Hi,
I have a question about the process. We are new and had someone apply for our Thanksgiving dates. I wanted to FT but he accepted another sit in the time it took to arrange our FT and withdrew his application. He basically then told me “you snooze, you lose” (in nicer terms). Should I be accepting applications first, then doing a FT (and cancelling if I see any red flags)? If not, what are some suggestions?
No, you followed what every (reasonable)sitter would like to happen. I wouldn’t accept a sit before I had completed a video call and seen and spoken to the HO and their property. Just bad luck that someone was quicker than you.
Elsie
Many sitters are applying to multiple opportunities or have other commitments to plan for; this is where the “you snooze, you lose” situation applies.
Typically, when I apply for a sit, I receive a response within hours, we arrange a call within a day or two and confirm the sit within 48 hours of submitting my application.
You only need one good applicant. If you receive a promising application, I suggest responding quickly. If you feel good about the applicant, don’t worry about waiting for other applicants to compare them to. If the applicant doesn’t feel like a good fit, decline the application and move on. If you receive multiple promising applications at the same time, at a minimum, respond letting them know you are reviewing applications and will follow up by the end of the day, or tomorrow, or whatever time frame you are comfortable with—keeping in mind that some may withdraw during that time.
The key thing is how long does it take you to reply and schedule a video chat and decide on a sitter, because that’s the window when many sitters have applied for multiple sits and might be snapped up, especially experienced sitters with good reviews. Those sitters generally have the most opportunities, not only because more hosts want them, but because they get invites for repeat sits, get referrals for sits, etc.
Personally, my hosts reply quickly, and then we video chat promptly and they offer me the sit immediately and I accept right off. The whole thing can take 24 to 48 hours. (Like many sitters, I withdraw my application within 48 hours if a host hasn’t replied to schedule a video chat.)
I find that hosts who are prompt also tend to send welcome guides well ahead of sits and to write reviews quickly (like within a few days of a sit ending). I figure that’s because hosts who’ve got their act together tend to be that way consistently. I purposely screen for such hosts and can get sits relatively easily as a remote worker who sits solo and has a nice home — I can be as selective as I want to be, as many sitters can. For folks like us, we can always opt to just stay home, rather than compromise on a sit. Like I don’t sit for hosts who are slow to reply, because I have no interest in them.
Hosts who have homes in popular locations and have a limited number of pets that also are straightforward to sit have the most flexibility and ease of finding sitters. By contrast, if your sit is in a location with many sits offered, you will tend to need to move more quickly, because you’ll be competing harder for sitters. Some locations always have many sits.
As others have said, if you get a good application you want to act quickly. As a sitter, I know that HOs may get multiple applications, so it doesn’t make sense for me to only apply to one at a time a wait to see if they contact me. I apply to any sits that look like they would be a good fit. If they have overlapping dates, I accept the one that is offered first.
If you get an applicant that looks good, reach out right away. I just confirmed a sit yesterday and it was about 18 hours from application to confirmed sit. I applied, the HO contacted me within an hour, we set up a video chat for the next day, and then confirmed immediately after the chat. So, keep in mind that things can move quickly.
If someone you feel is a great fit applies, be quick at arranging to FT if that’s what you want to do. When we apply for sits, we (myself and my partner) usually get a response within an hour, and if we’re FT’ing then a time/date is set quickly, so no-ones time is wasted and things aren’t dragged on.
@Sultanka Its best as a homeowner to always have your trips researched and sorted ahead of time. Also to check what the options are on a plan B. in case of cancellations or rescheduling. Then post the assignement and when a good sitter applies, best is to swiftly follow up with an (e)meeting. After the meeting decide within 4 hours if this is the right applicant for you.
Good sitters don’t wait on pet parents who do not have their act together, they are organised and apply for time slots that suit their agendas. As a result they are snapped up very quickly when they find a good match.
Am I the only person here who doesn’t have a clue what FT means?
I assumed it to mean “face time”??
thank you, I was thinking perhaps Fast Track but that didn’t make sense. I wish people would use plain English on here.
Hosts don’t accept applications. Only sitters can accept a sit.
Sitters apply for your published dates.
When the host is ready, a host extends a formal invitation to 1 sitter for the sit.
The sitter can then accept or decline a host’s invitation.
Until a sitter accepts a host’s invitation, THS displays the host’s published dates as needing a sitter or under review.
It is quite common that sitters apply for multiple sits over the same period. So, yes, it is a snooze you lose process. But don’t skip over the vetting process (video chats and correspondence) unless you’re a big fan of pigs in a poke. The main thing is to be very timely in responding to applications. Do NOT wait until you have “enough” applications. You only need 1 good sitter application and, when you get one, you should be responding with hours. Not days.
You can get up to 5 applicaitons at a time. Once you get five the applications will stop until you decline some and “unpause.” With really desirable areas the applications will reach five easily, but with most sits, it might take a while to get to five or maybe never. Sitters are applying to different sits often overlapping ones and won’t wait for responses but will take the sits they applied to that were then offered to them. Some sitters will simply withdraw applications if they don’t hear back within a certain amount of time. Others won’t bother to do that, but will be actively looking at other sits. There is nothing wrong with either approach, but from a homeowner’s view, it’s best to acknowledge the application and either decline it or ask questions or set up a time to meet etc.
Applying to a sit doesn’t mean a sitter is going to take the sit. It means the sitter is interested in taking the sit if you are both well-matched. It’s not a commitment. Just like on your end talking to a sitter doesn’t oblige you to choose them. Technically, you “accept” applications by not declining them. That’s different then “offering” a sitter te sit. When the sitter accepts your offer and you confirm you are both married to the sit, before that either one of you is free to call the whole thing off.
So to book a sitter in your case where you aren’t getting a lot of applicaitons, consider the following:
I agree almost completely with Maggie and the others above, except I’m still equivocal about the time it takes for HO to reply. Occasionally I’ve scored some fantastic sits by HOs who’ve taken up to 4 days to respond…. These have been both experienced and newer HOs. But I really gravitate towards HOs who respond and book me within 24 hours. Those are the HOs who seem to be the easiest to deal with overall. So I guess it’s wisest to respond ASAP and don’t risk losing the chance for a good match.
This seems unnecessary and unhelpful to the OP - it’s a two step process. HO confirming a sitter IS accepting their application. The sitter then has to accept the sit.
For @Sultanka - when I am setting up a sit, I have it go live when I know I have a lot of availability to respond quickly (aka on a Friday when I’m not booked up the whole weekend). If I have an applicant that looks great, I respond and offer to set up a video call asap, because I know sitters are usually looking at multiple sits, and quite frankly, I don’t want to drag out the process either.
It does not always work the way I expect - sometimes I don’t get any applicants until I’m back to the work week. Sometimes sitters don’t respond to me right away, or they respond but can’t schedule a video call until several days later.
When I was new, I had a (probably awesome) sitter withdraw because they accepted another sit while I was deliberating. It was a learning lesson to me. For my last open sit, my first applicants responded right away but couldn’t meet for 5 days because they were going camping. the next day, a sitter I was really excited about didn’t respond to my offer to meet (sent 15 minutes after the application hit my inbox) for the rest of the day. I got an application later that day from a sitter who was able to meet right away, and that’s who is doing my sit. So it works both ways.
The OP is really about the homeowner having a strategy to get great sitters. Non-response may turn off some great sitters. Delayed response or decision increases the chance that great sitters might find something else. Strategically, it’s best to reply soon, especially if there isn’t a big applicant pool.
It’s more than a 2-step process but it’s the last step that’s most critical and confusing to new hosts.
We see plenty of new hosts post in this forum thinking they’ve booked a sitter because they’ve extended the invitation to sit. They’re then confused either because the sit still shows as open or because their “booked” sitter withdraws after not hearing back from the host who thinks they’ve booked the sitter already. We also see the flip side: plenty of sitters posting complaints here about hosts who never extended the invitation the sitter was expecting.
This sentence suggested (to me at least) that the OP is a bit turned around on the process; hosts do not “accept applications”. Emphasizing the sitter’s acceptance of a host’s invitation as the final key step was helpful to me in understanding the THS process.
Once a sitter applied to my sit and I told her I was sorry but I’d just now got off a video chat with a couple and had confirmed them. She said, “Arrgghh, I should’ve applied BEFORE I made myself a sandwich!”
I would nevner put off an application for a… sandwich! 