Try two months. I’m trying a little experiment to see how long it will take for them to respond or reject. The sit doesn’t start till 5th January so no hurry, for them. I, on the other hand p, would like to book flights as soon as.
Oh, little things that amuse me.
I’m a homeowner a fairly new to this site so not a lot of history or experience to reply one. Its also REALLy good to hear from the sitters point of view! I thought it normal to post a listing and when people apply I contact them and thank them for applying to let them know their application has been acknowledged.) As soon as we find someone we think is a match, we contact them to chat. If all checks out, then we offer the job immediately and expect a quick reply from the sitter to confirm or withdraw.
Is this not an acceptable system for sitters? How could we “improve”?
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That sounds perfect! I think it’s also good to communicate whether they should feel free to apply to other sits or whether they are high on the list of suitable applicants, also for your own benefit (the suitable candidates might otherwise just move on).
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Hello Deep,
I’m a homeowner and wish to share some thoughts.
Firstly, I don’t have a smart phone so rely on logging on to my mail on a laptop. Apologies to anyone who I have kept waiting in the past and I’ll try and be more aware of delay from now on.
However this year was really strange. We had 5 applications for our sit. We got on really well with the first applicant and she would have liked to come but during the interview period let us know that unfortunately something had cropped up for her (we hope to meet in the future). Sitters number 2-4 either were either hesitant to commit or simply failed to answer after my initial contact. Sitter number 5 was great, communication good and she is arriving soon.
I found it very strange that people applied then, when I replied made no further contact.
I agree, let the HO know you are making multiple queries , then everything is out in the open. If you get a result from elsewhere then let all the HO’s know that you are no longer available . We have been planning a precious holiday and can ill afford multiple enquiries where we politely put the sit on hold only to find there is no response.
Keep the communication channels open!
@ramsons Thank you for your valuable feedback. I’m sorry to read that there really are communication difficulties on both sides sometimes. And I think it is very important that all experiences can be shared. This way the HO and HS can become more aware of their wishes and needs.
For example, I wrote to a HO 11 days ago and to this day I have not received a reply, although my message was read by him after 2 days and it appeared in my inbox as “read” too. However, I did not feel the need to inquire further because I write a very detailed email to all HOs and leave it up to them to answer me. Fortunately, this has been the only strange experience so far, the other HOs have replied quickly.
I answer all HOs within 24 hours and offer them the possibility of a telephone contact, if desired also with a camera, so that the communication can continue and a suitable solution can be found for both of them as soon as possible. With one homeowner, I was able to go and introduce myself in person straight away, as she is nearby. We then both decided that it was a good match.
@Deep we have approached this subject differently over the course of the last year. In the beginning of our membership, when we were new to the process, we applied to several at once. We were anxious to book all our time overseas, before we left the states, and it worked perfectly. I always withdrew our applications, with a short note, immediately upon receiving a confirmation sit. I firmly believe that the two-way respectful and timely communication, on behalf of both the HO and sitter, should begin shortly after we send our application. I happen to have an iPhone and Apple Watch, so I get notifications throughout the day. It’s always my intention to respond to any communication, upon receipt. Recently we began looking for our next 8 months of sitting, and only applied to one sit at a time. I received quick responses from each HO, and quickly confirmed 9 sits. I actually now prefer to only apply to one at a time.
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@AmyNJoe
Your approach is good. We always appreciate our application being acknowledged after its been read (as opposed to us seeing it’s been read and getting no response at all, or not for days!) Once we’ve had a video call we always agree during the call to ‘press the button’ directly after the call to agree. We never ‘go away and think about it’ We agree on the spot. Then the host should immediately inform all other applicants the Sit is taken. Its always nice to add a personal note - feels less like a rejection then! Sometimes we see our application has been read and then sometime/days later an automatic ‘you have not been chosen’ message arrives and no personal contact from the host at any point.
That feels rude and disrespectful after we’ve taken the time and trouble to apply. Courtesy all round is so important! After all this is not a paid job-it is a exchange based on mutual trust. We therefore also don’t like the term ‘interview’ being used for the video chats.
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Hello Deep,
Thanks for replying.
The forum is great as it keeps us all informed and communicating.
Good luck with your future sits and thanks for your remarks which are very helpful
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Right now with the way the system works you need to start you application for as many as possible. Otherwise, you will not be able to apply if more than 5 applications have been received.
Hey, how do you handle applying for different house sits? I feel bad applying for other sits on similar dates at the same time, especially if we’ve already decided to have a call later next week for example with someone (but nothing’s been agreed yet).
I do sitting full time, especially when I am in the UK, so it’s important for me to have only small gaps between the sits, also I don’t want to travel across the country, so location and dates are important.
I’m having a call with someone in a few days, and I also applied for another sit that would work perfectly together, but that last one is not responding. And now I found another great housesit, but that would mean I would not be able to accommodate the first sit, as this one basically covers the dates of both sits.
How do you handle it? I am totally aware that because there was no agreement with anyone yet, so everyone’s free to do what they want, and I believe the sitters will be having calls with other people too and they might not even choose me. But for some reason, I feel bad applying!
I travel with my dog and we’ve been fully nomadic since May '22. Because I travel with my dog I have to apply to more sits than the average person.
I apply to the ones that look good for my open dates. As we get passed over a lot I don’t feel that badly applying to a lot of options.
I like longer sits as it gives more time to settle in and see an area, when the dates don’t align we try to do shorter sits in the area we are in or will be going to.
Hello, @Tomma I am more than happy to give feedback from my perspective as a sitter.
I think you have answered your own question in that nothing is currently firmed up with any of those owners. You could apply for the other sit whilst you are waiting for your call in a few days and then make a decision based on if you hear back from that sit.
There are many variables such as you might not get selected for the new sit you have found, or the call with the first owner might not work out for one party or the call could go great and you decide to take to sit and find another one that works with it.
I think for us we keep applying and talking to other members until we have officially confirmed the sit. Once committed we then stop looking for sits during those dates.
I empathise with you as we started off preferring to apply for one sit at a time and waiting until we heard back from that owner as we also felt bad for applying but then maybe not being able to do that sit if we got chosen elsewhere. However, it was a learning curve and now we just make sure that we keep communications open with all of our applications, no matter what the stage (application or video call) and politely let them know if we confirm elsewhere.
Good luck with all of your sits and I am sure that you will find some amazing ones 
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