This is precisely the reason I checked out other sites despite my intention to stay here even though I am a Premium host -just in case too many sitters leave.. I was surprised to find a huge level of success getting applicants on one of the other recommended platforms within 24 hours of creating a listing and posting a tentative date for next March. Now I’m thinking why renew here for $299 when the membership at the other site is a one time $29 membership fee. If other hosts have this same experience it’s bad news for THS.
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what is the other website?
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Mindmyhouse
Lots more sitters than hosts.
Sounds good for home owners, let’s hope that lots will join and then it will be more worthwhile for sitters too.
I like what they say on their website> No sponsorship, or pictures of women laughing at salad on our site! 
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Pay attention THS, one of the few defenders of this new fee has been drawn elsewhere too!
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Good to be open to change and flexible in your thinking, right?
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No, it won’t have an impact because Mayfair (the investor) “needs” the money.
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Based on previous records, the probability of our collective opinion having any meaningful impact is, regrettably, non-existent. Nonetheless, my innate optimism (or perhaps, hope) perceives a very dim light somewhere at the end of the tunnel.
The public outrage surrounding this matter is demonstrably more intense than in any prior instance. Members appear to have been pushed to their limit and are now taking action.
Within just a few days, the ratings have dropped significantly to 3.7, a development that must certainly concern the company, as they no longer feature the ratings on their website.
Furthermore, the company’s CEO is being publicly scrutinized on platforms like LinkedIn for promoting ‘a number of very cool new roles’ within the organization. I cannot imagine this public humiliation is being taken lightly by him.
Therefore, I am cautiously hopeful that there is a slight chance the company’s management may finally begin to comprehend the severity of the message being sent by the community.
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@idocsteve, good experimentation.
In case not know, there’s at least a couple of THS Forum threads on “other house sit sites” with perspectives.
Personally, we’ve been members of two other platforms. Initially a Canadian site, that we used once before we’d even heard of THS. And Nomador, an experiment to increase access to Schengen listings that are alas scarce on US-UK centric THS. We were initially excited but did not renew either of these subscriptions. THS has its bugs aplenty but, in our view, competitive sites pale in comparison.
Glad that you secured applications. Guess followon question is applicant quality and resultant experience of housesit and pet care. We find that THS, relative to peers, has best listing quantity; listing quality; and peer-peer mindset. Seems many other sites are substantially funded by housesitters. We perceive this gives homeowners no skin in game, so cancellations may be rife.
Good luck with your experiment.
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There isn’t a formal established review system at MMH however most of the applicants (about a dozen before I turned off the dates) claimed extensive experience, and were willing to provide numerous references and provide reviews. Several applicants were from THS.
No one in finance likes to lose money, particularly losing money by being stupid. They are not gambling like a roulette wheel. They made a study and a calculated investment with an expected return by pumping up the revenues. Unless a large chunk of people leave, they will do what they set out to do.
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@GotYourBack , I’d be interested in knowing what the Canadian site is. I’ve had a look at a few alternatives but they had very few listings in Canada.
Sure. Housesitterscanada. Seems same revenue model & limited listing info as similarly named uk site. We looked at latter, but not join, as keen explore less-travelled parts of Scotland.
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Thank you. One I looked at. Harder to navigate with less info.