For the last several housesits that I have applied for, a surprising proportion have not responded. The message is seen, but no reply. I note that these are, more often than not, from newbies to the site.
Has anyone noticed this? Do you think it’s that newbies don’t realise how quickly good sitters can get booked up?
Or they just don’t like me and ghost me?!
My view is there is no excuse for not responding to a message - hosts only have a maximum of five applications to deal with at any one time.
I have had a look at your profile and as you are a very experienced sitter with great reviews, you probably don’t need any advice on your listing from anyone.
As you travel as a family are you only applying for family friendly sits?
Your profile shows very young children but reading between the lines I suspect two are approaching adulthood. You mention two are mid teens but when was the last time your listing was updated?
Hosts may be confused by how many people (and their ages) are travelling in your group (unless you mention it in your application each time) and may not want to get involved in assessing how many bedrooms you require. Just a thought.
Still no excuse for lack of a response to your application.
Sounds like you’re running into some incredibly rude hosts. If anyone takes too long to respond to me, I just decline and leave the reasoning as lack of timely response.
it’s a red flag for me if someone isn’t a responsible communicator.
You seem to be a newbie not them
Thanks for the nudge/reminder. I’ve just checked in on a cat sit that I applied to locally, they read it yesterday but no reply. So I’ve just now cancelled my application. If they can’t be bothered then neither can I.
Making sure profile and images are up to date is a good shout. I try to revisit ours every so often just to make Tue the messaging/imaging is in line with reality.
Thanks Twitcher, that’s a very fair comment - I should check and update my profile. I do mention in every application how old the kids are (if they are joining me), and how responsible and animal-loving they are.
Oooh! Care to explain? With 150 sits (all 5 star) under my belt, I’m a little confused by your analysis.
How does that work? They applying for sits off of your profile and reviews? I’m confused.
Long story, but we still do some sits together as a family
I don’t know how you come to that guess.
There’s no logic between being newbies and not responding, unless you’re suggesting because they’re newbies they don’t know how to reply(really? All of them) or they think they need to wait
From my experiences, newbies replied promptly or they invited
Are you giving them the benefits of doubt?
I’m surprised that after 150 sits you’re only experiencing this now, I thought it was the norm of this site
I think it is a combo of both. But I do think newbies don’t understand that sitters are applying to multiple sits. I think they think they can just wait until they get a handful of applications to look at before they respond.
I applied for a sit in a big city, last month for a July for a 3 night sit to increase my reviews (I am a newbie). After 5 days of no reply from HO so i then withdrew my app and said “Hi XYZ. Since I havent heard any interest from you, I’m making other plans. Maybe in the future we can align schedules better. thanks.” Then within 2 hours she replied (basically) sorry, busy, not in a rush. I understand. best to you.
She has been a HO for 2 years, 13 good reviews for 1 kitty. I am glad it didnt work out because we now have another sit booked for a trip we are taking on those same dates.
@Rhe Curious if you are applying for sits that state no children? I know you’re not new, but wondering… as silence in those cases is warranted in my opinion.
This is not your question but may be part of the reason. I find your profile unclear. From reading it I don’t know how many are sitting or their ages. The pictures make it more confusing. Why not say, we are a family of (insert number.) It consist of mother and my three kids, mother father and two kids. I have no idea who the family is or how many and ages from reading your profile. I know you have over 100 sits but if a host I would not contact you thinking you are not detailed orientated which may affect the care of my pets.
hopefully I’'ve updated my profile now
Hi, that was my fault, that was an old profile and all muddled up. I have now updated the link to show my current profile!
Also, I am interested in why I have been getting no response at all. Message seen, but not even a ‘thanks, but no thanks’. Seems to be an increasing trend (in my limited, anecdotal experience, obvs)
I’m afraid that’s the advice they get from THS; being newbies, they don’t know that sitters are advised to apply for as many sits as they want every time they send an application, so they may not be aware of the risks they take by just waiting to get five applicants, following THS advice.
So, @Rhe, I agree this happens more often with newbies and with entitled hosts who get lots of applicants and don’t think second runners deserve the courtesy of an acknowledgment.
I think the logic is that newbies might not realise that good sitters can get booked up fast. I’ve often seen new pet-owners seem surprised that I am booked up many months ahead. Perhaps, as newcomers, with very limited experience of the platform, they expect a pool of sitters waiting around for owners to pick them (some of the advertising does give that impression, backed up by some comments from new HOs in that part of the forum).
Got you now. I don’t like these type of hosts. I think it’s great to find out what they’re like without them saying anything.
I agree. I don’t like entitled people in general and I try not to partner with them because I am more likely to be blamed for whatever may happen or even be perceived by them.
However, I am also sorry for newbies who are misled by THS. I am sure there are some genuine cases of people just following their advice.