Hi THS community. Anyone else struggling with offering dates for a sit within a range.
We have a motorhome, and can go away at anytime in a range of 6 weeks.
Sitters can suggest dates that work for them. Not everyone has holidays that work to a standard 7 day Saturday to Saturday timeframe. I can’t seem to offer this as an option.
I want to say that I can go away anytime in a five ort 6 week period - suggest dates that could make the sit work for you - we are retired and flexible.
However when sitters search, it isn’t immediate obvious that this is an option. Anyone on here overcome that yet please? Thanks Tim
Along with that, you could enter actual dates as a narrow time frame, so sitters can more easily apply by not having an overlapping sit, which would block them from applying and negotiating dates with you.
Hi. Yes you’re right; however the problem is that sitters looing to book a sit will at first look for dates that match their availability. If the perceived date I offer is wider than their availability, they will just scroll past.
I already have some sits listed that are fixed dates, as we fly in and out on already booked flights.
I really need something that flags one of my listed sits as flexible dates to suit the sitter - sadly THS doesn’t seem to offer this.
Perhaps it’s an idea for development - but currently it assumes all dates are fixed, and this is a gap
@Maggie8K’s suggestion appears to be your best bet until THS decides a flag in the profile is a good idea and then implements it. Both steps take more than a minute with THS.
Hi Tim, Yes it is a shame that THS doe not offer this, as I know a lot of home owners would definitely appreciate it. I have had home owners I have been in contact with, or have sat for previously contacting me to ask when I am available, as will fit in with whatever dates are convenient for me. This has worked well, as have either tagged it on with another sit I am doing not too far away, or a music festival I may be going to etc. Many home owners are flexible. If any sitters have sat with you previously you could contact them again, to see if interested. Otherwise it is not that easy. Good luck.
Years ago, there used to be some sort of notation that indicated flexible dates. While the present restrictions on contacting hosts for overlapping dates would make this feature moot in many instances, I think overall it would be very useful. I definitely think this would be something to consider adding.
In addition to making the flexibility clear in a listing, a host who has a wide range of flexibility in particular might also consider setting up multiple dates for shorter terms–this might help mitigate the effect of the overlapping sit restriction–to which sitters can apply. This can help maximize the number of sitters who can reach out to you.
I recall a sit where the hosts were looking for sitters basically indefinitely, and at one point they had 26 sets of dates listed. So if there is any sort of limit on how many you can post at once, it must be quite high.
I agree, in the right circumstances, flexible dates can be a real advantage for both hosts and sitters.
As sitters, we might not be available for the full six-week window, but we could easily have a week or two that would work beautifully. We might even be able to fit a sit around another commitment or join it onto a sit nearby.
The difficulty is that, as you say, if the dates don’t match our availability, we may scroll straight past without realising there’s room to negotiate.
Until THS offers a proper flexible-dates option, I’d make it really obvious in the headline and the first lines of the listing, perhaps something like “Flexible dates within this six-week period. Tell us what dates would suit you.”
That way, sitters know they don’t have to be available for the entire window to apply.
This is such a great idea. I just posted a listing with this in the new title, made a few other tweaks, and I literally got my first application within 5 minutes. I am thrilled we can work out dates now - and then I can plan a trip! Thank you for sharing!
