Hi All, great forum btw… i was wondering how other sitters manage applying for sits? E.G, you have your available dates and you apply for a sit you like, maybe you dont get a response back in a reasonable time, is it ok to go back to them or should we apply for multiple sits and pick whoever responds soonest??
I apply for multiple sits at one time. Doing one at a time would be a huge waste of time and effort, IMO. At times I can have a dozen applications open at once. I generally go with first come, first served for accepting sits. So HOs who wait to respond or faff about are likely to lose out while those who are on top of responding and move quickly will get my helpful presence for their sit. 
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I apply for as many sits as I like and then after confirming one, I withdraw my applications
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We only apply for one at a time, but that’s because we have a really high success rate because we mainly focus in just two particular locations that we return to regularly near our family, so owners know we’ll be available for future sits. But a lot of others on THS apply for many at the same time, but I’d get confused as to who was who if we did that.
Originally when we joined, once we had just a few reviews, I realised that the owners who wanted us responded quickly, so I’d only wait 24 hours, before moving on to another. But nowadays we always hear back very quickly, usually within an hour or so, not necessarily confirmed within that time, just a positive reply to our application.
Personally, I wouldn’t go back to an owner who failed to respond in some sort of way, because they may say they’ve been tied up with work to buy themselves a little more time, because the reality is they may have thought you were ok… but perhaps they think there’s better out there if they wait, and you could be their backup plan… errrrrr NO! Move on to the next, because there’ll be others that see you as their ideal match straight away.
Also, any owners that just drags their heals in life and don’t realise they need to be fast just aren’t for us, we aren’t likely to get along… because then they are dragging their heals in OUR life… No!
How many reviews have you got so far? If it’s more than 3 and you haven’t heard back at all, leave the application in but move on and apply for others.
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Many sitters apply for multiple sits and go with what works out.
A number of us also withdraw our applications within 48 to 72 hours if we don’t hear back. I do that, because I’m interested in partnering only with hosts who’ve got their act together and reply and decide promptly.
Personally, I’ve done 19 sits in about 18 months, all across the U.S. and in parts of the U.K. There are plenty of sits, so no need to wait in limbo and then scramble, unless you choose to.
Plus, if you turn out to be good at sitting, you’ll get invited back a lot. Sometimes, you’ll even get referrals to other hosts.
Personally, I rarely do repeat sits, because I prefer variety, but some sitters love them. If I liked them, I could easily sit privately, without using THS any longer. Some sitters end up doing that. Like some hosts check whether I want to do various sits before they post them. Some plan trips well ahead and can offer a bunch of sits spread over a year.
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Generally speaking, we usually don’t have multiple applications out at once for similar dates, and it’s for a combination of reasons.
It is extremely rare we don’t get chosen for the sits to which we apply so I am usually pretty confident in our chances. This is especially true when we come back to the US to sit because we often gravitate towards locations that aren’t particularly ‘competitive’ though most of the listing usually will have other applicants. Also, in my experience, hosts tend to reply relatively quickly. We are also very selective about the sits we do.
But there are times when I may apply to sits with overlapping dates.
For example, my cousin was getting married near Asheville, NC the beginning of August so needing to be in a specific area at a specific time, we did have applications out to a few different listings since we had just started looking a few weeks before (there are tons of sits in that area so I knew we would have plenty to choose from, especially since it was summer) and you do never know how long hosts will take to reply.
I might also put out multiple applications if it is a place I really would like to go and sits there aren’t all that common.
Another scenario where I might be more inclined to do this would be if I was trying to fill a gap between sits. If I am limited to a specific area for a specific time frame, that likely means fewer opportunities from which to choose, so I would likely apply to more than one listing that fits my criteria if I saw it.
Ultimately, you do what feels best. Applying to multiple sits at once is very common practice and makes sense for a lot of reasons.
One thing you may notice is some hosts will read messages relatively quickly but not reply so quickly–for people like this, mentioning you have applications out for other sits with similar dates might make them more inclined to get in touch faster if they like you.
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Hi @drm
I just apply for any sits I like. I accept the first sit I get offered and withdraw the other applications with a simple thanks for considering me but I’ve now accepted another sit.
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We often have multiple applications out at once, and then it is a case of first come,first served for the home hosts.
We never withdraw applications until we have been officially accepted by another host.
We have a sit coming up shortly where the home host did not reply to our application for 5 weeks! Luckily for us, and them, we were still available!
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@drm, we have been full-time housesitting for last 18 months. We approach listings as feature housesits (attractive features) and filler housesits (dates work). Our mindset varies between these two contexts.
For “feature housesits”, we typically do not apply concurrently. Inherently, we actively seek to progress that housesit and we have a good conversion rate. So we’re willing to be patient.
For “filler housesits”, we typically have concurrent applications. Parallel process typically only brief period. As mentioned by @Maggie8K, we find that organized Pet Parents typically progress applications on a timely basis.
It’s totally ok, in our view at least, to withdraw applications prior to sit confirmation. Pet Parents may prefer otherwise (sorry folks!) but housesitting is a two-way voluntary trade, not a job! Both parties are exploring alternative options until confirmation.
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heels. drag their heels.
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