We are new to THS as pet parents. We have had 1 completed sit. Our 1st applicant offer accepted and confirmed, then a week later canceled, said they had to go take care of an issue at their main house in USA. We had a great experience with the sitters whom we offered it to. They left a very good review too. 2nd sit we had 5 applicants and offered to one and they accepted and confirmed but 4 days later canceled, said their plans had changed. Offered to our 2nd choice and they accepted and confirmed. 2 days later they canceled said mom having surgery during that week. Mind you the date is 4 months away. I am wondering if we are doing something wrong. 2 sits, 3 confirms then abruptly canceling. Any feedback would be helpful. TIA
Like many on here, we’re sitters, we’ve completed 38 sits and never EVER cancelled! Perhaps there’s something wrong, so add your THS profile to your forum profile, so others on here can give a little feedback, to see if they can spot anything.
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@rjtremain
Is there any additional information ( for example in your welcome guide ) that sitters are getting only after confirming the sit ?
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Do you have a video conversation prior to selecting your sitter and at what point do they cancel is it before confirming or after confirming?
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Have not had video contact but was scheduled with 2 and then cancel.
I think I did that correctly. Thanx
after confirming
Ah, from what you’ve said in your further posts, I think I might have spotted your problem. Can I check if this has been the process you have followed?
- Sitters apply
- You pick one, hit the button to confirm the sit, and offer a video call
- The sitter withdraws
If so, you haven’t quite got the hang of things yet, as those weren’t confirmed sits, and the sitters didn’t cancel on you.
The right process is:
- sitters apply (this only expresses an interest and isn’t a guarantee they will do the sit)
- You choose one or more that sound right for the sit and message them to arrange a chat
- You chat, it’s a two-way evaluation, and after this both sides decide if it’s a good match and they want to continue
- If the home owner wants that sitter to do the sit, they hit the confirm button
- If the sitter wants to do the sit, they hit the accept the confirmation button.
It’s not a confirmed sit until number 5 has been done and until then, the sitter (and homeowner) can withdraw from the process at any point. It’s not a cancellation as the sit isn’t officially agreed yet.
You can skip the chat stage if both sides are happy with that, but it’s very unusual.
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Ahhh, okay, I can see your link now. Straight away, I can see a couple of things that make your particular sit potentially get less sitters applying, which also means a lesser number of good sitters applying too.
You main image is the one of the kitchen/fridge, it looks like it has been taken in the dark. That image is the one that makes a sitter decide to click into your ad or scroll on. Is that really the best image of your home? Would that make you travel hours to stay there?
Your outdoor space looks cute, perhaps that is a better image as your main one, because outdoor space in a city is something that others don’t necessarily have, so it makes you stand out, whereas every sit has a kitchen/fridge, so unless it’s an amazing kitchen, don’t put it as your main image, use one of your others.
Also, I’d retake all of the dark images again, in daylight. Phones take such amazing images nowadays. By taking them in the dark, you could be inadvertently make a sitter think you don’t care about your home, or that it’s dirty, or that you’re trying to hide something by taking the images in the dark, and obviously you do care, it’s not dirty, and you aren’t hiding anything, because you posted for help here, which speaks volumes, you do care!
Also, break up your paragraphs into shorter paragraphs, because those looking on a mobile won’t be able to easily read what you written. So again, less will apply, so you’ll get a less number of good sitters applying too. It’s too harsh on the eyes when looking at huge paragraphs on a mobile, so they’ll click away.
Hope that helps,
PS your cats are cute 
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Welcome to forum @rjtremain !
In general, I would think a Mexico-catsit should attract sitters. So it is hard for me to believe the location is an issue (which is good as that is hard to alter 
).
As @UKSITTER1 says - did you in fact have a confirmed sit re. THS terms? Because withdrawal before that is not a cancellation as such. Before a sit is officially confirmed both parties can withdraw for any reason.
I haven’t cancelled a confirmed sit so far, and I would think most experienced sitters don’t unless very special circumstances.
So either something comes up regarding the sit (for instance information not disclosed in listing) or it is something about the applicants that is attracted to the sit. Experienced sitters have the privilege of being able to choose, and also the experience on what they consider «red flags» and sits to avoid. So some sits might attract mostly flaky sitters, as the experienced sitters would pass.
From the text it seems a nice sit. I agree that your photos need retaking with better light. I would also mention something about where the pets sleep. There is a cat on the bed in the photo. Do the sitter need to sleep with the cats? How long can the cats be left during the day for exploring?
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@rjtremain, seems unusual. I’d agree with wise words from @UKSITTER1. Encourage greater engagement - especially video call - prior to offering housesit. Video calls are a wonderful way of personal engagement, information sharing and fit assessment on a two-way basis. As experienced housesitters we probably decline one-quarter of our applications after video call.
You may wish to also extend your listing. Ensure photos taken in daylight (some are dark). Include information on pet sleeping location (inside/outside house, bed/human bed); duration time pets can be left; identify and travel time for travelers (airports, train stations, etc); identify any local attractions.
Finally, consider reaching out to the two housesitters that cancelled to politely ask them why they cancelled, in context of improving your listing.
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I don’t understand then- are you saying you chose a sitter without having a video chat? As a sitter I would never even consider accepting a sit without a detailed chat with the HO or indeed in some cases meeting them in person. If I applied for a sit and the HO then chose me without any further interaction I’d certainly 100% decline.
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This sounds like a video call was scheduled and then those two sitters cancelled which isn’t the same as a confirmation @rjtremain. Until you’ve sent an official invite & the sitter has accepted it on the system then both parties are open to explore other sits & sitters. Maybe you were a bit slow to respond and they were snapped up? #bequickoffthemark
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I wonder if there’s a case building for a YouTube video explaining how the WHOLE process and timeline works- as too often I’m seeing threads like this where a new joiner has a muddled understanding of how it works. I know for myself I spent a good few months reading these threads before I truly ‘got it’.
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