I am trying to apply for sits in Australia and New Zealand, and I wake up in the morning to see that the sit opened and closed in the middle of my night. I am wishing that TH would leave the application process open for 24 hours–or 5 applicants–whichever comes later–to help with this. Has anyone else experienced the time-difference frustration? Thanks!
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I believe the majority of us have mentioned it is a hindrance to applying for the sits we desire, and a large ratio of homeowners have also expressed disappointment with the 5-applicant limit.
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Hi @Lisalu
I’m afraid you’re not alone in experiencing this issue. The problem is that HO’s tend to post at night which could be the very early hours for others in parts of the world and with the 5 applicant rule often sits are full by time you wake up!
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Hi @Lisalu , For Australian and New Zealand sits I would advise you to join https://www.aussiehousesitters.com.au/ and https://www.kiwihousesitters.co.nz/
Both are specific to their countries and always have lots of listings. They are not expensive to join but before you do ask on here, there will be members of the group that will have referral codes that will give you a discount. ( @Smiley might be able to help you out, she is sitting in Australia at the moment and I know she uses both of these sites)
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Hi @Lisalu
It’s so annoying isn’t it? But as @Colin suggests please let me know if you’d like my help. Probably best to message me.
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Hi @Lisalu
I am a New Zealander living in Europe and have done several sits on my trips home to see family. I know that @Colin and @Smiley have both had success with kiwihousesitters but not me. I would always recommend The Housesitting Company www.housesitters.co.nz We have had great success with them, their membership fee is reasonable NZ$59 (they have not increased their fee since we joined in 2018!) they require a Police report and they have great insurance to cover the sitters. Their Customer Service is great with quick responses and I get loads of listings every day by email. Good luck!!
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I hear you, maybe try searching the area’s you are looking at travelling to and the Pets and adding a heap of favourites, it’s time consuming adding them to your favourites, maybe this might help as the HO can see you have favourited their listing?
The 5 limit it just painful, maybe THS could have a filter for the HO to be able to have it go through the applications eg Solo sitter, Cat’s only, Vehicle, Location (not that should matter, but hey how, it’s their Home/Pets, their Choice) and then maybe a rating 1-3 then it sends us a auto reply you are being reviewed please be patient (mind the HO might have to have a time frame imposed too) or just an automated message from THS that says something like " We are sorry you were unsuccessful for this sit, please keep applying for future sits however not this sit again, thanks THS" as I believe HO’s are getting the same ppl who they have already said “no sorry” apply over and over…
Good luck and enjoy x
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Thank you so much to everyone who has responded! These are helpful ideas indeed, and I will try them! --Best, Lisa
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I’m an Aussie currently sitting in the UK. There still are plenty of sits listed in Oz but it obviously depends on where and when you want your sits. If you’re looking for later in the year, keep in mind Aussies are pretty relaxed people who don’t always post their listings too far in advance! The time difference is what it is and something we have to cope with. Yes, we can miss out on applying for sits that we like but then other equally appealing sits will come along so hang in there.
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As world travellers we get hit with this ALL THE TIME! There are ways around it but it includes tag teaming with hubby on notifications, late nights/early mornings, and lots of favorites.
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I think this happens when the owner makes a decision quickly. If an applicant ticks all their boxes, they award the sit and then the process itself takes over, closing the opportunity. Although THS say that they will accept up to 5 applications, if the owner selects the first one that comes, the opportunity will close.
So I don’t think it’s a thing THS can resolve; it’s in the homeowner’s hands.
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Yes. Some of these very fast ones may be HO and sitter adjusting the dates of a sit that they already had agreed on.
I’m surprised you’ve had little luck with kiwihousesitters, especially being a kiwi yourself. Before the pandemic I was housesitting in the north island and all my sits there were through THS. However, THS don’t seem to have many sits in the South Island and all my sits there were via kiwihousesitters.
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I love this suggestion!
You should put a suggestion into THS. Some HOs get overwhelmed. In addition to other sites mentioned here’s another. https://mindahome.com.au/
Yes, Lisalu I can understand your frustration, We’re in Australia so we have problems with applying for popular location sits in Asia and the US. The daily alerts from THS is useless now as the popular sits we want don’t even make it onto our alerts.
We have been members of Aussie House Sitters (AHS) for over 2 years as well as THS and would recommend joining AHS as other posters have said. The listings are on the site usually for a reasonable period of time and the joining fee for a sitter is reasonable.
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The problem with aussiehousesitters is that you have no idea if anyone else has applied. I’ve had sits through them but, despite the issues, feel THS is best
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Hi @Colin when we applied in 2017, we simply requested a police report (it just states if you have had any prior convictions, although I must say it didn’t list my speeding fines! Lol) for me from the NZ Justice Dept as I was the applicant. They also wanted a video interview, which I forgot to mention in my last post. I didn’t mind a bit as it is extra security for all.
I concur with this, based on my experience with their sister site HouseSittersUK. Very few people respond, listings often have no photos at all, and you simply don’t know where you stand after you apply. I’ve even seen listings still live for dates in the past!
We might have frustrations with THS’ 5-app rule, but compare to the alternative, I love the rule. It means HO’s actually have to make a decision!
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