Hello all, thanks for being here. As a newbie from Canada we appreciate your feed back. We plan to be in Italy the spring of 2023 with family for 6 weeks but then stay on for a few more months in the summer pet sitting. Our question is "Should we be applying for multiple jobs for the same time spot? or “Should we apply to one and wait to see if we get a response and then move on?”
Also if someone has said that they are interested but don’t want to confirm because they may have to change the dates a bit, is it fair to decline and move on? We need something with a firm date.
Lastly, while booking back to back bookings is it smart to leave a day or two in between even if they are in the same region. The one we did book said to come few days early to get to know the pets before they leave so obviously the dates they had posted aren’t really the time commitment they posted. We were glad we didn’t book something immediately before but are happy to have the days to ease into the job. thank you for all or any comments.
Welcome! 1. The first question has been asked many times here, everyone does it differently. We personally like to apply for one sit at a time, but if you are transparent with the HOs you can also apply to multiple sits.
2. Entirely depends on you, it sounds like you would rather like to decline (which is fine!).
3. It sounds like you will be at least two people. We usually have overlaps and split up for a few days. This way we don’t spend money on accommodation. But if you are not keen on doing this: better keep 1-2 days as a buffer between sits. It happens all the time that a HO will change the dates slightly (e.g. they got rebooked).
Hi @Trusted2 - Welcome to the group. As @Timmy says, sitters all do things slightly differently to suit themselves so you will eventually find out what suits you best.
We are a couple and this is how we do it.
1- We apply for multiple sits for the same time spot then as soon as we get accepted by one, we message all the others that have clashing dates to withdraw our applications. When we started we used to do the one-wait/one-wait method but found this to be far too time-consuming as some home hosts will take ages to make a decision.
2- If someone has said that they are interested but don’t want to confirm because they may have to change the dates a bit, We don’t decline but continue to send out applications. Again, if we get booked for another sit we immediately let the first one know that unfortunately, we are no longer available for the dates they wanted.
3- We usually book exactly back-toback or overlap our dates by a day or two to avoid the expense of single-night hotel/Airbnb bookings which can get expensive and add to the exhaustion of moving too often. It is always wise to ask before confirming the booking precisely what dates the home host wants you to arrive and leave on. Once confirmed, you are committed to those dates, but if they change dates for any reason after you have confirmed the booking, you only have to oblige if it is convenient for you to do so.
Good luck!
Welcome to THS and to the Forum. You’re going to have fun. Presumably your top priority would be to the pets your looking after and, secondly an opportunity to explore new places? Just be mindful that, should a pet be ill, you’ll need to give it your 100% attention. The fact that you are a couple (or family?) makes that easier.
I think it’s entirely up to you as to whether you apply for one or more sits over the same time period. I disagree with @Timmy about telling the HOs this as that would put them off you, so it will be whoever gets in touch with you first and take if from there - having a video call, seeing the home, pets and making up your minds as to whether it’s for you. You may find also that some HOs will take their time reading your application so may be slow getting back. You have to look after no. 1! Obviously, once you’ve been confirmed and you accept a sit you should not go back on your word and cancel because you might have found a better sit.
As for a HO not confirming and suggesting they may change their dates, that to me would be a red flag so I might just stay in the loop but move on to find another sit. Should you find another sit then go back to the original HO and say you’re withdrawing your application.
As @Timmy says when you’re a couple one of you could go to the next sit if you have back to back ones.
I’m a single sitter and sometimes have back to back. It’s easier if I have cats and the HO is delayed but not if I have a dog. So I do sometimes have a day or two in between. Back to back doesn’t always work out anyway, you always have to have a plan b and sometimes c!
Good luck! You’ll get the hang of it
Welcome @Trusted2. It’s a great lifestyle meeting new furry friends in some cool places.
I always apply for multiple sits and then withdraw any others once I get a confirmed sit.
Something to be aware of is that non EU citizens can only stay in schengen zone for a maximum of 90 days per 180 days. Italy in my experience will stamp you into and out the country.
Thank you. We weren’ t aware of that. Greatly appreciated 
Fabulous. Thank you.
So helpful. Thank you immensely.
Wonderful, greatly appreciated. Thank you.
My top tip? If booking accommodation for ‘in-between’ nights, we only book those options with free cancellations. Things change all the time. It’s like playing with moving blocks! Make sure you can cancel for free 
This definitely takes the stress away.
Smart tip , didn t think of that. Thank you.
I am also planning to travel to Europe (Italy, Spain, France) in April/May of ‘2023 and wondering when to be looking for sit opportunities. I’m not seeing many posted more than 1-3 months in the future.
The problem with applying for one and then waiting for a response is that I find not everyone responds. In looking for a Christmas sit I applied to one, but four days later had heard nothing, and other possible places might be lost. The home I applied for had only 3 other applicants so I had assumed I would get a response quickly.
Is it common to never hear back from a homeowner?
Agreed that unfortunately I’ve applied for sits but never got a response. Or the other thing is that some HO’s seem to take weeks to respond. I withdrew from a sit recently after the HO hadn’t responded in nearly 3 weeks. After I withdrew they contacted me to say they were considering me but I’d already got another sit confirmed.
Yes, pretty common.
@Lakeoedo we are looking for January sits in Spain and there are hardly any. Today for the first time in ages, two were posted. So it looks like the best time is 2-3 weeks in advance for Spain and Italy. France is a bit different as there are generally much more opportunities in France and they seems to be posted a bit earlier.
I’ve found the same in the US … most seem to be 2-4 weeks in the future. Since we’re going in April, I’ll start seriously looking in February.
Good luck.
We usually apply for a few sits that meet our time frame for a few reasons. As mentioned already dates change! I usually ask at some point, what days do you need to to be there? Often times it is a day before to meet the pets or they ask that we stay late the departure day and then are often offered the choice to spend that night. We also are a couple and so have overlapped sits to be able to avoid hotels. I think homeowners like this flexibility as we offer to stay later or leave earlier if we have another sit, as travel plans change so much these days. And sometimes we are accepted that same day and sometimes we never hear a thing so we like to have options.
Duration of a sit also determines how early you should post. The longer the sit, the farther out I feel it should be for the sake of logistics. It also helps the potential sitter possibly acquire less expensive travel costs when they know a few months ahead of time instead of just a couple of weeks.
Shorter sits tend to get posted later (1-4 weeks out).
If you book exact back to backs, what happens if the HO is delayed in returning, such as a cancelled flight?