I have a long sit coming up that I need a sitter for and I’m afraid I boosted the dates too early, I had a couple applicants, but both had negative reviews and only one external review, the other had none, so I’m reluctant to firm it up with either of them. I’d really like to get more applicants, I need someone from 4-25 June. Is there a way to take the boost off and then boost it again, or should I delete the sit and relist? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you so much! If you have any sitter who wants to spend one of the best months of the year in Oregon, send them my way. 
I can’t help you with how the boost function works, but maybe if you change the title of your post, people could weigh in on how to improve your listing. You’ll get quality applicants if you have a quality listing.
The first thing to do is have a read of this recent post about common mistakes in listings.
My first and overwhelming impression of your listing is that the responsibilities section is very long and confusing for me to read. I’d change the order so feeding and walking schedule is first, the car notes are in the house section anyway so could be removed, and the notes about handover could be near the end.
I also think lead with the positive. I don’t smoke or vape, but reading that in all caps at the start is quite negative and off-putting. It would be better to have a house rules further down, and phrase it more positively, for example “this is a non-smoking household, so I kindly ask you not to smoke at this sit”
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Hi there, author of the 5 mistakes post here 
I took a look at your listing for you and have some suggestions that might help.
1: Your title seems somewhat desperate and using all caps seems like you’re shouting. Re-title your listing to something more friendly and inviting such as “Enjoy breathtaking forests, waterfalls and nature in Oregon City.”
2: Your intro doesn’t tell sitters why they should sit for you, and instead reads like an autobiography and only tells sitters what you want and expect. For a sitter to be inclined to sit for you, give compelling reasons why they should pick you straight away in your intro. My 5 mistakes post should help. Starting straight away with your expectations won’t serve your listing well.
3: Your home and location section doesn’t come across to me as particularly friendly and inviting. There’s a lot of ‘do not do this’ and explanation about when your car will and will not be available, rather than clear advertisement of your home and location. What are you offering sitters and why should a sitter pick you? What is your house like? What is in the area to see and do? What are the forests and waterfalls you spoke of in your title?? Avoid telling sitters what NOT to do in your listing, as it almost feels like we are being scolded rather than being told why we should pick you.
4: Responsibilities.
Your responsibilities section is somewhat confusing, and you repeat the same info about your car that you already mentioned in the home and location section, which only adds to the word count. Write clearly and succinctly with simple dot points to outline responsibilities. Exactly how long are walks? It seems as if you want your dogs walked very often and for extended periods, which is a big ask. Remember that sitters are here for a mutually beneficial exchange and are not here to be free dog-walkers & round-the-clock carers. It is a big ask for sitters to never leave the dogs for more than 4 hours at a time, and also to take them out ‘for a few hours’ while the cleaner is there. Personally, I wouldn’t accept these requests, as in my opinion they are only appropriate for local, paid sitters or services.
It is great that you have good reviews from past sitters, but you may want to consider how your listing can better come across as less demanding, and instead be a more mutually beneficial exchange that appears friendly, inviting and flexible towards sitter’s needs.
Hope that helps!
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It’s before dawn in Portland now and the drive time shows as clearly longer than the listing purports. I know Oregon well, so when I saw that reference to “about 10-15 minutes south of Portland,” I knew it was false. With normal traffic, the commute is even longer. Based on that alone, I’d avoid this listing, because I’d wonder what else is misrepresented.
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@Nagy26 gave you some super valuable insights on how to make your listing more appealing.
It does at times, sound like you are looking for an employee (reinforced by the last sitter’s review you left, where you use keywords like “require” and “her services”. Obviously this isn’t something you can modify, as reviews are final, but it could be part of the explanation why you haven’t received many more applications even though Willow and Sophie look super sweet. By making your listing more friendly and inviting, you could attract more applicants.)
Also when disclosing in “amenities” that you have security cameras, it’s always good to explain in the home description what they point at: exterior? Front door? Pet cam in the living room? Can you turn them off while the sitter is there? It’s better to be upfront about it than wait for someone to read the details in the welcome guide.
I hope you find the perfect fit for your doggies!
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Oof, yea, I didn’t dig into the reviews you’ve written. Unfortunately I’d run a mile from applying after seeing a review an HO had written like that, and I suspect it’s the reason you’re not getting any quality applicants.
The best thing you can do now is work toward a mindset shift and learn to see it as a mutual exchange of services.
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@Myka I’ll be honest- i don’t find your listing very appealing at the moment- the way its written. Imho You come across as rather demanding. And there is too much repetition in all sections. E.g I would suggest scrapping the long winded and confusing car availability details from both the home & the responsibility sections. You can simplify it by saying something like- ’ my car may/may not be available depending on dates of sit’ and then discuss that directly with the sitter when you connect.
Try and put yourself in the sitters shoes- why should they choose your sit? What’s in it for them? Try to come over a little more welcoming if you can!
I would also avoid using the terms ‘candidate’ it sounds too much like a job application.
Hope this is of some use.
Good luck!
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Definitely agree - scrap all the info about the car, and just simply state that your car might be available to sitters depending on the sit date.
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Thank you for the info, I changed up the add, and I’ll look at it further. I may end up having to cancel this trip, but life is life.
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@Myka Your listing reads very much better now- Well done for taking on board the feedback offered and making some great improvements!
Good luck finding great sitters!
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Yeah, I get it, the greater metro Portland is a big area, and if you want to go to North Portland, drive times would be higher, south Portland lower, either way, I replaced the time with the milage and of course things would depend on traffic, most understand that. Thanks for the feedback.
Glad you switched to mileage. That’s at least factual. Commute times differ with traffic, but it would be a human impossibility to get from your place to anywhere in Portland in 10 mins even if they had a car, and highly unlikely that any visitor would want to race to just the closest border of Portland in 15 mins. And with public transit, times would be much worse.
There’s no need to be disingenuous about travel times unless trying to mislead. And if a host actually managed to trick a sitter about travel times, they’d also risk getting stars knocked down for the accuracy of their listing.
In your case, you already have problems getting sitters. You don’t need more challenges.
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Thanks Maggie, we’ll see how it goes. I’ve had 3 sitters and my first two were just outstanding, so I was hopeful most were going to be like that, but the last one I had was really challenging. This is a long sit, so I want someone reliable.
Those need to be switched off.
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To your original question: you can’t re-boost but if you delete and re-list your dates, it will do the same thing as boosting. The only caveat is that you can’t do this and keep your current applicants, but in this case it doesn’t sound like you want to keep them anyway!
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Well done for editing your listing, your intro and home and location certainly reads much better!
However, your responsibilities section still requires some work, as it is long, too detailed and repetitive. You’ve made this section much longer than any other, and when people see a large wall of text in this section that outweighs the rest of the listing, they are immediately less inclined to sit for you. Try to make your listing evenly skewed across all sections.
You mention info in this section that is relevant to the home and location, such as WiFi and streaming services, car availability etc. Move this info to the home and location - responsibilities section is for responsibilities only. You already mention in your intro that you prefer a sitter to arrive before you leave, so no need to mention it again. You also give many nitty gritty details about the bark collar and ball throwing that should be saved for you welcome guide only. List responsibilities in clear, simple dot points only, that helps sitters clearly understand what they actually need to do for this sit. E.g:
"My home and pets are easy to care for and do not require much work. I have a cleaner and gardener come once a week, so caring for my home should be very easy! Please:
Feed and exercise the dogs morning and evening (for how long??)
water plants
Willow loves a good run and chase of balls in the nearby dog park, and is much more vocal than Sophie. She may require a bark collar for a short time if barking becomes too much. Sophie is older and cannot keep up with Willow as much, but still enjoys playtime. Both dogs love (cuddles? Playtime?) and are easy to care for. They can be left for (how long?)."
Everything else should be in the welcome guide rather than your listing. Remember this is an advert!
In your home and location section, you also speak about Willow playing fetch. Home and location should be about your home and local area only, not about the dogs, so move it to the responsibilities.
Quick tips:
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Intro: should briefly introduce yourself, describe what you’re looking for and give compelling reasons why someone should pick you.
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Home and location - should describe your home and local area and tell sitters exactly why they should pick you, what’s on offer and should read like a persuasive advert. Info about the pets should not be here.
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Responsibilities - should clearly describe what responsibilities a sitter will need to complete and basic info about your pets. Info about the home & surrounds should not be here.
Hope that helps
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I take all inside cameras down and take batteries out when I have sitters. I have only outside cameras when I’m traveling, no inside cameras. I know the THS rules about inside cameras.
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Thank you so much those suggestions are very helpful!! 
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honestly maybe reduce the responsibilities section to the amount of time it could take in a day so people know what to expect and anything that is special requirement (meds, separation anxiety things of the sort) so sitters know what to expect, you can explain the ball games to them in a video call/interview or when they get there.
or if you insist on having the details there maybe organize it into details/bullet points
that’s great but a potential sitter wouldn’t know that just by reading your listing, so best to reassure them asap in the process.
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