To be brutally honest, I’m put off by being expected to stay in what looks like a very cramped holiday annex rather than your home. As an Airbnb&b for a couple of nights it’s okay, but for a more extended period, too tiny for me to feel comfortable.
If it’s for the sitters benefit as they will be more comfortable there, eg house is aged project in the middle of renovation, then explain that. Otherwise it’s giving vibes of sitters being good enough to come and work looking after your stock, but not good enough to be allowed in your house.
I just looked through the pics again (so many cute faces!) and noticed you don’t really show the kitchen. As someone who cooks, I want to see what kind of space I have. Are there decent counters? 4 burners or 2? a real fridge or one of those worthless dorm size ones? Might want to add some additional pics to flesh that out as I know kitchens are important to quite a few people.
Great comment, thank you.
The main house is indeed second best to the annexe at the moment due to renovations. We moved in one year ago and spent the time renovating the annexe so we could Airbnb to fund the rest of the house (plus spent time building the garden areas for the animals). I’ll mention this, as I agree it’s valuable context.
The kitchen in the main house and bath in the main house are two useful additions which housesitters very welcome to utilise. The living areas and bedrooms are “in transition” !
Thanks.
I’ll add more pics of the kitchen.
I’ll also add some of the main house kitchen since this is (slightly) bigger.
Both have good size fridges, 4 hobs, and an oven - so all well equipped.
The revised listing looks wonderful, and you’ve been so gracious in incorporating the suggestions here. I wish I was available during this time as I’d have loved to sit for you. Great to see you are getting applications and fingers crossed you’ll find an amazing sitter in the next few days!
I see you have a couple applicants now. I hope one is a great fit for you! It really does look lovely. I want to come play with the creatures!
I am in the process of looking for property to buy in France and celebrated my birthday a few months ago. I was joking that people could buy me some baby goats for my property for my birthday. I have one friend who takes things WAY too literally and was literally in negotiations to import some goats from the UK into France as my gift. I had to vehemently protest and our compromise was that he could buy me goats at a later date when I am NOT living in a van and in the mean time he could get me a mascot.
Meet baby goat William (named after my friend). He’s soft and cute and makes a great mascot (also much like my friend) and will tide me over until I can have the real thing.
The very first int’l sit we agreed to included a horse, pony, goat, dog, five cats.
Because we were inexperienced Sitters and it was in a place we knew would be interesting, we applied & were selected.
All in all it was a lovely sit.
However - the amount of time the HO suggested it would take us to care for the critters was a significant underestimation!
I think many many read you post & think your descrption of time to do chores is not realistic andbe put off.
I’m not saying it takes YOU longer than posted - I’m saying that for someone unfamiliar with the routine, where things are, how everything must be done, it will probably take far longer at the start.
(1) IF I were interestedin being in your part of the world I would probably consider your sit! You seem like really nice folks and I don’t think the responsibilities are onerous.
(2) The “red flag” fluttering in your post is the amount of time you say the chores will take because you’re not acknowledging that for someone who doesn’t have your routine, it will in fact probably take 2X as long.
Thus reading the post I would wonder, “What else is being glossed over?” and be reluctant to respond.
Here’s my suggestion: rewrite the post to acknowledge that.
Something vaguely like this?
“Don’t be intimidated by the numbers of animals: we don’t feed them individually so the chores are simpler than they may seem. That said, what takes us 40-50 minutes may take you longer until you’ get the hang of it! And we’ll be there to show you the tricks before we leave.”
Best of luck, you have been given lovely reviews & hopefully a great sitter will appear!
Can’t resist chiming in without any suggestions (as everyone has offered you great ones thus far) : Your clear appreciation for potential sitters is evident in offering to accommodate more people, dogs, etc. I hope that you find a wonderful sitter…And I wish that I were able to be that lucky person !
You’ve received some good advice so far, and here are my two cents:
There’s one fundamental aspect of your listing that you can’t change: you have a farm with multiple animals that require a lot of work. While this appeals to some, I believe that many THSers users are primarily looking for affordable vacations and travel, with pet care as either a bonus or simply the price they pay for affordable accommodation. Of course, even those in the latter group must love pets, but for them, the main source of enjoyment is travel, not the animals. Also, while many people are experienced with household pets, they may feel unprepared or anxious about caring for barnyard animals.
Your listing is best suited for the smaller group of people who genuinely enjoy the physical work involved in maintaining a farm.
Now, let’s talk about the things you can influence to attract those who are interested in this type of vacation:
I believe your setup could be ideal for families, especially those with children, who want to enjoy quality time in the countryside. These families may not be looking to do a lot of trekking or sightseeing that requires frequent travel. Staying in one place and engaging in fun, hands-on activities could be a perfect fit for them. For city families, this could be a wonderful experience.
Here are some suggestions:
Allow sitters to stay in the main house where more than a couple can be comfortably accommodated. Highlight in your listing that you welcome families.
Childproof the house.
Offer the use of your car. If you don’t, you’re limiting your potential sitters to those within driving distance or those willing to pay for a rental. Providing a car would make it easier to attract international travelers, not just locals.
Invite sitters to arrive a day or two in advance so you can train them on how to care for a farm with barnyard animals and a flock of hens. This would expand your pool of sitters to include those who would love the experience but just need some guidance.
Think of your listing as marketing. You’re essentially “selling” the wonderful “hobby farm” experience (that’s the American term ).
It might seem minor, but based on my experience as a Realtor—and backed by professional marketing studies—photos are crucial. Even though THS is a non-commercial site, it still matters. It’s all about psychology.
Post better pictures! Full-size, well-lit images can make a huge difference. Include a photo of yourself (and/or your family members if you’re comfortable with it) with the animals. You already have a close-up, but try adding some photos of you working in the yard, taking care of the animals, or cuddling with the sheep you mentioned in your listing.
As sitters, we look for a pic of the exterior of the property, so it might be worth your posting one or two (of the front, back or both). You state there’s a washing machine in the bathroom but how can sitters dry laundry (given that weather in the UK isn’t great at the moment)? There’s no mention (or any pics) of anywhere to sit and eat inside (or is it a tray on the lap job?). Is there a dishwasher available, possibly in the main house (not a deal breaker but most sits nowadays do offer one). I think your pics don’t show much of the room space available to sitters - I can only see half the sofa - is it possible to get a wider view?
The thing I think you need to clarify relates to the renovations to the main property: does this mean there will be any tradespeople on site during the sit? Are there any building materials on site?
The animals look lovely, but - to be blunt - that’s a lot of livestock on half an acre and the entire garden looks to be given over to the animals, which some people might find a bit off-putting. But, as you can see from many of the previous responses, lots of sitters will be tempted by this unusual sit. I think the main thing against you is timing, as many sitters will already have confirmed sits for this period. Going forwards, I’d advise listing more in advance if you possibly can.
@Kieran_Duke Well done, it looks as if you have found a sitter!
I was surprised at the difference in the quality of the same photos on TrustedHousesitters and your AirBnB listing. The same photos on AirBnB are much clearer and show off the accommodation much better. The THS software seems to be lowering the resolution so they look grainy! All those times people have given feedback on listings and suggested taking better photos, it seems the photos might have been fine until they were uploaded to THS!
Based on the better photo quality, and the additional internal photos, I think it actually could be beneficial to refer to your AirBnB listing. It shows off your accommodation much better. Just make it very clear that there will be no guests there during the sitters stay. Interested sitters will take a look.
We aren’t too far away from you, and have experience with poultry and a trio of self sufficient sheep, although you have double the number we have cared for at once! I’ve added your listing as a favourite in case any future dates match.
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