I have received an application from a sitter interested in the Christmas period I was asking for.
Firstly it was from a young woman who might bring her boyfriend. Fine. Then she asked if she could bring her two sisters, mother, and aunt. Plus boyfriend. They wanted to move from a small house. This is a wind up. I politely declined. This is not what i joined up for. Gwenvilla. Liz
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That sounds worrying. They could be potential squatters. Did you report her?
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OMG !!! that is so weird ! At least she asked you⌠she could have done it once in the place !!!
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Yes thatâs true. Anyway I was polite in declining
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No i havenât. I think itâs a first sit and trying their luck. They have had animals of their own and sat for friends. I was surprised about the large numbers of family though.
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So they have no previous reviews? Even more worrying.
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Sounds like they wanted to use your place as a Christmas family get together!
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Just friends. They may be ok just cheeky
I think you are right. I told them I didnât have room for 6 people plus my rescue dogs not used to all that many people in the house. They are my priority
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Personally, I think any sitter asking a question, in the application stage, that many would consider to be âcheekyâ, instantly goes up in my definition of an honest, responsible sitter.
The alternative could have been that they didnât ask.
We donât know all the details. The number of pets, size of house, duration of sit, etc so it is difficult to comment on what the chances were of the sitter getting accepted for this particular sit.
However, they asked, and the owner politely declined - no harm was done.
What we do know for sure is that THS is based on a fair exchange ideology, and the value of a sitter over the Christmas period is very, very high so home hosts wanting to stand out may have to offer more than they would normally.
On the THS platform, there are currently 502 home hosts looking for a sitter over the Christmas period in the UK (Approximately 5000 worldwide).
Imagine if there is a sitter who lives alone in a small flat but has family coming to visit for a few days over Christmas. They spot a listing with a few pets and a large house for the same dates with no applications. Why not apply, and be honest and up-front about your needs?
In this case, the fair exchange seems still to be more than appropriate
The sitter and their family get to spend Christmas together and the home hosts jet off to somewhere warm knowing that their large home and numerous pets are being well cared for.
Everyone is a Christmas winner
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@Colin Thank you for this very interesting comment.
Sitting as a couple, I do sometimes ask if we can receive friends or family for a coffee or meal but I still donât feel confortable to ask for visitors staying overnightâŚ
But asking for 6 people seams to me a bit exaggerated though⌠But you are right : there are so many listings for Christmas at the moment, HO may have to consider this kind of offer. As usual it is a question of trust : maybe it is easier in that case to apply for a local sit so HO can meet the HS in advance and build that trustiness ?
You make some fair points. Although on my profile it is clear about my property and number of dogs. We have four rescue dogs and just myself and my husband live there. Calming for the rescues. The potential sitter on her profile states that it is herself and boyfriend who are looking to sit. Yes she did ask via email about her extended family visiting so that was honest. I was surprised though. She also says that they live in London but then in her message she says they want to move out of a small house in York. I found it all confusing. I sent a polite message explaining why I was not accepting and received a polite understanding message back. All settled
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My husband is Greek and we live in the UK. For the past 20 years, every year, for two weeks, my husbandâs mother comes to stay with us.
When we gave up our permanent address to become full-time nomadic sitters, we wondered whether this would make her visiting difficult.
Not at all! Each year we look for large home listings and then make applications asking if it will be possible for her to stay with us whilst we are house-sitting for them.
For the last two years, we have very easily found very kind home hosts that were happy to allow this.
I agree that for many home hosts, 6 people will be too many to accept. However, if you have a large home and many pets, and are looking for sitters over the Christmas period, then it might be an offer worth thinking about as it might be the only application you recieve.
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We donât have a large home just a standard 3 bedroom home. The sit was for 4 nights. On my profile our needs are very clear. I did wish the applicant good luck and best wishes. I thought it was an interesting situation thatâs why I posted. Everyone has made fair points as have I
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Hi @Gwenvilla , You are not tagging the person you are responding to ( by using the @ symbol) so it is not clear.
If it is my post you are responding to, I am commenting generally and not to you specifically. In your case, I think you responded to the sitter well.
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Thank you for sharing your experience.
Very inspiring to me⌠Specially for Christmas sits !
merci @Colin
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That is a big ask, and I can see why you found it cheeky!
I will say, as a sitter, I have seen a bunch of HOs post holiday sit dates where they either insinuate, or outright state, that they are happy for the sitter to have Xmas guests (or Thanksgiving, or whatever). They state that their dining table seats 8, and how many bedrooms they have, etc.
So it is not entirely unheard of!
Also, there are sitters who sit as a family! I know there are families of 4 (two parents, two kids) or even 5 who sit via this site regularly.
Many HO would not feel comfortable with more than 2 people sitting for them, for very valid reasons.
But I frequently see HO post photos of all their bedrooms, including childrenâs bedrooms and nurseries, stating âthis sit is family friendly.â
.
Sounds like you and the sitter both handled the application process professionally; Bravo!
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Thank you. I wasnât angry more amused thatâs why I said cheeky. I wished them good luck. It pays to he honest and polite. We rarely go away at Christmas but we thought would test the situation this time. Liz
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