Hi all, I’m new to this community as a pet sitter. I understand the importance of having a good application message, since that’s your first impression, and home owners might not have enough time to go through every single profiles.
Would any HO be happy to share what’s a good application message look like to you? Anything that “clicks” with you instantly? Or what’s the big No for an application message?
Thanks a lot!
Hi @YanTung welcome to our community forum and to TrustedHousesitters … as well as owners who I’m sure will be happy to share their tips, our sitter members, new and experienced will be super helpful with their advice.
Owners look for a applicant who has read and understood their listing, taking the trouble to personalise the message, which sounds logical however it doesn’t always happen.
There are owners who give lots of information in their listings making it easier to really personalize an application above all be professional but warm and let your personality shine through, owners are looking for someone who sparks their interest and who they can imagine having a conversation with and stepping into their lives.
You’ll also find this article from our website blog helpful with this and other aspects of getting started.
Welcome again and feel free to ask any questions … we all began in the same place, at the beginning.
Angela and the Team
When all I read about in the application is the location and what you can possibly do around where we live and there’s no mention of our cats it raises a red flag for me.
After all caring for our cats is the most important thing to us and, even if the sitter most certainly may explore all sightseeing points of the area, I want to get the feeling that this isn’t just a chore at the side which a sitter has to fulfill to get free lodging 
Also, if somebody asked to bring their own pets and/or children along shows clearly that the listing wasn’t read all the way through.
So, yes, I agree completely, that a personalized message is very important to show that you have read and understood the terms (that sounds so unfriendly but I don’t mean it this way).
I think keeping this in mind and adding a compliment for the pets and house should create a spark 
Hi there, welcome 
I agree with @anon39388349 i like to feel that the applicant has really read our listing and are keen to look after our dogs and home. I am put off by anyone spending too much time telling me how clean and sparkling they will leave our home… it is, as stated in our listing a big rambling old house with three dogs and anyone expecting it to look like something out of the Ideal Home Exhibition is going to be disappointed and not right for us……
So exactly what I wrote about to be a red flag for me in my previous post, has just happened:
A few hours ago I put in new dates for my listing which has then gone online and in my introduction I ask for sitters from overseas please not to apply due to still possibly changing travel rules. I clearly say, ok not at the very top, that we only accept someone local or from Europe.
Not only was the application a very short one with no mention at all of our cats, but also she cannot have read more than the first sentence of the listing.
I promptly wrote back that I am very sorry to decline as I only want to accept local sitters (as I said clearly in my listing!) but that I hope in the future to be able to also invite someone from abroad and maybe next time…blabla.
The answer that came said she and her husband were fully vaccinated. Again, no mention at all of the reason why I declined right away. Some people simply don’t read!
I don’t need overwhelming compliments on my cats or home, don’t get me wrong, but when I say in my pet’s introduction that my tom is not the healthiest of cats and needs some extra attention and medication, I expect the applicant to reassure me she thinks she can handle him.
What do you think? I confess I am a little annoyed about her.
I would be annoyed by that as well. I always read a sit carefully, for our sake as much as the homeowners, and try to respond to the specific things they have mentioned in their listing. That would be a given in my opinion.
I’d be annoyed too. If I was a HO, not mentioning the pets in the application would be a huge red flag.
If they can’t manage to read the listing, or your response properly, I’d assume they also wouldn’t read the welcome guide or equivalent or any instructions that were left for them.
I agree, as a HO I would not be at all impressed by this applicant…
@Debbie
@Kelownagurl
@Foldor13
Thank you! This really confirms my assessment.
I also checked her profile and there’s more about travel and getting around than about animals.
Of course this doesn’t necessarily mean that she wouldn’t care for the cats, but I also don’t want to find out.
She seems to be completely new to the site, no reviews yet and no reference. So I assume she also hasn’t read any of the numerous advices to be found there.
There are a lot of red flags flying in this story. 
(sorry, I’m biased on the flag here)
I agree with all the comments here. I hope you do find a good fit for your needs. 
Thank you 
I have received another application this morning, which sounds perfect. We agreed to do a video call after September 24 and decide then if we can go with each other. So far no one else has applied but I just put the listing online yesterday and the dates are from Dec 10 to 21. So there’s still a lot of time.
For me, you have time again. Good luck. And I keep an eye on your listing😸
I saw that you have saved my listing as a favorite 
We’re sitters, so had no idea HO could see we made them a favorite! Can you then look at their profile?
Yes, that’s why we then can put labels on them.
Can you see when a HO marks you with a 
?
I don’t think so, maybe no one has ever made us a favorite 
I don’t know where to look either?
The standard and the premium membership shows “who has saved your listing?” in the dashboard. I have no idea what it looks like for sitters 
I looked at my dashboard… I don’t see any where it would be listed…
@anon39388349 @Sittersue You can find more information on this in another post Using the favourites option with details from @Katie_Mc
Thanks…will look there