Hi there, I posted a sit yesterday morning for November and have not as yet had a single applicant, which surprised me when I had 6 applicants in a few hours when I last posted a sit,…so my question to sitters is, do you apply for sits that have been advertised for awhile, or only newly posted sits? I know it’s awhile away, and I wondered if that’s preventing people applying, is it too early, should I just sit tight for now or delete it and repost nearer the time? We’re new to this so any insights from a sitters prospective would be welcome…
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I have no issue with applying to “older” sits (and 1 day isn’t really older…) but never apply to one that has 4-7 applicants or more.
Which country are you in? Is it urban or rural?
Oh, I see you’re in England. Is it dogs, cats, farm animals? We’re looking for an English sit but need cats as we’ll have to isolate.
Hi Myhnabird, Thanks for your reply, we have dogs only…semi-rural…
I have just cancelled my application for a sitting in July, I applied 10 days ago on the same day it was posted, it was read on the same day and I have not any response of any sort. (its showing 4-7 applications)
Judging by the number of sittings now coming onstream I suspect demand will soon outstrip supply of sitters.
A word of advice to HO might be to at least acknowledge your applications if you want them to hang around.
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Hi Martin,
I totally agree, I always reply to any applications or messages, I would consider it rude not to if someone has taken the trouble to apply/ message me.
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We normally apply straight away for any sits we are interested in, regardless of how far in advance they are. We look at the number of applicants before applying. It may be that sitters like us are not applying for UK sits in the autumn in the tentative hope that by then we may be able to sit abroad
Hi Folder13
My experience so far is that about 75% of HO acknowledge an application within 2-4 days having read it which is absolutely perfect.
Others take a little longer 5-9 days by which time as a sitter I’m assuming they are probably not interested but I still hang in there.
By day 10 I’m backing out. (like today)
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Hi @Foldor13, as a result of the pandemic, since last year, sitters are only receiving a weekly email on a Wednesday with advertised listings instead of two daily emails. This could well be why you have not received any applications straight away. However, there are many of us sitters who check new listings daily so hopefully you will receive applications very soon.
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I use the THS app and have multiple searches saved so I get a notification if a new sit is posted. Some of my searches are for specific locations and some are for specific time frames, one of my time frames is the months of October and November in the United States. When I get notified I try to apply right away and keep an eye on how many other people apply as well. If my message has been read and I haven’t received a response in a week or so, I usually cancel my application.
Maybe give your listing three or four weeks and see what happens.
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Wow 7 days? … I thought I was perhaps being too hasty at 10 days… seems not 
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I lose interest if my application has not been read within 24 hours.
If I don’t receive a reply within 48 hours, I have definitely lost interest!
Most of my sittings have been agreed within that timescale
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I used to wait longer but found that a read message with no acknowledgement usually means they are not interested.
If the homeowner replies with a “I’m reviewing applications and will get back to you” I’m happy to wait.
I applied for a last minute sit recently and after seeing that the message was read and not receiving a response I canceled my application. I always send a polite message wishing the homeowner well, when I cancel. The homeowner got in touch with me right away and apologized for not getting back to me. She asked if we could please reconsider and we did. It was a quick weekend sit in Northern Michigan and we had good fun with the animals.
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Hi. I’m ( Welsh-born woman) living in Canada and we’re still very much affected by pandemic restrictions. I’m hesitant to confirm any bookings unless I can be absolutely sure I can be there. I haven’t done a sit since just before the pandemic was declared, whereas I previously did a few sits each year. Perhaps this might be the case for others too. One person’s comment about the new listings now being weekly is certainly a factor too. I think it may still be early days for you, as far as people applying. I wish you well in finding a good fit for your needs.
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Hi @Snowbird and welcome to the forum! I’m in the same boat as you - well, born very close to Wales (Chester), living in Canada 
I was also previously doing a few sits a year but stopped last March. Can’t wait to get back to it, and I am sure homeowners will see much more demand for their sits as we all get back to traveling.
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HI @Snowbird welcome to our community forum and connecting with other members, amazing what many of us have found that we have in common … I’m a “Born in Britain, Made In Canada” …
Thank you for briefly updating on the COVID situation where you are conditions differ so widely from country to country, and Province to Province. Travel confidence is returning for many and we are seeing an encouraging growth in listings which translates to owner members feeling the time is right for travel.
The priority of course is keeping safe and managing our pet and housesitting travel in the best way possible. The forum is a great resource for support, help and sharing advice enjoy making great connections and thank you for joining.
Angela & The Team
Like another sitter said here, if the sit already has between 4 to 7 applications, I don’t bother. I might be the best fit, but I walk away … unless it’s to sit a cavalier king charles spaniel, about which I know a lot. If the HO hasn’t chosen their sitter after about 7 days, I message them again and tell them I have accepted an alternative sit which cuts across their dates. So I agree, if HOs want their best sitter, then they should snap up the early ones!
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I’m going to need a sitter too for probably the whole of November, but still in the middle of this Corona situation it is a bit hard to plan, for
myself as well as for the sitter himself, so I’ll wait until it will become a bit clearer in which direction we are going before I start looking.
I appreciate having upcoming sits posted as soon as possible. We are going to Japan in November and Portugal in Sept 2022. I already have searches set up for those dates because my availability is very specific.
You will get a lot more applications as it gets closer for people who are happy to go wherever there is an opening but by posting it earlier, I think you will get people who are already committed to that destination and want time to make plans.
You can always repost it closer to the time, if you haven’t found the person who did your needs.
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As a house sitter, I think possibly this pandemic has drastically changed the way we respond in terms of timing. I don’t know if we’ll still be able to cross borders by November. Having said that, you may just want to give it a bit more time. Best of luck!
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Thanks everyone for your replies, it is interesting to get a sitters view… I would always prefer to go for quality over quantity and if the right person is the only person to reply then that’s fine by me! I’ve got a couple of Zoom meetings set up for when we get home this weekend, so hopefully will be sorted by next week…
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