I wonder what is going lately with listing where HO even doesn’t read the application, or have read and haven’t answered and the listing is still active.
In the past few days I applied like for 5 listing that are in 5-7 days and most of them didn’t even read. And some of them read, replied in three days and then disappeared again. I feel such a disrespect of my time cuz I have to plan the time ahead and won’t be running on the very last day.
HOs please at least delete your listing if you don’t need HS anymore or reply!!
Or those listing are just fake for advertising?
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I currently have a few of these. One that has bern advertised fir a while with no applications until i applied. The HO hasnt even read my app. I applied to another and got a response right away with a sit confirmation. I told the HO that id like to do a call before i confirm. She read my note but no reply. She has no other applications. After 10 days i withdrew my app. I applied for one other. There are 4 applications but the HO has not read my application.
I wonder if they arent getting notified about the messages? Or if they have changed their mind about needing a sitter and just havent taken the sit down. Im totally baffled about the one i requested a call from who never got back to me.
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I don’t think so. My guess is that the HO found someone else (maybe a niece or something) and that they never logged in on THS again. Or that they changed their travel plans. Or that they decided to take the pets with them, or to put them in a kennel, etc.
Apply for other sits!
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Hi @Mariyka_mir
Unfortunately it’s not a new problem that owners are slow or never respond to applicants. I like many other THS sitters now give a gentle reminder after a week or withdraw my application. In my experience a HO that responds quickly to applicants even with just a holding message make good sits as they’re good communicators.
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Maybe there is a solution in THS policy that reminds HOs to reply on time
I currently have one of those in, so I know it’s frustrating.
Usually, i decline myself because I’ve taken another sit, but this time the sit was actually what I wanted when I wanted it so as an experiment I’ve let it be. (Still more than a month away though if airfare has gone up from when I checked than it’s a no.)
I think it’s very difficult to know what’s going on when hosts post and then never return. We can speculate: Maybe THS is the back up and not the A plan? Maybe the owner has a lot going on. I think it’s a waste of mental energy to speculate. I plan to ask the HO what took them so long if they ever do respond.
Whatever it is, it isn’t personal.
BTW, I’m also a homeowner so I know that THS sends you reminders once your sit is in review, but maybe that’s something you can opt out of or ignore.
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We have been doing Sits on THS for over 2 years, regularly, and I have found that Owners fall in one of two camps:
- Quick to respond, all over the process
- Slow to respond, leaves people hanging
There is not a lot of in between.
If you do not hear from the Owner within 48-72 hours of sending your application, move on!! They are in Camp #2.
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@PVGemini We’ve found the same thing. I don’t usually pull an application when they take a while until I’ve found another. I have had some slow responders work out to be good sits, but it’s mostly the quick responders. When I first apply to a sit, I’ll usually give them 24-48 hours to see if they are quick responders before I start applying for others at the same time in case they are quick responders.
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From a recent conversation with HOs, who were slow to respond we found out that they didn’t expect anyone from out of town to apply for their sit and they didn’t consider that their potential sitter will need to arrange travel to the sit. They posted the sit a few months ago but they were only going to review potential sitters a few weeks before the start date. Meanwhile we were also in a lengthy discussion with a HO who is trying to secure sitters now for March 2026 dates.
All 5 sits we applied are in Texas, actually.
And none is read! Did anyone manage to get sits from Texas lately?
I don’t really understand why all of them even do not read
If I am really interested in a particular Sit, and the Owner seems to be procrastinating, I will send another message, like “I would appreciate a quick response to my application, as I am actively making plans to visit your area.”
If it looks like the Owner(s) work full-time, I would wait until Friday evening to send my message, hoping they have more time on the weekend to respond. They will get an email that says they have a “new message.”
Be strategic at all times!
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@BunnyCat March of 2026! I thought our having just agreed to a sit for Jan-Mar of 2025 was planning ahead!
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