio. We are post lockdown and some of us still want to main good infection control by wearing masks, staying socially distanced. Now various pet rescues want sitters for varying lengths of time so it is often easier to have a rescue pet to sit than to go to a stranger’s house that maybe unclean, owner not caring about sitters’ preferences if additional expenses are incurred because of last mon changes
Hi @Temba the blog post has been published and it focusses on tips to help owners …
There are many owners successfully engaging sitters and this will help those who may need a little extra support. How to Find a Pet Sitter: 7 Top Tips | TrustedHousesitters.com
Thank you @Angela_L. However this is different to what you stated earlier where you said “Everyone will receive an email with the blog post link included.” By doing this, all members would have been made aware but now it’s only those who actually take time to read the blogs for assistance who might benefit.
This blog/information will be going out to all owner members @temba via an email … although I will confirm that with the Content Team.
We monitor the situation regarding member success in every aspect daily and situations can change very quickly which influences the conns we send to members as we do not want to over load members with information that may no longer be applicable to them.
The situation can be very different location to location and we have members in 130 countries, not all will be experiencing the same set of circumstances.
If it went to sitters as well @Angela_L it might encourage more to apply or become a little more active.
@temba there is also activity and email campaigns to encourage and inspire sitters …
Helping our members to be successful is a number one priority and the subject of daily discussions and integrated team collaborations and the forum is another source of excellent feedback and insights.
Can I ask - what’s the new verification process for people in the UK? I know some people in the States didn’t want to upload their info, but what are they asking UK people to do?
(Obviously, it’s different for each country. We were already verified and criminal record checked (Canada) so it hasn’t affected us.)
Hi @Kelownagurl I can help you with that … the ID verification it is the same process for all sitter members.
Reply deleted and DMed Angela instead.
How do you calculate sitters’ success? How many sits were applied for that worked out or didn’t?