I am new with no reviews yet but quite concerned that single sitters are at a disadvantage on this app. So far, after about 40 applications I’ve only got two sits. That’s 5 percent success. Of course this is dependent on many things but other than being single and over 60 and not having any reviews yet I have stellar references and have applied in North America and Europe including England. Let me also say I am quite wealthy so can afford any hotel I want. I make it clear I am a nomad worker (with links to my business pages) and most interested in having pets around and in a non-touristy atmosphere. I don’t sightsee anymore. Is it my age, being single, or a lack of reviews? It just seems like I’ve wasted an enormous amount of time and energy so far. Anyone also a single senior with better responses?
I am a solo sitter and over 60 and I am booked up a year ahead. It is hard to start with, you would be better to do more local or last minute sits and build up your reviews so you are more likely to be choosen. Don’t give up but think about it from an owners point of view if you had a choice of sitters with lots of positive reviews or someone with a couple who are you going to choose. Most people are going to go with the person with lots of experience. The best places have lots of competition and are extremely popular
With each host getting up to five applicants, surely Five for the desirable locations - it is simple mathematics that the majority of applicants will be declined. Choosing between two sitters where one has THS-reviews and the other hasn’t - who would you choose as a host?
With reviews however, it seems like one can apply for quite a lot of sits where solo female is stated as required or preferred. So as @Chrissy says - focus on getting reviews first. The short sits (a night, a weekend) have fewer applicants. For the local sits one can also offer to meet in person pre-confirmation or pre-sit which can be an advantage. As a new sitter I used that approach and got 4 reviews within a couple of months.
I’m in my 50s and sit in the U.S. and U.K. I’ve done 19 sits over about 18 months and didn’t have trouble getting started and don’t find it a problem to be a solo sitter. Solo women who are older actually get benefit of doubt, I find.
The key thing is to put together your profile and photos in ways that show (rather than tell) that you’re someone who can be trusted with someone’s pets and home.
If you’ve had a good career, consider adding your LinkedIn URL, because people who are responsible tend to be that way in life and work, not just with pets.
Don’t mention your wealth in your profile or application, because that might put some people off. Many hosts want sitters they can relate to, as well as trust with their pets and home.
For context: It’s easier than ever to get sits, because THS has been growing disproportionately — more sits than sitters. You can tell by how many sits get low applications and by hosts who complain that they get few or no applicants vs. in years past.
Personally, I started getting sits right away, without a single reference. And I didn’t have a long history with pets, though I’ve had a rescue dog with special needs for the past five+ years.
I just focused on optimizing my sitter profile and applications with hosts’ priorities and concerns in mind. That not only helped me get sits across the U.S. and in the U.K., I also started getting unsolicited invites right away. And when I tried out Nomador, I just recycled my THS profile and got invites as well, including unsolicited ones. (I abandoned that account after a year, because Nomador is janky and the hosts are more unreliable.)
In my opinion, it’s because you have no focus. Make your immediate focus reviews… you just need a few under your belt! 40 applications, N/America, Europe, England… would you hand over the keys to your home and your loved pet to a complete stranger from overseas?
You need to give owners some assurance, and that means building up a few reviews. Ask yourself why someone overseas would give you a sit when you don’t have any reviews to say you’ll turn up when you say you will… then, ask yourself why someone just 2 hours away would give you a sit when you have no reviews to say you’ll turn up when you will, they are way less likely. It only took 3 reviews for everything to change for us, so as you have no reviews, you will have a higher success rate with local sits, so look on your doorstep, and last minute sits.
There are plenty of sits that prefer single sitters, where the owners themselves are single and so they want to keep things the same for their pets, but we sit as a couple. I have no idea but I would imagine you are less likely to get a sit with two or more dogs, or huge homes as they typically require extra time to look after. In fact, in the areas where we sit, we see owners asking specifically for single sitters, more than we see them asking specifically for couples. But most owners in general are open to see who applies first, rather than specifying.
The fact you are self sufficient money wise helps, but there are quite a number of sitters on THS have a passive income so that isn’t a USP but it helps, but don’t mention the word ‘wealth’ or ‘wealthy’ that’s a real turn off.
Your age is NOT a factor, we’re in our 50’s and 60’s and owners see that as a huge benefit for loads of reasons, we’re fully booked way in advance.
Your sitter link on the forum isn’t right, so you need to add the correct link, because it could be the way you’ve worded your profile too.
I’m American and didn’t focus on local sits when starting out. Within a month of signing up, I landed my first U.K. sit and within three months I landed one in London. Before those rolled up, I did several sits in coastal U.S. cities, across the country from my home. I mention that, because if your profile is optimized so that hosts sense that they can trust you, that’s the most important thing to getting bites.
It also works in your favor if you’ve owned homes and if you telecommute from sits. And tell them why you want to sit there in particular when you apply.
From my perspective as a HO; our first sitters were couples but our last was a single woman with no reviews really, only her housemate which although positive, wasn’t glowing, and I have another single person (male with no reviews) sitting next year. I think actually, I’d rather a woman and I don’t care whether she’s single or a couple as long as the video or meeting goes well. As it’s been suggested, get a couple of local sits. There must be HO’s as new as you nearby? We also want reviews. Good luck.
Welcome @lollykaiser two sits already confirmed before you have any references is a great start.
As soon as you get reviews from those two sits - you’ll have no problem securing some more .
You can expect to continue to get rejections ( or more accurately “not be chosen” ) as only one sitter can be chosen for each set of dates and for popular sits at least 5 sitters will have applied so 4 are not chosen .
Last minute sits are a good way to get some good sits and then good reviews quickly.
It is your lack of reviews. If you are willing to do Christmas sits, those are the easiest ones to get. After six applications, I got my first sit in Brussels around Christmas 2022. And after that first review, it became much easier.
And HOs are a bit suspicious that sitters from overseas maybe won’t show up. So I sent my first UK HOs a copy of my ferry ticket.
Welcome @lollykaiser
Single male sitter here with 23 sits to my name. When I started it took me 23 applications to get my first sit and I’d often get overlooked for popular sit locations until I got 10-12 5 * reviews. Of course some HO’s prefer couples, females, younger or older sitters but that’s life.
Keep applying and build up your reviews.
Hi @lollykaiser
Welcome to the Forum!
Just to be clear, you have no reviews, but you have completed two sits? If you have completed two sits, but have no reviews, HOs may see this as a red flag and wonder why you were not given reviews.
I travel as a solo sitter and started with only one reference, a hope, and a prayer. For my first sit, I applied locally to care for a dog and was accepted. My dog had recently passed away the month prior and I was so grateful that the HO gave me a chance to care for his dog.
That HO invited me back twice more which help to build my profile to show that I was reliable, trustworthy, kind, and caring. Sure, I have had some of my applications declined, but I have had more acceptances than declines and have completed nearly 40 sits.
I also get the random invites which I have yet to accept. I am U.S. based and even had someone from France contact me to look after her cat. And I was thinking, are there no available sitters in France? 
What do you say in your applications? When I applied for my first sit, I stated that “I was grateful to apply and although I am new to TrustedHousesitters, my love for animals is not as my love for animals began at a young age”. “And furthermore, I would love the opportunity to share my love of animals with (dog’s name). You will not be disappointed to leave (dog’s name) and home in my care.”
Do your “stellar references” mention your caring for animals? You have to sell yourself and mention any experience you have in caring for animals.
You mention being wealthy and linking your business pages, but how will that translate in caring for the HOs’ pets / homes?
Does your profile convey that the HOs pets will be your priority? Do you have photos of you caring for and engaging with pets?
Your lack of responses may not be so much that you are a senior single / no reviews. Potentially your lack of responses could be based on how your applications and / or your profile are written.
I’m over 60. While I usually sit with my spouse, I sometimes sit solo. I’m also a pet parent, and more than half our sits were covered by solo travelers. (In one case someone applied with a partner, but the partner couldn’t make it. In another case someone applied solo, but wanted to add a partner.)
For me, getting the first ist was easy, but I think this had to do with linking to my pet parent page.
Lack of reviews might be an issue in your numbers, but if you are applying to sits in popular locations, those are always going to be competitive. It’s also possible that there is something in your applications or on your profile that could be improved. You could link in the forum to you your profile and/or put out a copy of a typical application and people could offer advice.
I believe that the LinkedIn link did help me to get my first sits. It just helps to show that one is a normal person with a real life. Not only some anonymous account.
Solo sitter here! I have been house sitting for 6 years and have completed upwards of 30 sits, several on this site. I haven’t found being a solo sitter to be an impediment at all, other than on one occasion when the HO opted for a couple for a long-term sit, but extended an invitation to sit for them the following year.
I was talking to a home owner yesterday who noted how many more sitters/ applications they get nowadays, having been on the site for 12 years. I definitely sense that competition for sits is increasing, so it was great to get their perspective. For a new sitter like you, this means you are potentially up against people with multiple 5* reviews and so it can be difficult to hit the ground running. A couple of local sits under your belt and glowing reviews will make this easier.
Presumably you mention your wealth because that shows you are not reliant on sits for accommodation and can easily afford alternatives, which is a great thing. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to put this on your profile, however.
That could be helpful in securing sits; however, it does not seem to be helpful for the OP who has submitted approximately over 40 applications with a low success rate. So for the OP having business links in his/her profile, does not translate to securing sits at a high rate of sits thus far.
I have my airbnb link attached to my profile—to show that I am respectful of other people’s properties and I leave their places clean. For potential and future HOs, that provides useful information that I will do the same at their homes.
Hey @lollykaiser 
I’m also a solo sitter, in my late 50’s and a nomad. I started house sitting 2.5 years ago and my first sit was in Croatia, my second in Albania - I’m a Brit.
I have found it relatively easy to get sits as a solo sitter. I have links to my airbnb profile (loads of 5 star reviews), and talk about my job and nomadic life in my profile (lots of home owners have found that to be fascinating and want to know more, so it’s a good conversation opener). I also use the word ‘mature’ when I describe myself, which I think home owners appreciate - it has connotations of reliable, non-partying and responsible (which I am!).
Just keep applying. Last minute sits might be a good bet, as they will get your foot in the door so to speak.
Good luck! And many happy travels!
58 and a solo sitter. I get invited to sits weekly so I’m going to assume its not your age. It could be your profile, look at it from a home owners perspective and tweak as necessary. Good luck, I’m sure you’ll do fine once you get some under your belt.
My home is in Mexico where there are no short sits so this approach is difficult. But thanks
I absolutely won’t accept US sits or even enter the country.
If you’re limited by few sits in Mexico and won’t sit in the U.S., maybe pursue last-minute sits and see what you can get. If you’re wealthy, you can afford last-minute travel to help you build reviews. Otherwise, just see what you can get and build up more slowly. To @pietkuip’s point, holiday sits are relatively easy to get, because they’re plentiful. Many probably will go unfilled.
If you don’t get many bites despite applying for a number of holiday sits, by process of elimination it’s probably your application and/or sitter profile that needs improving.
BTW, maybe try Nomador. There are many French sits on there and a smattering otherwise. Like I got unsolicited offers there even though I applied to only a few sits elsewhere.