Do you apply for multiple sits over the same dates and choose the best one from any offers?
Or do you make a single application and wait for a response before searching for alternatives?
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Personally we consider our application to be a unique offer and never apply for others until weâve had a response. We feel that we are saying âwe are available to sitâ .
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We apply for anything and everything that we are interested in and can do. We have been too heartbroken in the past when weâve put all of our eggs in one basket, that this works out better for us, and itâs not so disappointing if we donât get a sit, because there may be others that could work for us, too. We have been in a couple of situations, actually our first housesit, where we had a couple of offers to choose from and interviewed both sets of homeowners to see which would be the best fit. It actually worked to our advantage because we seemed more desirable. Itâs always very hard when this happens, as we fall in love with everyone and want to try to please all, but most people understand, as theyâve had to do the same when it comes to finding a sitter. In this present climate, the ball is definitely in the homeownersâ court, so we are finding we especially need to apply to a lot, as there are numerous applicants, and sometimes our messages arenât even getting read, and/or we never even get responses. We are just always up front and honest with everyone and thatâs always the best way to go.
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You are so right about it being an owners market currently. So many sitters are desperately applying for a small amount of sits. Seems more than acceptable to apply for everything.
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As a full time house sitter, we will apply for more than one at a time. There is no way to guess what the homeowner is looking for, plus most get multiple âexcellentâ applications. I also I will rarely apply for a sit that is more than 7, 8 or more months in advance. There are too many things that can go wrong on both sides - owner and sitter. If the sit is more than 4 or 5 months I may apply, but not for any short sits.
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Itâs risky applying too far in advance isnât it, especially at the moment when everyoneâs travel plans are so flaky. We prefer 3 to 4 months in advance if possible.
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I do wait for an answer before applying for another sit, as I would feel miserable to say ânoâ to the owner who has chosen me (unless (s)he makes his/her choice very late.
Of course if donât receive any answer in a week time, I feel free to apply somewhere else.
I do select listings
1/ looking at the type of animals (I donât like reptiles, I canât walk 2 heavy dogs if i sit alone, Iâm not fond of poultry due to a bad experience last summer with a lot of mites in the hen house). I look at the dogs, I donât like much some breeds, I donât want to be afraid if they are agressive against dogs or humans.
2/ looking at the home (I need to like the decoration, to feel confortable) and Iâm glad if they are books on photosâŠ
3/ looking at the countries : I will never sit for a short time far away, the costs are too high (renting a car, transportation etc.)
4/ now i pay attention to the surroundings : a too remote house is a problem when you like to take a drink or do shopping. It may signify you need to rent a car
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As full timers, we apply to every sit that we are excited about and that fit our criteria for what we want/need in a house sit, even if dates overlap. We used to not do this, but so many people donât respond, and a couple times we felt weâd potentially missed out on other opportunities by not keeping our options open. The way we see it, owners are choosing between multiple sitters, so sitters should feel free to do the same. And still, even in all our years of sitting (almost 6), itâs only happened two times where we had to decline when weâd already accepted another.
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I think youâre probably right that itâs fair to multi-apply especially at the moment when so many sitters apply for each sit and more owners appear not to select very quickly. We never used to multi-apply but definitely do now.
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How owners react when you declined after they had selected you ? Were they furious ? Did you explain why you had accepted another sit ? Do you choose the first who sélects you ? The nearest ?
Nope, they werenât furious. Just like as house sitters, when we arenât selected, we might be disappointed, but weâre in no way furious. The couple of times that this has happened, one home owner was taking quite a long time to get back, and so we went with the owner that was more communicative. We really value open and direct communication between both parties, and we truly believe itâs one of the key points of house sitting. We explained that we were offered another sit first, and hopefully people realize that they need to be more timely with correspondence in the future.
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i thought they could be âfuriousâ (it sounds too strong, for sure) as they had selected you among many others. And finally you declined when they thought you were interested.
I did not know sitters (at least on this forum) send several applications for the same period, I may be wrong but I donât apply for several sits, I dare send another application to another owner only when I get no answer after a week. Then of course you can explain you had no answer and in between another owner has reacted more quickly than him if he selects you after a few weeks !
I learnt on this forum you can be selected even when an owner has already received 35 + answers so itâs worth time waiting a little. Especially when the sit is months ahead.
As an owner, I would not feel pleased if somebody declined when I had spent time reading all offers, all profiles, all feed backs. I can understand when I try to contact directly sitters around me, for a short sit, as I never know if they are available. But believe me or not, the majority of the ones contactec answered me, but not all (again, I wait a little before contacting other sitters)
So sitters sometimes behave also non courteouslyâŠ
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Seems to be personal preference, some apply to more than one, some donât. Like I mentioned, weâve only done it a couple of times. In the past, we only applied to one at a time, but then sometimes we never heard back, and missed out on applying to another that we were excited about. If everyone responded to applications, that might be one thing. But many donât. And given that home owners are considering more than one applicant at the same time, we feel itâs only fair that house sitters can do the same.
The flip side of that coin is that there have been times when we have spent lots of time on a sit and even done a video interview, and then the owner chooses someone else. So yeah, we also donât feel pleased in that situation, given that weâve spent a lot of time, but again, we just want everyone to have the best fit. If we arenât chosen, we trust that someone has found the best match for them. It really goes both ways.
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We apply for one at a time. The only caveat to that is if we havenât heard back from an application and itâs been over a week at least and we see another sit we like. In those circumstances we will apply for another sit even if similar dates as we think the homeowners have had long enough to consider our application and if they havenât got back to us they probably wont be choosing us.
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@PetsSit We do exactly the same. One application at a time, we feel itâs a commitment. After not hearing for a week we send a follow up message and start looking for alternatives.
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@alternativetravelers
Yes It makes sense to try and reply in a timely manner. I missed out on a sit because of this. Due to the length of time it took the HO to respond I thought I had been unsuccessful. Changed my holiday dates from work and booked an ordinary holiday. Then I got the invite to sit but all too late. 
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We usually apply on one at a time unless we see two that are far apart in dates. On one occasion we applied for a sit in Ireland for July and a sit in Australia for November and were delighted to be accepted for both. I tacked on a holiday to Greece where weâd never been after the sit in Ireland and I planned a holiday of our own travelling around Australia after the sit. It was fun putting together two itineraries to Greece and Australia, both countries where weâd never been.
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We apply for as many as suit our criteria then if we get a definite confirmation from one we immediately contact any others that we have applied for with clashing dates to apologise and to withdraw our application.
I also think this helps to nudge homeowners to decide earlier in the future. Waiting for 50 plus applications before making a final decision I think is excessive and not helpful to anyone.
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The owners are very understanding. Some actually admit they should have been quicker with their choice. We are always gracious and always finish our reply with âwe may see you sometime in the futureâ which has got us a house sit once in the future.
When we accept a sit I always inform the other potential sits o; these dates that we have to withdraw. I never wait to see who else may choose us, playing one against the other. All the sits I apply for I want. I would never apply for a sit I didnât really want.
Elsie
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