Hello @PaperStan , Welcome to the forum. This comes with the territory. It is much better if you can manage to be thick-skinned. A polite response is very nice but it doesn’t always happen. Some owners are indifferent, some, especially if they’re new, may not even realize how their reply or lack of one appears to a sitter applicant and some do not know that unless they send a message to each applicant prior to confirming their chosen applicant, those not chosen receive only a Sorry you weren’t successful this time email with no other message. You are not alone. This topic has been discussed here. Take a look at these earlier discussions.
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/declined-sittings-without-any-interaction/
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/etiquette-for-declining-applicants/