Based on reports in this forum, the host experience finding a good match with a sitter has been changing. That’s left me wondering what to expect next time around and I just found out.
We are in the US and have been on THS for 3 years. We publish dates 6 months in advance for 3 periods of travel per year each lasting 3-6 weeks.
In the past, hitting the 5 applications limit happened within a few days of publishing our travel dates. This time, we received a total of 5 applications over 4 days without hitting the THS limit. It felt like the interest level was lower but maybe that was because this sit is only for a couple of weeks and is therefore less desirable?
The biggest difference this time is that no applicants were from outside the US. In the past, 50% of the sitters applying were from Canada, Europe or South America.
If other hosts share their latest experience here, we can anecdotally track changes as they evolve. So what’s been your recent experience?
I’m a sitter, but I have three friends who use the platform as hosts, and we just talked about this. One currently has a sitter from the UK for 8 weeks. The other two recently posted dates for September and October, 1.5 and 3 weeks. About half of their applicants were international. Two are in coastal locations in California, and the third is in the mountains of Colorado (in case location makes a difference)
When I filter there is a sliding bar for sit duration that I can adjust to start at 3days, a week, two weeks, a month, two months, six months. But I usually set it for 3days and then, from the other end pull it back to 1 month. So I get sits that are between 3 days and 1 month long.
@OnTheRoadAgain Many sitters from overseas, ourselves included, are not willing to take the risk of housesitting in the US under the current administration. Too much risk of Deportation or incarceration. Since no special visa exists for housesitting, and its considered work, we’d have to lie our way in, which many people don’t feel comfortable doing.
That’s why you have more US applicants. And perhaps fewer applicants overall as there are currently 5300+ sit opportunities in the US and Sitters are completely spoilt for choice!
Question from Border Agents: “What brings you here?”
Answer: “We are just touring around, on vacation.”
not a lie.
Question: “Where are you staying?”
Answer: “Various places, sometimes with friends, sometimes hotels or Airbnbs.”
not a lie.
It is a good reason to have the full names of the pet owners and addresses handy, in case the border agents want to see them, but the answers above seem pretty normal to me and should not arouse suspicion.
We stay in Home Exchange homes in foreign countries, and we COULD be housesitting, I suppose. I don’t consider it housesitting. We told the border agent that we are “staying with friends.” End of conversation.
The last time I posted was about 3 weeks ago. I live in a highly desirable area for sitters where Airbnb is illegal and hotels are expensive, but the sit involved 3 cats one of whom needed daily meds. The slots filled up quickly, and I am still getting “unlimited” applicants. That is, if I decline and unpasue, I will get more applicants.
I know factually that tourism is down and fewer Europeans are coming, but I think the low airfares is still enticing many to try. We had a normal number of people applying from outside the US. Initially 3 out of the first 5, but I turned down these applications as much as that pains me because I didn’t want to risk any issues.
The sitter we chose is from another country but living in the US indefinitely. I am still open to people from all over sitting here, but if someone is planning to arrive and cross a border on a tourist visa less than 3 weeks before my sit starts, that’s now a no for me in most cases.
Thanks @Marion for sharing your recent experience. We too are now reluctant to consider applicants from outside the US. I’ll definitely keep in mind your 3-week criteria as a useful mitigation of our concerns.
I’m currently having a horrible time trying to get a sitter. I’ve had 5 applicants, one had only joined THS that day, and had a review that turned out to be his brother…. yes, everyone had to start somewhere, but this sounded a bit suspicious.
The next one had lots of reviews, 2 of which were her sister and a flatmate. She had a terrible review from a pet owner, and her response to that was vile.
Another has been acting very strangely, claims to have 10 years experience, but only 2 reviews, which were for the same date, and one of them was actually in her name. Both reviews said ‘happy to be contacted’ but when I asked her for contact, she became very cagey.
The latest looked promising, but as soon as the chat started, she said ‘so I will be coming a long way, so the train fare will be £95 please’
THS has lost its way, the community has gone, it’s just becoming a place for people with not a lot of interest in pets, but just after free accomodation, and some train fare too! Their ‘chat feature’ is an insult, frankly. They just dont seem to care, as long as they are getting their subscriptions, it’s then up to the pet owners to navigate the scams and dishonest applications. Not good enough.
@MateoMum so sorry to read this, not only from your point of view but because all of the commited sitters are going to get tarnished with the same brush. I agree, THS has very much lost its way.
You are describing “references” not reviews. Sitters can request that THS send emails requesting references to whomever they want. Often these might be character references that don’t involve much sitting. The sitter has no control over what people submit, but there is lots of room for the reference to be biased. It’s not actually suspicious to have a reference from a friend or relative, but it might not be very helpful to someone looking for unbiased information.
Sitters might also have reviews in other places like Rover and can mention that in their profile. with a way for people to find those reviews since there is no way they can appear on the page with THS reviews.
The reviews on THS are all from sits the sitter did through THS.
To be blunt, references are completely irrelevant as a sitter can just email themself and write their own. While I’m sure the vast majority of sitters don’t actually do this, the fact that it’s so easy to do makes the external references untrustworthy in my opinion. HOs have no guarantee that they’re real.
Another thing HOs need to keep in mind is whether they live in a jurisdiction where the police have formal agreements to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). If the home is burglarized, will a non-citizen sitter feel (or be) safe contacting the police to report it?
It varies by town and state. For example, in North Carolina some towns prohibit police cooperation with ICE. They want everyone, including tourists, to feel comfortable reporting crimes to law enforcement and serving as witnesses. Other areas, including Florida, Texas, and much of Alabama, require the police to work with ICE. In April of this year - 2025 - a US citizen was detained in Florida on suspicion of not being a citizen, despite presenting his US birth certificate and social security card (Since I can’t post links, look for the Guardian article: “Florida releases US-born American citizen who was arrested on Ice orders:).
Will a foreign-born sitter have better luck? I for one would probably never call the police in Florida, or Texas, or Alabama, even if I witnessed a crime first-hand. So back to the risk of a break-in at the house: Would a petsitter without US citizenship in those states feel sufficiently comfortable calling the police if a crime is committed on the property? Any contact with the police might lead to at least temporary detention for them, even if they’re here legally. And deportation if they’re not. What are their options if thieves break into the house? What are yours?
It seems from your profile, @OnTheRoadAgain, that your US residence in California. From what I understand, California is a ‘sanctuary state’ that focuses police efforts on criminal matters and does not allow them to contact ICE if they suspect someone is in the country without proper authorization. It’s definitely something for everyone to consider in their risk assessments. I would call the police if I witnessed a crime in California.
Wasn’t there a Soviet joke? I think it went something like this:
A hare is sprinting through the forest.
Wolf: “Why are you running?”
Hare: “They’re arresting camels!”
Wolf: “But you’re not a camel.”
Hare: “You try proving to the KGB that you’re not a camel when they’ve already decided that you are.”
I don’t know if this is a new thing because I don’t usually use the app, but I noticed today on the app that reviews and references were lumped together on the app. On the web they clearly appear as two separate things as they should because they are.
@Marion It has always been this way and is an annoying discrepancy. If you look at the review count on the app its always higher than the Desktop top Version because the references are included. Therefore I look at the app when I want to see our review count! Also because the three references replace our 3 missing reviews so is in fact our true review total.
When you join you are asked how much experience you have - we regularly house sat for friends for 6 years, had family pets since childhood , and worked on farms . Our experience goes way beyond the sits we have done on THS .
The reviews you are seeing are likely references ( hence the same date ) Not reviews of sits on THS .
@MateoMum you can decline all of these unsuitable applications and that opens up for more to apply .
I read it as how much experience with pets, including your own, two cats over a 30 year span. Everyone one has to start somewhere and I am very grateful to our first HO who took a chance on us and gave us a start.
Also because the three references replace our 3 missing reviews so is in fact our true review total.