Hi,
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful start to the year. As April rounds off to a close, I wanted to check in with you and share a bit of good news from us here at Team Trusted.
Trending posts
Purr-use some of the top blogs our members have been loving this month- Top male dog names for your new furry friendGot a new furry family member in your pack? Check…
- Top female dog names for your new fluffy palWelcoming a new pooch into your family? Explore…
- 120+ gray cat names your silver feline will loveRecently welcomed a fluffy gray bundle of joy into…
- What are normal pet sitting rates?Discover the average pet sitting rates for animals…
- Unique dog names to stand out from the packDare to be different with our list of the best…
Firstly, I'd like to start by sharing a bit about our vision: to become the world's most loved travel solution for pet people. As a TrustedHousesitters member, you've made an incredible choice to be a part of our global community and a worldwide movement based on trust and kindness. We believe that you are enabling a huge shift in the happiness of pets, peace of mind for pet parents and travel experience of pet lovers worldwide.
I’m delighted to share that - with over 160,000 members - our community is now the biggest it's ever been, with over 50,000 sits already confirmed this year. As we grow and become more prevalent in the minds of pet lovers, so do the opportunities for our members. As a result of this scale, and thanks to some of the great work done by our team, we’re now seeing record numbers of: sits being posted, owners finding the perfect sitter, and sitters confirming a sit. Just incredible!
Of course, none of this would be possible if not for you: our members. We know just how powerful word of mouth is - especially when it comes to entrusting someone with your home and furry friends. Because of your incredible advocacy, 2 out of 3 new members today come to us on the recommendation of a friend or family member. So, thank you for spreading the word of TrustedHousesitters with your friends, family, and those you meet on your travels.
Don’t forget, you can refer people to TrustedHousesitters using your refer a friend code - they’ll get 25% off their membership fee, and you’ll get two free months for every friend that joins.
Another area I’m delighted to see growing is our community forum. Since its launch in 2021, the forum has continued to increase in both membership and engagement and recently hit an incredible milestone: over 10,000 members! As well as a great place for our members to connect and chat online, this year the forum has been a brilliant vehicle for our members to share their feedback, thoughts, and suggestions. We’ve been listening, and I’m delighted to share some exciting updates that have recently gone live, as well as some planned work to help improve our platform:
1. Amenities: we recently added a new ‘amenities’ section to owner listings, a great piece of work here to benefit all our members. From high-speed wifi to a king-sized bed, adding amenities can help an owner’s listing stand out to sitters and get more applications - it also helps our sitters know exactly what to expect from a house sit.
2. Public transport filter: this recent update to owner listings replaces the existing ‘Do sitters need a car to get to your home?’ with a clear ‘Accessible by public transport’ or ‘Not accessible by public transport’ tag. This great new feature has also been added as a search filter on the website (with the app to follow) and will help to make our sitter’s search for the perfect house sit even easier.
3. Mandatory references: for new sitters, it’s now mandatory to request a reference - we’ve also made it easier for the referee to provide a reference. References are incredibly important to show credibility and past pet care experience.
4. Improvements to our member support: we recently increased the size of our Membership Services team by over 50%, and we’re investing in new and improved self-help technology to better support our members via live chat and email. Additionally, we'll be introducing a new 24/7 urgent support line, to support our members with their more pressing queries over the phone - you can find out more here.
5. Member survey results: we recently ran a survey to gain more insight into members’ thoughts on our platform. Our sitters said they were happy with the quality and quantity of sits, with 85% of members reporting they were also happy with their overall THS experience. Owners also said they were happy with the quality and quantity of sitters, with an overall experience rating of 87%. This has stayed stable and is aligned with the survey results we received last year (August 2022).
6. Revamp of the review system: this has been a feature long requested by our members, and following your feedback, I’m pleased to share that our product team has begun work to revamp our current review system. We’ll update you with more information on this as we have it - so keep your eyes peeled!
Once the revamp of the review system is complete, we’ll be looking at further initiatives and priorities highlighted by our members, to improve your experience.
Finally, I’ve been delighted to see the many member meet-ups happening all around the world. So far this year, there have been 30 meet-ups across the UK, US, Australia, and Canada (although in reality, probably many more!) and we have all loved seeing our members connect from afar, brought together through TrustedHousesitters and their mutual love of pets and unique travel experiences.
It never fails to blow me away just how engaged, impassioned, and committed our global, pet-loving community is. Until next time…!
