What order to full-timers book sits in?

So not so great there either then :frowning:

Yes, I have been a week in Cambridge now. Today was the weather was nice, last week was perfect for museums etc…

Two more weeks here, then a week in the countryside near Northampton, then a week in Gloucester, then a week in Bath. After that to friends in Calais.

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What dates will you be in Gloucester @pietkuip ? That’s very close to where we live!

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That sit is from May 19 till 25. In Quedgeley, to be more exact. Two energetic labradors, which will be quite a contrast to the two elderly pugs that I have now here :slight_smile:

Yes, would be nice to meet! I am getting around by bicycle.

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@pietkuip I know Quedgeley. There’s nice walking (or cycling) along the canal either into Gloucester or out into the countryside. And our favourite ice cream is made in the village of Elmore, just across the canal.

I’ll message you and we can arrange to meet while you are in Quedgeley.

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@robinstent I’m new to full-time sitting over the last year as well so certainly understand your hesitations. You received a lot of great advice here. I just want to reiterate on a couple of things I found important as I began my journey:

  • To answer the original question, I have saved searches for certain regions that are longer than a month. I’ve stumbled upon numerous 3+ month long sits around the US. When I joined the platform, I confirmed a 2 month long stay then build around those dates. Even if the sit isn’t quite what you expect, I haven’t found many sits to be disastrous although there are certainly cases of that happening. Once you have quality reviews I found that you can be more selective as a sitter due to receiving invites (search THS supply vs demand) and being able to quickly confirm future sits because homeowners are more comfortable with folks who have numerous reviews or welcoming back return sitters. When it gets to that point it really is more dependent on how anxious you get if you don’t have accommodations for 2-3 weeks out. A quick note that some homeowners are cautious about full-time sitters so don’t take anything personally if you are rejected for a number of sits that you think would be easy & perfect for you.

  • Look for sits that might be near friends/family when you begin your full-time venture. This will hopefully help alleviate any need to pay for short-term accommodations between sits, or in an instance arises where a sit is cut short such as homeowners returning early. As a US sitter I try to find folks who are going overseas so the likelihood of an early return is minimal. Having resources nearby may also help you realize how little you can live with, i.e what you might have to pay in storage per month if you don’t have someone who can keep a couple boxes of your things while you’re on the road.

  • My personal opinion: You could certainly find short-term sits instead of paying for hotel rooms or couch surfing if you plan sits right. Obviously location is the biggest hinderance here but I have found multiple weekend sits to fill a gap between multiple week-long sits.

  • The tax conversation is one that’s important depending on laws/regulations in your area as @TravelMan noted

  • Have a thorough list of questions to ask homeowners and ensure you receive all answers before confirming a sit. The premium THS membership is filled with mentions of guarantees if things go wrong. But I wouldn’t solely rely on the T&Cs or the Support team if things went wrong while you’re on the road. Others could likely attest to this. I recently had one minor safety concern that was not addressed to my liking but we shall see how THS support progresses as the platform grows.

  • Think and prepare for the unknown. Do you need a storage unit and if they increase rental costs, what does that mean? What happens if I’m relying on my personal vehicle and experience a breakdown, i.e do sitters allow for use of vehicle? Having a friend potentially come stay during a sit will help alleviate personal costs during a long stay, does the homeowner allow for that without being too inquisitive/assuming the worst without potentially reprimanding the sitter in their review? Whatever else might be applicable to your specific situation.

In closing I’ll simply say that you should lean on the community here within the forum as there is a wide array of experiences you could draw from, and of course do your due diligence in researching additional info outside of THS for the regions you want to stay as well.

@TravelMan Sorry that’s not true for many countries and a common misconception

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@HappyDeb I’ve done a bit more work on my profile, would appreciate your feedback if you have a mo. Thanks.

Yeyyyy, it’s a lot better, but your ‘experience’ also extends beyond animals, your taking care of homes and belongings side is a huge bonus of you… OVER OTHER SITTERS! It’s your USP! All sitters love animals, but you have a superpower. So I’d include your business side of it in their too, as that is what home owners read firstly, and then they choose whether to read on or not.

You are very familiar with taking responsibility for other peoples homes and belongings, also if you ever get given keys beforehand to let yourself in to properties then let home owners know that too, don’t make it sound like a sales pitch, just say it in a way that benefits them, other sitters don’t have your experience. Your type of business is huuuuuugely valuable ‘experience’.

You’re ‘why I want to house sit’ bit is still a little sparse, but you’ll get there, you just need to glance at other peoples. I know that bit is a little tricky, but a few extra lines would help.

We actually place the business side of me in all 3 sections, but in a different way in each, to re-affirm who we are as people each time.

I’ll pop you a DM in a moment so you can take a glance at how we’ve done it
:+1:

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@robinstent i agree with @HappyDeb Include your business experience in your intro. Housesitting is not just about pet experience. In the My Experience section you want to include ALL relevant experience for home & pet care.

@Enjaybee,

In developed countries, revenue is raised by taxes. What you are pointing out may be a minority, not the majority. Exceptions exist for most things if you look hard enough.

@TravelMan i guess the U.K. isn’t developed enough then.

Consider i’m speaking from actual real life experience not assumption. It is something I have researched thoroughly with multiple different accountants from many different countries.

The American tax system is actually more of an outlier in terms of taxation than the majority of ‘developed’ countries. You have more of a citizenship taxation system which is unusual.

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As I sit here and reread this on July 08, this surely has been interesting to look back at the comments of what people have written. Thank you to those that have contributed! Still lots of unanswered questions though…but the fact multiple members are doing this speaks to the platform and the people.

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Hi all, I hope it’s not considered spammy to bump this post after so long, but I just wanted to thank everyone who gave me help and advice at the start of my full time journey. I’m now 5 months and 13 sits in and it’s mostly been a positive experience. I’ve only had one bad sit out of all of those. The only thing is that until now I’ve not managed to land any sits that are more than 2 weeks long. (I’m starting a 5 week sit tomorrow) so if anyone has ideas of anything I might be doing wrong I’d appreciate it. Maybe there’s something about my profile or opening message that’s putting people off.

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Hi there
I see you have a few reviews where you were marked down in a few different categories, so that could be giving hosts some pause, especially if they are planning on taking a long trip.

But that is pure speculation and ultimately there is really no way to know for sure why people don’t get picked for sits, short of asking a host directly why they declined your application. `

In many cases, it has nothing to do with specifically not liking something about the sitter, but the sheer fact a host can only pick one person. And you did manage to get that first longer-term sit, and I am sure you will be able to get more in the future if that is your focus.

I took a look at your profile, and one thing that I would recommend just in general is updating it. It is still written as if you are a new sitter who has not done any official house sitting.

Even though hosts can see you have reviews and aren’t a brand new sitter, the profile is a good place to sell yourself and demonstrate your experience and other desirable attributes a host is looking for in a sitter.

Once people have a good number of reviews under their belt, I don’t think it is really necessary to focus on a lot of types of non-official pet sitting experience , like watching cats for a friend.

Not sure if you were aware of this or not, but for quite some time now, the ‘experience’ section is now the first section of the profile hosts will see, so that can be helpful in crafting the information.

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Don’t know what you are applying for, but it seems like the very long sits are popular among full time sitters who may have a hundred 5*-reviews. Perhaps a host would also prefer a couple for the long ones? At least for larger properties? Would be kind of reasonable for both everyday tasks and emergencies? I have myself been ill during a sit, and is now taking that possibility in consideration.

Maybe there are more long sits at certain times of the year, depending on location. The people I know with homes in other countries are often gone from Oct.- April, perhaps with a short trip home for Christmas.

But with a 5 week sit coming up I’m sure that will help for future sits.

Completely agree with @KC1102 about updating your profile and maybe add things like the number of sits you’ve done, a nice comment from an HO - that sort of thing to spruce it up. You may want to respond gently to your reviews that are missing stars. “Apologies for missing the litter tray, noted for the future and appreciate your honesty.” That shows responsibility and accountability to future HOs as mistakes can happen. Some better pics and more of them with you and cats in there would also help, try and use the full 13 allowed. You could also add a sentence that says “Keen to do some longer sits and experience new cities and neighbourhoods as a local.” If I was an HO I’d wonder how you’re managing the removal business and the sit together? Maybe that’s adding to their hesitance so clarify what happens and how you manage it whilst you sit. #hopethatallhelps

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I would suggest not mentioning an exact number of sits unless you’re going to actively update it every time you do a new sit as otherwise it could make you look like you lack attention to detail. Maybe combine the ideas and add something like “With over a dozen sits under my belt I’m looking forward to taking on some longer sits in the future to really be able to settle into an area and live like a local.”

I’m just speaking from the experience here as I was showing as in my mid-40s for years in my profile until I went through and did an edit this summer. lol

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I wondered when I read it.

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Thats a great strategy!

Edited post to remove spam links.

Thanks for all the comments.
@KC1102 Good point about the profile, I’ve updated my “experience” section. I forgot that shows up first (before “introduction”??)
I’m not sure how to make clear how I run my business with out going into what seems like unnecessary details. I have drivers who work for me, my role is co-ordinating them and answering emails/phonecalls from customers. I do say in my first message to HOs that since I stopped doing any of the driving I can run the business from anywhere.
@Garfield do you think HOs seeing that I’ve already done a longer sit will increase my chances of getting future long sits?
@Cuttlefish @CreatureCuddler I’ve put that I’ve been a full time sitter since May as I won’t need to update that. It’s more difficult to get a photo of myself with cats I’ve sat for without anyone to take the photo, but I’m in my home city for a while now, so may be a good opportunity to get a friend to help me with it.