I am new to this and have applied and been turned down on two sits already.
Can someone look over my application and offer any advice? I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants, having no clue what I am doing. Looks like no one is interested in a retired gentleman.
Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thank you
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Welcome to the TrustedHousesitters forum!
Our members will be able to share their knowledge and experience to offer some great advice.
To help them take a look at your profile, I’m sharing the steps below from this post.
Why would I share my THS profile or listing?
If you’re looking for a little help when creating your profile/listing, forum members can offer their years on knowledge and experience to share suggestions to tweak the information you’ve laid out.
What do I need to do?
How the link will appear…
Hi @Komori231,
Welcome to the forum!
We can certainly have a look at your profile and you can even share what kind of message you send when you apply but I can tell you before hand that having your application declined twice is nothing to worry about. My first advice would be to have more realistic expectations, even more so being a newbie.
I have done 40 sits with THS, all of them 5 stars across and great reviews and I still receive more declines than invites. That’s just what I expect from statistics. Lots of home owners usually get 5 applications or more and if they are not happy about any of them they still can keep publishing their listing until they find an application they like. So not necessarily anything wrong with your profile or application but perhaps there are some improvements you could make. Let’s see if you can share your profile
Apart from the profile and application, some points to be considered:
I also started sitting when I retired and I am loving it.
I am sure you will have great experiences, too.
Good luck.!
@Komori231 We all had declines when first starting out so hang in there. You say you have no clue what you are doing. Can I suggest you use the Help button on the website as there are so many blogs/articles to inform new members on how to get going, how to produce a great profile etc? Have you thoroughly read the Terms of Service and Code of Conduct to which you have agreed to on joining? They give you vital information on your responsibilities and also those of home owners which you need to be aware of.
As i am a retired single gentleman allow me to give some encouragement. Please remember that for every sit there are 5 applicants. So purely statistically speaking you have a 20% change to get the sit. So being turned down for 2 sits is nothing. Even after several years and only 5 star sits, I get turned down a lot. The biggest challenge is getting your first confirmed sit. Would you choose a person without any reviews for your pet if others with multiple 5 star reviews apply. You should apply to more sits and apply simultaniously to multiple sits even if they overlap. Once you are accepted, simply cancel the overlapping applications. That is what a lot of us do anyway.
Please follow the steps that community manager Mark has given you so we can see your profile and offer help. You may want to post an introduction letter you are sending as well. Your first few sits need to be local, applying to low application sits will give you more chances of being picked since you are new. If you are applying for sits in another country it will be harder as you have no reviews yet and it’s too big of a risk. If you don’t have previous pet care experience maybe post a link to your Airbnb account if you have one.
If i was comfortable with my application I would be fine with the rejections. Maybe it’s fine im not sure.
Thanks for all the helpful advice, i really appreciate it.
Hi Komori231
I am a newly retired lady, 2 years retired, 2 years a sitter. Getting that first sit is indeed the most difficult one. Can I ask what country you are applying for sits in? Most abundant sits are in UK, and in USA, where the ratio of sitters to listings will give you a better chance than certain European mainland countries for example. Which country do you wish to sit in, perhaps an owner here will be able to help you directly?
As you’ve seen , we’ve ALL been in your shoes - new, unsure, multiple rejections, etc. and we’d love to help further.
Being able to see your profile and/or your applications would help us to point out areas where you might benefit from some tweaking - adding something, deleting something, changing words, emphasising things, etc.
Did you link your profile? I don’t see it.
@Komori231 Just one additional suggestion, besides applying for a local sit whenever possible: consider applying for a relatively short sit. Not everyone is willing to put in the effort required for a short assignment, especially as there is less time to enjoy the surroundings and the home still needs to be left clean and tidy.
That can give you a better chance of being selected and is a good way to start building up your five-star reviews.
No, that’s not accurate.
I am both host and sitter.
Our last listing had zero applicants.
Previous had three.
Winter in Tasmania obviously doesn’t appeal… even to us!
A listing may have many more than five, with some being declined due to being unsuitable, leaving application slots open again.
In any case, we are happy to accept older retirees.
Welcome to THS! The site has had a major growth spurt lately, and I’ve seen so many listings that say ‘we only accept applications from experienced sitters with lots of reviews’ making it harder for newbies to get on the ladder. The irony - I also look for hosts with multiple reviews (ideally) so I don’t have to onboard them to the ts & cs myself. THS aren’t onboarding new hosts these days, so many are clueless about their obligations & the private homestay concept. When I first joined in 2016, I added 3 off-platform references from people who’s pets I’d looked after while they were legit on holiday - 2 cats and a rabbit. This, I believe, got me started, and I was invited to the first two sits I applied to. Make sure you have a clear profile photo, a friendly & personal ‘about me’ section that shows a clear love for animals and travel.
When messaging a host for the first time, make it personal: share what drew you to apply, what interests you about the area, mention the pets names, share a little about yourself (what you do for a living, your hobbies & passions), and definitely don’t copy and paste this across every application message. Share your number, when to call, and let them know they don’t need to schedule a call!
On the call ask lots of questions: pet character, vet, emergency plan, home responsibilities - this shows you’re responsible, experienced, and thinking ahead. And let them know you’re talking to other hosts so they scoop you up on the call (most of mine are agreed and accepted during the call, unless they need time to check about adding me to car insurance).
Oh, and apply to as many sits as fit your requirements - each host can only select one applicant, so spread your bets! More and more hosts are cancelling their dates, changing their dates, and taking too long to decide. Create lots of options for yourself.
Good luck and keep the faith. With consistency and more sits you’ll develop your own success protocol for getting the sits you want.
I don’t think that strategy is a good one. What if they call when you are outdoors in a noisy area, on a bus, or worse still, sitting in a doctors waiting room, or at a funeral?
Calls, generally, do have to be scheduled for most of us, even retired people, in order to have the best quality calls.
If I miss their call, I call them back when I can. Never fails 
I must say that I prefer the call to be scheduled and how the other party handles that scheduling can be enlightening indeed. I recently cancelled my application for a sit (despite them seeming very enthusiastic about me) because they kept delaying with seemingly lame excuses. Examples: had to water the outdoor plants, had to pack for their weekend trip (this was on a Tuesday), the soccer game was on. OK, that last one might resonate with some forum members. I felt they came off as scattered and we weren’t going to be a good match. Or maybe they weren’t as enthusiastic as they let on. Who knows? My time has value so I moved on.
I always want a video chat, so the sitters can see my house and vice versa when I’m the sitter. That needs to be scheduled because the homeowner needs to be at home.
Thank you very much
I live in Nebraska and applying in Montana where I was born and raised.
Thank you
