Hello,
I am trying to arrange my first sit.
A potential sitter submitted an application and I sent a confirmation invite 4 days ago. She has not responded. I sent a message yesterday asking if she is still interested. The message has been viewed and no response.
How long should one wait? 2 of the other applicant already accepted sits and I have not received any new applications.
Thank you,
Sean
When we apply to a sit, we expect a phone or video chat with the owner before accepting the sit.
In our application, we tell the owner that we are available for a phone or video chat. It feels impersonal to NOT have a conversation prior to making a commitment. We give our email address and phone number in our application.
If you only have one applicant at this point, and they look good, and you want closure to the process, perhaps you could send a message and offer a phone or video chat?
4 days with no response is longer than most would wait. You also said you sent another one and still no response although it has been viewed so you know she is getting the messages.
Start looking for a sitter now so you are not left without one. Good luck
I would not wait more than 24 hours and I would pursue more than one applicant at a time. If someone takes that long to reply they are either not interested, a poor communicator and/or a flake. At this point I would take down your dates and repost so that your dates will be reannounced as new. Good luck. (And yes, it’s best to first invite the person to a video call to size up whether it is a good match and they are reliable.)
I can’t help but wonder if there is a misunderstanding here.
When you said you sent a confirmation invite - did you mean that you actually offered them the dates - without talking to them? If I were the sitter that would alarm me.
The typical process is that a sitter applies, you invite them to a video call (it is kind to offer three specific times and let them pick one), the two of you talk, and THEN you offer the dates. Your statement of “I sent a confirmation invite” is unclear.
If you meant that you just went ahead and offered them the dates without talking to them, I recommend sending a note now apologizing, explaining that you are new and did not realize that the next step is a video call. See how that goes and let us know.
If what you meant is that you offered the video call and never heard from the sitter again - I’d decline the person as a sitter and relist.
@Sean, suggest that you offer to schedule a video call. We would never accept a housesit without first having a video call. For both parties, the video call helps to assess fit, answer any questions/concerns, and clarify logistics (dates, times, etc).
Lots of great advice, just to say welcome to forum @Sean
Hi @Sean,
Welcome to the forum!
Although I agree with others that it’s best to have a chat before offering and confirming a sit, I see no need to apologize for offering a sit to someone who has applied. In my opinion, opening communication (as this sitter has done) and not following through is a big red flag. I would not leave my pets and home in the care of someone who fails to communicate promptly and effectively.
I have completed more than 30 sits and a few of them have been offered with no chat. At the beginning, I used to accept and have had some great experiences and one not so great. Now, when I am offered the sit with no chat, I thank them and suggest having some sort of further conversation before confirming but I would never ignore a message, much less so when it is me who has voluntarily chosen to apply.
I hope you get a suitable sitter. You can follow @Shella_in_the_Forum’s advice.
Hello @Sean
Occasionally we have received an invite to sit as a direct response to our application. Sometimes even without an attached message. I never like that- it feels too impersonal. I would not accept a sit without some sort of direct contact with the host where any questions can be answered.
Even if the invitation to sit comes along with an enthusiastic message from the host i will usually still not accept instantly without further contact (though yesterday we made an exception to our rule - and confirmed a sit after messaging but without speaking-as everything just felt right! And we are now very experienced in following our gut!)
But generally for me an application to sit is not a guarantee I will end up sitting for you! I see an application as a strong show of interest in your sit with the next step being that we would enter into a dialogue, or have a video call, to meet each other, clarify all details, ask/answer questions and confirm that we are a good match. Only then is it appropriate (imo) to offer the sit and for the sitter to confirm it.
In your case its not clear why the sitter is ignoring you but the fact you’ve now reached out to her to check her interest and she is not responding is not a good sign.
Move on. As others have suggested relist your dates so your listing will come as new again.
Good luck!
I OFTEN get formal invitations to sits that I have applied for without first chatting by WhatsApp. My guess is around 1 in 5-8 hosts do that. So I think normal may vary, especially for new hosts or new sitters.
Now I suggest a video call in my application. If someone still invites me without a call, I might message back saying I am very interested, but lets chat first. In some short notice situations, we have confirmed the sit mutually and agree to talk later. Yes risky. But we are all adults, this is voluntary, and so far I have not been disappointed. I think I have done 35 sits. Lost count.
It may help that my profile is very detailed and I read host listings equally carefully. If something make or break was unclear, I would not rush in like a fool as the song goes.
If communication is lacking at the outset, it doesn’t bode well for later.
My sitter profile and applications mention chatting to see whether we’re a mutual match. Just applying doesn’t mean I’ll necessarily accept a sit. That’s because good sits require good partnership and I want to suss that out.
With every sit I pursue, I ask myself: What if things went sideways? Would these hosts be good partners in problem-solving? Would they show grace? I want to video chat to get a better sense of that.
To me, the No. 1 potential deal-breaker for any sit — no matter how good otherwise — are the hosts.
Please do yourself a favor, cancel the confirmation. This is a bad, bad review in the making and all the red flags re on full display for you to see.
Unresponsive
Irresponsible
Careless
Invite some folks near you, boost your listing and keep trying.
Edit: always get to know your potential sitter before offering the sit and always look at how you’re communicating. If communication isn’t there… mehh. Bad sign.
Thank you for the replies.
I read many blog posts and advice for new hosts prior to signing up. I agree having a chat or video call is a good idea, this is not spelled out in the newbie info.
Hi Sean,
Usually there is a process. Possibly you are both new and neither of you understands the process.
You don’t have to accept an appicant. Someone who applies doesn’t have to accept the sit. Often there is a video chat using an outside platformsuch as facetime, whatsap, teams, google meet, etc so both parties can see each other and talk about the sit, their experience, and really see if it is a good fit. Then the homeowner can decide whehter to offer the sit (confirm) and the sttier can decide whether to accept the offer (confirm).
The sitter may be unsure whether or not to accept your sit and may be looking at other sits. If you haven’t heard anything from the sitter in response to your offer – withdraw it. If this is still your only applicant, you could write and ask the sitter if they are still interested and want to meet for a chat.
Personally, I sit and I host and I’m very careful with both. I would not accept a sitter without a face to face chat. I have accepted sits without a face to face before confirmation, but I always make sure to have one afterwards. It’s also a good idea to get another form of communication such as a phone number.
If you aren’t getting other applicants, then you can start a thread to have people look at and comment on your listing to help you spruce it up and attract more sitters.
@Jenny I feel Sean has raised an important point that a video chat is not clearly spelt out in the advice offered to new members, whether they’re owners or sitters. It would be great if you could feed this back to the team to be included as many of the Forum sitters recommend this contact before confirmation. For most it is a vital step. 
No problem @temba - I’ll pop that over to the team just now 