What would you expect them to say? When there’s no need to continue the interaction, why would someone?
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I heard that the first person to apply actually ends up at the BOTTOM of the list of the first five applicants!
Can someone confirm this?
I typically reply to rejection msgs politely.
When I’ve ignored hosts in particular, for example: The tone of the msg sounded off, as if lucky me, they might give me a shot in the future. And in that case, I wouldn’t want such a sit at all, so I ignored them with that in mind.
Some other folks might not bother to reply, because they don’t see a need. And most sitters sit only sporadically, so they might not care if you ever have them sit in the future — there are plenty of sits.
I believe that is still the case. It doesn’t happen very often but we have been declined with a message stating the HOs are going with the applicant who was first to apply, while we are clearly their 1st application couple of days earlier. The new inbox upgrade may possibly normalize that.
The likelihood of us withdrawing our application is significantly higher due to either the HO’s lack of response or new information emerging during the video chat, compared to the chance of our application being rejected. However, this could change later in the year as we apply to more competitive locations. I will provide an updated summary at the year’s end. For anyone who is concerned about getting too many rejections it’s always a good idea to update their profile, revise their application and review who have the HO’s selected as sitters in the past.
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Ultimate rejection.
We are on one of the best sits we have ever had at the moment - beautiful well behaved dogs who walk like a dream
Converted barn in pristine condition
An area we love and spend most summers in.
The pet owner listed more dates. I messaged them. They rejected us. A previous couple have accepted the dates. Am I upset? No. It’s human nature to go with someone/something that you know works. We are only two days into the sit and still unknown quality’s. Hopefully we will accepted for other sits they list in the future.
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Hi, I’ve just had my first decline. I have no problem with being declined. What I do have a problem with is the rudeness of the homeowner not having the decency to actually send me a message. I am very annoyed and frustrated about this. My applications are well written and always personalised. The decent thing would be to put a bit of effort back on the homeowners part to inform me why I was declined.
Disgruntled Sue (I’m off to have a piña colada to get over my annoyance😜)
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They might still send a personalized note. Not to make excuses for rude people, but many homeowners don’t realize the THS system sends and automatic “declined” message as soon as they confirm a sitter. For HO’s, it’s a catch-22. Either we send a friendly note letting sitters know we’ve gone with someone else before that person confirms, risking losing other great sitters if the first one changes their mind, or we wait to make sure they confirm, at which point THS sends an immediate, impersonal decline message, which we then have to follow up on (if we’re considerate). It’s not a great system. Anyway, cheers! 
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Thanks Shafofo, that helps me understand the process a little. Fingers crossed, they are not just rude and they will send me a message!
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