Hello folks,
Brand new to the site and just listed a sit for a little under a month from now. Very excited as a neighbor of ours used the site to get a sitter in less then a week’s time and she had 3 people apply. I listed my house on Thursday and only had 1 person apply. We went back and forth a bit and we approved it but she hasn’t confirmed. My neighbor made this seem so easy and it seems like nobody is interested in our house. We only have a dog and plants that need to be watered. Any suggestions on what I should do? Should I just sit on it or start reaching out to sitters individually? At a loss here and was hoping it would be a smooth process.
Hello there and firstly a very big welcome from the TrustedHousesitters team. Secondly, know that we are here to help you and so are our fantastic members who I’m sure will pass on some superb tips and advice.
You are right to be excited because this is a fabulous service, but this week has been exceptional in the number of sits posted because of all the easing of restrictions. It’s been a record week I believe for the US and the UK and so it might, as @anon36831737 says, just take a little longer to get responses.
A month is a long time so please don’t give up hope. I’m not sure where you are based but if it’s the UK or US then it’s also a big holiday weekend which might also affect applicants. Give it a few more days and if you haven’t had more responses let us know and we’ll see what else we can do to help you.
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Thank you! I’m based in Philly in the US so I’ll just be a bit more patient. This gives me hope and eases my anxiety a bit
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I’m pleased… and you may have seen this, but if not have a read of our blog post about creating the perfect owner listing:
You might pick up some tips here, but as I say stay in touch, see what others suggest, and let us know how things are panning out in a few days time. Take care and have a lovely weekend.
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Thank you! Will see if there is anything I can do to spruce it up a bit
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Also, just a random ask, but do messages get delayed when they are sent? I’m a bit confused by the messaging system on here. I send a message and it looks like it won’t be delivered for a bit?
Since you already accepted her, I would wait until the holiday weekend is over and if you have not gotten a confirmation, contact the sitter directly to see if there is an unresolved issue or what is delaying the decision. If the sitter does not confirm or tell you that they will decide by the end of the week, I would repost. If you tell us more about the location, duration, etc, folks might be able to give you suggestions to make your sit attract more applicants. But hopefully this sitter will confirm. Good luck!
Thanks @Southernsitter. How do you repost? And I will reach out to her. It’s a posting in Philly for 12 days. We have a small chihuahua who just needs someone to stay with her while we are away on our honeymoon, finally getting married woot woot. I’ve changed the title up a bit but like I said before, my neighbor had 3 people apply within a week’s time of her leaving. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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I found it, so it is still up on posting- no need to repost. It looks like a great sit in an interesting location in a clean/tidy home with a cute pup who is pretty low maintenance, so I am sure that you will get more applicants. If you don’t get this resolved soon, you can actually go into the sitter profile area and invite sitters who are not very far away from you to apply. I would definitely apply if we were in the area and not already booked. Good luck!
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Appreciate it. When would you recommend I start reaching out to folks? This feels like a dating website and I don’t want to come across as too needy haha. It’s giving me flashbacks.
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I would give your sitter til Friday, unless when you touchbase with them on Tuesday they don’t respond or won’t be able to decide by that time. You can start looking at profiles now and see who you want to invite. You may have better luck with sitters who are just getting started, since many very experienced sitters may be booked already. You can often see their availability on their calendars, assuming that they update them and are not like me who is just a pt sitter and forgets. Also, sometimes sitters who are not available may know of someone who is. I am on a sit right now in Florida because a sitter-friend could not do this sit and referred me.
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Thanks! This is super helpful. I will go through and find some folks and start reaching out to them next week if anything.
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Thanks for this. It can get a bit wild in Philly but no more so then any other city, in my opinion. Will check back in in a week’s time with updates, if I need them. Thanks!
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Hello cmoser21
Philadelphia is a very beautiful city steeped in history with great museums, you should attract pet sitter and there are no doubt people who will love to see the 4th of July celebrations in this city.
Your listing is well and your little dog cute
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Thanks for this! Again super relieving to hear. Hopefully I get some hits soon.
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Wow, if only the borders were open. We are desperate to start international travel again. Both of us have now had our double vaccine so now just binding time, doing some sits in our Home Counties.
Sad to say, the sitter may be keeping you on hold until they get an answer from another sit, one they perceive to be better. It’s not nice and I for one think there should be a 24 hour period where the accept button is live then after that period they can’t accept anymore. I’m not saying that’s what is happening, just one of many reasons they haven’t accepted.
They might be out of WiFi range, or travelling or just very busy as it’s a holiday weekend. I’m sure if they don’t accept, you’ll get lots more applicants by Sunday or Monday night. What a good way to learn about Trusted House Sitters. I’m so glad your neighbour had such a positive experience and you took the plunge. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to spread the good news.
Chin up and keep smiling. The Brits are desperate to get back into your beautiful country.
Elsie
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Hi @anon36831737! We actually got 3 applications just yesterday and because of this, my fiancee and I are setting up meetings with them this week and paused applications. It has truly turned around. Really appreciate you checking in and the support of this forum. I am very very hopeful we will find someone this week to take care of our little Lady.
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That’s wonderful news! Have an amazing honeymoon… can we have a wedding pic please!!! (when you’re back haha) … very excited for you!! 
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IS your listing current? I would consider it.
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Hi @carolfree welcome to our community forum @cmoser21 has found her sitters which is brilliant news and thank you for reaching out and who knows who you may be able to help next time a sitter is needed … making connections can open up so many possibilities.
We’d love to get to know you better and share in your TrustedHousesitters journey, enjoy the conversations and connecting, that’s what the forum is all about.
Angela & The Team