How fast do you expect a potential sitter to respond to messages? We are trying to line up video calls to be able to confirm a sit but haven’t received a response after 2 days. Am I being too demanding? What is the norm?
If I have applied for a sit I would normally be watching closely for notifications so would reply within minutes.
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You are not being too demanding, the sitter may possibly be out of reach for some reason but I think normally you could expect much speedier replies.
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2 days is a lot, especially if they didn’t mention in their initial application that their access to wifi would be spotty. Can you see if they’ve read your message?
I’m not sure if this is happening with all your potential sitters, or just one, but if you have another good prospect (or two), I’d follow up with them as well.
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If they’ve read your message and not responded, move on.
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Thank you for your reply. As far as I can see one sitter hasn’t seen her messages since She applied late Friday night. I replied to her early Saturday morning and have send another message yesterday morning asking for a video call. We are in the same time zone. This makes me think that communication is not going to be great with her while I’m abroad, specially for a 5 weeks sit
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I tend to agree. Move on and good luck 
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Agree with this, but extenuating circumstances etc. THS notices are wonky sometimes, they may be traveling out of the country so time zones could be weird & phone access poor, blah etc.
That said, wait times for sitter replies tend to be understandably shorter than for HO replies, if it’s a desirable sit & you have options.
As a sitter, I always leave my cell number/alternate contact info in my application, with a note to please reach out if they can’t reach me via THS due to wonky notifications etc; and to paraphrase @Garfield — after an application, I’m usually monitoring my phone like a girl hoping for a last-minute invite to the prom, so… 
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You’ve given the sitter a reasonable time to respond. Move on and find someone else. Your other applicants may have withdrawn or lost interest so the quicker the better.
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I respond right away, unless I am out of reach och very busy. In such situations I respond as soon as I can, typically in a couple of hours.
I must admit, however, that it did happen once or twice that I waited a bit with my response after being offered a sit, which was due to my (shame on me 
) waiting to finalize another sit.
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Lol, love the prom comment. I’m new here but yes, I noticed that THS can be a bit wonky
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Does it really matter? An unanswered application does not prevent you from applying for other sits in and around those dates. If you apply and are the accepted for another sit, simply withdraw your application.
In this case I’m the HO and it does matter, it makes me feel that the applicant is not reliable and wasting my time. I’m moving on
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I agree with others that there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation. Personally, I have an extra special THS bug that prevents me from receiving any notifications. I’ve also found that sometimes, people who are new to THS don’t always fully understand how it works and can be slow to check messages simply because they aren’t yet properly configured and don’t know they need to check messages or how often they need to do so.
That said, you’ve given plenty of time as well as a followup – you’ve made your best effort and aren’t beholden to them in any way.
I’d say a typical response time is definitely within a day.
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I have a personal rule: if I don’t receive a reply within 24 hours of the last message, I move on. My concern is that this lack of communication could repeat during my trip. Of course, life happens, and it’s possible the applicant faced unexpected difficulties, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.
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As a sitter, I usually reply within an hour or so. The only hiccup would be a significant time zone difference, but my reply would still happen within 24 hours.
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I agree, I’ve moved on
My take is that if you prefer to work with people who are responsive to messages, for example within 24 hours, that’s your preference for who you work best with. Stick with it, without judgement.
I’m somewhat new and learning the rhythm of applications & responses; my take is when it’s time to meet, don’t delay; when it’s time to choose a sitter/or for a sitter to accept, don’t delay. While Sitters may apply to a few sits at once, I think 24 hr response time is fair and keeps our THS environment chugging along. If someone needs a bit more time to figure logistics, they can communicate that.
The app is a little wonky but the message notification to the recipient seems to be within a few hours.
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In my experience, people who are interested in the sit generally respond within 24 hours. Maybe I’m wrong and something else is going on, but even if people are applying to multiple sits or waiting for one in particular to get back to them, if they are interested, they’ll get back quickly. 24 hours is enough to account for work, time zones, etc.
I just have found that people either won’t get back after that or replies will seem like they are putting off the whole thing eg “I am on a sit this week. Can we chat next week?” Like you are so busy with the sit you can’t chat?
I am in a location where I get unlimited applicants, so it’s easy for me to rule out and move on when I get those type of replies.
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They’re probably stalling, to see whether they can get a better sit.
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