Good to know that there are HO out there that do this. I have had so many not respond. Thank you for being considerate.
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Just curious why so many HOs do not respond when a sitter applies for a sit. I have had so many that just send a decline or no reply at all. I would just think it would be common courtesy to at least let someone know if you are being considered or not before just ignoring and then hitting the decline button. Maybe I am missing something. What are any one else’s thought on this?
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Common courtesy isn’t very common these days. It used to annoy me. Now I send off an application, archive it immediately, and move on to the next application without a second thought. If they respond, great. If they don’t, I’ve most likely already started talking to another HO so I don’t care.
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If a HO doesn’t respond then I mark it with a label marked No response so that I don’t waste time applying in the future
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I have sent applications and the homeowners have read them but have not bothered even to say “thank you” or acknowlege receipt. We have to remember that not all of us have gone to the same School of Grace and Charm and a lot of people are very economical on the politeness front. I have sent several sympathy cards to family of people who have died and even donations to their charity and yet not even any acknowlegement. Such is the world we live in now
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Sympathy cards–and other expressions of sympathy–are intended to be one way. Donations to a charity of choice are a bit different; usually the thank you/acknowledgment comes from the charity though.
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Then hiw do you know they have even received a card. They may think you were not caring enough to send one. I have always been taught to say please and thank you for any kind expression but then I am from a different generation whose rules were to be polite to each other.
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For a full-time housesitter, it’s very annoying that owners aren’t responding. There should be a system that forces them to decline with 1-2 sentences at least, so the sitter knows what’s going on.
I send a few applications simultaneously. Some will stay on “read,” owners will answer some weeks after with them explaining that they are still planning the whole trip (Covid is no help in this situation), and some will decline without any response either.
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There will be rude people around the globe everywhere, so don’t give up on THS because there are enough people who are very helpful and nice to you 
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This would be so helpful! It forces them to take action and it would make the life of a full-time housesitter so much easier!!
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As in all aspects of life, we all have various ways of communicating with each other. My short time as a sitter, I have found for the most part, HOs to be responsive in a kindly manner. I don’t spend much time dwelling on the lack of return email, because I feel that it simply wasn’t a match, on many levels. I recently applied for several sits in the last week. After a few notes back and forth with one particular HO, we were very quickly confirmed for a sit. I immediately withdrew my other applications with a brief note explaining we were no longer available. I received an interesting reply back from a HO ‘Gosh that was quick’ which I again responded kindly to with ‘so sorry….’ I imagine some HOs may not take into consideration that we apply for several sits, with the same understanding that we are willing to confirm quite quickly if we feel the opportunity suits us. While in most instances it is nice to be acknowledged for our efforts, we are not always going find that will be the case. I’m pleased to have made a connection with many folks over the last 4 months, and look forward to many more.
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I don’t expect my sympathy cards to be acknowledged. The bereaved could receive hundreds of messages/cards/etc. It’s like a “thank-you” card, I think. Thanking me for sending a sympathy card (or a thank you card) could lead to an endless loop of thanks/acknowledgments.
There are many generations and cultures among HOs and sitters, so what is rude to one person may be normal to another. For example - in my home country (Ireland), it would be very unusual to send a “Thank You” card to friends who give you birthday gifts. I now live in Texas where such cards are common. On the other hand, I sent a “Thank You” card to some US friends after attending their wedding. The bride was (pleasantly) surprised and remarked that a British guest had done the same!
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Same here. Nothing is taken personal. I apply with an introductory message and hit submit.
Once it’s in the inter webs I let it go and move on.
No response, okay 
If I get a response, okay and begin more in depth conversation.
I have had HOs give a verbal agreement and not confirm a sit. I will keep the space blocked off for a certain amount of time. I will message a reminder to confirm and at that point if there is no response, okay and begin looking again.
Once I find a sit and an offer to confirm, I remove the application to the first one with a note saying « since I have not heard from you or received the offer I am no longer available… »
Have to keep moving. Too many looking for me and not enough me. 
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I never heard of people sending thank cards for birthdays because you get to see that person. With weddings, a thank you is for the the gift received. With the death of a person, you don’t often get to see that person or the family before the cremation so it is a polite acknowlegement that you have received their card. Yes, I agree, curtural norms vary as does family upbringing.
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You can never go wrong with a thank-you but you can by failing to thank someone when you should have. I send thank-you cards, text messages and/or make phone calls for gifts, for receiving sympathy cards, to someone who has attended the funeral of my loved one, for anything that seems like an exceptionally kind deed.
I am very big on etiquette and have drilled this into my daughter. She’s had personalized thank you notes since the age of 13. As a young adult she also knows it’s important to send thank-you notes for interviews. The root of etiquette is kindness and you can never have too much of that.
HOs should thank all their applicants for taking the time to apply and they should do it in a timely manner. Sitters should respond in a kind manner whether chosen or not, particularly when they‘ve been sent a private invitation. It’s important to remember that there are people on the other end of these electronic transactions who deserve consideration.
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See a sit
Check it out
Like the sit
Apply
Repeat……repeat……repeat……until accepted for one.
Send a message to other sites applied for in the time saying sorry can’t do it. Might see you some other time.
Problem solved. No hassle. No anguish.
I don’t send thank you cards. I would never thank anyone for a bereavement card. To receive one you are a close relation of the deceased and it is the last thing on my mind in that situation. If I meet people I will say thank you. As someone else said it’s a culture thing.
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I am a member since 2014 and always had very quick responses of the homeowners (often positive!), but at this moment I am getting no answers from the HO at all! I was one of the first to apply and sent out another mail to tell them that there was a good flight connection and to reassure them we are both fully vaccinated. I didn’t get any reply and my last email was not even read. My experience is that HO often take one of the first people who apply and there are not too many people who applied for this sit. The sit is still on the website with the mentioned dates and I find it very disturbing not to get any answer at all; positive or negative. Although I would have loved to get this house sit, I keep on looking for something else now for the same dates.
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Totally agree Mars. Kindness costs nothing and that card maybe the only human intervention someone who has lost someone has had if they live alone or not many people pop by to express their sympathy
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Thank you, @Willexcell , I also send sympathy cards to those who have lost pets. They are grieving too.
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Agree Mars, I would just use a card where you can can write your own message
and maybe mention some funny dog antic they had done just to cheer them up.
Used to be able to get dog cards in the U.S but I have never seen them in the U K.
Its very thoughtful of you to do that because pet parents are often very attached to their pet and know their friends care about them.
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