I completely agree, and I tried to make the same point on a recent thread - but it was closed down!
2 Likes
I agree, we have had some amazing sitters but I think things are changing and advertising THS in that way doesnât help really. I have read where a sitter had no income and wanted to go out walking all day, are people using THS to. Save on fuel and cost of living at home ? Itâs a worrying thought
1 Like
I guess people have all sorts of reasons for being sitters. Iâm not sure this matters as long as they take good care of the animals and home. Saving money is one of the many benefits of house sitting and as long as you donât take advantage of other peopleâs property/ energy consumption, I donât see it as an issue.
6 Likes
Yes, I definitely donât think it does sitters any favours to represent house sitting in this way!
4 Likes
I read this entire thread this morning, I find it ironic because Iâve applied to four different sits in the UK for next spring in the last three weeks. Two of them never bothered to respond to my application, at all. One declined within 24 hours without communication. I had a call set up for this afternoon to discuss the 4th, and just got a message a little bit ago saying theyâd already found someone.
As a home/pet owner, Iâve been very successful finding someone every time I needed them. Most recently, I was scheduled to have a couple come sit on October 1. I live in Florida and hurricane Ian passed through in late September. My sitters declined and I could hardly fault them. I changed my dates a little and found another sitter (on THS) who worked out fine.
It seems we all have anecdotal evidence to support our view of things. It just really bothers me that there are those who place blame with THS and ill-intent.
2 Likes
Hi @Cleeflang, Iâm sorry to hear of your recent experiences.
Please could you specific regarding which comments you are referring to, when you mention blame placed on THS?
In case it was in reference to my comment regarding marketing, there is a notion among some home owners that sitters just want to travel, a topic that is often discussed in these forums, and that they prioritise this above the care of animals. It upsets me to read this, as looking after the animals should surely come at the top of the list, hence my annoyance at the phrase âFreedom to Travelâ. I donât believe this paints sitters in a good light, nor does it necessarily attract sitters who have the best intentions (increasingly, I see comments regarding people wanting to explore the area and leave animals for lengthy periods of time). Therefore, such marketing seems to drive a wedge between sitters and HOs, at least from what I read on these forums.
Of course, you could have been referring to something earlier in the thread, I just wanted to clarify.
2 Likes
@anon80172330 Sorry, I didnât mean to react to your recent post. As I said, I read this entire thread today. I realize now that some of it was so long ago, my message would be confusing. I was referring more to the âSo, so many sits not being filledâ content, rather than your comment about misleading advertising.
2 Likes
I love week-end sits if they are within driving range⌠
Short sits are great for working sitters who love week-end get aways⌠now if the 2 day sit is a Tue - Thurs⌠yeah, I would not apply for that.
1 Like
One of the reasons some sits may not be filled is the order in which they appear on the website.
I understand that new and last minute sits should appear at the top. That doesnât appear to be the case on the website. Some sits on the first page are not new and the last minute sits are showing randomly between the first forty pages.
If last minute sits had a higher visibility there may be a better success rate. If this is a glitch perhaps @Ben-ProductManager could have a look at it at some point.
3 Likes
Hi @Twitcher
The ordering is based on the newest and this has not changed. Some good ideas here on âsort optionsâ i.e. last minute sits.
Thanks for the tag in this conversation 
Ben
3 Likes
I agree. I am looking for sits within a driving range as well.
I work a few days a week which does not suit at the moment.
1 Like
Thank you for your speedy response.
The view I have now is of 12 sits per page and there are 5 out of the 12 listings which do not have the ânewâ tag.
1 Like
I agree with your comment that THS should not be entirely blamed for the poor communication and actions of homeowners and sitters.
I too, have applied for various house sits in Australia and donât hear back from some of them. There have been a few declines without a message to explain why or that they even found someone else.
Some applications have sat there and been unread. I even had someone who invited me to a sit and was happy to wait for me to get back to them (as I needed to apply for leave from work) and I eventually did apply and then was declined, despite being invited! No message either!
I have had homeowners who havenât indicated that their homes are suitable for young kids invite me to their sits without reading my profile that indicates I have a family that accompany me during assignments.
2 Likes
Hi @Twitcher we will invesitgate further.
Thanks, Ben
1 Like
Iâd love to see a sort function for newest/oldest. Maybe also sort by # of applications received, so we can see if someone hasnât had any vs. almost at the limit?
3 Likes
I should have added that it is page one I am referring to.
The number differs on following pages.
Thank you for clarifying @Cleeflang! Just wanted to make sure I hadnât caused offense!
1 Like
@anon80172330 - We love pets but for us, the main reason we housesit is to travel.
We have just paid ÂŁ2000 for flight tickets to take us to our next house sit.
Every pet left in our care gets the best care possible but If anyone thinks that we have paid all that money because we are desperate to care for a specific pet that we have never met before then they are very much mistaken.
13 Likes
Hello 
@Ben-ProductManager; itâs been a while.
I have to keep mentioning that Iâve been away, in case I put virtual pen to virtual paper and thereby reinvent the wheel. Iâm sure there have been more than a few groans of âwhy is she dragging up that old chestnut again?â recently.
In this instance, has the concept of a clickable collection/section of last minute opportunities been mooted, like on travel company Websites where last minute offers with discounts are a feature in themselves?
2 Likes
Laudable honesty @Colin and I am almost agreeing with youâŚish.
We have two kinds of pet-sit: As retired layabouts we are unrestricted other than by our personal constraints and I acknowledge our fortune in that regard. Most commonly, at home we keep watching adverts (rather more avidly now as we have fallen foul of the 5 applicationsâŚ). We have to open nearly EVERY advert because we must see the animal first. If we fall in love with them, we map the location & see if we can make it there.
The second kind of sit is the big holiday sit. We decide we want to go to (insert country or region) and then narrow down the sits that are in that location and see which pets speak to us and if we can daisy-chain lovable pets into a holiday. It worked brilliantly for us in a grand tour of Scotland this year.
9 Likes