Why are there sitters that appear available on their calendar but then aren't when you try to make an inquiry?

This is a late answer but likely an on-going question/issue so I'll throw in my 2 cents. My answer is similar to Carly's above but to go into more detail, the sitter may be generally available on x date but some parameter in your profile excludes them from working with you specifically. For example, my Rover calendar would show me available today but I don't accept dogs who are not spayed/neutered or who are +100lbs. I also live in an area with a massive urban sprawl problem so I'm not available to clients who live 20+ miles from me even though we technically live in the same city. It's gotten better with some of Rover's improvements but it still isn't a perfect system.

Also, I try to keep my calendar up to date but I'm super busy and sometimes I book a stay and flat out forget to update my calendar. As for the sitters who don't respond, there's just no excuse for that. Hope that helps - all in all Rover is a great service. If you're still having problems, I would highly encourage you to call their customer service. They can help troubleshoot what the issue might be and help you find someone. Good luck

That does sound frustrating Deborah! I'm not sure what you're seeing when you look at the calendar, but one thing I've noticed on my own calendar is that it will show me as "available" (green) even if I only have 1 service available, such as drop in visits or house sitting. I'm currently booked for boarding until mid-month, but if you look at my profile the majority of December is still showing green because I have other non-boarding services available. I can see how that would be confusing for someone looking for a boarding instead of one of the services I am actually available for.

I've never personally requested services via Rover, but I was under the impression that if an owner selects a sitter who does happen to be booked/away/unavailable for the dates and services requested, they'll get a notification on the messaging screen prior to sending the request. Something like "this sitter is booked for the dates you've selected and my not be available". But again, this is just what I've heard from clients, I've never encountered the message myself.

Rover support is also available to help you find a sitter if you're tired of dealing with it yourself! You can call them at [Edit: Rover’s contact options have changed. Visit the Rover Help Center at https://support.rover.com/ to find the phone number, help articles, or chat with the team]

I literally hit my max conversation list for today and still cannot find a sitter. I have confirmed 7 people who had an open calendar for this weekend tell me they are not available. This is a big issue and huge waste of time for the client. Makes me want to stop using this app.

Sorry, Deborah, that you are having such problems with the sitters you've contacted. Rover does "ding" those sitters because they are not keeping their calendars up-to-date. Refusing due to lack of availability and/or not responding to requests for such a long period of time affects where a sitter appears in search results. So there is a penalty for not maintaining the calendar.

I can understand how inefficient this is for you. I'm not sure what basis there might be for discrimination but recommend you contact Rover Support and tell them what has been happening. They will assist you in finding a sitter for you dog. It would be best to call them at [Edit: Rover’s contact options have changed. Visit the Rover Help Center at https://support.rover.com/ to find the phone number, help articles, or chat with the team]. There is no charge for this service.

I wonder if there is something in your profile that is preventing Sitters from accepting? I'm answering from the app and so it's hard for me to see your profile but perhaps there is a trigger in your profile that is making Sitters shy away from working with your dog?

Sitters ultimately decide on who they want to work with. They don't have to accept bookings but to improve or maintain their search rankings, they can't ignore or refuse many bookings. If there is something in your profile that is scaring Sitters off, I'd be careful to review it and see if Rover Match can help you secure a good fit. I'm the first person to say I won't take certain breeds because I know they aren't accepted where I live or are generally not a good fit for my family's lifestyle. We take dogs that suit our lives so they have a happy and healthy environment to thrive in.

I'm having trouble in the opposite way. I show availability on 2 dates I was contacted about but they say I had no availability when they checked. How am I going to get business that way?

As a sitter, even if I have days makes “unavailable “ or completely full, it will still show me in the search, when I asked support about this they said they do it just in case I wanted to work something out with the person. No… I am unavailable… because I’m unavailable…. But as it shows on the sitter end it says “this may not match your preferences “ but I am not sure if it warns the owner that they may not be available