I’ve applied to two sits recently where I sent a personalized message and was declined without any return message. This isn’t the first time this has happened and I don’t take it personally, but I am unlikely to reapply to HOs who do this as it shows a lack of common courtesy and respect for my time and effort.
My question is do HOs get the same prompts sitters do when messaging? When I apply to sit, the app encourages me to spend time on my communication, and when I decline an invitation to sit, the app encourages me to send a message as well.
Ultimately, it’s up to the HO to message, and one would hope the majority would voluntarily take a minute to copy and paste a “thank you for applying” response to a max of 4 applicants. But this kind of lack of communication is so common and obviously a sore point given other past posts here in the forum, and I find myself wondering if THS actually encourages respect both ways.
@Bay. This is one topic that has been raised many times on the forum!! You are not alone! Just search the spyglass to read other threads in relation to this.
Yes, I am a homeowner and the app asks me if I would like to send a message with the Decline. I am relatively new and now understand how important it is to give a sitter a reason for a decline and I do so. I did not do this religiously initially though, as I didnt know better. After putting effort into learning ore tips and how-to on this forum and a THS Member FB page (not run by THS but rather a user) i have learned so much helpful info to have successful sits for both ends of owner/sitter. It amazes me the insider tips i have garnered in a couple of weeks. Thanks to all.
Well you know by now that inviting sitters isn’t the way to do things. Although I would always reply if I was invited I rarely do, but some sitters get lots of invitations so probably get fed up!
As a host, I always write a thank you with a reason when I decline an individual sitter. However, if I invite an applicant who then accepts the invite, all the other applicants are automatically and immediately declined by THS with a curt “better luck next time” message. That seems rude to me so we message the applicants who are NOT being invited before extending the invite. We risk the invitation being declined and other applicants not wanting to be second choice. So it’s either take a risk or risk seeming rude.
When a homeowner declines a sit but still hasn’t chosen a sitter, they get no instruction from the system. When a homeowner chooses a sitter but still has active applications, they get a message that they don’t need to send a message but the applicatants will be notified they didn’t get the sit.
When a hosts confirms a sitter , no message is sent at this stage because the sit still has to be accepted by the sitter before it becomes official ( “confirmed” on the dashboard for both parties )
When the sitter hits the “accept “ button system generated decline messages go out to the other applicants at that stage.
The host doesn’t know exactly when this will happen - the sitter may hit “accept “ straightaway or days later ( it could at any time - early in the morning or middle of the night ) or they may not accept the sit and hit “decline “ .
So in this case the host doesn’t know when that system generated message will go to the other sitters .
If there is some uncertainty around if the sitter they have chosen is going to accept the sit, they wisely do not decline other suitable applications so don’t send a personal message out .
Thank you for the information from your perspective. And I applaud your efforts to become a more knowledgeable and thoughtful user! Much appreciated and will pay dividends for you as well.
Thank you for the info! I did just see that when a HO accepts an application, the other applications are automatically declined. Would you happen to know if HOs are prompted to communicate in that situation?
Hi, yes, I did look before posting! Not to say it’s not there somewhere, but I didn’t find the answer to my question, so I decided to ask here. It was answered by two other members, which I appreciated. I’m still curious about what happens when a HO accepts an application, whether the system automatically declines all the other applications without prompting them to message. I tried asking that as a follow-up here but my comment has been awaiting approval for the last 6 hours!
@Silversitters has probably described best what happens @Bay. That automatic decline message is triggered at the final stage when a sitter Agrees to the Sit. Many hosts don’t realise this happens. Usually I give hosts the opportunity to message other applicants before I press Agree which they appreciate. Hosts do receive a prompt as @Crookie says but are not obliged to send a message.
No idea what THS says about it, but for me, as a HO, it’s absolutely obvious that I send a message to explain why I’ve declined an application. The applicant puts time and effort in an application and deserves a serious reply. The only exception I sometimes make is when the application shows the applicant did not read the entire listing and is a single sitter, while we explicitely ask for a couple. That happens more than you can imagine.
As I remember it I got caught out the first time we accepted a sitter as the others were declined by THS before I got a chance to contact them. Now I contact them individually first and say we are going with someone else this time but thanks etc before the system has time to make me look rude!
Hosts do not receive any prompt during the Invite sitter/Sitter accepts sequence. Decline messages are automated. Hosts are not told beforehand that applicants will be declined en mass; I only learned that detail on this forum in other threads where sitters wondered why hosts were being so “rude”.
With the 5 applicant limit, sitters don’t really have time to read a whole listing before applying. It makes sense that sitters apply first, read later and then decide to withdraw or move forward. Unintended consequences.
Thank you for explaining this. It’s a shame it’s not more readily apparent to both HOs and sitters that this is the chain of events, I think it would be helpful for avoiding bad vibes.
I agree with you and as a sitter, I appreciate the courtesy. I know that when I receive an invitation to sit, which is often just an impersonal mass invite, I still reply personally to decline. And then sometimes hear nothing in return! Different strokes for different folks, but on the bright side, it does help to know who you are more suited to working with.
It’s too bad sitters don’t always read your listing thoroughly before applying, and I can see how that would be frustrating. I will say that with the 5 applicant cap, there is sometimes a pretty strong time pressure to get an application in quickly, so that could be a factor in some cases.
