I agree. As a petsitter myself, I totally understand that. I would never do that.
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I get what youâre saying. In such cases, Iâd say that, when that happens, youâre getting confirmation that they wouldnât have been a match for you.
Iâm the kind of person whoâd definitely let you know and withdraw my application in relevant circumstances. I wouldnât ghost. But some people are rude or they simply lack attention to such.
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Thank you explaining this. Often times owners donât understand that sitters cannot rely on applications to be successful. Also the 5 application limit is very restrictive and itâs easy to miss listings in different time zones. So donât be offended if sitters do what they can to connect with you. You can simply decline but keep note of their interest for the future if they are qualified. Sitters have to apply to many sits at the same time and thus, in that process plans change especially if an owner takes too long to reply or arrange an interview. If I donât receive a reply within 72 hours, I immediately decline the sit with a kind note. If I were an owner, I would reply/decline immediately and put my requests in my profile upfront (single/couple, strict dates, no-smoking etc.). Clear communication creates the best results. Anyone who doesnât confirm they understand the requirements in your follow up message shouldnât get a zoom call.
Exactly! Also on the topic of applying for future dates⌠I donât agree itâs a problem as long as a sitter cancels the application (doesnât block the current ad) is honest about their intention and the reasons. I have actually had several wonderful sits that resulted from owners who were not offended when they discovered my stellar reviews and were happy that I got in touch.
So, if you donât want that, state it on your profile, but the truth is ⌠many actually have been very happy about it as it benefited them to have a running list of available, highly qualified and interested sitters for the future, as the 5-person limit wasnât giving them the best thatâs out there.
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OP here again. Today I posted a new sit. within 1 hour my inbox hit the 5 applicant limit and was paused. Going through this batch two of the five (which due to your ridiculous 5 application limit amounts to 40%) of the applicants were not available for the dates but applied just to introduce themselves. While I responded politely I also made a note NEVER to consider them in the future because their action caused the post to be blocked from view of other qualified (and available) sitters which is selfish and inconsiderate.
After declining them and having to unpause the listing, it filled up in another two hours, with one sitter who ignored that I stated in the post a minimum # of positive reviews and another who, you guessed it, was not available but wanted me to reach out to her first for future sits. That of course will NEVER happen despite her many positive reviews. Why? Because she didnât consider the impact that doing so has on other sitters, therefore I have zero confidence in her ability to be a considerate sitter. I will respond to the next application I get from an unavailable sitter with a note letting them know that their strategy has backfired and advise them not to apply to future sits.
Since THS will not relent on their extraordinarily unpopular policy of pausing posts after 5 applications, they should give Homeowners the ability to block such applicants from applying to future sits, to discourage such behavior. If some homeowners appreciate it, good for them, they wouldnât be required to block them. but there are enough of us who find it irritating and would like the option to block these sitters from re-offending. Doing so would serve those sitters as well, sine they wouldnât have to waste their time applying for a sit that they have already disqualified themselves for.
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There has been no impact on other sitters as home hosts decline and un-pause (as you have ) to open the spaces up again
Where are you getting your data from to give us this gem of a âfactâ?
Instead of being so hostile towards sitters who are trying their best to navigate a difficult situation, I suggest a better avenue to release your anger is towards THS, getting them to create a way where it is possible for sitters to contact home hosts other than by using the âapplyâ button
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This was your plan back in October when you were already disenchanted with the system. Why have you started posting open listings again (& then complaining about the applicants) rather than sticking to your new strategy?
#groundhogday
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THS have in the past suggest that sitters use the apply button to contact hosts so sitters that do this are following THS advice .
Sitters have asked THS repeatedly for another way to contact hosts and for it be possible for hosts to opt in / out of receiving messages from sitters .
THS support and product team do not read the forum - The email to contact member support with your feedback and suggestions for improvement is
Support@trustedhousesitters.com
In the meantime you could add a sentence at the start of your listing - PLEASE do not apply if you are not available for these dates, THANK YOU
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From âre-offendingâ? Wow!
Weâve occasionally used the application process to express interest in any future sits, but have always then withdrawn the application - within minutes - so as not to block other applicants (and we state that we will follow with this course of action in the communication). This is the only way that sitters make contact with pet parents:
â3.2.5. the ability to communicate with Pet Parents via the Platformâs messaging service;â
Furthermore, as @Colin rightly points out:
We wouldnât ever sit for hosts who hold such self-righteous views as expressed in your post, @CAadventurer. You possibly should acquaint yourself with THS advice for sitters (there have been many previous posts on this, with sitters requesting a contact option other other than the application process). This kind of utterly negative bias towards sitters has been voiced a little too often in threads on this forum of late, and it seems that paid pet sitting services would most certainly be the better route for hosts who fail to recognise the reciprocal nature of THS is based on goodwill!
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Excellent advice by @Silversitters , as always. 
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We only posted this sit because we received very short notice that we need to travel, and our previous sitters are so fabulous that they are already booked. As for the four trips planned further, we filled them all by reaching out to those we liked and didnât need to post them.
Since you brought it up, you should know that I received several direct messages from sitters admonishing me for utilizing the strategy of reaching out to sitters instead of posting my sits. The sentiment was that it is unfair to sitters because they pay to be on THS, and my contacting specific sitters instead of posting them limits their opportunities.
Perhaps you should take a moment to consider our perspective. We are out of the country with inconsistent cell service, which limits our ability to keep clearing our inbox, which keeps filling up and being paused due to sitters who do not meet the stated requirement in the posting or are unavailable for the dates but want to introduce themselves for future sits because they love our location, amenities, and reviews.
Have you considered that my inbox getting flooded whenever I post a sit might be because my reviews are nothing short of amazing because I treat my sitters exceptionally well? I have provided luxurious accommodations and amenities and often gift sitters tickets to exclusive events and shows we are unable to attend due to travel demands.
I would like to know why you feel it is unreasonable to be annoyed by having my inbox flooded with sitters who do not meet the requirements or are unavailable for the sit dates not to apply. As a host, I go above and beyond and would never waste a sitters time I only ask not to have my time wasted by constantly checking, declining, and then unpausing the sit (which would not be that difficult for THS programmers to set up to unpause by default after the 5th application is declined)
My main question in all of that @CAadventurer would be how can your inbox be âfloodedâ when you can only receive 5 applications at a time now which is very few to manageâŚ? 
#questionnumberone
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Other than that key point, itâs totally fine to post your requirements and simply hit decline if the sitter doesnât match. Also fantastic that you treat your sitters wonderfully once theyâre secured, alleluia to that 
We have successfully reached out in exactly that way (as have many sitters) to secure future sits and as @Silversitters referenced, is actively encouraged by THS so no surprise itâs still happening. Intermittent cell service seems odd in a time of WiFi everywhere so thatâs an odd âinconvenienceâ on your list TBH. I think your annoyance should be directed at THS and the inability to contact and connect unless you apply for a sit hence the speed of unsuitable applicants hitting the button first. #mytwocents
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So you sent unsolicited requests to sitters you like, and those youâve used before? Do you realise the irony in this, @CAadventurer ? So itâs okay for hosts to âreach outâ to sitters theyâd like to connect with (even when those sitters do not have availability), yet not for sitters to reach out to hosts?
This is another anomaly on THS: sitters receive messages from HOs even when we already have confirmed sit commitments for their required dates, yet sitters cannot contact hosts by any means other than the application process (unless there is already a messaging thread between the two).
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Side question here:
Iâm not a native speaker of English and in my mind the term is associated to criminal offenses, from films, I guess. Could native speakers tell me if that association is wrong? I donât mean the meaning of the word, I can check that in a dictionary. I mean what comes to your mind automatically, out of context when you come across that term.
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To answer your âmainâ issue of how it is difficult managing the 5 applications⌠I am out of the country and for all of last week and the week before I had spotty /limited wifi, and had to juggle career demands remotely while being responsible for elderly relatives traveling with us, and then needed to fill a sit for another work trip just three weeks from now.
With such constraints my sit got paused for long periods of time (because I did not have the wifi access to clear them fast enough). When I decline people I always write a note not to upset sitters (which is a complaint they frequently have of other homeowners.
Perhaps this might help you understand how this can be an issue for a homeowner. The travel to remote areas is part of my job which allows me to provide for my family and gives me the ability to provide luxurious accommodations for sittersâŚwhich is why I am favorites by over 800 sitters.
Sitters do not have limited mail box space and sending a message to them does not prevent them from receiving other ths messages.
And Happy Pets are you unaware that THS allows (and encourages). sitters to favorite sits so that the HOs are aware of those who want to sit for them. So take a wild guess as to which sitters I am reaching out to.
Talk to THS then & stop moaning at the actual sitters. They encourage us to do this and so we follow the recommendations!! And BTW, plenty of us lowly sitters also have remote jobs, own businesses, multiple international travel plans, numerous active applications, presence on several sitting platforms, our own luxurious homes and elderly families in more than one locationâŚ:and are also favourited by 100s of HOs #itsalevelplayingfieldbuddy
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Tone.is.everything.
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Hi @Cuttlefish. Sorry, but is there a way to see who/how many have favorited us sitters? Iâd love to know that, if itâs possible. Thanks.