@Lokstar you make a great point. A HO recently said they rejected the first 5 applicants as they wanted to see what other sitters would apply. Not sure if they just kept rejecting the 5 until they ran out of applicants then reached out to their preferred sitters or not? Anyway as a sitter this process to me is going to lead to a lot of confusion and some less than happy applicants.
BTW I do hate it when a HO can’t be bothered to respond to the rejected 4 other sit applicants with even ‘sorry went with another sitter but thanks for applying’.
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Thanks, good advice. The thing is, all three of the applicants I’m speaking about have a lot of reviews. If they didn’t I think I’d be more inclined to give them advice, but, since they’re experienced with lots of feedback, their approach is working for them and it’s not my place to suggest otherwise. I’ve had nine applicants and four look promising, I’m talking with two today. So, all is good.
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Hi there,
I’ve been on three sits so far, and i’ve been applying for some others, and often owners don’t even reply to your application, but you just see the “declined” message pop up.
Is that normal? Seems like a small trouble to have some interaction right? Maybe its me, what do you guys think?
Not uncommon in my experience.
That’s how I get declined most of the time. No explanation or reason.
Most applications get declined. Some polite phrases don’t matter to me. It is more important to get a reply within a short time.
Im a newbie too and think its just common courtesy to send a brief message. Ive not been on a sit yet, but have 3 confirmed. I had 3 invites that I couldn’t do so I sent lengthy messages thanking the HOs for the invite, explaining why I couldn’t on this occasion but that I would love to in the future.
One of my 1st applications hasn’t replied at all or declined-I think he is waiting for more applicants, but again a brief note of acknowledgement would be so appreciated 
I agree with @pietkuip , having a speedy answer both ways would really help so that other plans could be made.
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It’s common and rude.
As a homeowner, I reply to all applicants withing 24 hours at most, more likely under 4 hours. As a sitter, I’ve started withdrawing applications to HOs who don’t reply within a certain time (the time frame depends on how soon the sit is) and telling them that I’m withdrawing because my application was not acknowledged. Occasionally they apologize, but not often.
As a HO, while I try to send a personal decline message the majority of the time, I don’t always.
If I write a message to apologise for not choosing a sitter, I would never say why they haven’t been chosen. While I can absolutely see how feedback is useful, not everyone has the maturity to deal with feedback.
I agree a “Sorry you haven’t been chosen this time” one liner is easy to write but it’s also very impersonal and no better than the automated message. So, for the sake of good manners and time, the HO tries to construct a nice response to send to all the applicants, which ironically is also impersonal because it’s a copy and paste, but it ends up in lots more communication with declined applicants that want to know “why” they were rejected.
Look at this from the HO’s point of view - as a sitter you’ve spent an hour constructing your email, but then the HO has spent time reading your application and the other applications, identifying the right sitter from applications, and ensuring everything works for both parties. I then have to send a nice message back to the declined applicants, and then also deal with potentially multiple conversations about why they were declined.
It’s all very time consuming when you have a full time job, and I’d rather spend my spare time cleaning and maintaining my house, so when my sitters come to stay they have a clean and comfortable home to stay in. 
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@jolerrs Isn’t there a max of 5 applications to respond to, or have I misunderstood the process?
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@MarieHuggins If the owner declines the ones that are clearly not suitable as they come, the applications keep coming. That way we received 9 applications, before I paused the listing.
@CatsAndDog oh, I didn’t realise that. Could you explain more?
Applications come one by one. The listing stays open until it has 5 applications. HO gets a notification of each. If HO declines the ones, that are clearly not a match, they can receive new ones until the 5 applications limit. Or, they can decline the unsuitable ones, and unpause the listing to get more applicants. Hope this was helpful, @MarieHuggins
I don’t find it to be a lot of work to write simple messages to applicants (a) acknowledging their applications and (b) declining them later. The first message is something like 'Thanks for your applications. I will be in touch again soon." and the second is “Thanks for your application. I have chosen a sitter and wish you good luck on your house-sitting journey” I might change that to say " I hope you consider applying for future sits at my house" assuming that I’d like them to apply later.
I’ve never had a sitter want to engage in further communications about why they were declined.
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@CatsAndDog yes, thank you 
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Hi @jolerrs Personally I feel that if you have time to read my application and profile you also have time to send a quick acknowledgement of receipt and (later if necessary) a short message with a decline as @lassie also mentioned. Its just the polite and respectful thing to do. Everybody is busy but that’s not an excuse to skip common courtesy. If I receive a personal message with a decline that’s already enough! Plenty of hosts don’t bother & just click decline. Its a little abrubt- don’t forget there is someone at the other end who has feelings and who reached out to you to offer their services! Sometimes a lot of time & effort was involved in getting to the point of applying. I would never pursue a host as to reason for a decline. I know we are great sitters but we might not be the right match for them at that time, for all sorts of reasons! We just accept that and move on.
A few months ago I complained to a host for just clicking decline. It was a sit we were particularly keen on and had made an extra effort for with our application. They were mortified that we’d received an automated decline when they comfirmed their chosen one and that they’d inadvertantly offended us. They said they dadn’t actively declined us, just they’d chosen a sitter who happened to be nearer to them at that time (we were still on the other side of the world when we applied) This led to a lovely interaction and the following week an invitation to sit at a later date! Which is coming up very soon! We are really looking forward to it!
Also if a host invites us, which they frequently do, I always respond personally even if the message is clearly cut & pasted to many. I even send a short note if they have only sent an invite with no note! I just like to be polite & everyone appreciates a little acknowledgement! It costs nothing!
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A good thing to do is create a couple of replies in your notes on your phone. Then copy and paste a stock response. That saves time and energy. Just a quick couple sentence decline as mentioned before. You don’t have to and not obliged to. But If it feels right then yes that’s an easy way to do it.
Have some presaged in notes or a document. No need to create every time.
@Silverfox: It’s just so great the way human ingenuity will win out against obstacles. When the rule that must not be mentioned started, I thought to myself (as a sitter) “I know, I’ll send an application which is just a message to express interest and then I can open a dialogue for the future”. I thought I was very clever! Now this ploy is all over the forum and is successfully undermining the policy from the sitter’s angle. I never gave a thought to the HOs who also despise the system but now I see what ingenious owners have been doing.
The phrase “there is more than one way to skin a cat” is not only horrendous but particularly inappropriate for this forum, however, the sentiment holds true. Where there’s a will….
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I have also had this issue. I am homeless and can’t afford hotels anymore so this platform is a great way to help with that while making sure the HO’s furbabies are cared for. I have had at least 10 sits declined this week alone with no reply, some of them last-minute sits and some of them reposted the application after declining me. I am really nice in what I say and I make sure to convey that I am certified in pet first aid as well as veterinary medicine. I know I have barely any sits to my name but you have to start somewhere. What am I doing wrong?
You have a single-star review.
It might help you to write a response, but that would require very careful work.
It is probably easier to let your membership expire, and start over with a clean slate.