Local sitters usually ask to be paid.
Such a function must be optional. I do not want to limit myself by having to point out where I want to be at which dates exactly. I often have only a rough idea of the direction I want to go and happily agree to sits that I feel worthwhile to divert and go another direction. I am in favor of any feature that widens my scope and against any features that do the opposite.
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Exactly, and THS doesn’t support or promote payment of the sitter, as it’s intended to be a free mutual exchange.
Trusted Housesitters IS a global site! Always has been. It is not a local site for local sitters/homeowners and one of the main and INTENDED purposes of the site is for people to travel to different countries and experience different cultures and ways of life, at the same time caring and loving the pets. Personally, part of my profile states that most sightseeing etc is done before and after the sit as the first responsibility is the pets. Obviously I do go out, as every homeowner does, so my time at a sit is no different to what the HO would be doing when home.
Anyone that thinks having nomad or overseas sitters is a bad thing should be looking at local housesitting companies or Facebook groups and not be disparaging the effort, time and care we “nomads” put into every sit. It’s quite a discriminatory thing to say in my opinion.
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I know. I wanted to point out that HOs have a big financial advantage by accepting THS sitters instead of local sitters - even if a THS sitter might cause electric bills. Having said this: of course it is not okay if a sitter purposely consumes lots of energy because someone else will pay the bill. Those black sheep exist but most sitters will act responsibly because they want a good review.
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Well, but that’s completely different than what the HO is saying, as she’s saying it’s the language and familiarity with the area. I can understand preferring sitters who have some reliable way of getting there, but if the sitters is already planning to be on there – if they’re, say, from the US, currently in Australia, their next sit is in Italy and they’re looking for other Italian sits…that’s that problem handled. They’re going to be in Italy.
And not knowing what the price of energy or water is or never having paid it yourself doesn’t turn a person into a jerk. They’re either considerate or they aren’t.
This all feels more like, “I want people whose culture is similar to mine”. Which is fine, it’s your house, your pets, your decision. But it’s also fine if people seem to recognize it for what it is.
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Hiring a local sitter may not always be the best choice. For instance, we cat-sat for an Australian family who specifically preferred international sitters. Their previous sitter, sourced locally through another popular petsitting platform, caused significant issues. During their three-month sit, they frequently hosted loud parties, engaged in disputes with neighbors, and left the place in disarray.
Similarly, during a sit in California, the hosts told us they were wary of selecting a local sitter due to concerns about potential squatting issues, which had been recently highlighted in local media reports. Instead, they preferred someone who is visiting the area but with clear plans to leave afterward.
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Transparency? I don’t want to repeat my previous comments, so I’ll try to put it another way. I also sit. I really like Portland and San Fransisoc and have sat in both. I’d be happy to take an LA sit or go back to either of those two cities or try other West Coast cities. But I don’t see any advantages to saying I live there, and if someone in those places is looking for a “local” person, I either wouldn’t apply or I’d apply anyway but I’d be honest about not living there.
There is NO advantage to a sitter in giving an aspirational location. The more transparent you are, the more authentically you present yourself, the more likely a homeowner is to trust you. If you are a nomad say where you are from in your profile and name some of the places you’ve lived and where you’d love to be. On an application say where you are at that point in time and where you want to be. In January we had a West Coast sitter who had friends in NYC and was thinking about moving here, so giving her a chance to live like a local for 10 days seemed like a fair exchange.
BTW, sitters who already have an up and coming sit in my city are probably more likely to get my sit because I’m figuring the chances of their cancelling at the last minute are less.
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I am transparent about a) where I am from b) where I am currently and c) where my travel plans are taking me and how that fits into why I’m applying for a particular sit.
I’m going to respectfully peace out of this conversation, because travel is baked into the THS concept and I think there are a handful of HOs here working themselves up into a lather over an imagined problem, when really they just need to join a local pet sitting Facebook group.
Well, one might get an invitation. And that could lead to a sit in that location.
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@Ashleynov, I don’t think we have to go directly there.
Hello everyone,
Sadly there have been a few flagged posts and the discussion seems to have got a bit personal.
We are all different with different life experiences and opinions that shape us, that is what makes the forum so great!
Healthy debate is encouraged but when it becomes personal please take a step back and remember our kindness and respect guidelines.
Please feel free to agree to disagree and seek out other topics if you find one that you no longer want to engage with.
I hope this discussion can get back on track but if the flagged comments continue we may have to decide to close it.
My DM’s are always open 
Thank you and happy weekend, Carla
I absolutely agree, it could be tricky.
By the way: I never had a sitter from my country, because the concept of THS is completely unknown. People don’t do that here and so there is hardly any sitter on the website.
But I have had a lot of experiences on the continent and the continent is really multicultural.
Hi Carla
I opened the thread and it can now be closed, the topic “sitter’s location is completly wrong” has now been discussed extensively.
Unfortunately we did not receive an answer from the moderators, but were referred to the member service. Unfortunately I do not have time for that, but I think moderators should actually know this answer and tell us. No?
I understand the reasons why someone chooses a place where they want to be in the future, but I stick to my opinion that I don’t think it’s okay if you don’t make it completely transparent in your own profile. Otherwise it’s misleading and takes the owner down a wrong path and wastes his time.
Hello, @Coclico I agree I think the thread has run its course and I am happy to close it for you.
That’s a great question we get asked from time to time so I am happy to clarify for you.
The Forum team always try and help as much as possible, but we are not a substitute for Membership Services as they have extensive knowledge about the platform and processes, so are always best placed to give help with specific questions.
Also if you need the forum team to jump in, please make sure you tag us and we will do our best to help or direct you to where you can get help.
The Forum is set up for peer-to-peer support, advice and discussion, which I can see you have received on this thread. I hope some of it helped answer your question if you need more help you can connect with Membership Services here
Have a lovely weekend!