Hi all,
I recently completed three consecutive sits in the UK. The first was booked when I was in the US, with an already planned trip overseas. The second and third were booked while traveling.
I’m headed back to the US for spring, but I want to go back to the UK in the summer. I’ve applied for two sits. Both HO’s declined without explanation, nearly immediately after I applied.
I have four 5-star reviews and three 5-star character references.
Could it be a political or border concern?
Maybe they chose someone with five reviews.
It’s quite possible in the current uncertain political climate, where it seems anything can happen. Some people here in Europe, including the UK, are turning their backs on America and Americans. I’ll give you an example, at a recent NBA match in London when the US anthem was sung it was booed and heckled, with people calling out leave Greenland alone. Not everyone feels like this, but the # is increasing as tension does. It’s not dissimilar to sitters from Europe avoiding the US, there’s a lot of concern about the welcome, or otherwise, from border agents.
In a straw poll over coffee this morning not one person in a group of ten friends said that they would visit the US in the near future. This was a mixed bunch politically, from both sides.
I am a US citizen. I have friends still on a platform I once was on, Workaway. They said a lot of hosts profiles say no US citizens and then say because of Visa issues.
Just out of interest - have either of those homeowners hosted sitters from overseas before?
That is also a point. When I had applied for a sit in Cambridge (UK) from Sweden, the HO (continental Europeans themselves) told me that they had accepted overseas sitters that had canceled when the sit came closer. So I booked my ferry ticket right away, sent a copy to them, and I got accepted.
Applying to sits in the UK became much easier after I could tell the HOs that I was in the country.
If i were a UK host, and had applications from the UK, and also from the US, I would go with the British ones, it’s just less complicated in the present times.
@pietkuip. If I apply for an overseas sit, I have all the flight information at hand at the interview stage, then book it immediately the sit is confirmed. Gives the host peace of mind that you’re not going to cancel.
I wouldn’t take it personally. As someone here has said, if they get applicants from UK sitters it makes sense for them to go for those in the first instance. If you were already in the UK and applying that would make a difference. Have you booked your flights to the UK yet? If so, you should mention that.
It could be, but it could also be for a whole host of other reasons, which none of us will ever know…
There are currently 550 listings in the UK with dates between 01 June and 31 August so keep on applying! If you can secure just one sit, you’ll be able to plan the rest of your trip around that, and as we get closer to summer there are always plenty of last-minute sits available too. Sometimes it pays not to have everything planned out down to the last detail so that you can make the most of opportunities as they appear.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on.
I hope so! 
I have seen that on some THS listings, which I of course didn’t apply to. And part of my listing vetting process is to see if the homeowner has had other US sitters. These two didn’t have any indication of not wanting US sitters. Or not wanting new sitters.
Yes, that is one thing I look for before applying.
Great advice! Thank you!
I did consider that as well. Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you! That seems to be what happened for the Christmas/winter sits. I gt lucky with one and the other two just fell into place.
Ugh, it’s a shame.
Christmas sits are always more plentiful than the number of sitters available so easier to confirm.
You have no idea if the chosen sitter was also from overseas so the decline may or may not be related to your country of residence.
It could be political or border concerns, but it’s much more likely to simply because another applicant was a better match than yourself.
Sitters applying who live within the same country may be more likely to own their own car which is handy if vets are needed as well as not having any flight delays/cancellations.
Plus sitters within their own country may be more open to return to sit for them, along with many many more things that just make things easier for an owner to choose them. It’s exactly the same for owners/sitters in the US.
Your 3 five character references don’t mean a great deal, it’s THS reviews that owners want if they’ve been a member for a while. So you’ve only got 4, which is amazing, but someone who has 5 x 5 star THS reviews that live within the UK are possibly an easier option. Plus they could have other skills/attributes linked to pets and houses too, that possibly put them ahead of you.
We get almost 100% of the sits we apply for, but just switch off to the ones you don’t get, don’t dwell on the reason, you simply weren’t the best match, or perhaps they received your application after they’d already chosen a sitter.