Sorry about that 
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Perhaps THS worked better in prehistoric times and that’s why there are less applicants?
(Lame attempt to get back on topic)
Sorry Carla 
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@andrealovesanimals @Nagy26 my kids great grandma chose to be called “Omi” to her great grandchildren. She’s English but they adopted the German name as they had German friends.
She used to be our petsitter when we had a budgie. (Vague attempt to get back on track).
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I have twice had sitters apply to sit for us. They have said they are available on the given datesand requested we chat. Both times they messaged me before our call to say they had accepted a sit with other HOs on the same dates.
I find this so frustrating. They did not even say they had applied elsewhere but gave the strong impressions they were available.
I was delighted about the applications as we had had no interest and time was running out before our holiday. Now i am disappointed anf frustrated and cat is booked in to a cattery for 2 weeks
That is what sitters typically do.
I had applied to two owners for a short sit at short notice. One of them scheduled a video call a few days later!
Then the third listing appeared on the site. I applied. The HO responded immediately. We had a video call that same evening. Sit confirmed within two hours from posting. And I withdrew my other applications.
That is how an HO can compete against other owners with much more expensive properties in a more posh neighbourhood.
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@Petunia the sitters would have been available at the time they applied otherwise they would not have bothered to apply .
Many sitters apply for several sits at the same time - THS suggest it is a good idea and improves a sitters chances of getting a sit https://support.trustedhousesitters.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115005998665-Can-I-apply-for-more-than-one-sit-at-a-time
The majority of our 20 confirmed sits we have applied and had the sit confirmed by the owners within 24 hours of us applying ( and that includes a having a video call with hosts )
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I usually avoid these
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You should always assume that sitters are applying for multiple sits and that you’re competing for them, because there are more sits than sitters.
Especially if your sit hasn’t attracted many applicants and your sit dates are fast approaching, you want to lock in promising applicants sooner than later. No applicants have any obligation to you otherwise.
In one situation I was involved in as a sitter, I let two sets of potential hosts pick times for us to chat. They coincidentally picked the same day. One set chose morning and another chose afternoon. The morning ones offered me the sit during our call, so I canceled the afternoon chat.
In another case, a pair of hosts and I video chatted and things went well, but they wanted to chat with other applicants they’d scheduled.
I then made other plans and they msg’d back that they were disappointed, because they thought I’d be a great fit for repeat sits, but they were meeting the other applicants to be polite.
As a host, you can take your time as you’d like, but no applicants have to abide by that if they don’t want to.
To me, it’s not my responsibility to tell hosts that I’m in demand as a sitter. If they can’t tell that and assume I’ll live my life based on their pace, then they’re probably too self-involved to realize that sitters have their own needs as well.
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The reservations for the rich can be quite pleasant. Like in the Cotswolds or even where I was near that village outside Nottingham.
But then you find out that there is no supermarket within walking distance and that the only place to get food nearby is in a nice but expensive pub or country club.
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Haha yeah we experienced this a few times last year sitting in small towns in the UK. They are very scenic and cute little towns but they often have 1 tiny co-op with 2 apples and can of beans in the whole shop which costs £82.50 
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If you are sitting for a while, get Sainsburys to deliver your shopping, the Super Saver delivery slots cost from only £1
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To me, hosts are negligent if food is hard to access or unusually expensive because of a cut-off location and they don’t mention it.
But I also look after myself by not taking sits without making sure that I have easy access to food. Even in a case when I took a waterfront sit on a peninsula that was called an “island,” I brought groceries aboard my rental car before I drove it onto a ferry. That’s because you can’t always count on hosts being considerate.
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I did not not starve in either of those places. In both homes, there was fresh bread for me, and butter, eggs, and cheese. I had been shown where the booze was too 
I also had my bicycle, but these landscapes were very hilly, so I took a bus to Nottingham. In the Cotswold sit, Nailsworth was not far, but the shortest walk was real steep (“The Ladder”!).
Just too challenging to live there year around without a car. But interesting, pleasant, scenic. And great for walks with perfect dogs!
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@Nagy26
I was in a place like that in Ireland. The only supermarket I could reach on foot was super expensive, and ironically called Costcutter. It was a walk up and down a steep hill too!
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Yup, I figured you wouldn’t starve, but to me sitting shouldn’t involve surprises about how hard it might be to access food. That would be sort of like a reality show, haha.
I think folks like us are lucky, because we can also access more since we have financial resources. If someone in a tight situation suddenly found it unexpectedly expensive to get food or other regular supplies, that could create unnecessary stress. And for hosts, you ideally don’t want your sitters to be stressed — not good for your pets and potentially not good for your reviews, which could make getting future sitters harder.
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You can also get 3 months free home delivered groceries when you sign up with Ocado.
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@pietkuip @andrealovesanimals We have done a few sits with a super steep walk to the shop. We have done 2 different housesits in a small village in the Wye Valley. The main part of the village is on top of the hill and fairly flat. It has a lovely small community run shop that we like to support.
Both our sits were further down the very steep valley! The first involved walking steep overgrown paths that clearly weren’t used often, followed by a steep walk up the road. The second was closer to the village centre, and once we reached the road wasn’t too much of a hill. To reach the road, we had to take a steep path through the farm, and were fighting over who’s turn it was to have the springer spaniel pull them up!
We had a car, so we could have driven, but it wouldn’t have been as much fun!
Yes, that is sad, few people are walking anywhere anymore. The only thing many land owners are investing in is complicated gates to keep people out.
At Nailsworth, The Ladder had clearly had some stone staircase steps in the past, but rains had washed much earth away, and there had not been any maintenance in decades I think.
So to get back to the subject: it may be difficult to get applicants to rural sits. Maybe especially in posh areas where nobody depends on public transport.
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Getting food shouldn’t require taking a hike, for instance, unless the sitter knowingly signed up for such.
Some of the circumstances described above could actually make food hard to get if someone wasn’t properly equipped with the right footware, etc., especially if it turned out to be raining or such. Or maybe they’re not in shape. Hosts should definitely make known in their listing if so, or that a car is needed. Sitter should be able to make informed choices.