Housesitters have an obligatory “Why I want to housesit” section… while listings are being left out of this wonderful opportunity. Doesn’t appear to be an equivalent space for hosts to share their motivation for using this type of matchmaking. Wouldn’t it make sense to have something like that..?
Reminding both sides, especially new members, WHY they’ve chosen this kind of exchange and platform, could help make screening, matchmaking and communication a bit smoother. Might also add more openness and context to listings overall. What do others think?
I’m sure there’ll be plenty that think it’s a great idea, but I’d imagine that’s one too many sections for them to complete, they already complete 3 sections, and then there’s the welcome guide.
I’d rather not read another section before making up my mind to apply or not, everyone can say good words when prompted. Personally, I’d rather get a vibe of the host through the words they’ve wrote naturally, it’s served us well so far, we’ve met lovely hosts.
Plus it could be open to interpretation. Some owners may not rather realise it’s about the meaningful and motivational reasons to see if we’re on the same wave length, they may interpret it as being about their personal situation. We sit for quite a number with second homes and campers and they don’t mention that in their profile as it’s open to the public, so they may feel it’s a little too probing and obtrusive, and I’m guessing likewise it may intimidate those that are short on cash.
I know there are some that have problems on here, but we’ve had great experiences, our initial instinct was right on every occasion bar one, and even on that one occasion, she was still nice, we’re just simply different people, that’s all, so it was still a great sit for us.
But like I said, a lot will see it as a good idea, I’m sure
Why would a homeowner choose this platform versus a paid sitter or kennel?
Off the top of my head I can only think of one reason and although there may be others, I suspect this is the primary reason for most. It’s all about the money.
Here in Greece we spend about 70 euros per day for in home care of our 3 dogs with a paid sitter. To board them might be a bit less but then we’d need someone to water the garden, clean the pool, top off the food for the chickens, guinea pigs and rabbits, and feed the fish and turtles.
A THS sitter does this all for free in exchange for the use of our property and maybe our car.
Now that we’re both retired, we’re taking long vacations, about a month long, and going forward we plan to do it about 3-4x per year.
THS has already saved us thousands since we joined several months ago, and on a yearly basis the savings can be as much as $8000.
@buttercup, great idea. We find that a significant portion of pet parents choose to include such content in the introductory text of their listing. Sometimes seems authentic, sometimes generic.
In video calls, we quickly try to assess the underlying motivation and specific trip.
I would support the addition of a “why I host” section, although I already put that in my profile.
While the money is always going to be a compelling reason for both sitters and HOs to use THS, my main motivation is around exchange and community. If THS didn’t exist, there are other options I’d use - or I’d just take fewer trips. The ones who only care about the money are the ones who tend to be demanding/unthoughtful hosts or neglectful sitters.
Disagree. Completely. As I said, we’ve saved thousands this year and will save even more next year, upwards of $8000 as I figure it.
We appreciate the THS platform and the sitters and we reciprocate by providing full access to every area of our home, use of our car if needed, and plenty of freedom to do as they please and explore the area or just relax on our patio overlooking the mountains.
We encourage them to stay over the night before, they’re welcome to stay the night we return if it’s more convenient, we don’t require daily updates, pictures or videos, and we don’t make any unreasonable demands.
Having said that I still cannot wrap my head around why you’d think that a host who uses this platform to save money would treat sitters poorly, it simply does not compute.
Thank you @GotYourBack Yeah, would be wonderful to get an idea of a host’s motivation in the listing, rather than later in the process or potential video calls. It’s no guarantee, of course, but could indicate whether someone understands the concept…or at least finds the motivation to do so when filling it out. For new members, this could increase the chances of a good match, help prevent a poor one and likely create more trust.
While I’ve definitely experienced hosts who balance the listing in a way that benefits both sides, I haven’t seen many who explicitly touch on this. But that’s obviously cause it isn’t yet an integrated field for hosts as it is for us. Hopefully it will
Thank you @idocsteve I appreciate your honesty, that’s exactly what I’m looking for when deciding whether or not it could be a good match, and whether the host understands that I’m a travelling volunteer with a completely different profession.. I’m neither staff nor trained, covered or equivalent to a paid professional.
Sure, some hosts have multiple pets like you do, others have no pets at all. Yes, some do this purely for financial reasons like you, others for security or completely different reasons. That’s exactly why a section like this would be so valuable…for everyone
After thinking back on it a bit, the main reason we chose the THS platform is because we live in a rather remote area and there aren’t too many people around who are available to sit. The two local sisters were a disappointment. We’d rather stay home than leave our pets with them.
An existing THS member recommended this site, and as we had a pending vacation with few leads as to a sitter, we decided to give it a try. We immediately found a sitter and given the response to the first 2 listing dates, it appears we won’t have issues finding sitters going forward.
The money saved is a bonus but it’s not specifically what brought us here in the first place.
There are so many advantages to having a good sitter. Your pets are going to be happier at home and in their routine. Security for your home, both from intruders and weather events. Saving money. Possibly meeting nice people . The key to all this is a good sitter. Not all are equal. As not all home owners are good. It’s like a box of chocolates, you never know for sure what you might get
I can’t imagine there’s any other reason than to save some money. If I read some statement that says something else, it would seem disingenuous. I think it’s cool to let someone experience my area, but that’s a benefit, not a motivation.
@idocsteve, kudos to you on extended travels; use of THS platform for win-win-win outcome (pets, pet parent, housesitter); and thoughtful, kind, reasonable approach to attracting housesitters
It’s not surprising you’d think this but you’d be wrong. It’s not all about money. We’d have no problem paying for a live-in housesitter IF a paid sitter is the best option. I don’t believe it is and that’s my primary reason for using THS.
Paid sitters are not licensed any more than voluntary sitters so there’s no difference in professional standards.
Problems encountered with THS sitters are a subset of the problems encountered with paid sitters.
Paid sitters ARE in it for the money, THS sitters most definitely are not. For many reasons, I trust and prefer THS sitter motives over sitters motivated because they are paid. Paid sitting isn’t exactly lucrative.
Paid sitters are typically local. We prefer sitters that are not.
I could go on but be assured that saving money is way down our list of why we use THS.
Thank you @belluca I’m happy to hear that. I don’t do this purely for financial reasons either, think few people do; there’s always more than one reason. Luckily only had a few really bad experiences myself, but yes, those did involve people who clearly didn’t understand the concept.
They would’ve benefited from at least being presented with something that required them to reflect on it before publishing the ad
. The key to all this is a good sitter. Not all are equal. As not all home owners are good. It’s like a box of chocolates, you never know for sure what you might get 
