Hi! I’m curious as to what exactly potential sitters see/read on listings? Do they see everything so they can make an informed decision on whether or not if the listing is agreeable with them before they even apply? So they know what to expect, and don’t apply if they see something they cannot accept, such as stairs, bed size, no vehicle, etc. Or do sitters only see all that AFTER they apply?
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We see everything in your listing and make a judgement as to whether it ‘might’ be a possible fit if we have availability. We then write the application mentioning some details from the listing… I always add my mobile number and suggest a video chat to explore if it’s a good fit from both sides. This would be 45 mins to an hour. After that I’d look at the listing again to confirm a few things. If I’m confirmed as their sitter by the HO, I might have an additional question… or 3! I’m very careful to only confirm a sit offer once I’m sure I can commit to it. Then I request the Welcome Guide- if there’s some significant details there that don’t match what I was expecting to see then the HO would risk me cancelling unless it could be sorted out…. eg extra pets not previously mentioned or a 3rd party with access to the home….I might during the video chat ask to use a different guest room if the offered one only has a Queen bed and hubby is doing the sit with me so it’s always worth asking if it’s a 3-5 bed house with other options.
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@Ecco
There are some check boxes that are not seen in the listing or by the sitter afterwards -apparently they are just for THS to gather data.
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As a sitter, I see everything in your listing. I look at the pics and immediately after look at what type of pets there are and their ages. If it’s an international sit, I check the cost of flights and the weather for the time of year. If it’s a local sit, I like to know the location/neighborhood in the city. This is something I notice missing from some local sits. I live in Vancouver, B.C. and I often see sits where I have to “guess” what part of the city the sit is located. It’s totally unclear in the listing which is very important to include.
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@Ecco If you click on Find a Sit from your Dashboard, then put in your location and dates, your listing will come up. Click on that and that is what we see.
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@Silversitters is correct - we sitters do not see everything you have entered in your listing. THS introduced some boxes for data collection purposes only. This has led to some confusion where homeowners think a sitter has not properly read their listing, when they have - there are just some elements of it that are not displayed.
@temba has good advice on how to view your listing so you can see what sitters see.
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I look at everything. Of course where the home is and the initial picture is what catches my attention to begin with, but then I take the time to read the entire thing, including sitters reviews.
Okay, that’s what I thought. Thank you for the input and confirmation.
Loaded!!
Sitters see what the homeowner puts on the listing. Some homeowners don’t put much there. I won’t do anymore of those. Some write everything and anything. I prefer the latter.
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This is the first I’ve heard of this. So as a sitter, what elements of a listing are not displayed and we’re not able to see?
@Globetrotter there was a thread on the forum a while back about it, which is how I found out. I’m a sitter not a pet parent / host
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There is also this one
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Sitters also don’t see your answer to the maximum time you want them to be away. So, put this somewhere in your listing and be sure to discuss with them before choosing!