As a Petbnb sitter, you know that availability and reliability are crucial to successfully building a profile and building trust with customers. Nothing is more annoying to an owner than sending an enthusiastic request only to hear that the sitter is not available after all. A well-maintained calendar on Petbnb not only prevents such disappointments, but also ensures that you remain more visible and findable on the platform. Below we discuss why calendar management is so important and how you can easily track and update your availability.
Why calendar management is important
- Reliability: If your calendar is up-to-date, owners know exactly when you are available. This creates trust because they can count on the information you share.
- Increased visibility: Petbnb values active and accurate calendar management and rewards sitters who update their calendar regularly. This means you can rank higher in search results if you keep track of your availability.
- Fewer redundant applications: With a well-maintained calendar, you avoid requests that you can't accept anyway. This saves not only the client, but also you valuable time.
How does the calendar work?
After we publish your listing, it is immediately visible in the search results. By default, all dates on your calendar are marked as available, so make sure your availability is up to date right away.
The services you offer are all separately visible on your calendar and recognizable by their own color. You can adjust your availability per day or per period, but unfortunately not per part of the day. When a request is accepted by you, the booking is automatically processed in your calendar. You do not have to change the calendar after a booking.
Note that what you do need to adjust yourself is your availability for other services. For example, if you want to have a maximum of 2 pet sitting dogs in your home and you have 1 booking for lodging and 1 booking for daycare on a particular day, the Petbnb calendar still shows 1 place availability for daycare and lodging. So you will have to change the availability for daycare and lodging yourself in this case.
Tips for effective calendar management on Petbnb
Block unavailable days
As soon as you know you won't be available on certain days-whether because of vacation, other commitments, or because you've already accepted a pet sitting request-mark these days as occupied in your calendar. The sooner you do this, the better.
Set fixed days
If by default you are only available on certain days, you can set this in your calendar by shift. This saves time, because this way the days are blocked by default when you do not indicate availability. For example: By default, you are available on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, then you check only these days. If you are available on a Tuesday, you can always unblock that particular day by going to that specific day in the calendar.
Set drop-off and pick-up times
If you are sometimes only available half days or you have a few hours off on certain days, you can also indicate this by setting fixed drop-off and pick-up times. You can find this under "preferences" in your ad. By default this is set to "flexible".
Set a maximum length of stay
For lodging and babysitting, you can specify the maximum number of nights you want to babysit. You can do this under "more settings" in your calendar.
Last minute bookings
In your calendar you can indicate whether you are available for last-minute bookings. That is, within 48 hours from the booking start date. You can specify this per service, so you can differentiate this if you offer multiple services.
Select cancellation terms
You decide how flexible or strict you want to be when a guest cancels. Choose what works best for you. An overview of the cancellation policy can be found here. Please note that daycare, walking and pet visits is set to flexible by default. So you can only adjust the cancellation conditions of lodging and home babysitting.
Plan ahead
Try to update your calendar for at least several months ahead. Many owners plan their vacations or weekends away far in advance and seek sitters who show availability far ahead. Planning ahead makes you more attractive to clients who book well in advance.
Update regularly
Try to briefly check your calendar weekly or bi-weekly, even if there are no changes in your schedule. Don't forget to confirm your availability by pressing the red button. This little effort ensures that Petbnb sees that you are active, which contributes to a higher ranking in search results. Moreover, this way owners can see at a glance that you have recently updated your calendar, which builds trust.
When in doubt, communicate
If you are unsure about your availability or if you receive a request for a period when you may not be completely free, be honest with the client. Bosses appreciate clarity and may still be able to adjust their plans.
Additional benefits of an accurately managed calendar
- Better customer relations: Owners appreciate pet sitters who are clear and consistent with their availability. This often leads to repeat requests and positive reviews, strengthening your reputation.
- Less stress for you: By proactively updating your calendar, you avoid last-minute cancellations or misunderstandings. This makes for a smoother process, less stress, and a better work experience.
- Your profile is viewed more: An updated calendar and higher ranking mean more profile visits and ultimately more requests. Petbnb values active sitters, and that's reflected in the visibility you get.
Don't want to pet sit at all for a while?
If you are temporarily unavailable to pet sit pets, Petbnb offers two convenient options to avoid receiving requests while you are unable to pet sit:
- Vacation Mode: This deactivates your ad completely, so it is not visible in search results. This is ideal if you want to take an extended break. You can reactivate your ad at any time when you are available again.
- Ad temporarily removed from search results: This option hides your ad in search results, but keeps it visible to users who have previously contacted you. This is useful if you are temporarily less available but still open to bookings from existing customers.
Calendar management as the key to success
An accurately maintained calendar is not only convenient for your clients; it also makes your experience as a Petbnb sitter more fun and convenient. Building a trustworthy reputation and getting consistent work are within reach when you regularly update your calendar. We encourage you to make this easy by spending a few minutes on your calendar every Sunday, for example.
Get to work on your calendar management and experience the benefits of more inquiries, higher visibility, and happier customers!
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