I had one who left my application unread for ten days. And then suddenly accepted.
They prioritised other things: work, kids. Yes, this was one of the things that came across as rude to me, but they turned out to be nice people anyway. Just under too much stress.
I donāt want to be called a guest. That makes it sounds like the host is doing me a favor by allowing me to stay in their house, and I am beholden to them. Itās important that both parties remember itās an equal exchange, and the sitter is performing important services for the host, caring for pets and home.
A sit I applied for back on 16 July never responded. The owner has two sets of dates, October and next March. Theyāve both been āreviewing applicationsā for weeks now so can only assume the ownerās doing nothing or something has happened to him. Iāve since arranged another sit and withdrew my application. Out of interest I keep checking to see what happens as the October sit is fast approaching. Heāll likely get left with no one,
But both parties ARE doing favors for each other. When Iām a guest, staying at someoneās home, I want to make sure I am doing stuff to make the hostās life easier ā not create more work. Itās the same when Iām hosting someone. I want that person to have fun, but also be considerate, not make a mess, and maybe make themselves useful. Homeowner to me is too close to landlord. Itās not even the correct half the time when the āhomeownerā is actually a renter. Sitter implies you are just there to sit. The reason you were invited was to sit, but you are also doing other things during your stay.
I guess weāll have to agree to disagree about the terminology. 
Just to add 2 cents on the point that comes up occasionally about not all home owners actually owning the property they live in. Note itās home not house or flat or boat or caravan owner. A home is a conceptual abstract thing and arguably you could own your home without owning the property you are using as a base for that home. Think home is where the heart and other similar clichĆ©s
Agreed, @B1anca. And the funny thing is, Iāve earned a living based on words for decades and Iām less hung up on wording than many folks. LOL.
quid pro quo You have a choice of sitters. Sitters also have a choice of sits. We apply for any sits we like and usually accept first come first served. If a HO takes too long to decide. Thatās the price you pay for indecisiveness.
As many have said @MargotW, neither disingenuous on their part or naive on yours. Sitters have to apply for multi sits to stand the best chance of securing one & hosts have to review multi applicants to see which sitter is the best fit for their home & pets. You do have to be quick to secure both great sitters & great sits, if a host takes more than 48 hours to respond then we move on. Best of luck finding a good one 
Host I agree, but Iām happy with sitter.
at least weāre talking about it!
homeowner isnāt the same as pet parent (which is super-icky) even tho I jokingly refer to my former-host-now-friendās dogs as my nephews, the fur-kids, or other silly things.
sitter is fineā¦ but some people feel like it has a connotation of an employee.
Weāre sitters and do one at a time, however I only give 24hrs for the HO to respond in some sort of way, before applying for another at the same time, and again give 24hrs before applying for another. Not necessarily accept us as their sitters, just a simple personalised acknowledgement.
I presume that if an HO didnāt reply within 24hrs, then they will be waiting for 5 to pick the best one rather than grabbing us. Why would I wait, when the majority respond to us straight away, because they think we sound great for them.
We have 5* brilliant reviews, write a very personalised message with our applications, and give the HO a full and rounded picture as to who we are.
Why would I hold-off for a 1 in 5 chance? Iām not holding off and leaving my future, my time, my life to āchanceā.
I donāt want HOās who think they may get a better applicant than us. Our personalities probably wouldnāt get along that well, so we wouldnāt be the perfect fit for each other anyway.
You shouldnāt be waiting for 5 or as many applicants as you can before deciding on who to pick. You should look at your applicants as they apply and go with your heart and your intuition as soon as there is one that feels right for you.
Thanks for input but just to remind everyone to stay on topic. Much appreciated.
When I was a new sitter, I used to apply to one sit at a time and then wait, wait, wait some more to get a response. Some never responded, some declined without a message weeks later, some scheduled video calls and stated they would send over the confirmation because we were the right fit and then sent over declines instead. Then I realized nothing is set in stone until both parties confirm. Then I got more strategic about applying for as many sits that I was interested in and once dates are confirmed, I would withdraw my applications from the rest. I will say that most of the pet parents who interviewed my family and sent over the confirmations did it very speedy to lock it in
Welcome @MargotW
Iām afraid as a sitter if I only applied for one sit at a time there would be periods Iād not being getting any sits!
HOās can take a while to get back and still decline you. Iāve recently applied for 5 sits. 2 HOās never responded within a week, 1 send a message after 6 days to say theyād gone with someone else, one just declined me a week later and I got accepted for the last sit! Thatās the reality of THS Iām afraid.
I learned quickly on joining THS that some HOs are decisive and reply speedily. Below are examples of responses from my four latest accepted sits. The fifth (not represented) was an unsolicited invitation. I share these for HOs to get a sense of the competition that youāre up against for some sitters, when other HOs are experienced or decisive enough to quickly lock us in. Of course, you can take more time to figure things out, but thereās no reason that various sitters will need to wait.
Circumstances also vary among sitters. Some plan far in advance and sit a lot or f/t. Some are retired. Some, like me, telecommute and spend a lot of time with pets at their homes, which can create greater demand for us.
- Hi Maggie
Thank you for your application. ā¦ You sound perfect for us. ā¦ It would be good to have a chat on FaceTime or WhatsApp.
Hi Maggie you sound wonderful! Here is my number (deleted). We could have a chat on whatsupp or signal. Feel free to drop me a message so we can work out when.
Hi Maggie - So glad you applied. Wanted to let you know that we fly (deleted). ā¦ Let me know what you think would work best for you.
Hi Maggie you sound rather perfect. Could we zoom tomorrow after 3pm your time? <<
Again, these are HOs who act quickly. And every one of these sits has been terrific. I mention that, because I havenāt had to trade off in the quality of sits by waiting on less decisive HOs. And theyāve been in what Iād consider prime locations, including London.
Just this week I confirmed two sits I applied for within 24 hours of applying without even a conversation.
Not out of desperation but just a great match.
Itās the same as HOs accepting multiple applications. We all want the best fit for our situation. As others have said, you need to be quick to secure the best sitter for you and your pets. Iām sure if you had multiple applications youād want to speak to them all before making a decision, and house sitters want to be able to make the best decision for their circumstances. Iāve had a few sitters apply for multiple sits and I donāt mind at all.
No, that is not the way to do it.
As an applicant, I do not want to spend that time when I am one of five to be interviewed. And the wait, this would take endless to schedule.