Even without the current test many times I’ve just finished typing my application and the listing has gone. I don’t know what sits I’ve missed when I was offline. It’s all about luck and being in the right place at the right time.
I can’t see the difference the test makes.
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@ElsieDownie yes a certain amount of luck comes in to play when applying but @Snowbird mentioned once you see a sit that already has say 10 plus applicants, which can reach this amount within hours, sitters could then still decide whether they wish to apply regardless of the applicant count.
With the pause system a sitter would be unable to apply for these sits unless the HO decides to re-release the listing so therefore the sit would most likely be unavailable to any sitters wishing to apply. As I pointed out earlier we were going to apply for a sit in Ko Samui but couldn’t do it at that particular moment but by the time we came back to apply it had already gone, now whether this was because of the pause system or whether they found suitable sitters within hours, we just do not know.
With the new system @Mary.Willmon stipulated with the sits that she wishes to apply for in France, she would have to be up in the middle of the night to see them come on and get her application in within the first 5. I understand that this will more than likely be the case for the sits that tend to be the most popular, we ourselves will now have to apply in the middle of the night for particular sits we would like to do on the West Coast of America, The Pacific Islands, Australia and the Far East.
That being said we are also choosing to be patient and watch this new system and await the outcome of the test.
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Hi @Amparo, sits that are currently inplace and /or sits with future confirmed dates are not visible. They only reappear as a listing with the “no sittere required” once all the sit dates are completed.
I listed 3 sits earlier this year, the last sit is coming up shortly. SInce I confirmed all 3 sits around Feb, my listing disappeared at that time and will not be visible again until early August.
No idea how many current and future sits there are where listings are not shown, but imagine there must be a large number of listings that sitters are not able to mark as favourite…
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Just discovered that about an hour ago. That does put a kink on things and interesting to learn. Thanks @Manunited
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The difference is when I came online I would see all available sits unless a house owner was especially swift in their decision process or had chosen to pause their sit after 5 applicants. The proposed pause removes that option if five people apply quickly. The opportunity to apply has been removed which has not been the situation in the past, something has changed.
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Crikey. Five applications? Wow. I’ve had two unsolicited applications at most in the past and expect to track down potential sitters and invite them. So what kind of sit attract multiple applications? Is it location, location, location?
For us personally it depends where we want to be and how cute your pets look in their pictures.
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Hi @Joandacat we had 19 applications in less than 24 hours for our beachside apartment, no pets sit in Queensland, Australia.
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Yes the White Horses of Wiltshire and Longleat forest are no competition for a beach in Australia smile 
Whatever anyone’s opinion on this new “test” is, with the amount of fees we are all paying I would expect to be in a position to apply for 100% of listings. If it is a popular listing then I want the right to compete with dozens of others.
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Question. I am looking for sits in the UK from 11-23 Sept and from 3 Oct on. I usually have several notifications that have come in by the time I wake around 0730 EDT. Today there were none.
Does anyone know if they came in but disappeared before I got to see them because they had already accrued five applications? I guess I’m going to have to set my clock so I wake up in the middle of the night. 
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@mars we noticed last night that two sits came on within an hour and a half from the previous time when we had last looked, (both in the States), and when we clicked on them they both said “ currently no sitter required”, so we are assuming they had both already reached the maximum of 5.
On another note we will also be setting our clocks to check for sits in the States/Canada, The Pacific Islands, Australia, South America and the Far East.
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@Samox24 It could also be an owner working with one of their previous sitters for a return sit. I know that’s the way owners have processed it, when I’ve done return sits.
I do recognize that your assumption might also be the reason. 
I’m one who would like to see the return of the messaging that a listing is paused for reviewing of applications. Yep, that’s on my wish list. 
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@Snowbird yes it would be very helpful to have the message re paused for reviewing applications, because at the moment there is no indication to say whether the sitter has been found or a maximum of 5 applicants has been received. 
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Thanks everyone for your continued feedback on this functionality and will take this opportunity to once again share the important and relevant point made by Ben in his post …
Enjoy your weekend and thank you.
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It is also unfortunate that this “test” covers the most busy weeks of the year in many countries.
@Ben-ProductManager had lots of feedback asking for a 24 hour delay and I cannot understand why that has been ignored
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This is totally new to me. I’ve read the FAQs linked in the post, but it’s all about ‘unpausing’. Why, and how, would I ‘pause’ applications?
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All this testing is interesting…but not too applicable for our situation, as we’re full timers and currently booked through June 2023. There seem to be valid opinions from both (all?) sides and it will gradually get sorted out. But…YES! Thanks for mentioning the availability calendar! I like to “heart” some wonderful looking sits to be notified of future dates. Often, when I do, I get an invitation from the Homeowner (usually newbies) offering us the sit! They don’t seem to know that there IS such a calendar on our profile page (I assume) or, if they’ve found it, how to read it!
@Vicki64Vito20 Some owners in high-demand locations, or who have particularly appealing listings for other reasons, can receive many applications in a short period of time. I know of owners who have chosen to pause listings after just a few hours. With many sitters choosing to get instant notifications on the app, response times can sometimes be speedy.
It can be daunting for an owner to be faced with 20+ applicants, for example. Some owners spend a considerable amount of time going through each application and sitter’s profile. Other times it just may be because something happens in the owner’s life that makes it so that they can’t attend to more applicants at that time.
Here are the instructions for pausing and unpausing a listing
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Hmmm. So THS decides to unburden poor pet owners from the daunting task of having to face 20+ applicants by letting sitters face the daunting task of applying for sits? Smart move.
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