Hey there! I’m brand new to THS, but have 1 sit confirmed, 1 in-person meet & greet scheduled and 2 applications waiting for a response. The unanswered applications are 16 and 3 days old.
I just upgraded to premium membership - it just made sense.
How long do you wait before you take action? Do you message HO for an update or simply delete the application?
Thanks for any and all feedback!
Hosts can vary in how long they take to reply. In my experience, most do respond within a couple of days. I don’t ever follow up on applications but some sitters do and have had success in getting chosen for the sit.
While I don’t have a firm deadline of when I would withdraw an application, I wouldn’t keep one open that was over two weeks old.
Some sitters are very firm in their deadlines and will withdraw after a certain amount of time every time.
There really isn’t any right or wrong way, it is all about how you prefer to operate. There is no real drawback in keeping an application open but you don’t want to wait on applying for other sits with similar dates if you find ones that suit you, unless of course you really want to do that sit for some reason.
I like the idea of withdrawing if I haven’t heard back in at least a few days as to me it is an energy-type thing…keeping myself fully open to the best opportunities by cutting those ‘ties’ and opening up space.
My sits are usually confirmed incl videocall within 24-48 hours. Long waiting times rarely result in anything for me. The longest I’ve waited was 8 months (!) but I wouldn’t want to partner up with someone with poor communication skills.
The terms of THS says we should answer a fellow member within 72 hours. But ofc some of those members haven’t read the terms, either..
I have reached out with a very polite & understanding message for a desirable sit after seeing my application go unread for 3-4d.
I mentioned that I wanted to be sure they’d received my app as THS notifications can be a bit wonky sometimes, & I was quite interested in their sit because I did think we’d be a good match. I told them it would be lovely to know if I might still be in consideration, but I totally understood if they had a repeat sitter or someone who worked better for them, and if so, I hoped they’d consider me for future sits, & wished them a lovely trip.
They reached out a day later, apologized for the delay (busy with work/travel); we did the interview, clicked, & I got the sit. I’m truly overjoyed.
If you see your app has been read, I’d probably not reach out — esp after 16+ days, unless the sit is months & months away. But honestly there’s no rule about it as long as you’re polite and won’t take offense by a second potential ghosting, or a “hard pass.”
That said, I would personally never reach out again more than that once — but those are just my opinions. As always - every situation is different. 
You choose how long to wait and how many overlapping sits to apply for. Until any sit is mutually accepted by host and sitter, there’s no obligation on either side.
Personally, I’ve had overwhelmingly great sits with appreciative, welcoming and communicative hosts. I think that’s thanks to being selective and not waiting for hosts for more than 48 hours before they reply to schedule a video chat.
I’ve found that hosts who are responsive at the outset also tend to be that way throughout and they share welcome guides promptly and quickly write reviews, without nudging. I figure that’s because people who have their act together tend to be that way consistently.
Plus, depending on where you sit, there might be way more sits than (good) sitters. For me, I find it easy to get sits. That was the case even when I started two+ years ago and it’s become even easier with strong reviews. That means I see no reason to bother with hosts who seem less than ideal. I value communicative, prompt, appreciative hosts who understand reciprocity and hospitality. And such hosts can be long-timers or newbies.
Typically 48 hours. Occasionally I may stretch it a bit if I find the sit exceptionally interesting
I’d cancel my application if it’s been a week and no acknowledgement at all.
UPDATE: I decided to message both pet parents to ask if they had any questions. I received calls from both today and have confirmed both sits! I know this will not be the case every time, but it’s a learning process. Thanks everyone for your input. Much appreciated!
I had applied for a sit in early March two months ago. It was on my way back from my winter in CA, so I was not anxious about it. It was a good sit, good location for my trip back. HO got back to me immediately, had a good back and forth, said she wanted a video call. Then crickets. Nothing. I didn’t worry about it since it was 7 months away. Then I sent a message a month later that I did not get a confirm or decline, just wondering. She said she was in Mexico and forgot about it. And would get back to me for video call on the weekend. And then nothing. I got a sit that works, on my way back, fits better with the schedule. So I withdrew the application, wrote a note that I took a sit with conflicting dates. And she gets back to me apologizing for the delays. What was she thinking? Why put up the listing two months plus before you plan to take action on it?
If I’m not sent a ‘holding’ message, at the very least, within 48 hours of the HO having read my application, I withdraw my interest. I also never chase up with any HOs who have not responded to my initial interest.