Hi AlexformerlyinMadison,
I’ve encountered the same thing. I’ve been rejected purely because I travel alone. The reason stated was that the house was too big for me to care for alone. One of my regular sits is in a 3 story 6000+ sq. ft house. The house size has never been a problem, even in the summer when there was garden and pool care involved. I think a discussion with a prospective sitter would be better than an automatic decline because I travel alone.
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Actually, as a home owner I do have my reasons and I do not explain them lengthily to each sitter who applies. No matter how much YOU think you would be able to handle the sit, the home owner doesn’t and that’s what everybody has to accept.
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Not all men know how to do maintenance. And women can do maintenance also.
Hello and good morning! We are of those who are looking for a couple. The reason is that the house and the garden are hugh and we have 7 dogs and 2 cats, parrots and chicken. A lot for one person. We hade already single sitters and all went well but the sitter"s experience was like we told them before - a lot to take care of. We wish you good luck and all the best!
Given the size of your property and the number of pets, I doubt I would even consider it as a solo traveler - and I would never wonder why you prefer a couple! I adore dogs more than anything but that’s a whole pack and even with all my experience I know my limitations. 
Thank you so much for responding!
I have found that sits that specify they want couples over singles generally also say this is because there is more work required (pets, off-grid systems, gardens, crops etc) or that it is isolated or similar. They either explicitly say why they have a preference or it can be inferred from the listing.
I’m usually far more wary of the ones that specify they want a single traveler only with no reason given. Even seen some very isolated sits wanting single female only which just seems like a red flag.
It doesn’t bother me if some HOs prefer couples. I see some listings that state they want couples, some that say they want solos. I assume they have their reasons and I don’t need to know those reasons.
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Interesting. I haven’t seen anything like that yet but I’ll keep my eyes open. I agree that singe, female in a remote location raises red flags.
I sit solo and see listings for couples and solos. Shrug. There are sits for all types of sitters.
I get sits specifically for solo women sometimes, because the pets respond better to women and are timid or skittish, so the more people, the more stressful it is for the pet. Also, hosts sometimes think a woman will be more likely to be clean or careful with their home. Plus, I’m older and married and they probably think I’m less likely to throw parties or bring random people to their home.
I’m part of a couple and have been rejected a couple of times by people saying they only accept single females. I didn’t question why, but some have said their pet doesn’t do well with males. Apart from that reason, I don’t really understand why a person wouldn’t want a neat, clean couple vs a single person, but since the homeowner chooses who they feel comfortable with, I don’t apply if we don’t fit what they say they are looking for. Plenty of sits out there for all of us!
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Hi Alex,
I was an owner as well as a sitter and always had my best luck with retired couples as my sitters. Maybe these people have had the same experience. I am sure you would do a terrific job, it is jusy my experience over the last 6 years.
@alexformerlyinmadison It’s not you. You’re just fine as is.
We are homeowners and sitters. As homeowners, we’ve had couples and single sitters here.
In the past, we had a single sitter get COVID while on our sit. If this person had been part of a couple, we would know that another person is there and would be able to easily manage all the responsibilities of pet and home care.