I think a limit is important, but 5 is too low. 10 would be more reasonable. Two of our recent sits the HO both mentioned that 5 made it annoying because the pool of choice was so small.
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Recently I applied for a sit in Lisbon. I was surprised it was available because living in the Western U.S. you have to really be a night owl to avail yourself of European sits. I’m an early riser but the 5 max has usually been invoked by 5a.m. PST.
Because it was available and is a place I’ve wanted to go, I applied. The couple got back to me fairly promptly to set up a zoom call. It went well and I was under the impression I had been chosen, so I asked them what made them decide on my profile. They said it was because of my profile and that I sent them a full reply about myself and why I wanted to do it. I asked what others said and they said often, they just say “hi” or “pick me”. That sounded crazy to me but now that I understand the pressure to respond immediately with the 5 rule, I get it.
It turned out for naught as they had decided on me then someone got ahold of them who was already petsitting in Lisbon and their dates worked out. I was disappointed but understood their reasoning.
I do hope that TH comes up with a better system than the 5 rule. I’m both a Home owner and a petsitter on the site. I’d rather have people spend a little time really reading my profile and tailoring their response to it rather than saving a spot for their short term convenience.
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Perhaps the luxury apartment is the problem! Just how many do people want to vet? Personally five is adequate. To continually wanting to vet people isn’t, I think, a healthy state of mind! If after ‘vetting’ five different applicants a decision cannot be made then perhaps the problem isn’t with the applicants!
Thanks for that, ShulasMom.
Interesting. In the past I always sent an application with info on myself, (and my husband), why we were interested in the sit, always made mention of the pets and asked relevant questions.
I always took time to compose a thoughtful message.
Now it feels so crazy to hurry up and send the application before it reaches 5. It’s ridiculous.
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Hi 
great conversation but just a reminder to please stay on topic. Thanks everyone
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I’m with you. As a homeowner as well, if someone sent me a “I’m the one” or a “hi” or “pick me”, I’d delete them immediately and go on until I found people who take the time to answer fully and know my pet’s name, at the very least.
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Oops just saw this. Sorry if I got off topic.
Hi @Ken, before the 5 appl rule, it was indeed possible as an HO to stop the flow of applications at any time.
The question is of course: if your sit fills up to 5 people in 2-3 minutes & goes to reviewing status, are those indeed the people you want? It sounds like there’s no time to carefully read the listing, do some research on e.g. flights or other ways to get there, etc. It’s like ‘hit & run’: listing goes live, immediately hit the apply button, quickly copy-paste that pre-written application, change the name of the pet, and hit send. I like to apply when I’m sure it’s a good fit, but I rarely can figure that out in the space of just a few minutes
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Like @carpediem16 we often rush through applications now because otherwise we miss the chance to apply. It’s a poor system. Previously we would write a thoughtful application and now it’s a race to put something in fast.
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The problem with this is that if you have 5 brand new sitters post “Hi, pick me” and have no reviews, then you have to vet them anyway. With the previous system, you could shut down the applications whenever you wanted and start reviewing. That meant you would get applications that were specific to your listing. Currently it’s just a mad dash for sitter to try and be in the first 5, with no regard for your pets or home.
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Yes, Bluehorse, my sentiments exactly!
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Yep, exactly.
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Good on you Ken for providing us sitters with lots of photos and information, we really do appreciate it. And that’s great that you are able to find yourself a suitable sitter in just 3 minutes from those Quick Draw Mcgraws who happen to be searching when you happen to be posting. I just have to point out that your experience with the system seems to be exceptional and most of the rest of us are just floundering around trying to navigate a way through it. A few days ago the Website logged me out (as it does periodically) and I noticed there were 52 sits listed in my search area (all of Asia), when I logged back in however there were only 9 homeowners ‘accepting applications’. So the vast majority of sits I was unable to apply to even though these HO’s were still actively looking for sitters, most probably completely unaware that their post had been pulled by THS administration and wondering why applications had suddenly dried up - some of them I remembered first appearing weeks ago. You’re right that the system can’t please everyone, but it seems that it is only pleasing a small minority.
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Hi again please stay on topic!! Am so tired of very few photos and minimal information - #53 by Dee
There is an active conversation on the 5 application functionality already in progress here
It’s really important for threads to stay on topic particularly out of respect for the OP and members fresh to the conversation. Thanks everyone 
I really don’t have any problems with the system. Perhaps it suits my character I am a decisive person and I don’t prevaricate in anyway. I know that when I apply for a sitter I’m going to get five maximum. I may get a reply in the next minute but I wait until I have the five. I then peruse very carefully their comments and from time to time it is easy to decide against a certain type and by that I usually mean age , decisiveness and mobility. From the five I then contact directly the person(s) I consider most suitable for my cats. Even at that point nothing is written in stone but very very quickly I get a ‘feel’ for the people I’m talking to. Fortunately, as of yet I haven’t got it wrong.
I think that the five figure certainly suits me. Some people, given multiples of choice beyond five, simply get spoilt for choice and can’t make their minds up. Others are so particular I sometimes wonder how they manage to get a sitter all!!
As I have said, it works both ways. I give every piece of information and photos than I can. I need to trust the sitter and they need to trust me. Only by ‘communication’ can that come about, and lots of it!
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I actually forgot what the original topic was! lol.
I see listings every single day with zero to one or two photos of the inside of the house, still. It’s so frustrating because now that the limit is 5, why waste one applications as well as everyone’s time asking for more photos when they should be there in the first place?
Seems THS should be able to have their IT team set up a system where when a member is about to post a listing with dates there is a box that MUST be checked (like Terms and Conditions) that says “do you confirm that you have clear photos of all the living spaces a sitter will be using” -
Would that be a difficult thing for the IT team to set up?
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Yes ! Agreed.
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To my earlier point, an example of a HO’s tech challenges unnecessarily complicating a sit: Questions for Admin or other pro users for the site! - #9 by FureverPawsitive23.
Very few comments from home owners here. So I’ll add my view as a HO.
The home owners that haven’t completed the amenities or sufficient pictures are probably not on this forum. They are likely to be HO that rarely use THS, or not technically minded.
BUT I will add that I use THS all the time as an HO and I wasn’t aware of the amenities feature until earlier this year. It only becomes visible if you are editing the details of your home, and most home owners will rarely do that because their home hasn’t changed.
THS never communicated this feature or asked HO to complete the details. THS should be more proactive here. They should have some level of quality checking. Even AI could do that for them.
As for photos - I expect a lot of HOs may not have the tidiest house and therefore don’t want to share photos of it. Absolutely, I agree they are not thinking of it from sitters point of view. They are prioritising getting someone to sit for their pets over the comfort of the sitter.
I was lucky to stay for a lovely sit in Bath Spa but there were no photos of the bedroom the house looked a bit untidy and they never gave me a handover pack - but it turned out to be a beautiful house, very comfortable bedroom and a really lovely sit.
It’s a tough one.
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jolerrs,
Thanks for sharing that.
We did gamble on one sit with few photos posted that turned out great, but we had asked for a few more during the video interview. The house was a luxury home so I suspected they didn’t want to post that to deter people from applying only because of the home and not the pet. I get it.
But the issue is, you want a sitter who is going to be happy to be there to care for your pets, no?
I cannot deal with clutter or untidiness and would make a lousy sitter in such a home.
I did do one sit early on when I was new and needed to accept sits to get the experience on my profile. There were not enough good photos but I accepted anyway.
So here’s the thing; I couldn’t stand spending time in the home. I got away as much as I could while caring for the animals (2 cats) as I should but could not get out of there fast enough. I didn’t eat a single meal in the home as the kitchen was just so unappetizing. I don’t think anyone wants that result - not for them or for the sitter. I suppose I could have just cleaned the kitchen and the whole house…but, really? (in fact when I arrived, I had been driving 5 hours and asked to use the restroom and found an unflushed toilet and almost no toilet paper- first red flag)
So, photos of an untidy house are perfectly FINE!! I would prefer to see an unmade bed and messy kitchen in photos because I won’t waste my time or theirs applying.
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