Additional text 3: Thanks for all the replies! I really appreciate the feedback and suggestions. At this moment it is a bit much to reply to everyone, but I noticed that this is a forum where we help each other. Thank you all!
An extra additional text 2: The partner of the HO was not well. We now exchanged WhatsApp numbers and we are talking about our mutual expectations and the possibility of going on with the house sit. Just as so many people we meet through Trusted House Sitters, this was a good first conversation were everyone is friendly and caring about making it a mutual positive experience.
An additional text to my original post: Thank you all so much for the helpful suggestions and time to give replies!
The HO haven’t read my message yet, so this was a learning moment to share my WhatsApp number in any first contact.
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We are currently arranging our first house sits back to back and have some flexibility in timing. Both sits are overseas.
The homeowner invited us after we marked the sit as a favourite, which we happily accepted. She mentioned she would be back from holiday on Sunday, and it is now Tuesday.
Today, we sent a message to arrange a time to discuss the details. We completely understand that she may need a little time to settle in after returning.
At the same time, we are mindful that flight prices are increasing, so we would really appreciate a reply in the near future to help us move forward with our planning.
We are genuinely interested in this sit and would love to make it work. From our experience with similar arrangements, such as home exchanges, we also understand that first-time hosts can sometimes feel a bit more cautious, so we aim to keep things easy and comfortable for everyone.
What would you consider a reasonable timeframe to wait before following up again in a situation like this?
Personally I don’t think there is any harm in sending a gentle reminder and asking if they are able to schedule a call as you are keen to book flights.
With all that is happening in the world at the moment it could be that they or their family are caught up in a situation.
I sent a friendly reminder a few hours ago and was wondering what a good timeframe would be before following up again, without overwhelming a first-time host
Check and see if/when your message gets read. IMO:
If read: 24h, then I’d send another polite (but assertive) note that due to flight prices etc you really need to solidify your travel plans, then propose a couple dates/times for a call.
If unread: 48h, then let them know that while you’d love to do the sit, you’ll need to continue applying elsewhere if you’re not able to connect with them as flight prices are increasing & you need to solidify your travel plans.
My message would have included a suggested time/date, “Hi Homeowner, I hope you had a safe journey back from your holiday. When would be a good time for us to have that video-call - does Wednesday at 7pm suit?”
In my experience it’s better to give people an option (which they can decline if it’s no good) rather than a blank sheet (too vague).
If you are looking for a time a specific time frame for your trip, my recommendation is to apply for all acceptable “sits’“ in the town/area you want to visit for that time frame, and it would be “first offer, first accept”. After accepting an offer, message everyone you applied for and apologize/advise them you accepted the first offer that came your way; HOs will understand.
This sounds like you may have only been invited to apply which differs from and is a precursor to being invited to sit. Have you had the additional steps of applying to the sit, being invited to sit and confirming the sit?
But in answer to your question, according to THS guidelines, members should respond to one another within 72 hours. It rarely takes that long in my experience.
So, it sounds like you have accepted the sit before a video call. Is that correct? That would be highly unusual and not recommended. If the owners aren’t back until Sunday I doubt they’d want to have a call while they’re away.
Oh, I would never confirm a sit without speaking to the host first. There ate just too many flaky people out there with unreasonable expectations, and there’s no way to know until you talk to them.
Wow! It takes me 24 hours to start the process. I’ve never had (in 12 sits) a sitter respond to a video call within the first 24 hours. It usually takes few days due to both our schedules.
You might be missing out on some terrific sits with that short of time span.
And sometimes even talking with them doesn’t bear out all of the flakiness !
A chat is defintely a requirement in my experience but the timing is contingent on so many factors - when the app was made, when the sit is relative to the application date, general communication patterns, alternative sits at the same time which may be possiblities and the “lure” of a particular sit ( I’d be a bit more patient with a really desireable potential sit than with one which I was ambivalent about).
When they invite you, you accept an invitation to apply. They would then need to confirm you and you would confirm back.
So is this already confirmed?
There is a good chance that a new homeowner who is sending out invites rather than listing dates, doesn’t have a good sense of how any of this works!
So, if everything is NOT confirmed, I would politely write to them explaining that you accepted the invitation and are now looking forward to the next step of chatting with them about the details to see if you are well matched. You could let them know that you are ready to move forward if that’s the case, but would need to know soon so you could book airfare.
If you already confirmed and the date is solid, then you could contact them to let them know you really need to work out the arrival asap in order to book your flight and that you are also new to the platform, and understand that most people find it best to have a video chat before fully committing and make sure this is really something that will work out for both parties.
If already committed/confirmed and they don’t respond, you could contact THS to ask them to cancel the sit as the homeowners are not responsive.
@avidtraveler a lot of the sits I’ve done have been confirmed within 24 hours. I just confirmed two for this summer over the last two weeks. Both contacted me within an hour of my application, scheduled a call for the next day, and confirmed immediately after the call.
There is a sit that I am very much interested in. Unfortunately, when I first noticed it some six weeks ago, it was already in the reviewing stage. Since then, I have been monitoring it closely in the hope that some applicants might withdraw or get declined, and the listing would reappear so that I could apply. The sit begins in early May, yet it has remained under review for at least a month and a half. Hmmm. What do you make out of it?
