I agree, an automated system would be great. I appreciate your approach to applying then archiving and therefore, detaching from the sit in a way. I guess I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about people who don’t respond, especially when you find a sit that ticks every box and you feel you’d be perfect for, and so not acknowledging their non-response feels like doing myself a bit of a disservice.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who has noticed increasing time to respond to applications. I applied for a few during the summer and not one responded. I have only 5* reviews, was fairly local and have been house sitting a long time. I’m not sure what they’re looking for. Notably, one I applied for months ago and eventually withdrew from, still had zero applications days before the sit was due to begin, so who knows what’s going on there.
I just try to not give my energy to things that aren’t helping me or others and HOs that don’t get it will never get it so I don’t find it worth my time to try and fix. Though I do understand your thought process and it’s why I started archiving as it would be frustrating to me seeing applications lingering. My peace of mind is more valuable to me.
I also don’t know why people are lingering so long. I’ve only got 5* reviews, I’ve been doing this for many years (paid for years and am now working through 6 years of referral months). I miss the days when I’d apply, get a response an hour later, have a call that day, and accept the sit that night. lol.
Oh yes, I totally agree. I archive once I’ve applied, but tend to look to see if they’ve read the message etc. which probably isn’t a good idea! I suppose it’s about accepting that this is the way it is. I guess I wrongly assumed that having experience and a bunch of great reviews would make it easier to get a response. Maybe there are so many sitters now, that HOs can afford to be picky. I’m not sure that accounts for non-responses when they’ve had no other applications though!
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter as it’s nothing more than an indication that the sit was not right for me. Onwards and upwards!
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Totally agree!
When we submit an application, we’ll wait 48 -72 hours (depending on how much we like the look of the sit) then withdraw, if no response has been received. Whilst realising that people have busy lives, our feelings are that if a pet parent lists a sit it’s just common courtesy to check messages and make some sort of response within a reasonable timeframe. I think that some just don’t realise we can see when a message has been read, and after that point it’s pretty obvious that making response is not high on their list of priorities. Those sits are not for us, however fabulous they might appear.
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One can consider it as a part of ones own screening process, which the host can pass or fail. Then there’s a shift in power and one doesn’t need to feel dependent on the (non-) actions of others.
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I love this approach, and it’s one I’m very quickly reaching myself. I agree that if a sit is listed, there must surely be the realisation that people will be responding? It makes me question whether I am willing to proceed with a sit that will require a lot of effort on my part when, as you say, responding is not a priority for the HO.
I applied for one sit months ago, I believe after it had just been listed. My application went unread for weeks, and I kept giving the HO the benefit of the doubt until eventually I thought this is ridiculous, and withdrew. Last time I looked, it was still at ‘reviewing applications’, and had been in that stage for months. I guess, as with everything in life, it is important to set boundaries and recognise where our own limits are. 48-72 hours seems very reasonable. And you’re right. A sit can look fabulous, but if there is radio silence from the HO’s side, I’m not going to sit around hoping to get blood out of a stone.
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Love this! I do think often with house sitting, the HOs have the upper hand and (perhaps a minority of HOs) have the attitude that we are servants (I say this only from personal experience) but I agree it should be more balanced and mutual.
But do they in fact have the “upper” hand, or is it a feeling because the choice they have is more visible? Sitters choose. How many sits do you scroll by because :awholelotofdifferentreasons: / :thingsyoudontlike: /:locationpetsIdontlikethetoneofthathost: ? I would say I discard the most of profiles I read, even after discarding a lot of sits on solely by the look of them on the list.
I’ll give that for certain locations/ times/ homes it is a far shot for a sitter to get a sit, but for the majority (?) a lot of good sitters have chosen not to apply. That is not visible to the hosts, so they might think that they are the “choosers”. What is visible is not being chosen among the “five”. But even in that process sitters have choices. It is a mutual assessment. I think one will have better matches - regardless if one get (or choose) the sit or not - have the attitude that I need to use this process to clarify if we are a good match and what we need to agree on to a good and mutually beneficial petsit.
I have withdrawn my application based on no reaction, but also after a videocall. I have also been content of not being “chosen” as the communication on that showed something I hadn’t seen before, and had I known I wouldn’t have applied :dodgedabullet:
I find that it helps me to have a mindset that the hands we have are equal. I ask better questions, assess better and hopefully - is better prepared for a good sit if I realise the power and choices I have. And better able to avoid the bad (I hope).
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You make a very good point. I hadn’t considered it this way at all. My attitude has definitely changed through the years of house sitting as I have been treated very well, and also been treated appallingly. The former is when I am respected and treated as an equal, and the hosts warmly welcome me to their home. The latter is when I am treated as if I am at their beck and call and demands are made of me that are definitely not within the remit of a house sitter. Therefore, if I sense disrespect at the beginning stages, it now makes me less likely to want to proceed as my experience has told me that good home owners are very warm and receptive, and will respond in a timely manner.
I have also declined sits following a call with the hosts. One in particular looked great on paper, but she seemed to have had a terrible previous experience and was very suspicious of sitters. She also said that in the period of the sit, she would be returning periodically, which was not made clear in the ad. It didn’t sit well with me, and I do not want to be in a situation where I am compensating for a previous sitter’s inadequacy, which is the attitude she presented me with. You are right that we are equal, regardless of the roles we may be playing!
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It’s nicer if you withdraw though, as it alerts the HO you’re no longer interested so they can have another applicant fill that slot. Even if you think they were rude to not respond, you can still be nice as how you’d like to be treated.
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Yes, there are lots of reasons to withdraw your application. I withdrew one recently because the HO, because I’m a single sitter and it was a rural-ish area, wanted me to check in with a neighbor morning and night to assure them everything was fine. I don’t particularly want to talk to most people on most days, much less random neighbors twice a day. 
I’m 50, not 5. So I let the HO know that I was not willing to do that and if they needed that level of communication there would be other sitters who would be a better match.
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Here here! What an odd request to make, and maybe indicates a bit of paranoia on the part of the HO? Regardless, it’s absolutely not something I would want to do either. Glad you were made aware of this upfront rather than when you arrived, and so had the opportunity to decline.
Not many !
Even with WhatsApp updates our reasonable max limit is once a day - (unless a problem arises that the hosts need to be alerted to immediately)
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A lot of it was that I’m solo. They seemed inordinately worried that I would go toes up during the sit and no one would know.
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Hello
I’m new on THS and I applied to my first pet sitting a few days ago. For the moment my message still appears as unread. Is the only way to follow up with the host by writing another message underneath my application ? Not sure the host will see as they haven’t read the first one… thanks
Not until they read it @JulieQC - best advice is keep applying for other sits you like the look of & don’t wait for just one. #bitlikejobapps 
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