Hi, I’m new to this. I posted my first dates and have had numerous sitters apply. We have found the sitters we think we will use, but how to I respond to all the others that saved my listing?
I feel it’s rude not to acknowledge
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Thanks so much for your application. We appreciate your time and experience but at this point we’ve decided on a different sitter. We wish you the best and please do feel free to apply again in the future.
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Great answer from CreatureCuddler. Many like a personal message, so nice of you to think about that.
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But don’t decline the other applicants @CornishPupsMum before you’re sure the sitter will accept your sit.
It’s common to have a video chat or a phone call before confirming a sit, and after that either the sitter or you might feel it’s not a great match after all.
So, keep your options open until everyone is sure they want this sit to happen.
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Thank you.
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Just be aware of many sitters (incl me) will withdraw their application if the host doesn’t communicate within 48 hours of application. Terms of THS says within 72 hours, but many sitters have a tighter timeframe, as it is considered a signal of the hosts communication-style.
Oh of course I communicate with each applicant as soon as I read their application @Garfield . I thank them for applying and depending on the situation either decline them straight away/ tell them an approximate timeline of when I’ll get back to them/ ask some more questions/ arrange a video chat as soon as possible.
But when it comes to declining other equally good applicants before the one the HO is planning to choose has confirmed, I don’t think that’s a good idea. A sitter is not confirmed until they’ve confirmed.
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Make sure you are happy with and have confirmed your sitter before sending any messages.
You wouldn’t want to be in a position where you decline the other applicants and then your preferred sitter withdraws.
As soon as you confirm your sitter the system automatically sends a message to the other applicants. It is a nice touch when the homeowner sends a personal message as well. Personally I don’t need an explanation as to why I wasn’t successful.
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There might be a confusion with the terminology here.
There are sitters that have applied to your listing, you can only recieve a maximum of five at any time, if any (or all) of these five are not suitable, you can decline them to make way for new ones until the five maximum is reached again.
You then choose the sitter you require and once confirmed by both you and the sitter, you can decline the other four, a short note acknowledging their interest out of politeness is appreciated.
There are also sitters that save your listing, These are sitters that have come across your listing, they like it, but at the moment for whatever reason, they are not in a position to apply. The number of sitters that can save your listing is unlimited and there is no need to acknowledge them . To be honest as you are in Cornwall you will probably end up with hundreds of ‘saves’ so trying to acknowlede them all would turn out to be a full time job!
Good luck with your first Trustedhousitter experience!
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As @Colin pointed out there is a big difference between applications and sitters that saved your listing.
If you have any questions you have come to the right place.
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Oh, good catch on the save the listings part. I didn’t catch that. There is no need to contact anyone who has saved your listing unless you’re inviting them to a sit. You should only send the thank you but decline emails to people who have actively applied. Saving just means they think it’s interesting for later, not that they’re interested now.
@CornishPupsMum, welcome to the forum and to THS community. You sound very thoughtful and are going to enjoy this experience.
Totally agree. Nobody expects communication after saving a listing. But if you have time and are curious enough to read some profiles of people who have favourited your listing, it could be a good idea to send a message to the one/ones you prefer. This would help in future dates to bypass the five applicants limit, as those sitters will be able to get in touch with you even if you have reached the limit. I would try not to overdo it though, to prevent being flooded with messages; if you are in a popular location, you’ll have lots of applications to choose from anyway.
Good luck with your first sitters.
Thank you, that makes more sense. I’ve got loads of people who have saved my listing.
I’ve invited two, one has declined due to dates,the other is fairly local and coming to meet the puppies at the weekend 
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If you have paid the lowest fee you don’t get notices that someone has saved your listing. Occasionally I get a message from THS telling me that lots of people have saved my listing — wouldn’t I like to see how many? Yeah? Well then, upgrade!
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Do applicants still get an “automatic decline” message when the Owner invites someone else?
If so, this is something for Owners to be aware of.
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I’m not sure, I’m new to this.
@PVGemini @CornishPupsMum Yes when a host confirms a sitter all the other applicants will immediately receive an sutomated decline from THS. To avoid hurt feelings (we sitters are sensitive souls!) Its very helpful if you can send a personal note when you decline or as soon possible after. @CreatureCuddler offers a very acceptable message you could send (scroll up to the 2nd post)
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As Twitcher I don’t need a personal message. The main thing for me is to get a timely response either way. It is nice of you to send a personal message should you wish to, but the auto-message is just that - a message to ensure that everybody is notified of the outcome when a sit is confirmed.
Best of luck!
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I don’t “need” one but I do appreciate it. I also think that, apart from showing good manners, it helps the owner to keep sitters they may like to invite in the future open to their sit. IMO if an owner does not think a sitter is suitable for their sit, they should also be clear about that and it would save them and the sitter future applications.
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I also give the homeowners about 72 hours unless it’s a sit I really want and definitely agree it’s a sign of the homeowners’ communication style. I’m all for homeowners that just hit the confirm button before even having a video chat. Just curious Garfield and hope you don’t mind me asking. Do you just “withdraw” your application or do you send a personal message to the homeowners? I just withdraw if the homeowners have had no contact with me and I don’t feel the need to send any message when my application hasn’t even been acknowledged. Just wondering what other sitters do - thanks!