Thank you Mark. It does seem from the replies that it got missed when I said that WE INVITED A SITTER to our sit. This is NOT the same as when a sitter applies for the sit. The screens and choices are quite different when the homeowner invites a sitter.
Just curious as to why you felt it was better to āinviteā a sitter rather than waiting for applicants? I tried this a couple of times when people cancelled and things werenāt going great, but it was kind of pointless. Truly like picking a needle from a haystack. Was there an issue with the people applying? Or no people applying? To me if there is an issue, it might have to do with something in the listing that could be changed to make the listing more attractive to the kind of sitter you want.
We had a confirmed sitter who canceled. Wanted to do our best to ensure we had another sitter for the date and didnāt want to wait.
We had a confirmed sitter who canceled. Wanted to do our best to ensure we had another sitter for the date and didnāt want to wait.
Okay, but as of now do you have a confirmed sitter? Speaking as a homeowner, once I post, I usually start getting applications right away. Of course this has everything to do with my location. Many applications might not be suitable ā lacking necessary experience, impractical travel plans, patterns of bad reviews, etc., but can I decline and open things up to get more applicants and begin to arrange chats for as soon as possible with the most suitable sitters.
My very limited experience with reaching out directly to random sitters after a late-in-the-day cancellation for a holiday long weekend, seemed like more of a slog involving explaning why I was reaching out and why I thought X might be the perfect fit. In the meantime, I did get other applicants through the public listing, and wound up choosing that way. Ever since, Iāve always found out that by deleting the listing so it goes in again as new and not ālow applicationsā and responding quickly Iāve found sitters, even without a lot of time left on the clock. This has worked even when things looked bleaked like after two cancellations prior to a Thanksgiving sit.
That said, I do rely a lot on a list of previous great sitters and even some people I chatted with who didnāt wind up with the sit either because they took a different sit or I went with someone whose logistics gave them an edge. It got harder to keep track of that ālistā when THS changed their messaging system making it more difficult to find old messages and labelling. I might do a spread sheet if I get ambitious!
When a host invites a sitter directly - there are still 4 stages to CONFIRM the sit
Host invites the sitter - ( this isnāt obvious but you are actually inviting them to APPLY )
Sitter has to click on the dates to APPLY - if they just message back itās not an APPLICATION -
Host CONFIRMS the APPLICATION
Sitter ACCEPTS the sit .
It is only when All 4 stages have been completed that the sit becomes official & confirmed . It then appears on the dashboard of both Host and Sitter .