As a host, you think completely differently when you go abroad and travel. You think above all about what happens in exceptional cases, in emergencies, especially if you have a pet that has any disease and might need the vet, than you want someone who speaks the language, who knows the customs, who knows how to get around, etc. There are so many things you think about as a host.
If you have pets who have some chronicle disease and needs medicines it’s always very stressful to leave the home. But of course you can’t stay the whole year at home.
Always consider that as a sitter and try to see the perspective of the HO. It’s a big responsability to care for a pet.
@Coclico having read all your posts, and having made my own contribution above, it seems clear to me that the best solution for you would be a local paid sitter. Someone who speaks your language, knows your region and could be reliably available at short notice. There is no point engaging a travelling sitter, however reliable and responsible they may be, if any aspect of the arrangement is going to cause you anxiety.
THS is not for everybody!
I am a sitter and a homeowner. Of course I consider both perspectives.
I also know that if an emergency situation comes up, the absolute last thing I want to be doing is trawling the “find a sitter” page. Nor do I expect that a local sitter would jump at the chance to deal with my lack of planning.
@Coclico, I am both a sitter and a homeowner, so I absolutely do see it from the point of view of the homeowner. I understand: you want a sitter who speaks the local language well enough to handle emergencies, knows how to drive in the area, etc. You’re free to simply decline any applications from sitters who don’t meet that requirement.
But most full-time sitters aren’t trying mislead you when they list their location as the area they intend to go next. They’ve got valid reasons for that, which many people have explained. The location isn’t “wrong”. It’s just not the “based in my area” requirement you are looking for.
Maybe explain in your listing that you’re looking for a sitter who is very familiar with (wherever you are) and has spent multiple years in that location. It will likely limit your applications from the very best sitters, but again it’s totally up to you.
I’ve heard this advice on other threads – especially for fully nomadic sitters – that the sitter location should be “aspirational.” I can see however that as a homeowner, this feels wrong. I enjoy having sitters traveling from away. I want to welcome them to my hometown which in my opinion has a reputation for being unfriendly when in fact it is historically one of the most welcoming places on earth. I’ve declined applications because at first I thought the applicants were local but then I got other stories and it seemed confusing and offputting. I think transparency works best. If a sitter is fully nomadic that sitter should use the location where they are, but if they are going to be on another sit in the vicinity of the sit they are applying for, they should mention that in their application. Stories that make sense help build trust.
Different petparents may have different reasons and ideas about where sitters “should be” located. I have concerns with sitters coming from other countries who might not be aware of the legal challenges some sitters have faced at borders, so it’s not an automatic rule out for me, but I talk to the sitters about this before I make a decision. Sometimes I rule out sitters who want to come for very short sits from very distant locations unless I understand a little more about the circumstances. For instance, I recently accepted a couple coming from another country for a 4-night sit, but they had plans to be in my city for one month with another sit coming up after mine and friends and hotels in between, so it made sense.
The thing is though, I really love the cultural exchange part of this and that most of my sitter guests have come from other parts of the US or other countries, and most of my US sitters like most people in the US either came from elsewhere or have parents or grandparents who did.
I think you’ve also missed some of the tips & advice here @Coclico. Totally fine to specify who you’d like, where they come from and which languages they speak. If they HAVE to be local to you then write that in your listing (which I think you do). We, as roaming sitters can’t put our home country as our base because this would be a lie. I’m a Brit who lives in Turkey and travels and works remotely full time. I have homes in two countries but I don’t live in either of them. If you don’t want us as sitters then your call. BTW I also speak English plus some Turkish, French, Spanish & a little Arabic and have sat in 17 countries to date & seem to manage fine with all sit situations as they arise and am often the “foreign speaking person” as we never sit in the UK or USA. At no point have you actually mentioned where you are based and which nationalities you’d be looking for which could help you (& us) in assisting with your ongoing issue. #justtryingtohelphere
Thank you @Cuttlefish. I always find a good sitter when I have an active listing.
I just wanted to share my opinion here that I find it unfortunate when sitters specify a location they would like to stay in the future. This seems strange to me personally, but everyone has their own opinion. I just noticed that it’s been happening more often lately.
If you make everything transparent, it’s fine, but I’ve had the experience that sitters only told me when I asked that they were not in the location they had stated, but about 4,000 km away.
We have had many foreign sitters, and we make certain we have at least two local contacts on hand who can help in case of emergency. I’ve seen plenty of listings where owners list language requirements, and even some where they indicate the interview will be conducted in that language.
You might try Nomador – a lot more vernacular and language specific listings and sitters seem to be there.
I have a nomadic life style and do not have permanent residency anywhere. I am a full time sitter and I do chance my location best on where I would like to go and find a sit. I explain this during our conversation. Completely understand your choice of potential sitter so I would suggest that adding “Only Locals within the city or country” to your profile so you don’t get applications.
It is not a new trend - % 80 of sitters on THS are travellers in some extent.
This is new for me. Never thought about changing my home address in the place I now currently are (for a housesit).
Why would I?
I am who I am.
The place I live (grew up) is on my profile.
Is it really so that HO decline because of nationality? That would be so sad.
Besides the love from the pets, one of the major enrichments in this concept is for me that I encounter all these different people, with different opinions, cultures and lifestyles.
I experienced the same interest and open-mind from the HO we sat (and repeatedly sit again) for.
What I can understand is that it is a little scary for HO to pick a sitter who has to make costs and travel arrangements (f.e. fly over the ocean) first to come to their home.
If you are already in their country/ on their continent, you can put that in the first lines of your application. So that the HO maybe is little worried that something goes wrong die to travel or costs.
You’re right, I’d be uncomfortable with a sitter who had no or little English unless their primary language was Spanish and they had at least a little English. I would assume a sitter speaking little English would come up extremely early – like, probably in the application, certainly in the video chat. But…and I hate to press on this, it’s your business and it’s not that I somehow think I deserve an answer, but I’m just curious…why does it make it better if they’re from your continent? That just seems like a puzzling requirement given some continents are wildly multilingual and some share as few as one or two primary languages. Unless you’re in the Americas or Oceania, being from the same continent isn’t any guarantee a sitter would be able to understand what the neighbor is yelling about when she’s trying to tell them the roof is on fire.
Can’t understand what you are talking about. In my listing everything is very clear and you can be very sure that I get what I want.
So what are you talking about? What is your purpose?
I think lolrj means the sitters: they’re making it clear what they want. Given how many newer HOs think inviting people who are listed as “in their area” is a worthwhile use of their time, these sitters are hoping those HOs will invite them.
I do agree with you. Being an owner i like to know where people are from and if the usually live close to my country/ region
I do understand you prefer members living in your continent ( Europe for example) as sitters may come easily by car or trains, which avoids flights cancelled ( i know trains may be on strike…)
I’m surprised by the agressivity of some answers to you
This is why i do prefer to choose people who are not nomads who have a permanent home but like to travel.
Why that? Not being used to pay electricity and water for years sometimes, many nomads don’t pay as much attention to prices of energy or water in owners’home. I faced huge bills in the past …
People who rent a home know more the price of energy and take more care ( my experiences)
When i seek a sitter i like truth, i show my id, i’m expecting the same.
When i seek somebody not too far from my home, if i see an applicant pretending to live in Spain, i find strange to see in his reviews that he was lately and during the whole year in usa… or in Asia. Reviews give good informations.
Of course sitters may love to move, but they can write in their profile and in their application where they are from. Where they want to sit.
They can take time to change their text when it’s time to do it ( many sitters complain about owners who don 't modify their listing if a pet has died, if they adopted a new one) so they can explain their plans instead of prefering ambiguity
I would be interested to know why you only accept sitters from your continent. A continent is a vast geographical area with very different sorts of people. Why draw a line to other continents? Of course, you are free to do as you wish, just interested to learn the reason.
