I did a sit a few months ago not too far from my home. Everything went well and I went the extra mile taking care of the pets and the house. I got a great review but I have noticed that the owners have recently advertised for a new sit. I’m not sure what to read into this as in their position, I would have asked any previous sitters first. I’d like to apply, but the fact that they haven’t asked me puts me off. Thoughts anyone?
2 Likes
Welcome back to the forum @Antelope - good to see you here again. I can already see a couple of members responding to you so I will leave you in their very helpful hands!
Hi @Antelope
Was there any discussions about regular sit options previously? When I sit locally I bring the topic up with the owners. Some owners prefer regulars and some don’t mind, depends if they have had sitters for years and are used to different people on a regular basis. I would apply, or send them a message asking if they would consider you again. If they have given you a great review and it all went well the first time I can’t see why they wouldn’t want you back.
Good Luck
5 Likes
They might not know that they can invite sitters personally so I would definitely apply! -
" I noticed you are in need of a sitter again - I would love to come back to care for xx if you are happy to have me".
I think you will have a really high chance to secure this sit.
9 Likes
I wouldn’t worry that they haven’t approached you first, they may not have realised it was an option……Why don’t you apply saying something like “I’d love to return to housesit for you as really enjoyed my time….”. Try not to take it personally. If that doesn’t work there are plenty more sits available. Good luck!
9 Likes
As others have said, I definitely wouldn’t read anything to it; I would not feel that it is a reflection of how they feel about you as a sitter. As a homeowner, I have had 10 sitters who have all been fabulous and I would love to have any of them back, but honestly, it is so much easier to just post my new dates and hope that the dates fit one of them and they will apply, rather than individually invite past sitters. I’m also a sitter and I remember when previous homeowners would post a new sit, I’d cringe and think, “oh, why didn’t they invite me, do they not like me?” but now I’ve learned that it doesn’t mean that at all. It just means they don’t know if the new dates will fit a previous sitter and by posting, they can hopefully get applications from new sitters as well as previous sitters. I can almost guarantee you that if you apply, you will have a good outcome, as that’s what has happened to me each time I have applied to a homeowner I’ve sat for before, without having been invited to apply.
13 Likes
As an owner I would definitely say not to read too much into it and apply, they will prob jump at the chance to have you return. I seldom if ever invite people to sit as I figure that if they’re free and want to return then they will apply. I wouldn’t want to put them in the possibly awkward position of having to refuse a direct request….
6 Likes
Maybe they just arent aware of that option or maybe they just want to give someone else the opportunity.
3 Likes
As owners we definitely give the sitters we loved the chance to decide if they want to come back before publishing new dates to all sitters. It just makes sense for us and our cat surely feels more comfortable with people she knows. That’s not to say we wouldn’t be comfortable with someone else eventually but it does simplify our preparations.
1 Like
Myself, I wouldn’t read anything into it at all. It may be as simple as being easier to post that way. If you enjoyed the sit, apply and don’t think twice.
1 Like
Hi @Antelope. Here’s another reason why a homeowner might not send a private invitation to a successful sitter.
When I started pet sitting I did a lot of sits close to home. One of the people I sat for intentionally selected sitters with only a few reviews to help them get started. She is a wonderful person, and she loves nothing better than meeting new people and adding them to the collection of people she knows. So there’s another reason why a homeowner might open their sit up to anyone who’s interested.
2 Likes
As per the other comments, many do not realise that they can just directly ask you if available, so I would just apply and respond along the lines as suggested by others on this forum and in response to your query.
1 Like
Thanks everyone. All theses comments are really helpful.
1 Like
Hello and welcome to the forum @relocate_rentals - Thank you for your feedback and you are so right… often members, both owners or sitters, just don’t always know the best practices and it takes a while (or a forum 
) for them to discover different ways to approach sits. I see you are based out of Australia - are you there currently or house sitting further afield? Do you find owners reach out to you directly or do you more often apply to sits?
Enjoy connecting with the community
All the best, Vanessa and the forum team
Hi Vanessa,
We are Australian and live in Australia, Perth, WA…well I think that where we live still, due to Covid we have not been back to Perth, WA since 20 Jan 2020. We have been housepet sitting all over Australia, currently, since June 2020, set up in Qld and been booked back to back since June 2020 until June 2023, with sits from Brisbane to as far north as Cooktown/Cairns.
Being a member of 3 sitting sites including Trusted Housesitters and with having built up a a few regulars, who contact us, we’ve had no problem getting booked for sits , with only ccasionally, like if travelling from Brisbane to Townsville for sits, needing 2 days to travel, needing to pay for accommodation. Over the entire 5.5 yrs we have been housepet sitting, I think we’ve paid for accommodation average of maybe 6-10 nights per year and some of that is when we’ve chosen to have some time out for ourselves.
We have found that most sits we’ve done tend to contact us if we are available before they advertise, some check our availability and then take their vacation to fit in with our availability. Even our regular Singapore sit asks us first before advertising.
We are looking forward to overseas housepet sits again, most likely commence next year, July 2023. Our overseas housepet sits were obviously cut short in 2020/2021 due to Covid. We had 4.5mths (2 sits) in Panama, then 3 weeks in Sint Maartens and a white Christmas and new year in the Wuhan Province of China (where it all started).
A question, where on this site can I submit a story for being selected in the monthly newsletter about our experiences as housepet sitters?
Kind regards,
Edith
3 Likes
@relocate_rentals Oh I feel for you… Ian my partner is a UK / Aussie hybrid and Perth is his Aussie home. He’s not been back for 4 years now … we are hoping for a trip maybe 2024! Good to hear you’ve managed to continue house sitting though and are building up regulars! I always feel it’s a bit like going home when you do repeats… especially when nomadic (it’s almost the closest thing haha).
I think we must have followed each other around… we used to live and spend time in Panama and also spent a year in China… not Wuhan, but Shenzhen, the Caribbean also ! It sounds like you’ve had some amazing adventures… and I’m sure our Content Manager, Danielle would love to talk with you about sharing your experiences with the wider community. I will pass your details on to her today!
In the meantime we would love to hear more about your house sits and travels here in the forum too so please do feel inspired to start a topic in the travel category, do an introduction here, or anywhere you feel is relevant! We love photos too!
Thanks for sharing and we look forward to following your house sitting story!
1 Like
Hi Edith,
We also did an ‘Around Australia’ housesitting tour in 2019/2020 - and it was so easy to book long and back-to-back sits, especially if you are a member of the 3 main housesitting sites in Australia. I think we budgeted for 100 nights a year of alternative accommodation, and in the end we only paid for around 10 nights a year. We saved for our home deposit and it worked a treat! Covid put a stop to all that, but it worked out in our favour, as we were lucky enough to buy our first home. Now, 2 years later, we are doing an ‘Around Europe’ tour…once the bug gets you, it’s hard to shake!
Annette
6 Likes
Thanks for your reply… have direct messaged you
Agree with everyone saying don’t take it personally; they might not know they can invite you. In fact it’s possible they might take it personally if you don’t apply! (We thought they really liked the sit etc…)
We’ve had a couple of knock backs where the owners said a previous sitter had applied. So don’t be out off.