Summary
@Ben-ProductManager @Angela_L
I’d like to see a sort of “reverse listing’ feature, by which I mean sitters could post a “wanted” notice, for a specific area and/or time period for a sit they want to do, perhaps at a time & place they would be already, to get consecutive sits - getting all one’s ducks in a row 
so to speak.
I think owners might be pleased to see that someone actively wants a sit that they might be considering advertising, or they are thinking of planning a trip of their own at that time. It might give the owners the impetus to go ahead with their plans & list their sit.
Any takers for that idea?
Yes, potential sitters can filter all kinds of options when searching for owners’ listings. That isn’t what I have in mind.
I imagine a limited facility that allows sitters to list a time and location based wished-for sit, so that if they are to be in a location already and maybe it’s a difficult time such as over Christmas or there are extenuating circumstances.
I know there would be a lot of tweaking for this; it couldn’t be a free-for-all, maybe only one or two listings per year? Or maybe as a separate section of the site & unlimited access but it can’t get out of control & just be a manic mirror-image of the owners’ listings.
I acknowledge that the idea needs a lot of work!
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Sounds like an interesting idea, my first thought is that it would start to make things more complicated. Would love to hear what others think.
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I love this idea! I think Angela mentioned wanting to do something like this. Many owners fear that they won’t get any sitters, but seeing wanted ads by sitters would definitely show that there are sitters that are willing and able to sit in their area! I think it could be a great addition.
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I really want to reply but I keep using too many words!! 
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I’ve often wondered about this too. We found it surprisingly difficult when first starting out to get house sits in NYC (our “home base”). Of course, that’s a competitive place to house sit anyway, since so many sitters want to visit NYC. But I did see a couple ads where the owner wanted to offer accommodation to travelers in exchange for pet care cuz they wanted to help others experience NYC.
Then again, we’ve also sat for many folks who preferred that we were from NYC and were familiar with the city. One owner said she was more comfortable with us as locals b/c we already knew what we were in for with big city living. She was a transplant from the countryside herself and I think it was a big adjustment, so she feared the same for others. Several other people preferred that we could meet in person beforehand.
So idk, long story short I think it does come down to a matter of personal preference whether and owner prefers a local sitter or not.
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Regarding some owner’s preference for local sitters evidence says that COVID will heavily influence this for many, especially the “at risk” demographic
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Yes definitely. Our holiday sits were arranged only because we are local.
In New York, 40 states are on the quarantine list. So owners really will have to only go with in-state sitters.
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That was also my first thought.