Hello, Ive used THS only once successfully and it worked great. My sitter was great and I enjoyed my holiday. The second time I tried to use it I was not able to find a sitter. Luckily I found a friend that was willing to take my dog while I was away. That said, I’ve currently got a listing posted and multiple sitters have saved my positing. Yeah! Fingers crossed that I will receive some applications soon. I have two questions: When a sitter saves my listing, what should I do? Should I reach out to them to see if they have additional questions about the sit before they submit an application? I don’t want to be pushy but I also would like to get a sitter booked soon. Thoughts? My other question is if it is appropriate to ask a sitter to shovel snow and/or to use a snow blower. We live in the mountains close to several ski resorts and will likely get snow while we are away. Is it appropriate to expect a sitter to do some light shoveling? Thanks
You may like to change your heading to Snow shoveling not Show shoveling lol Oh, and ski resorts not ski reports lol 
Grammar freak here though I know everyone will get it as it stands 
Depends how much snow! 
I live in Eastern Ontario, so I’m used to a lot of snow - which is why I’m going to Spain in a couple of weeks 
. If you have a snowblower, that’s best, but if it’s just light shovelling, it’s probably not that much of an issue for most sitters. If there is someone local you can hire to do snow removal you could always offer that option too.
If I take a sit in the winter in a place that gets snow I’d have no issue shoveling snow. Just disclose that in the listing so that someone with a bad back doesn’t apply. Don’t assume that the sitter will know how to use your snow blower. Some of us don’t see much snow.
Not a bad idea to reach out. Maybe the dates aren’t a perfect match and you might be able to adjust.
Probably not. It is likely that they found your home+pets attractive and would like a notification when you post new dates. Maybe in the summer.
Unless you add enticements in your invitation.
We’ve sat in an area that got blizzards and the owners just hired a local teenager to come round with a snowblower.
@EAB Your listing details show that your dog will be going with you for the upcoming trip. That lessens the responsibilities considerably, especially if the sitters want to ski or do other day-long activities. I would change your heading to ‘cats & chickens only for this sit’, or remove the entry for Zuri altogether and add it back in after, if that’s possible (I’m not an owner on the site).
You show that you have someone to clear the driveway of snow, so your ask for light snow removal would sound reasonable to many sitters. Some would actually enjoy it.
We are currently in an area where snow is expected tomorrow and we were asked to shovel the front porch, back deck and stairs. We are happy to do it. I imagine most people wouldn’t mind, but be sure to make it clear in your listing so anyone who wouldn’t want to, or is not capable of doing so, will not apply.
Generally people ‘favorite’ a listing if a sit interests them but they are not available for the current dates. They will then get a notification if the HO ever posts a future listing. Some people may also ‘favorite’ a listing that has already gone into review-and they are available for the current dates, which you can see when looking on the computer–with the possibility of the HO turning to that list in the event they don’t get any applicants they like.
So while it can’t hurt to reach out to people who have marked your sit, there is a good chance they aren’t available for your current dates.
Thanks Ziggy - kind of embarrassed I didn’t pick those up on my own lol!
Thanks Lindsay - We usually do a mix - hire a company to do the driveway as they can do it with a snow plow on a vehicle but sometimes there is some light shoveling that needs to be done. I’ve disclosed it in my listing but I’m not sure if light shoveling is a game changer.
Thanks Lulubelle!
As a home owner you can reach out to sitters (if you liked their profile), but the likelihood is if they saved your listing and didn’t apply then your place may have looked interesting to them but your dates weren’t suitable for them. But personally, I always think it’s nice to strike up a conversation because you never know when your dates may match up down the line.
Snow-wise if it is for their own safety or enjoyment then it makes total sense to me, some older sitters may be put-off a little but that’s life, but if you’re asking them to just shovel snow a few days before your return to save you doing it, then that’s not on .
Just confirming I updated these, for clarity! 