(Apologies for the duplication - I just posted some of this in the Feedback section, but wanted to put a note here for HOs.)
As a sitter, I see lots of HOs posting flexible listings, with a wide date range where they write a note in the description that indicates their listing is flexible.
These are awesome!
As a sitter, I’m definitely interested in reaching out to many of them, but there’s a major technological limitation that prevents communication: The app prevents sitters from responding to listings with dates that conflict with an existing sit commitment.
For example, if your listing ranges from May 1 - Dec 31, but I have a sit booked from May 3-8, then I cannot contact you even if I’m interested and available from April through October.
Of course, this is a very reasonable block that the app has put in place… but it’s a major irritation in flexible scenarios. I’ve watched HOs post and re-post and re-post the same flexible listing in a desperate attempt to get applications. Meanwhile, I’m sitting there thinking, I’d love to do this sit sometime!, but there’s no way for me to communicate that.
Until this technological issue has been resolved, here are some tips to reduce the above-named issues:
- Don’t set the listing’s dates for the very near future. Push the dates out by several months - with a start date that’s maybe 6 months out from today. Why? Because it’s more likely that a sitter will have a conflicting sit booked in the near future than in the more distant future.
- Your listing should reflect the approximate sit duration that you want. For example, if you’re looking for a 3-week getaway, don’t post a 6-month listing. Why? Because your 6-month listing will only be found by sitters looking for 6-month stays. Those sitters are less likely to be interested in a 3-week sit, so the listing will be a disappointment to both them and you, because the right kinds of sitters won’t be able to find your listing. This rule applies even if you want to take several getaways over many months. To be discovered by the right sitters, your listing’s duration should reflect the actual target duration of the sit(s).
- As @Jmcrae previously posted, please invite sitters who have favorited your listing if it is flexible. Some of those sitters may only be favoriting for the future, but many are likely interested in it now! But we can’t contact you, so this is the best way to open up communication… plus it comes with the added benefit that you can vet us beforehand and only reach out to those sitters who you prefer