Hi, I’m now on my third housesit and loving it, but I’d like to understand the point of receiving a invite to sit for someone and their message says they would love for us to sit as we seem perfect for their pets, then either video chat or via messaging ask if we are available to do this then after a few days they send a message to say,
'Sorry you have not been successfull this time", is it only me who finds this quite annoying as they contacted me in the first place… Or is this just a normal thing that happens, I’m not fully understanding it at all… They invite you, you accept, then they say sorry not this time, why invite people only go tell them they haven’t been accepted…
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It might have been a listing that had “Low Applications” and they reached out to get more and they decided that one of the other applicants was a better fit for them. It’s always disappointing when I don’t get a sit I applied for, especially after a video chat. Usually when I have a video chat it’s a formality before they offer me the sit but not always. Glad you’re loving your sitting!
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Don’t know about other sitters, but on all of the occasions where we have been invited to sit, we were given the sit if we wanted it. I’ve never had anyone ask us to apply, and then not accept us. If that happened I’d never sit for that particular HO in the future for messing us about (like the way you are feeling now).
But maybe there’s a rational reason, like perhaps someone who sat for them in the past decided to apply after they’d sent you an invite. In those circumstances you can understand them going with the others.
Switch off to them, you’re onto your third with HO’s that appreciate you and pets that adore, just ignore the others, it’s their loss not yours.
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Another rational reason is that a sit date is fast approaching and a HO is reaching out to several sitters at a time. It’s my understanding that the invitation is an invitation to apply not a guarantee of a sit … i.e. the parties still need to confirm that it’s a good match for both.
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They probably contacted dozens of sitters. It is a very inefficient method.
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Sometimes “needs must” 
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These things happen and yes, it’s annoying. But try not to take it personally. They could have changed their plans, a family member might have stepped up, a previous sitter became available, etc. I went through something similar last week. It’s better just to move on.
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This stems from the attitude a lot of owners have to this site which is that it is a service that exists for them rather than an exchange where both parties get something. They will have sent out dozens of similar messages if not more, likely just to anyone in their area with several 5-star reviews, and then gotten picky from the ones who responded.
I used to get several a day at one point until I figured out how to stop them. Not one was anything I would consider as they were always in my local area which is not why 99% of people do a pet-sit. If I wanted to do a pet-sit in my local area I can join a dozen sites for free that would get me paid for doing it. Unfortunately the owners see it as that kind of paid service but for free.
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Interested to know - How did you stop them @Keldin ?
They were almost exclusively people who just did a search for sitters in the area they were in. 99% of the sits were reachable in an hour. So I guess they just assumed they had paid for a service where people local would just come over and not need much notice rather than people use it as a way to travel.
I changed my location to be where I wanted to be.
Go to your Profile, then About You and then change “Where are you located?” to where you would like to sit.
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I don’t mind not being chosen, but when you’re 1 of only 5 applicants, you have a video chat and they say they’re happy, then later you get an auto rejection with no personal message at all, I think that’s just plain rude. Once you’ve videoed I don’t think a personal note is too much to ask.
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@Wildcolonialgirl I totally agree. But: the THS system does not help with this.
When the HO accepts a sitter, the other applicants get the automatic message from THS “Don’t get discouraged!” etc.
After that, when the HO tries to send a polite note, they see a pop-up “Connect without dates?”, somewhat similar to what I see on the sitter’s side:
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Great idea!
But you can still message once you’ve made that initial connection.
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That’s interesting, I’ve never seen that message. I message with all of the non-confirmed applicants, even after the decline message has gone out, nothing stops me from doing so.
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I just got an invite to sit, in the city I already live in (so no upside for me), and aside from the pets being needy (which is fine) they also want their floors vacuumed and washed TWICE a day. Ridiculous.
Screenshot of the listing removed due to posting terms
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Hmmm… This does seem off. I’ve been invited to a sit a few times and every time it was made very clear that I was getting first refusal. If there were a good reason why the HO then turned you down, why didn’t they show you the courtesy of explaining personally? This strikes me as an HO being at best pretty rude - at worst dishonest.
Its cleaners they want, not pet sitters!