I am hoping to find a sitter for December 12th and have been struggling. I have completed all the steps reaching out to sitters who have saved my listing and to those looking in the area, and then expanding to local sitters within Inverness the Scottish Highlands. I would greatly appreciate any advice and will share the link to my listing below. If anyone has any suggestions or knows someone who might help or be interested in the sit, I would hugely appreciate sharing . There has been one applicant who appeared to be interested but has never responded to me.
Link to my listing: (listing added to memberâs profile by Forum team )
Hi @Susannah and welcome to the Forum. Unfortunately, Christmas/New Year is when there is heaviest demand for sitters with fewer sitters being available for a number of reasons. Many are already booked by now. Youâre competing with 51 other owners in Scotland at present trying to attract a sitter.
I did look at your listing, in particular reviews left by your last 3 sitters who docked stars for Cleanliness. This could be a red flag for sitters.
You mention you quite often take your dog with you. Do clarify in your introduction whether you are taking Panda. If itâs only the Guinea pigs and tortoise, that could make a difference.
If you remove your dates briefly, then re-post them, your listing will become New again and more visible to those sitters looking for a sit in Scotland for the festive season.
Hi @Susannah. I agree with all that has been said by @Temba. I noted that a previous sitter mentioned the roof needed repair and mice were getting in. If this has been addressed, you could include this information in your listing or in a response to the sitterâs review (even though that sit was many months ago). I would suggest decluttering the kitchen and livingroom areas and taking new photos of those areas. You should also include at least one photo of the bathroom. Any chance to upgrade from basic wifi?
I agree with the other two responses. Unfortunately your pictures show a rather cluttered/untidy house which, when scrolling through, sitters would immediately be put off by. Has the roof been mended as @MaggieUU asks?
I used to have a tortoise as a child and he hibernated during the winter but it looks like Lotus doesnât.
Also, how long can the animals be left once theyâve been fed and Panda has been walked? You may well have ticked a box with the length of time but, annoyingly, sitters donât see this.
As @temba says, you are competing with many sits and, unfortunately, as your listing stands it wouldnât be a priority.
I hope you find a sitter
I would have to agree with the others, the pets look lovely, but the living room and kitchen photos look rather messy and cluttered. Try having a really good tidy up before taking photos. If you âlook for sitsâ at other sits in Scotland/your area you will see the competition you are facing.
As others have said, Christmas is a time of very high demand for sitters, and they can afford to be very choosy.
Hello Maggie and Temba, yes indeed those issues have been addressed and I have had a sitter who has left me a review since then. In terms of the roof, I in fact spoke to the sitter beforehand about this to give her opportunity to decline the sitting as I was struggling to get a repair as an emergency to be done in time. I did in fact manage to have the repair done in time for her, and maintained dialogue with her about this all the way up to the sit so that at any point she could decide not to do the sit. I believe every one of my reviews before that, and the one after that have been positive. However I am grateful for the advice about taking new photos of the house, and clarifying when I would be taking the dogs with me. This varies depending on where I would be travelling (as on this occasion when I am travelling to family to London and would be bringing them). I hope this clarifies, and many thanks for the advice.
You do have several reviews mentioning a cozy, bright, welcoming space and you sound like a really thoughtful host so I think itâs your photos letting you down. Itâs hard to take photos indoors, especially in smaller rooms. The guest bedroom looks nice, you could move that to be the first photo for now, delist and relist.
The bright light coming in the windows is creating problems elsewhere. Try decluttering, as recommended, then close the blinds and turn on all the lights and take new photos of living spaces and kitchen.
Showing an inviting space where someone could have a nice vacation while caring for your menagerie is so important. Especially in the cold Highland winter, indoor comfort will be key.
There are sitters who donât choose sits with dogs - so as the dog is coming with you this might work for them . However if sitters use the filter to look for sits with only cats they wonât see your listing come up ( because of the dog) .
As there is such a high demand for sitters over this holiday period you might consider deleting the dog from the listing all together so that sitters looking for sits with cats will see it .
The cluttered photos plus some reviews that deducted stars for cleanliness will be putting some sitters off from applying so I agree that some new photos that show your home when it is âguest readyâ will help .
@Susannah, the answer to your problem lies in the question ⌠attracting more sitters requires the listing to be more attractive to sitters.
In our personal opinion, as experienced sitters, your primary photo is an immediate turnoff. Lots clutter. Photo of kitchen shows pots & pans drying and what looks like arts and crafts. Encourage tidy up, put away excess stuff and take new photos.
Christmas is an exceptionally competitive time of year. Many Pet Parents travel. Many housesitters stay home with family (or charge for their services). Recent THS Forum thread noted 5,000 unfilled Christmas sits, including 1000+ in UK. Very competitive.
Your main/first image needs to be an image that looks inviting and relaxing. If you were paying a sitter, then they wouldnât care, but a free sitter wants to feel relaxed in your space.
So please donât take this to heart as I am trying to help, you have some lovely images, but your MAIN image says the exact opposite of relaxing. Itâs the image that has 2 chairs with dog blankets, a cluttered desk, a cluttered coat rack, the side of a cage, lots of small ornaments, books, piles of papers, 2 pillows piled on top of each other. Soooo imagine you were a sitter and that ONE AND ONLY image was the deciding factor as to whether you glanced at more images or your description or not⌠that is how important your main image is.
With a fresh set of eyes, ask yourself, does that one and only image look like a relaxing space. Youâve got some lovely images, but I feel your main one needs changing, or re-shooting, because itâs the one that makes people click to read more.
I do both THS sits and paid sits - I wonât accept a cluttered sit whether itâs paid or unpaid . I have a nice home of my own without clutter and so I wouldnât choose to stay overnight in a place that feels claustrophobic in comparison to my own home .
There are a couple of homes where I do occasional paid drop ins , when owners are out for the day . When I have been asked if I would house sit for them , I have declined . The pets are great and they would pay well but because of the clutter I couldnât do it overnight not even for pay .
Iâm inclined to agree with the comments already made. Didnât even make it as far as your reviews; the photos were quite sufficient. Even a galaxy of immaculate 5-star ratings wouldnât outweigh what the images already state.
Your Responsibilities section is twice the length of what you offer in return, which is⌠telling. In practice, your guestsâ list of tasks is even longer once they arrive, simply to make the stay habitable.
Seasoned members recognise this pattern instantly; a fundamental mismatch from the outset, before reading a single word. Youâre lucky if they get that far after glancing at the visuals.
To them, competent hosts understand that preparing oneâs house for a housesit is obvious and non-negotiable. It isnât an optional extra or an eccentric flourish - itâs the bare minimum.
Those who fail to grasp that end up here⌠exactly where you are right now; risking a poor match, a paid match, or no match at all.
Still, I do hope it works out. While the listing needs more than a nip and tuck, Scotland is a natural beauty. Good luckđ
Looking at the photos i agree with previous comments but would like to add that if you take the dog with you, remove the dog photos for now, you can always repost them later. It is a bit confusing that I seem to notice even 2 different dogs. Also I am confused of the room with one or two cages in it. Some seem to have a rectangular and also a triangular high one. This all gives the impression that your photos are outdated and do not reflect the actual situation. And simplify the responsibilities section, to complex plus remove the dog part in it for now.
Here is something you might consider: If the dog is definately NOT going to be there for the sit, take out the information about the dog. Take out the photos.. Name the types and number of pets that sitters will care for in the your âaboutâ section as it is multiple pets and you want to get this information across quickly. So you woud say more quickly: I need someone to take care of 3 guinea pigs and a tortoise.
The problem with your sit is that if sitters are trying to avoid dogsits, they wonât see your sit at all when they are looking. If they are like me and open to dogsits but might prefer cats or small animals the listing will appear, but seeing the multiple animals, I might move on without reading quickly. Unfortunately, small animals shows up with a rabbit icon and tortoises show up with reptile icon, so itâs good to say what you have as soon as possible in the first line. Why? Because many people would be fine with tortoises but not okay with snakes or lizzards. Personally, I take care of a neighborâs rabbit sometimes and love the bunny, but I wouldnât stay in a home with a rabbit as they are often free roaming and poop everywhere! I donât mind this when I am going in once a day to check on the guy and feed him for compensation, but I wouldnât want to live there! If the guinea pigs are mostly in a pen, this would be no problem for me.
If the sit coming up does include taking care of the dog, then put the dog information and photos in, and skip the part about the dog sometimes travelling with you. Just state at the begining: This sit includes one well-behaved dog, 3 guinea pigs who live in a pen, and a tortoise.
. There has been one applicant who appeared to be interested but has never responded to me.
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