As you have discovered discussion on the 5 application limit is very much “talk amongst yourselves” and THS have closed down the thread that they were “monitoring” and do not allow any new discussion.
The initial stated purpose was to “speed up the application process” but subsequently THS have said this:
To provide you with some context, previously, there were a couple of challenges: a small number of sitters taking a large majority of sits, and a small number of sits taking a large number of applications.
So it is intended to reduce the applications that more active sitters can achieve and to stop you as an owner getting access to some of the more experienced sitters so that the new users of THS can get a chance.
THS is a subscription model business so they need the subscribers to keep coming back and they believe this will keep new members returning more than it will cost them old members leaving. For this reason I don’t believe anything you could say, even emailing the CEO directly, would get them to change the policy.
There are some strategies owners have used - sending a message to applicants to explain they are being considered but you need to decline them in order to get more applicants is one strategy. You can then continue until you have enough and still contact the declined applicants. Nothing as ideal as being in control of what you receive like you used to be able to do.
The previous discussion was closed down due to it being extremely long, with members reporting that they couldn’t follow the discussion due to its length. We also found that some members missed important updates from the team.
Although we’ve had to draw a line under providing feedback to the team now that the feature has been in place since July 2022, we also didn’t want to prevent any of you from discussing your concerns. Members are allowed to discuss the issue, and this is the place to do it.
While there are no plans to make any changes to the five pausing update at the moment, providing a space to continue discussion means that if it’s ever up for review in future, we’ve got a wealth of feedback from our members that we can pass along.
Is it possible for THS to add a “queue” for the overflow once the five application limit is reached?
For example, application #6 would be first in line in the queue so if the host rejects an application, #6 would automatically appear in the host’s inbox rather than opening up the listing to new applications. This could apply to the next 5 applications (6-10) or more.
This benefits both the sitter and the host. The sitter who just missed out on being one of the first five doesn’t have to diligently watch the listing to see if it opens up again and possibly still get beat out by another sitter who happens to be quicker to apply.
The host also doesn’t have to unpause the listing and hope to get new applicants, they would see the next in line.
The sitters could receive a note that would tell them what number they are in the queue so they can decide if they want to withdraw their application or wait to see if they get into the top five.
When a ride is full at an amusement park, they don’t tell everyone to leave and come back later, they queue up so everyone gets to ride in the order they arrived. This is a fair way for applicants to “get in line” and not be shuffled to the back after the five applicant limit is reached, and for hosts to see the applicants in the order they applied.
Indeed Gillyflower, this forum just appears to be somewhere that experienced actual HS can vent with no interest whatsover from the powers that be at THS. All homeowners I have spoken to are not aware and are shocked there is a 5 limit. Absolutely no logic at all. HO’s had the power to pause when they felt they had enough applicants. This rule is laughable, nonsensical and comes alongwith others like the overlapping rule. The site worked beautifully for 8 years for me, no issues at all. No more, other sites are gaining ground.
it’s a shame you feel that way, as we think the Forum holds much more value than that.
The purpose of the Forum is to provide a place for members to connect and chat about all things THS rather than a place to submit requests for changes to existing features.
We’ve worked to create a place where THS members can also vent about what they’re unhappy with, this also allows the Forum team to pass along feedback to the relevant teams, hoping that we might help indirectly change things. It’s a shame we can’t guarantee that providing feedback will change anything, but we feel that it’s still important to collect it, in case things can be reviewed in future.
The only other option would be to simply close down any conversations where someone expresses that they’re unhappy with something - and that’s not what we’d want for the Forum at all. We think it’s far better to give our members a space to discuss how they’re feeling with other members and we’d rather make sure they have that voice wherever possible.
The Forum is also home to thousands of shared experiences, interesting questions, and helpful answers which have all come directly from the heart of the Trusted Housesitters community - our Forum members. The conversations that our members have here are their legacy - helping countless others who might make their way here through a google search or via the Trusted Times.
If the Forum can provide extensive feedback to the team in future about any scope for changes to this particular, then we have it right here in this thread and the previous discussion post.
I just dont like this 5 applicants limit. Why was it implemented? For those of us searching for sits in places with a large time difference, it doesnt give us much chance to apply before its gone onto reviewing.
I know this has been discussed before but i cant see how to see those conversations.
Hello @Redlady I added your posts here as the main post will explain things a bit more for you. You can also catch up on what other members have said when discussing this. Thank you for joining the discussion
95% of us hate the 5 application rule. There are a smidgen of those who like it or don’t mind it but the vast majority hate it and have said so for many months time and again.
IMO the HO’s should decide what their limit is - should be up to them…if they don’t want more than 5 at once, so be it, but if they think that is too small a pool of options, they can set it to 7 or 10 or 15! They’re the ones having to go through them all!
The 5 limit has made it SO hard for many of us to even get an application in before it’s closed. SO annoying.
And it’s not only sitters that dislike it - on a sit right now and yet another HO expressing their frustrations about the 5 appl rule, because they get so many unsuitable applications in.
However they don’t know right away - e.g. as the HO says, people apply very rapidly, then they become unresponsive, suddenly decide they actually can’t do the sit because they didn’t bother to check out flights etc before applying, cancel video calls at the last minute etc. And once the HO has wasted all this time, only then she may know who to reject and open up the sit for more applicants. HO indicates it’s a real time waster
Hi Globetrotter, As a home owner in a popular location(70+applicants for our latest listings) I can tell you it’s just as tedious having to check my in-box every hour to decline another 4 or 5 totally unsuitable applicants (no experience, no reviews, no references, solo sitters when we specified a couple) just to keep the listing open. We’ve always been able to find great sitters in the end, but it’s now an incredibly arduous process. I don’t mind reading all the applications and sending prompt and polite replies, but I prefer to do it say once a day instead of every hour.
Out of interest @Silverfox how are you getting 70+ applications when the max is 5? Or do you get a batch of 5, read, decline, open up the listing again? So that means 70 shots before it’s someone good? #bitconfused#mighthaveansweredmyownquestion
Eventually got three potential couples. Video chatted with two of them and sit agreed with one couple. But yes, decline, decline, unpause. Decline, decline, unpause. Rinse and repeat.
Yes, we get notifications that our applications are paused after five. I think it’s only fair to sitters to not have homeowners hold them hostage forever. I try and respond right away now that I understand things a little better. When I first started, I didn’t realize what a major inconvenience it was For sitters to be waiting on HO to make a decision. Now I will not post dates until I have time to do my due diligence on applications. It’s just thoughtful
I understand home owners only get 5 people max to apply but it is so frustrating when you see the same owners who denied you… Keep posting like it’s a new sit so they could get 5 more applicants.
I do not enjoy this aspect of the app.
Not sure how it could be better but is anyone else frustrated with that?
(I have a few glowing reviews within the app now and never really realized it until now, that I keep looking in the same city)
The HO doesn’t keep posting “as if it’s a new sit” but is obligated to manually unpause the listing after they have declined one or more of those 5 applications. As a HO I didn’t understand right away that I had to unpause the listing myself after I’d declined a few (or that the applications would stop coming after 5). I just went back and looked at the initial THS welcome emails and I see that the 5 applications pause is explained but it’s the last block of info in the email. The first block is “Create your listing!” So of course you immediately go do that and don’t look at the rest of the email. I don’t mind this system because when I posted a sit for the first time, I was shocked that there seemed to be a flood of applications in the first hour. It surprised me because the dates were for 5 months in the future. I declined a couple that weren’t suitable but then no one else applied. So it was a bit confusing at first.
I still don’t get the 5 application limit! 10 would make more sense for HO as well in my humble opinion. Always such a rush to apply when you know that 5 is the limit.
Or do you get a batch of 5, read, decline, open up the listing again? So that means 70 shots before it’s someone good? 