First time potential sitter here and wondering how others manage when making more than one application and having a preffered one. I made 3 applications and heard back from one (2nd choice) asking about a phone call. I didn’t respond until the next day as was waiting to hear back from ‘favourite’. I was upfront with initial responder,advising that shorter distance was reason and kept communication open ( no response). I heard back from other 2 and they advised me of other dates, but they had gone for their first applicants on this occasion. So wondering if I should have gone with ‘ bird in the hand’ as it was a good sit and I think I annoyed the host of my 2nd choice by not getting back to her straight away and/or being honest that I was waiting on another host. Are hosts able to leave a bad review of ‘potential sitters’? I do have a call tomorrow, slightly concerned that owner in her message described the house as ‘chaotic’!
No, hosts can’t leave reviews of potential sitters.
I can understand the host would have been upset that you had a preferred option.
No one likes to think they are the 2nd choice. Why put effort into talking to you when you may cancel the sit if you hear from your favorite. I only apply for one sit at a time. I’m lucky if I find one that appeals to me for certain time frames. I do this very part time. I would think if I did apply to more than one at a time I would talk to whomever contacted me. If the call went well I would accept it. I would believe I was meant to have that experience. You are taking a risk if your favorite never contacts you or there are red flags after the call. If in the future you want to sit for the person you told was your 2nd choice, they will remember that and pass you. Remember, not all your thoughts have to be verbalized. I would not have shared that info of your desires with them. I suggest only apply to sits that excite you and will say yes to.
We just completed a sit knowing we were the second choice 
HO spoke to us but let us know he was wanting to talk to another applicant. At the time we only had one review and wanted the sit so we were philosophical and while we hoped we got it we knew we might not. Well clearly their first choice didn’t come through and the sit went well for both of us. I have started to look at it as a numbers game, 20% chance of being chosen so I will apply for what takes my fancy. Plenty of HO too slow in responding (or never!?).
By the time we get to a video chat if all goes well I don’t hold out for that potential “even better sit”.
Its absolutely fine to apply for multiple sits with the same time frame. We’ve done it many times. And of course there will probably be a favourite among them. I understand why you waited to respond but you made two simple mistakes- a)delaying a response to a host that was interested in connecting, and b) telling that host you were waiting on another host that was a better fit!! No one wants to be second choice! In future make sure you would be willing to do any of the sits you apply for and then go with first responder-( if it works out well with them.) If they had all responded at the same time you would have had more choice but in this case you lost out on all three! It’s a learning curve for sure!!
We often have multiple applications in the pipeline at any time, but as we only apply for sits that appeal to us, it doesn’t really affect us who responds first.
Honestly, if truth be told, there is often one particular sit we would choose over the others if we had the choice, but if it doesn’t happen, we look on it as their loss, not ours.
We have still been accepted for a great sit so have no reason to be disheartened.
It’s a bit like being told the ice cream you had been looking forward to all day is out of stock. Ok, you are slightly didssapointed, but they still have another flavour which tastes darn good 
I can understand that, it’s like if you had applied for a sit and the owners said there was someone that suited them waaay better than you so they wanted to hold out until they see if they’re available first and if they aren’t you can be their back-up plan, that’s basically how they will naturally feel. No-one wants to be anyone’s last-resort back-up plan.
You’re getting plenty of conversations with owners, so just because you ‘can’ apply for multiple at the same time, doesn’t mean you should. Focus on the sits you really want, and if you don’t get them, then apply to others. If you’re random in what you apply for, you’ll get random results.
You’ve already proven to yourself that owners are interested in your profile, so apply for the ones that you’re more drawn to first.
Thank you for replies. Yes it has been a learning curve! I was very polite and did my best to not make the HO feel 2nd best, was just a matter of distance, but I can see that I may have failed in that. The ‘preferred’ HO whilst going with first applicants has advised me of dates later in the year and asked me to apply (we haven’t had a call yet) and I have call from a lady this evening for current dates. So whilst I ‘messed up’ somewhat, there are definitely some positives and I will do better next time!
Thanks again.
I am totally with you on this. I had a sit due to start this week who had to cancel her trip about 10 days ago, and therefore my sit, for genuine reasons.
so, I looked at and applied for 4 alternative sits at short notice, all within 2 hours drive, and on similar dates to the original sit. One of these was my favourite, by a mile. I told the owner this. She had only one other applicant,. Yet, she didn’t even reply to me.
Meanwhile ALL 3 of the others replied promptly, one of them to arrange a video call, and I am now on that sit, and LOVING IT.
The first lady had still not replied before I accepted, so I had told her I was withdrawing as she was obviously not interested as she had read my application but completely ignored me, Her answer? “I was waiting for a couple who sat for me before to get back to me.”
Even though her sit was now just days away??? there seemed to be no urgency.
The day before her sit, I saw she was still listed, so looks like they said No and she was stuck without a sitter. No plan B.
Her loss, My gain.
I have 4 Ducks, 13 hens, and 3 well behaved dogs, my largest sit yet, 20 animals, in a nice location, a big country house just over an hour from home, and as many eggs as I can eat.
I apply for multiple sits and it’s my business if I happen to prefer one over another, because what’s a host supposed to do with that info?
I just make sure I don’t leave anyone hanging. If I can’t say yes in good faith and carry through with a sit, then I have no business accepting or keeping a host hanging.
Of course, sometimes opportunities might surface later that I might’ve preferred. But such is life and you follow through anyway, because the host is counting on you.
If you look at it otherwise, how would you like it if a host kept you hanging or canceled on you because they found a better sitter?
I might be the lone HO responding, but I’m really not bothered by being told our sit is second choice. Sometimes sitters applied to another one first or are considering multiple options and it’s like you said, something just works better. Distance, number of pets, size of bed. Whatever, everyone is entitled to prioritize however they please. I usually have a first choice for various reasons, it’s not personal. If it were personal, like “this guy looks kind of sketchy,” the sitter wouldn’t make my list at all. I don’t know why people get offended. We’re all strangers, it’s a process. Sometimes I’ll message a sitter back who has already scheduled a call with a sit they’re excited about and if I really like them I’ll let them know, and I’ll just wait and see what happens.
My point is you didn’t mess up, you were honest. Next time you might do things differently, or not. Also, avoid the HO who admitted their home is chaotic. People don’t often see their own mess or realize just how bad it is, so if she says chaotic it could be even worse!
It is amazing that all 3 HO’s responded promptly! When we first started out, many HO’s did not respond promptly, and that was an entirely different challenge!
Even when multiple HO’s respond, it might take several days to talk to everyone via phone or video call. People are busy. Lots of moving parts.
Best to go with any sit that suits you and the owners seem to understand the mutual exchange. Once you have more experience, you will better manage the nuances.
The owner who says the home is “chaotic”— BEWARE!! Be prepared to state that “this is not a good fit for me.” Practice these words before the chat. For your very first sit, do yourself a favor and choose very wisely. The owner’s review of you needs to be great. Decline offers that do not match with your sensibilities.
Don’t apply to sits you are not enthusiastic about. Hanging your hat on a “preferred” sit and stringing along other HOs is a losing strategy. You probably only have a 1 in 5 chance landing your preferred sit while the other HOs are off finding other non-waffling applicants.
I only apply if I’m really interested. If I apply to three sits, I’m happy to take any of the three (unless a sit doesn’t seem like a good fit based on the virtual chat). I accept whichever is offered to me first. I wouldn’t leave a HO waiting because I might get a different sit.
Great advice!
I agree. I am a sitter and I don’t care if I was their first choice or 5th choice after weeding out the other 4 after a chat. My goal is to get that sit I want so I am a winner either way, being picked first or last. I know they won’t be sorry they picked me so all is good.
I take your point, but I didn’t string anyone along, I was upfront about it and the HO was no longer interested which I acknowledged was my own fault and I have learnt from it. In saying that, I was waiting on a call from another HO and I checked with them it was still going ahead as it was late and the lady said that her neighbour has offered to look after her dog. I had looked at another sit in case this one didn’t work out, but held off applying as I didn’t want to apply for more than one again. The point I am (badly) trying to make, is it goes both ways. If I hadn’t contacted re. call, I could have missed out another application.
I realise I have just confirmed your kind ‘waffling’ comment! 