Have a look in the sit and then at feedback & sitters and see what they say (or not) about the sit and the owners 
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You can only see missing references in the app. There you might also read what these HOs wrote about previous sitters.
THS does not show missing references in its web interface.
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I do see the (1) feedback, but donât see where to see that 4 previous sitters hadnât reviewed.
I just noticed another red flag: That review mentioned that they had several video chats during the stay. They were only there a week. That seems pretty excessive and sort of intrusive.
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@Varinia the missing reviews can only be seen on the app swipe right to left and youâll see the sitter and date they sat and in this case no review underneath.
To be fair in this case the 4 of the missing reviews are from sitters that did repeat sits so canât they have found it to be too awful , if they went back ? Unless they had already committed to the second sit before undertaking the first ?
Out of interest was your application written in German ?
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Several video chats in a week sounds way too intrusive I agree. It looks like there were three sitters with no reviews and one did two back to back sits as @Silversitters says so maybe they were fine. Anyway, allâs well that ends well as you donât have to go & you know how & where to check out feedback from sitters too now. Sometimes the devils in the detail as they say. #winwin 
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@Varinia I also canât help but notice, the HOâs didnât leave reviews for the two sitters who didnât leave feedback. They only left feedback for the latest sitters. Maybe they didnât know about reviewsâŚwho knows. I guess itâs time to let it go 
Something better will come up, where you will be appreciated for who you are.
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ďżź Silversitters
20 August
@Varinia the missing reviews can only be seen on the appTo be fair in this case the missing reviews are from sitters that did repeat sits so canât they have found it to be too awful , if they went back ? Unless they had already committed to the second sit before undertaking the first ?
Out of interest was your application written in German ?
Yes, i wrote in German, since that was important to them.
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I am both a home owner and a sitter and received a rejection today that was thought-provoking: the homeowner never hires anyone who has to fly to reach their home. Being a current resident of the US means I pretty much have to fly anywhere, so that was good to know. And I get why they want to do their part to cut carbon emissions, so hey, good for themâI wish I lived somewhere so public transit smart, too!
What I am saying is, sometimes the home ownersâ reasons for rejection will be completely useless in terms of feedback because you are not selected entirely based on something outside of your control.
When a homeowner doesnât respond to me at all, I know they are 1. too busy to explain, 2. stuck figuring out how to use the confusing site/app, 3. not a good match for me anyway (and they smartly called it before I realized) or 4. working in HR and know how turning people down for a job turns into a quagmire of hurt feelings.
When I, as a homeowner, donât respond to an application (which I like to think is rare, because I do aim to send notes), it is usually due to 2, above. The site is clunky and the app is constantly frozen. Patience for those who struggle with the poor UX.
On to the next application!
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Hi @cherylfah you are very correct, of course, sometimes it has nothing to do with the applicant!
For the ânon-fly-requirementâ, as much as I want to believe itâs to cut carbon emissions, I really think itâs more to do with the fact that flights bring their own uncertainty, especially if people are cutting it too close and thereâs a missed or cancelled flight. It makes life so much harder, and perhaps they donât want to deal with that uncertainty.
I would think that flying sitters are more reliable, certainly when they can show that they bought the tickets.
When I was hosting couchsurfers, I liked the reliability of air travellers. In rare cases that flights were delayed, I could see that on the airport website. It was much easier to schedule my last-minute cleaning than for cyclists, hitchhikers, etc that could show up at any moment. Train travellers could have huge delays.
If someone doesnât want flying sitters, better if they declare that in their listings â saves everyone time.
Iâve just flown from the U.S. for my second U.K. sit, which will be followed by a third Iâve booked. Iâve also flown for all of my U.S. sits.
I like to arrive a day ahead, in case of delays. And so I can learn the kind of pet care and home care Iâll be doing. In this case, I just had lunch with lovely HOs and met their sweet, beloved cat.
Just a questionâŚif I responded to a review, who would be able to see it? I would want other people who consider me to know my side of what happened, but I donât really want to get into it with the HO.
@GAThrawn Both the homeowner and future sitters would see it - but you would have the final word as the HO canât respond to your response.
@GAThrawn everybody who reads the review will see your response. Same as if a host responds to your feedback everyone will be able see it. Neither side can respond further.
After receiving the five applications and selecting which one from the five I would like to âsitâ I always send a message to the remaining four thanking them for applying even though I know they have been âautomaticallyâ declined. Courtesy costs nothing and they had gone to the trouble of making an application to sit after all!
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Hi @Ken - as a sitter I always appreciate a personal message.
Do you realise that if any of the first five are not a good match you can decline them and unpause your listing to allow more sitters to apply?
I was aware that I could, in effect, ask for another five though to be honest I wouldnât have known how to do it!!! In any event it has never been necessary as , invariably, some of those I have had to disappoint would have been as welcome as the one selected. Quite often it is a hard choice.
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That is great news @Ken
Many members are still unaware of the change.
I am sure someone will come along with a link to show you how to unpause your listing (just in case you ever need to).
@Twitcher Voila!
Maybe Iâm slightly different to most in asking for sitters. I post my dates, start receiving applications almost immediately. I start to review them immediately, each one as it comes in. Once the five is reached I will have reviewed them and made my choice. Within the space of a couple of hours, maybe less, I will have written to the one chosen as well as confirmed it asking them to do the same. I will also have written to the other four in the same time span. As I say, I think perhaps not many people act as I do. My reasoning is that it is courteous to reply as quickly as possible and not keep people hanging on!
I doubt I would ever reject all five applicants, itâs hardly conceivable that five different applicants would be unsuitable. That is why I doubt I would ever use the facility to find another five. It simply makes sense that in asking for sitters the HO spells out the dates and requirements and the sitters see what is required. Only those meeting the requirements would, or should, apply.
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