We have just applied for a HS in an area my hubby knows very well- he spotted that some of the photos in the listing could not be from the location due to the geography…. turns out they’re photos from the HO’s holidays! Very confusing as one photo shows a swimming pool, which we now realise won’t be available oh well no problem tbh but evidence of one of the items on the Top Tips for HO.
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@BonnyinBrighton Was a swimming pool listed in the amenities section of the sit ?
Does the photo of the pool include the pets - I can’t think why else a HO would include it 
Does the photo have a caption that explains why it is included ?
You can ask member services to remove the photo if it is not relevant or misleading . Also if it contains personal information ( street address/ car licence plate / full name of homeowners ) or photos of children.
I think they might be attempting to show the sort of people they are as they write about loving holidays etc and add pictures of them (I now realise ‘on holiday’). But it’s ok they’re newbies and so are we, so I’ll mention it in the video call if they like my application. It’s a steep learning curve for us all.
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Just to mention @BonnyinBrighton that if you are using the app you can see if the homeowner has provided a caption with the photo ( which may give more explanation) .
Captions can’t be seen on the web page .
Hopefully this information is useful to you .
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Photos are often done this way because if you have all the curtains open and full daylight, the light from this renders the details in the room as dark blobby silhouettes.
Real estate photos often do ‘curtains drawn - all lights’ on type photos for this reason, or simply have professional photographers and better equipment than a smart phone.
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There is a simple technic, you have to photograph with the light and not against.
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Another trick is to take the photos an hour after dawn/an hour before dusk, lamps on. You don’t get light streaming in the windows, but it also doesn’t look like just black holes for windows. Many of my photos are taken that way, you can even tell which ones weren’t, and they’re not as attractive IMO. Been thinking about retaking some of them when I have the time.
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Very interesting and informative, Thank you. I’m a sitter and can see how your “tips” would make a sit look more appealing. I find that owners often neglect to name a suburb when the sit is located in a large city. For instance, if I’m looking for a sit in Sydney (a city i know well) i want to know which suburb not just that the sit is in Sydney (somewhere) and only the distances to a bus stop, beach or supermarket are provided. Most HOs are clear about location but some, maybe for security reasons, omit that detail. As i would like a sit in an area that I’d prefer to explore, the suburb name would be useful. I think this would be helpful for any city. I also find it useful to see the correcct dates for the sit in the heading if HOs have placed the date there as sometimes its an old heading and the actual sit is for different dates. Hope this is helpful.
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I agree and mentioned this above. When I sit, I mention the suburb in my review to help future sitters.
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@Val That’s really insightful advice. Both of those times are referred to as “magic hour” and used by photographers & cinematographers regularly, as it’s considered the best light.
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Hear hear on the bed details. Surely we’re not the only couples who just can’t manage on a standard double bed. Descriptions of bed sizes also vary from country to country, most people own a tape measure so it would be really helpful if HOs were required to give bed measurements rather than descriptions. I also think to only offer sitters a sofa bed in the living area to sleep on is an insult.
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This was super helpful, thank you! I am new here and just updated my listing.
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Hello everyone!
Head over here for an exciting update about how we’ve been able to give @Nagy26 a wider audience for her wonderful advice!
Jenny
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Thank you so much for this helpful information. I am just starting out and need all the help I can get.
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@Coander2
By the way in my opinion as a sitter your responsibilities section is the best written that I’ve seen to date 
some might say all this detail can go into the Welcome Guide but I really liked how you laid it all out in themed sections eg ‘claws’
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Thank you so much! I wish the formatting looked a bit better since it didn’t translate well from my word doc to THS.
Wow, this is really fantastic! Thank you for this great guide for HO’s, @Nagy26 ! I am a sitter, and you hit on so many of the things I find frustrating and time-wasting in listings. I would add, just as you mentioned to be specific about the number of hours the dog can be left alone (or how long walks are or whether they are on- or off-leash), I would also include driving or walking distances to amenities and the availability of public transportation. If a car is required, are you willing to offer the use of your car to someone who is coming from afar? How would the sitter get to your house if they are flying or coming by train? Are you willing to retrieve them from the airport? Does a train or bus drop them a short walk from your house?
With regard to photos, you hit on all of my complaints. I, personally, like the featured photo to show the exterior of the home, because it shows me very quickly whether it’s a place I might want to stay. Sometimes, the photos of surrounding areas confuse me because I don’t know if these places are viewable from the home, surrounding the home, or a drive or bus ride away. I like to walk in nature, so if there’s a photo of a trail through the woods, I immediately want to know if it’s accessible on foot from the house, or if I have to drive to get to it. I want to know what you can see through the windows of the house and what immediately surrounds it. Does it have a yard and a deck or patio where I might have my morning coffee? Sometimes, when I get to a home, I think it’s so much nicer than was indicated in the listing, and that’s unfortunate because HO’s are missing an opportunity to showcase a really great place. I’ve told homeowners not to play down their home. I stayed in one house that was cozy and lovely, with art on all the walls, and a beautiful, sunny great room with floor to ceiling windows. At one point in her listing, she said her house was “just a regular home.” I told her to remove that, as her home is much nicer and more welcoming than she apparently believes it to be. If you’re not sure what the selling points of your home are, you might have a friend come in and walk around with you and point them out. There seems to be a misconception among some HO’s that sitters are all looking for luxury. I’m not. I prefer a comfortable, homey home that’s clean and uncluttered, with some attention to aesthetics. Historic and worn around the edges is charming!
I think THS would do well to offer a listing review service to HO as a part of a premium membership, to help them avoid these pitfalls and create a great listing.
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Wow, spot on, totally agree! Unfortunately I think many HO’s struggle to picture their home and location from someone else’s point of view - their home, local area and lifestyle is just their ‘norm’ and they may believe it to be nothing ‘special,’ just their everyday ordinary. They forget what’s interesting in the area or nice about their home, or if they don’t use public transport, they may be rather unaware of the transport services near them or forget to think about the logistics of it all. Not everyone of course, but I do tend to see many listings like this.
Haha, if THS wants to offer a paid listing review position, I’ll take it! 
Thanks for all your lovely comment 
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@Nagy26 you forgot to add a great hack for ensuring sitters open your listing to read it… have it come up in the “no pets” category (that every sitter desires andcarecsure to read) even when you “are on a small farm, with stables, up to nine horses, 3 cats a small indoor dog 6 chickens and 3 ducks.” 
Sigh!
22 animals doesn’t equal no pets but got me to open their listing, and quickly closed it and moved on as soon as I read that, despite it being in an area I’d travel to 
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Oh dear 
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