Just joined Trusted House Sitters and posted several dates for upcoming vacations. One sitter confirmed within a few hours of our introductory call and we’re all set. I spoke with another sitter for another date and accepted her application right after the call. I expected her to accept on her end within a few hours. My question is, in your experience, what is a reasonable expectation for someone to accept? Days? 24 hours? I have other applicants lined up and would like to lock this up quickly.
If you have spoken and verbally said yes we would like you to sit for us then i would expect 24hrs max. If there is a time difference and people are at work in meetings etc you may not get one within hours.
If they are new to the site they may not realise they also need to accept on their end after applying. A polite nudge no sooner than 24hrs would be fine in my book.
Simply say you would like to formally lock in the dates and are you still fine with what we have discussed, if so please accept.
Maybe they don’t know that they have confirm also from their side?
I would guess they got the notification that you confirmed, but didn’t read any further. Do you know if they are new sitters?
I would send them a message explaining that they also have to hit the button
We usually confirm during the interview or sometimes within a couple of hours afterwards. Never would we let a HO whose listing we applied to wait longer than that.
As an exprienced house sitter, I usually prefer to have an interview with host before accepting the sit. This helps to understand what kind of house sit experience it will be. 3 flights of stairs may be an issue or sleeping with pet is not a preferred option etc. It used to be common courtesy.
We verbally agree during a conversation (either live (virtual) or via THS messaging) and confirm as soon as possible after receiving the invite from the HO.
I forgot to confirm my 4th sit until reminded. I may have been distracted by other stuff in my life; maybe there is a family emergency that has caused your sitters to overlook this step. It is probably a simple mistake on their part.
Thanks. We did have a video call with the sitter and we agreed on the call to move forward, and then 24 hours went by and she didn’t accept the request.
That is very bad manners on behalf of the supposed sitter. They should have advised you immediately that they didn’t want to accept the sit so as you could have chosen someone else immediately. I would never do that, nor would any sitter worth their salt.
Glad that you have moved on. Personally, I would move on after 24 hours. It’s inconsiderate of people (sitters and owners) to not respond to nudging or messages about confirming. I understand greatly about wanting to lock in a confirmation. Definitely don’t wait days as you waiting for someone could mean that other options dry up.
