I’m still trying to get a sitter at up for a date quickly approaching. I am sending out the invites but am not sure if i am doing it right.
When i go to search, i enter my zip code. But… that pulls up people who live near me, right? Wouldn’t those people be LESS likely to want to sit st my house, because it is their home too? Like, shouldn’t i look for people who DON’T live nearby? Or am I just totally missing something.
Sorry!!! Im sure it’s a dumb question. I’m just getting nervous that we don’t get a sitter.
Generally speaking that’s correct, most people want to travel somewhere further afield.
However a new sitter may be a better option because we are always telling them they should grab a last minute local sit in order to build up reviews. So if you look for sitter that has either no reviews or only maybe one and contact them you might stand better chance. Of course it’s also more of a risk, simply because they don’t have the reviews but inviting them does not mean that they are guaranteed the sit you are really only inviting them to discuss it with them. Make this clear in your message say you would be open to exploring the possibilities.
On your dashboard, there will be a Profile picture or avatar. Click that and the page that pops up will have a misspelled “Favourites” link. Click that and you’ll have 2 columns. The right column is a laboriously labeled and still misspelled “Favourited your listing” column. Click that and you can see which sitters have favorited your profile. Reaching out to those sitters might be a good starting place.
Reaching out cold to sitters doesn’t seem to work very well. Usually, you have to wait for sitters to apply for your published sit dates.
Inside a week, you can post your sit in the Last Minute category.
I work remotely and enjoy changing my work location/scenery. I have declined invitations for sits that were too similar or too close to home. But a 30-60 minute drive can provide an appealing amount of diversity to the scenery, markets, farm stands, trails.
rayray. Invitations do work as I have accepted sits from invites. In fact one I would definitely have applied for accelpt I could not do the first weekend. But when they sent me the invite and stated this they found friends to do the first weekend and I accepted the sit. This sit was about 250 miles away. I also did a local one at very short notice as only a few days ad they had two lots of sitters cancel on them. I have accepted others. I probably accept about 25% of invites I receive. It is always worth sending out invites.
Agreed, the last several sits I have booked have all been via invites. I don’t sit full time, but my schedule has stayed fairly full with dates booked through January, to the point I haven’t sought out a sit in 4 months. As Visit said, I’ve accepted roughly 25% of the invitations received. If the HO has time to send out invites, I think it is worth the effort.
You can get more exposure for your listing by linking it to your Forum profile. That might help you to find a sitter soon! Also, Forum members might give you some advice to improve your listing.
I’m a sitter in a suburb of Vancouver, B.C. and with our long weekend coming up next weekend I felt the urge to apply on two sits in the heart of downtown Vancouver. I always enjoy local sits in a different part of the city that I live so you may have sitters nearby that are interested in a local sit as I am!
But never also doesn’t mean not often. I have a job and home obligations, including pets and family, and I am particular about where I sit. However, most of my recent sitting arrangements have been by invitation. Depending on each sitter/HOs needs, circumstances, and preferences, this can vary considerably.
I’ve declined all invites so far, but wouldn’t rule totally out that I could accept one.
As you say «a date» I think the length of the sit could impact as it is close. It would be more difficult to schedule a long sit short notice, while many sitters don’t find short sits worthwhile, as it is too much work with end cleaning for a short sit - you barely get to open your suitcase before your end cleaning starts. So if it is a short sit it might help to say that as it is a short sit you don’t expect the sitter to do the end cleaning, just tidy up after themselves. An experienced, good sitter will leave your home in a nice way anyway, but the stress is taken out of it.
All members need to have a plan B and I would be sure to have one.
If you’d like input on your listing you can add the link in your forum profile:
Inviting is hit or miss. Couldn’t hurt, but it’s best to have a fallback plan.
Personally, I’ve received plenty of unsolicited invites over two+ years of membership. I’ve accepted only one, because it happened that I’d just joined THS and was available for what turned out to be a great sit across the country. But nothing since has lined up when it comes to location, timing, etc.
I’ve also done a couple of local sits, ones I applied for. But those were while my house was being remodeled and I purposely pursued only sits that were different from my home, in neighborhoods and amenities. Like a downtown high-rise vs. my place in the burbs.
Likewise if I sit locally in the future, I wouldn’t choose a home and neighborhood like mine, because no point to me. It would have to offer a meaningful change.
