I ask this because, owing to the current situation, there are more sitters than sits. I’ve noticed that some ‘new’ sits advertised on the latest emails already have lots of applicants, and some owners have seemingly already organised their sitter or cancelled their trip as they show ‘no housesitter currently needed’. I’ve just applied for a sit shown as ‘new’ which had 4-7 applicants, by the time I’d finished applying there were 8-11. Maybe I was the 8th!
So what number of applicants listed would put you off applying? Personally I wouldn’t bother if there were 8-11.
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We have applied for some sits that already had 50+ applicants and still been selected. Don’t be put off by the previous applicants. If you want it, go for it.
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We were the same way for the first couple of years of house sitting Smiley. Whenever we did apply to anything that was more than 8-11, we got crickets in response, so after a while we just didn’t bother anymore. However, last year we saw a sit we really liked that was in the 40’s and we decided “What the heck” and applied anyway. We actually got the sit and were shocked! So now, while we may hesitate at anything over the 8-11 mark, if we really like the sit, we’ll take the time to apply and cross our fingers.
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We’ve seen the same issues and personally don’t apply for any sits with 4 or more as they always seem to go up rapidly. The really irritating ones are where you apply early when there are no other applications and hear nothing for a week or more. The sit stays open with applications rising too. Difficult to handle.
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Wow! I’m amazed! Btw, I got a quick reply from the sit I mentioned and am her first choice. FaceTime chat tomorrow and hopefully will be confirmed.
I still wouldn’t bother if 50 had applied. Often the owner in those situations doesn’t respond. You were lucky!
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Haven’t done this but you’re probably right to try whatever the numbers are. You could be the perfect fit for the home owners I guess.
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That’s two of you then! I may rethink…Thanks for responding
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Proves the point that if you’re the right sitter for an owner then you’re the right sitter. Always apply regardless of numbers. We may change our strategy.
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Yes, it’s very irritating, even discourteous, when owners don’t bother to reply, and it happens frequently. I also think that owners should consider placing their ad on hold while they read through the applications if they have a lot.
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Perhaps there should be a cut-off on the sit advert after its got to 20 sitters or been live for a week. The owners could be prompted to log in and check applications. Just a thought.
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Good idea. Something maybe you could suggest to TH?
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I’ll get on it in the morning.
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(I tried to just put a thumb up but the site doesn’t allow just that!)
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Also keep in mind that along the same lines of “if you’re the right sitter, then you’re the right sitter”, it goes both ways. If an owner doesn’t respond, or do a group email to update on the status, then are they a good fit for you?
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Congrats on the success, we hope you like the owner and they like you just as much 
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Very true. Also, if you look at from an owner’s perspective, they may get 10, 20, 30 or more applicants and a majority seem like great sitters. We often hear something along the lines of “We had so many great applicants that choosing was just to difficult, so we went with the first sitter that applied.”
It can be a bummer, but we always reply back and let them know that we very much appreciate the update and empathize with such a hard choice they have to make. We also let them know that if something changes or they need a sitter in the future to please consider us. We’ve had multiple owners contact us and offer a sit when the original sitter backed out, or when they need a sitter for another date.
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I have mentioned to TH before that when it says over 51 have applied it seems hopeless, but like others you never know what is going on with the owner and yes you may still get it, BUT the odds always seem impossible. I also wonder about owners that let the apps get that high, makes me wonder about them too.
And it makes me crazy when they say “they went with the first sitter that applied.” Being in California I feel I am asleep a lot of the time when new European sits are posted. A 7 week sit in London we got because I happen to be awake at 11:30 at night and saw the new positing, so I stayed up and applied that minute.
Applying also depends on where the sit is located and when - if it fits our schedule perfectly I’ll apply regardless of how many others have.
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We have always leaned more on the side of not applying when applications get too high. We usually apply immediately after seeing the sit when numbers are still low anyway. But once we saw a sit at night, didn’t apply cuz we weren’t sure on dates, then realized we could do the dates and applied the next morning after there were way more applicants. The owner got in touch right away and we ended up doing the sit! So now we will apply to anything that has less then 51+ (won’t apply to those, that’s so many applicants to get thru ans often I find that these are forgotten listings). I think many owners don’t realize that they can close their listing to new applicants, and then look thru who has applied. I’ve spoken to so many owners who have had no idea they could do this.
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Hmmm, it’s a tricky issue. It sort of reinforces why I’m not a fan of the 4 or 5 image links to select a “Sit in the Mountains” or “By the Beach” because in my very limited experience thus far, if a sit pops up in The Bahamas, for example, or some other paradise location there will be 50+ applications, no matter how suited each party is 
I want to choose what I apply for by these criteria (I’m thinking on the fly here, so don’t quote me):
- Can we get there?
- Are the pets my kind of friends?
- Are the owners appealing or frightening?
Am I out of touch?
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Not out of touch at all @Saltrams , we do the same thing when evaluating a sit! It’s not about the glamorous location for us, it’s about whether it’s the right fit. We have house sat in some very desirable locations, which of course has been great, but first and foremost we only apply and agree if we are excited about the pets and homeowner connection.
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