Getting concerned after a few weeks of low applications. Trip is booked for the month of January. I’m tempted to start reaching out to some sitters vs waiting.
We’ve been fortunate in the past 2 years finding great sitters. Last sitter is unavailable due to moving. Would e loved to have them back. Was going to try to Boost the ad in November. Curious about others opinions or when/if it’s appropriate to reach out to invite sitters that seem like a good match.
We are booked, more or less, till August 2025. I think most full time/nearly full time sitters book well in advance. Part time sitters are usually only looking for peak holiday time sits. January is an awkward month. No money, holiday allocation just been renewed at work. Winter blues.
Hosts reaching out to sitters is a good idea but please read the profile thoroughly and make sure they are what you are looking for and vice versa. I’m at a loss how hosts go about choosing as we are from Bournemouth but very rarely sit there, always preferring to explore somewhere new. We never know where that new place is until we see an interesting sit there and realise we have always wanted to visit so there is nothing on our profile that indicates where we want to visit (unless you have active dogs and live in a radius of five miles from Lasham Airfield).
Why not try? You’ll loose nothing and who knows you might find your perfect sitter.
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Perhaps you could start inviting people who have favourited your listing. The rate of success in invitations is very low but you have nothing to lose.
Although it’s true that some part time sitters take holiday sits, there are others like myself that are retired or work remotely and do not sit according to a standard calendar. Some part time sitters who do it as hobby can book sits closer in time, so don’t panic and perhaps give it a boost.
Good luck.
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Expecting someone to arrive on New Years day is a big and generally inconvenient ask. I’d strongly suggest adjusting your dates to something more convenient or, at the least, mentioning that they are welcome to come a couple days early if that is better for their schedule. The holidays are already a super high competition time and most sitters, if they’ll sit over the holidays at all, are going to look for a sit that covers both christmas and new years so they don’t have to relocate during that time.
Other than that, a quick look at your profile looks good. I’d maybe mention more of what’s to do in your area. I have an idea because I have friends in Penticton, but you should mention distance to restaurants, shopping, etc. Also, given snow is likely you should cover any yard work that will need to be done like shoveling/plowing if they want to go places or to open a path to get to the barn for the horse/bunny. You should also clarify how long the sitter can be gone. For me, skiing would be a whole-day activity but most puppies can’t be alone for more than a few hours.
You can reach out to people, but that rarely works as most people tend to sit away from their stated location. But it can’t hurt. Good luck!
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Sit & home looks very nice @kallie and the pups look adorable. Your main issues with attracting sitters are likely to be that you want them to arrive on NYD, you have pups so that rules out snow sports as you can’t leave a pup for long especially not at a year old, you need a car to get to you & you only have one review of one sentence in length from your two previous sitters which can be seen as a less than positive. Some of these you can change, some not. Can the sitter arrive two days earlier or a day later? Can you pick them up if they are happy to chill at yours for 10 days or is a car absolutely essential? Can you make the sit family friendly to attract more potentials? Can a neighbour possibly cover the pups for a wee break if your sitter wants to ski 1 or 2 days? All those could help. Reaching out to those who have saved the listing is a possibility but usually it’s a low hit rate, sitters save your sit for future dates that they will be available. You still have quite a lot of time so see what you can tweak and hopefully all will work out. #bestofluck
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It’s a month in a rural location so I’m guessing a car is going to be non-negotiable, but the other things are good points to consider.
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For some reason I saw it as 01 Jan to 11 Jan so ignore the car thing @kallie unless you can lend your sitter a vehicle? Thanks @CreatureCuddler #everydaysaschoolday
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Yes a car is necessary. I’m not sure how insurance would work if we allowed use of one of our vehicles. Not comfortable with that but could check with ICBC here.
@Newpetlover . Thank you. Yes, it is the ones that have favourited our listing that I was considering reaching out to as they have already considered it. I always start getting antsy waiting for applicants but seems to always work out. I may reach out and ask.
@CreatureCuddler . Thank you! We would definitely want a sitter to arrive earlier than our dates so have added that to the intro. Also mentioned some snow clearing may be needed. Thx!
@Cuttlefish Thank you! I’ve updated the intro as we would definitely want someone to come a day or days earlier as we have plenty of room. Pups could be left on an occasional ski day with access to outside so have tweaked that a bit as well. Appreciate the tips.
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Plenty of great tips given from fellow members already.
You say nothing I believe on the routine and tasks of the puppies. When are the feeding times, when are walks/ toilet breaks, how long walks, are they housetrained successfully or are there still accidents, how long can the animals be left alone. These things would hold me from applying if not described (and many don’t want to take on a puppy, never mind two puppies).
For a sitter to stay New Years Eve - it is an ask, and it could be a good idea to describe if you intend to be home, do you invite the sitter for dinner (or not). Different sitters prefer different things so it is a good idea to describe it so you get the right applications, but also because I think that if something is unclear many would rather move to next listing than ask you so you can clarify.
In my opinion the tasks are such that it could be an adventage to be more people, for instance a Family, and it could open up for more applications.
You can’t do any harm by trying to reach out. The success rate is lower, but it really doesn’t matter, because you are also putting yourself on the radar of those sitters for the future too, so it does no harm in trying.
@Garfield Thx. I can add the dogs routine. Thought may be too much detail up front though. I did include the time they can be left alone. I also updated the intro to include a day or so ahead of the trip to settle in which was recommended previously. Thank you.
I would not rule out inviting sitters if you are getting nervous, it worked for me this year. I actually wanted a local sitter (they do exist!) because my dog needs that meet & greet beforehand, and we need to give specific instructions on how to approach her as she is anxious around strangers. I was happy to find sitters on my own that met my needs, but it did take a lot of time researching sitters and writing the personalized messages as well. Had two trips this summer. The first invite I sent out for one trip was a success in the end (that was easy, and lucky!). For the other trip, I had to send out nearly a dozen invites before one application finally arrived (and it turned out that I was going to invite them next, because I saw they they ‘favorited’ my listing AND were local!). Most rejections were due to the fact that sitters did not want to commit to a sit that far out, or didn’t know their plans for the summer yet and might be traveling elsewhere (this was for late May and early June trips).
In the end it worked out, and my sitters were awesome - so don’t give up, sometimes people just don’t know what their plans are yet especially if you are many weeks or a few months out. But I would suggest starting with people in your ‘favorited’ list if you decide to invite sitters.
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@janistowns Thank you. Kinda needed to hear this. I know it has worked out great the past 2 years but I do start getting anxious when the time is going by. I have reached out to a few that favourited our post and they were fabulous people, however unavailable. Hoping by November we will have a few more applicants. It does make me nervous but I’m still hopeful but losing sleep over it. There are a few more locals I may be able to try as well. Thx for your encouragement.
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Hi @kallie, I’m also from BC.
If it were me, I would add them to your vehicle insurance and remove them once they leave, shouldn’t be too expensive for 5-6 weeks. You’ll need their DL’s#, names, etc.
Then put in writing a “contract” for the sitters to describe what you want to do for the deductible, in case something were to happen, and if you want them to pay for being added to the insurance.
In theory, they can still drive a maximum of 12 days without being on the insurance.
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If you get no hits consider removing and relisting a little closer to the time so that it shows up as a “new sit” rather than having the dreaded “low applications” tab.
Use of your car might be a bonus to attract sitters. As would specifically saying that people are able to go out for a day on the slopes (and how often they’d be able to do this). From the advert I can’t really tell if I would be able to do that or how often.
Something I always like to know upfront is whether the dogs are decent sleepers and what time they’re likely to be up in the morning. If it’s not mentioned I assume they aren’t great.
I have a hard line on dogs under two as they’re just real handfuls - especially in that teenage transition stage. This might be making it a little harder to secure an unpaid sitter.
Keep trying though, it does seem like a good sit!
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Thanks. I noticed when I adjusted the dates to invite someone a day or two earlier, it changed the listing to New. I am thinking of using the Boost come November which also changes it to New but I know you can only do that once.
I will update more on the pups. They do sleep well all night and go out when we get up in the morning. Glad that stage is over.
Struggle with leaving a car. Hoping to attract fairly local so that shouldn’t matter.
Thank you.
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