Community Forum: December round-up

It’s time to ring in the festive season with a merry round-up of what’s been going on in our community forum! We’re unwrapping topics such as overlapping sits and decking the halls for sitters, as well as shining a light on the sleigh-full of transformations that have been going on at TrustedHousesitters lately. As usual, our fabulous forum has been buzzing with community cheer, let’s take a look!

Topic of the month

We love being the bearer of good news (who doesn’t?!), and that’s why we were hopping with joy as we announced that blind reviews are now live! 

Lovely members like @HelloOutThere were practically purring with delight...

“I am very pleased to hear that the new blind review system is live. This adds much integrity to the network and provides “protections” for the HO and sitters. Thank you.” 

And of course, it didn’t take long for @Silversitters to get their paws into the new process! 

“Along with the request to review, the e-mail I received included an invitation to leave a review directly with the THS team about the sit and that this could include things that I didn’t feel comfortable putting in my review. I think this feature is really great.”

Category of the month

Our forum fairies have also been working on a brand-spanking new category this month - introducing the Product Category! It’s already become home to some of our most popular topics, including product updates about blind reviews, the brand refresh announcement, and lots of messaging/application feedback. It’s the perfect place to announce important updates and hear what our lovely members think about it all - what on earth did we do without it?!

Forum member of the month

In one of our favorite sections of the forum round-up (but also one of the hardest to choose!), our member of the month is the delightful @Debbie!

Debbie travels with her family and is always on hand to jump in and encourage new families who join the forum. Many families worry that they will struggle to find a sit, but Debbie has offered countless families reassurance and tips to succeed… 

“When I first found TrustedHousesitters I couldn’t quite believe that people would want a family of 4 to stay in their home and look after their pets. 4 years and 22 sits later, we can confirm that THS can work for families. We do a housesit in every school holiday, and sometimes more than one.”

Debbie’s also been hanging out in our virtual cafe, where she’s been sharing her love of cooking…

“One of my housemates at University was from Louisiana and introduced us to some of her favourite foods such as cornbread, jambalaya, gumbo and even grits. She sent me a recipe from the US for jambalaya and it is still one of my favourite meals to cook nearly 30 years later! Luckily my sons love it too.”

Photos of the month

In the fabulous fall foliage topic, our members have been sharing some photos of what fall looks like for them. We’ve loved looking through all of them, but @Silversitters’ photo of the contrast between nature’s colors and the pavement really caught our eye! 

And that’s not all! In our share a smile discussion, @ExploreDreamDiscover shared the CUTEST photos of their foster kitties! Angel is the sweet white kitty and the poser who could be on the cover of Vogue is Lavender. Aren’t they adorable?!

What else have the community been discussing this month? 

Grabbing a coffee in our virtual cafe

Our fabulous Community Manager, Jenny, introduced the new virtual cafe to the forum. Everyone’s welcome to grab a cuppa and have a chat about absolutely anything, from what you had for breakfast to funny stories about your pets! Come pull up a (virtual) chair!

The etiquette of overlapping sits 

Members have been keen to share their ideas on the topic of overlapping sits, and Carla and Jenny have been busy collecting all your feedback and passing it on to the team at Trusted HQ. Thank you to everyone for sharing your thoughts! 

Goodbyes and well-wishes 

Carla announced the bittersweet news that Angela (or Auntie Angela, as she’s affectionately known) is moving on to focus on her other roles within TrustedHousesitters, and tributes to Angela and the hard work she’s put into the community over the years flooded in from our members.

‘Tis the season to be jolly!

We’re starting to think about the upcoming holidays over on the forum and our members are already discussing how to make it special for sitters. We’re happy to see how many of our members are respectful and inclusive of those who might not celebrate the festive season as well as those who do, and we’re always keen to hear from more of you, so please stop by!

Want to join in the holiday cheer? 

Head to our friendly forum to find everything from tips and advice about all things house and pet sitting to festive “tails” about our favorite furry friends! 

Happy holidays from everyone at TrustedHousesitters!!