Isn’t this about invitations, not responses to applications?
I pass on considering a lot of sits. These are ones I don’t consider.
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Super demanding HO posts. Literally they want a property Manager, Gardner, Housekeeper, Livestock farmer, etc. For free. I have a house. It’s not about staying in someone else’s.
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Bad reviews from sitters.
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Instructions not to leave a mature dog at all. This is an exchange. An uneven one.
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Expense of flight and rental car. Those costs have gone wayyyy up.
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Sits too short and too short notice are not of interest.
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Cats are not of interest. Unless they are outdoor or barn cats.
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Locations that are not of interest.
I feel,I opened a can of warm. I agree with everyone, it is starting to look we are getting taken advantage. Being somebody with over 50 sits all over the world, I hear a lot but it is free.
Trusted house sitter needs a new business model.
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I’d expect sits that ask too much to be self-correcting to a great degree. If it’s too demanding or onerous, presumably no one will apply, since sits are done voluntarily and without payment. And the best sitters have the most choice, including getting asked for repeat sits.
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My very first post 
: I’m well-aligned with you Deb! I got my first confirmed sit two months ago in the UK, and a second one a few weeks later, for June 2024. I’m hoping to spend 5-6 weeks in the UK. It is a big trip for me and requires a lot of planning! And I am in regular contact with my HOs via WA. (THS phone app is quite lame…website not so friendly either, at least for an elder 
)
One question: how quickly should a HO be expected to reply after receiving one’s application?
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Yes @Katie, yes I regularly receive invitations to sit without a message. Also the homeowner has obviously not read my profile or checked my calendar.
Personally I believe it is only polite to return an application call ASAP and that means within a couple hours at the latest. That also includes informing the ‘other four’ who were not successful. Some may come up with all sorts of reasons why it’s not possible to reply quickly but I have had many applications and many sitters and I always reply to everyone within a few hours. It’s called being polite! I’m not a sitter but if I were I would look very badly on a HO that didn’t reply quite quickly, in fact I would look elsewhere!
Hi @Sandi and congratulations on booking your first sits – and in the UK, how wonderful! Maybe my favorite place! I agree with @Ken . I expect to hear from the HO within a few hours of receiving my application. I will give it one to two days. After that, I am not hopeful and may move on and apply to others with the same dates. But with many new members, there are HO that are not versed on the way it should work and may not reply for many days or even weeks. It’s up to you at that point whether you want to wait on them or withdraw your application.
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Thank you, Snowbird ! Yes, I paused my listing for a couple of days while I overhaul the whole lot. Hope to reactivate it soon.
Good point about the heading !
Hi @Cecilia48, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sending invites to those who favorited your sit, or even to those who’s profiles you like even if they haven’t favorited your sit, as long as their profile states they are available. You may want to review their profile, & see if there is an accommodation you are comfortable making to insure their interest in your sit. For instance, if someone is only available for part of your sit, are you willing to allow two different sitters to cover your sit, with a sitter-hand-off mid sit? If the person is coming from out of the EU, and doesn’t have their own car, are there circumstances in which you would allow them to use your vehicle, even if limited? What about lending them the use of your bicycle? Are you willing to have a sitter with no chicken experience arrive a few days early so you can educate them on how to care for your feathered family members? Are you able to accommodate a sitter with kids or pets of their own? If in summer, the sitter you’re interested in is elderly, are you able to hire someone to mow your lawn during your absence, instead asking them to do it? I reviewed your page, & your place looks great (although I would put your 2nd posted photo, the one of the house with the garden in bloom as your cover shot. The cover pic you currently have, of the mountains in winter, while beautiful, looks like the the US mid-west, & you don’t want sitters scrolling past b/c they think your place is in Colorado), and your approach is friendly and generous. But if you’re concerned about a lack of applicants, perhaps state on your listing if there are any unstated amenities are open for discussion. Best if luck!
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A persons profile should cover just about everything you have mentioned, a car, children, ability of sitter, what is required etc. If it isn’t then the sitter should ask. Communication is the key.
There has, in other posts been mention of sitters not getting a sit, most seem to be short duration or in the next couple of weeks etc. Hardly surprising that they are not filled or popular. For my part I always ask for a sitter months ahead. For example I have sitter for next June and a sitter for this coming January that I asked for months ago. People are planning their holidays!
I doubt there is any shortage of sitters for those HO who plan well ahead. I would think also that sitters are looking to plan well ahead too. Short term sits, whilst many do them I can’t believe would be as popular as sits that people want several months in advance.
Until you have a few reviews you need to be patient with how quickly HO’s respond to your application, as they may hold out for a week or two in the hope that someone with reviews applies (that’s only natural), but if they didn’t reject your application it means you could be in with a good chance and they hopefully thought your profile sounded great… if only you had reviews to back it up (or on the downside maybe they are just slow at sorting stuff lol).
But after we had about 3 reviews, we completely changed our thinking because by that point people were accepting us quite quickly. We’re in the UK and within hours we typically get a positive personalised response/acceptance from those sits that are within a couple of hours drive from our home (as the HO will know that we’ll be handy for repeat sits). Plus if they responded quickly, it makes their sit even more desirable.
We’ve been doing this since March, but if a HO doesn’t at least respond to our application within a day or two (not accept, simply a personalised response), then I presume they may not have been completely certain about their dates, or perhaps drag their heals in life (which is no good for us) or maybe we just weren’t suitable for them, in which case I mentally move on.
The exception would be overseas sits, we give a lot more time for those, as I can understand they may be holding off for someone in their home country due to flight delays etc, but until your application gets rejected then you are in with a chance.
Hope that helps
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Welcome @Sandi. The best HO’s at least acknowledge your application within 24 hours. Many won’t and some will leave your application sitting for days, weeks or even months. As you get into 10 plus reviews you can withdrawn your application with a message saying I really liked your sit but I’ve not heard back from you so I’ve moved on. Or I’ve got another sit and let the HO know that I work on the basis of first sit offered and after a chat with HO I accept.
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Thanks Deb. Yes, very helpful.
If people aren’t sure of their dates, would they ever reply with that info?
I could see, especially with domestic sitting, that that might be a great opportunity to ‘negotiate’ a little IF it is a good “fit” between HO and sitter (?).
Thanks! I frequently DO state that I would like to have a face to face asap as I am very much a planner and want to be able to move on if not a good fit.
I also sometimes say that I understand if they may want to look at other options, but would like to have an idea of when they would make a decision.
Seems you Brits are much better at this than Americans. 
I am now going to withdraw some US requests!!! (I mainly applied to build up reverences—but I have 5 stellar references from outside THS, so I am not going to be as stressed about this as I was!).
Wow! A few hours! That adds a lot to my perspective! I was thinking 72 hours, with a little wiggle-room, given the time difference!
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I move on within a few days of application if I have not heard back from the HO and send a message letting the HO know I am withdrawing. One was very disappointed as apparently I was her choice. But I had plans to make and had made them. Agree that acknowledgement of an application is important.
Another I forgot to withdraw from contacted me two months after application and was surprised to hear that I was no longer available.
HO need to stay engaged while they are looking.
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Thanks so much. I would at least send another note as a courtesy, before withdrawing my application. Does that make sense?
I’m now thinking my notion of 72 hours for some contact is reasonable, and after a week, I might move on
It is reasonable to assume HO want a sitter confirmed asap. To keep an applicant waiting longer than a few hours is simply very bad manners. HO, and I am one, should understand that it is not just themselves that need a settlement but the sitter too. We all have plans to make and keeping someone waiting is extremely inconsiderate and selfish. I understand that everyone wants the best option possible but that wish shouldn’t transcend bad manners. Even a quick reply saying you are waiting is better than totally ignoring a request.
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HO’s ‘should’ pop a note in their profile to say their dates are approx so sitters know before they apply, or perhaps they are in a position to be a little more flexible with dates if they find the right sitter. However, some forget or simply don’t think of saying their dates are approx in their profile or presume the time to mention it is when they have found someone suitable, which obviously means the sitter is then put in a catch22 situation where they can’t plan ahead.