Have other owners found their listings being blocked by Customer Service even though the necessary 5 photos requested in the listing creation page has been met?
Iâm a sitter, but that sounds like you need to email the below and ask them why, or see if they can help you complete your profile/listing.
support@trustedhousesitters.com
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I donât need help completing my profile and I have followed up with them multiple times. They are demanding photos of the bathroom and bedroom which would be fine if it was consistent. I looked through previous sit listings and see that these photos were not included in those instances - which is why I am asking, Why are they insisting with my listing when they havenât with others?
It could be because there is inconsistesies, because they are more vigilant now than begore or because the listings you have seen has been altered since they were first made.
Sitters will look for photos of the rooms they are using. So it really is to your benefit if your listing is more informative and have more photos. Will give you a higher probability of being chosen to apply for.
So THS is doing you a favor by nudging to a better and more competitive listing.
A lack of photos of bedroom and bathroom is a major drawback for me as a sitter. I wouldnât ask you for photos. I would scrooll on to the next listing.
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It sounded like you needed help with your profile, because you were only putting on 5 images, kitchen, bathroom, sitters bedroom, lounge, outdoor space⌠thatâs 5 already without putting on any pet images.
The success rate of a home owner without an image of the bathroom and the sitters bedroom isnât very high. The other owners listings you have seen on THS, may have been with THS for many years. THS is improving things all of the time and they KNOW what sitters NEED to see.
The majority of sitters just simply wonât apply without seeing those, because sitters will either think you are hiding something, or theyâll presume their bed is the actually the dogs bed, or the bathroom is moldy. Just add those images. A 21 year old probably doesnât care where they sleep or where they wash⌠but anyone a few years older typically does, especially when they are giving up their time for free.
Iâm not sure why you donât want to put them on unless you arenât at home at the moment, but just incase you feel your sitters bedroom and bathroom are âlacklustreâ in some sort of way please let me put your mind at ease, if youâve got a sofa bed, itâs fine, thereâs plenty on here that will think thatâs fine, and plenty that wonât, let the sitter make the decision whether it is right for them or not, or perhaps the bedding design is older⌠we donât care, we just need it to be clean. If your bathroom is old-fashioned, donât worry at all, most of us are just after a clean space to get washed in, we donât need a power shower. Itâs the different experience that most of us love, so donât worry too much about decor. We just need to see where we are sleeping and washing.
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Any listing Iâd consider applying for must have at least one (hopefully more) photos of the bathroom and bedroom.
Is this maybe a new requirement for HOs due to so many of us sitters needing to see those 2 spots?
It seems THS is just trying to make your listing as successful as possible.
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Itâs not arbitrary. Theyâre just not staffed so that they can get to every listing and do a thorough job.
In any case, theyâre doing you a service, because as mentioned, many sitters wonât bother applying without such photos. And that tends to be experienced sitters, because they know better than green ones.
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This is an odd hill to die on. Why would you bother looking for other sits that donât show these instead of just adding the pictures?
There have been a lot of changes in requirements that the site does not seem to have the ability to flag profiles that were in compliance when they were first made. I donât love that, but it is what it is. Sit listings that are not up to current requirements are often seen as less desirable, so HOs will either figure it out or have a harder time getting sitters.
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Instead of thinking about posting the minimum photos, maybe think about what THS is. Itâs an exchange, a trade. As a sitter, Iâm offering to take excellent care of your pets and your home while you are away. In exchange for this service, you are offering accommodations. Itâs reasonable for sitters to want to see photos of the accommodations that are being offered. I like to see photos of all the spaces I would be using. If there arenât photos of rooms/spaces I would expect to use, I just scroll on. Many experienced sitters just donât waste time on listings without expected photos.
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No chance of us applying for any sit without a bedroom or bathroom photo on there. Itâs a non negotiable these days on all listings. Sounds as if THS MS are being super helpful to you in this instance. #neverlookagifthorse
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Definitely not for arbitrary reasons. Your listing doesn´t comply with the set rules and was stopped.
You may like to take a look at the following thread:
You seem to have missed a point. They are not ânudgingâ to include particular photos. They are refusing to list an adâŚthat I have paid to list. I would also be perfectly fine with you not applying to look after my dog if you did not see a photo of a bathroom.
I didnt go looking for these. These are sits that I have completed because I actually read the listing.
The point is that if I make the choice to not include these photos, that is MY choice. If then I only get sitters that read the listing instead of the sitters commenting on this owners post about them swiping past my listing because the multiple photos of the inside and outside of the house and my dog are not enough, that is actually what I want! Iâm denied the service that I have already paid for a âruleâ that was not outlined when they took my money.
Edited to comply with posting guidelines
You seem to misunderstand and think that just because you pay, you can list however you want to. But that was never part of the deal â every company can define terms of service. And if you or another potential customer doesnât like the terms, theyâre free to not join.
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If I am paying, it should be up to me what is posted about my property on my listing.
Edited to comply with posting guidelines
Thanks but the question was in the owner forum, not the sitter forum. Ive noticed previous discussion about the fact that sitters apply for sits without reading the profile - which should be what determines if it is a good pairing. All of these sitters proudly proclaiming they would swipe on by without certain photos are the very people not reading listings. They arent the sitters I want so it looks like it works for me if you would not apply. If I am paying for THS and if I dont want those particular photos on my profile and want sitters that read, that should be my perogative.
Youâre entitled to think that, but that wouldnât make sense for THS, because itâs a matching platform that also charges sitters. If listings lack basic info or images, then they waste sittersâ time. THS isnât looking just to serve you â itâs got to serve sitters, too.
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Well @MTK2023, you have probably made the correct decision in seeking sitters elsewhere.
The ârulesâ about the number and types of photos required will be laid out in the THS T&Cs. Those rules have been updated over time and each year when you renew your membership, you are agreeing to those updates.
Personally, if I read your listing and noted the lack of required photos, I would have reported your listing to THS member services. This is what likely happened to you. THS claims to vet the photo requirements only when the very first listing is made. Subsequent listings arenât reviewed by THS unless flagged by a member.
I am flummoxed as to what is either so great or so frightening about your bathroom and bedroom that you decline to include photos.
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I donât need help completing my profile and the dog photos were not included in the five. The living, dining and kitchen and outdoor were all featured. I am a sitter myself with 20+ 5* sits. I am amazed that you speak for the âmajority of sittersâ. A picture of a bathroom is a picture of a bathroom. A picture of a made bed is a picture of a made bed. If you are making a decision to apply for a sit based solely on the picture of a bathroom or generic bedroom and not whether the pets would be a good fit for you, then youâve just help me decide that THS is not for me as a host. The narrative and description of what is needed of a sitter and the personality of the dog is more important than a picture of a duvet cover and that is how I have always decided if it is a sit I would apply for.
This post has actually been super helpful and proves my point exactly #sittersdontread