Hello, we have just joined and excited to be a part of this international community. Finding it a bit slow to get any form of response for the various applications we have made and see that the folks have not even READ the messages after 3 days …which kind of makes it a little disappointing. AirBnB for example really pushes folks with emails and reminders to respond,…anyway hope it is as good as it looks and we never have to use kennels again and can discover new places with this new more ‘homely and pet lover’ ambiance…Cheers to you all…
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I wish that we could put the other dates we are unavailable for reasons other than being booked with THS.
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I have looked on both web and app and regularly find messages I have sent have not been read a week or so after I submitted them, also where they have been read relatively quickly but then either no response, or a response over a week later. Neither of which is much help if you are trying to coordinate dogs, flights, and kennels…
I actually registered for the site that was recommended by Liz, and have now found sitters for both my June and July dates. On that site, only the sitters pay a joining fee, so as an owner, I am not having to make two payments membership wise.
On the other issue that has been raised, I would not normally leave my dogs for longer than 4-5 hours. I can’t go longer than that for a bathroom break, and I am sure their bladders are smaller than mine!
Hi @ExploreDreamDiscover You may want to take a look at this thorough post about the sitter availability calendar.
Also, here’s an example of the type of update you mention.
I’ll look at doing this. Thanks!
Many thanks for all these comments.
I am a little frustrated. I think it would be nice for a sitter or HO to respond to a message. It is discouraging to open the inbox and see that a message has been read but there is no response. Even a “No”, or “I’ll think about it” would be great. I don’t want to send a second message to someone when they haven’t responded to the first because I don’t want to seem a pest.
A BIG thank you to those who drop a quick “We’re already booked” or some other response. I do appreciate that as I am sure other HO do also. The same for sitters. I assume it is hard to be left hanging without knowing if you’re being considered for a position.
Just ranting, thanks… 
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Hi @ellenaj
Yes, I completely agree with you and this has been discussed quite a lot on the forum. In my experience it’s only a few owners who are discourteous, also I believe there are sitters too who don’t respond to owners. Sometimes I’ve written again and stated that I can see they’ve read my application so could they kindly respond….Best probably to move on and ignore them as it’s a bit of a red flag!
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That is an excellent idea. I will use that in the future. 2-3 days is fine.
thanks
When we recently applied for 8 last minute sits after ours was cancelled, I ended the application by saying that given the short notice, we were applying for multiple sits in the same time period and if they are interested in having us as sitters, to let us know ASAP.
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I always have my phone with me so always reply quickly .I’m retired so maybe have more time on my hands.though sometimes doesn’t feel like it ha ha always so much to do .
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Thanks for all the responses, we actually just joined and at first the feedback was very slow, then suddenly got a good few responses. Excited to go and do our first sit next week. Cheers for now.
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How long is too long to respond to a message once it has been read? What’s acceptable? I feel like my sitter was very responsive at the beginning but since confirming the sitting messages are read straight away but not responded until 2, 3 or 4 days later.
I’m leaving mid February and wondering whether I should bring this up.
Hi @Sarah2 and welcome to the forum,
My recommendation is to get your confirmed sitters contact information (phone number) when you confirm them as well as send them your phone number. That way each of you can call/text whatever is most convenient leading up to the sit. If you haven’t done this yet I would start here by sending another message with your number asking the sitter to contact you. In my experience most HO’s and sitters prefer communicating off of THS fairly early on in the process…of course everyone is different. I wouldn’t worry too much about the delay in response, at least not yet. I too have taken my fair share of time to respond to a message from a sitter though the site just because I don’t typically see the notification or email about getting a new message.
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That’s so infuriating. Regardless, if you are the HO or the sitter, I think an acknowledgement or a short but clear response will suffice. I don’t get those people who will leave you hanging unless it’s not really intentional because I personally forgot to press the button after typing my message.
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Thank you Kelly, the sitter has actually read the message so I don’t see a difference between text or THS message. In my opinion is common courtesy to respond within 2 days but that’s just me.
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In my situation I see a trend so it hasn’t happened just once. I personally think it’s disrespectful as I’m waiting for a response and the person has read the message and for whatever reason is not getting back to me. I see it as a red flag however it’s too late for me to find someone else.
Exactly right! We can see you have read the message so a quick acknowledgment is better than no response at all.
I hear you! I had been in talks with a sitter and declined all other applications and now that sitter rescinded her application only after I poked her…I understand emergencies happen but now I’m having difficulty finding a sitter😔
Hi @Sbwpatton
I am so sorry you are having difficulty finding a sitter. Please always reach out to membership services at support@trustedhousesitters.com so they can help and boost your listing to bring it to the top of the website and let available sitters know.
I have taken the liberty of boosting your listing in the meantime. Crossing fingers.