Hi guys, gals, non-binary pals (who gets the reference?),
as I’m one of the (obviously rare) HOs who want to make sitters’ lives easier, I would like you sitters to tell me where I could improve my listing - linked to my account. I already know some things I want to change/improve, but I’m not going to skew you in one direction - the discussion will take care of that.
Make me wiser please!
Hi. These are the things that popped into my head while reading the sit either as questions or concerns that I would want clarified.
Pics
Listing content
Hope this helps. I think this would be a very desirable sit for many people but these are the things I would want clarified. Good luck!
Your place looks really nice, cute cats. Hope this helps:-
Your photo’s could be better, some are very dark, and small.
Personally I wouldn’t put images of the cats on the beds because this may put a lot of sitters off. Imagine two identical posts, one with unknown cats on the bed you are about to sleep on (ie dirty before you arrive), and one without with a clean looking bed as a first impression.
opportunities for a plan B - I wouldn’t put that end bit in, it ‘could’ sound as though if you don’t like the sitter when they arrive you’ll ask them to leave. I know that’s not what you mean, but that’s how it ‘could’ come across.
Also, please please make sure they stay. - you need to add within the compound to that first sentence so that it reads smoothly.
I recommend sticking roughly to the feeding times - personally I wouldn’t put this bit in, it’s sounds very rigid, even though you’ve put roughly. You need to trust your sitter will do the right thing based on what you have said, but a lot of sitters would be in bed by 11pm, so you are ruling out a huge chunk of otherwise brilliant sitters.
The below whole paragraph is totally contradictory… just leave it out, you’ve said help yourself, and then said not to help yourself unless you replace it, so you’ve looked good, and then made yourself look stingy, don’t make yourself look bad for no reason, you seem like a really nice guy. Just leave it out altogether, and just say it in person when you meet them about anything can be used, just replace it:-
Please also raid the fridge and cupboards. If I want something not used, I’ll tell you. If you use something, it would be nice if you replaced it, but don’t overdo it; some loss, and wear and tear is expected, and I want you to feel at home, not obligated.
Hope it helps, good luck
Thanks already you two. I am aware of the photo situation (when I uploaded them, they were really really high res, somehow the THS web tool scaled them to this kind of censored).
I concur with the contradiction, I’ll have to rephrase that. I’m neither stingy nor am I happy with everything gone when I return. All according to common sense is what I am trying to say.
“opportunities for a plan B - I wouldn’t put that end bit in, it ‘could’ sound as though if you don’t like the sitter when they arrive you’ll ask them to leave. I know that’s not what you mean, but that’s how it ‘could’ come across.”
I will rephrase that, but it actually is what I mean. If the sitters turn up and it’s clear that I have been deceived and they are just a*****s, I will kick them out.
I expect sitters that walk into a sit and it turns out they have been deceived to do the exact same (provided there is an overlap; never take sits without overlaps, people!).
As a note on this: I’m not concerned with my house or my belongings, but I am very concerned with the wellbeing of my pets. I’ve already written about this in some other post last week. If i get the feeling a sitter will abandon my pets, they’re out.
I know it’s wrong because I am a sitter, but you made me giggle with that!
Fortunately there are some amazing sitters with THS, it’s a shame there is the odd one or two who are not so great.
Happy to make you laugh.
I have had 95% amazing sitters (10 stars if possible), and 2 sub-par (well, the partying-with-a-friend-feed-tons-of-treats-but-dont-remove-the-vomit-stains girl at least left me a few half bottle of cheap vodka).
There is still the possibility a HO might deceive you, or a sitter. And I reserve the right to walk away under these circumstances, and so should everybody. I’m not advocating “I don’t like your nose or how you smell” cancellation, but if there is something really serious AND potentially dangerous that only comes up in person…
Oh… I just re-read my own listing - and even if I made people grin or giggle, this is not about the walking away thing (which I believe is self evident anyway), but about itineraries changing, sitters arriving late, etc.; I’m not sure it’s really confusing, but I’ll work on this and all the things you’ve put out there.
Hi @elmi4711
HO’s and sitters always have the right to cancel if the circumstances are dire especially around pet care or not respecting a HO’s home. Also if a sitter fails to turn up on time and updates a HO I agree then that’s a big red flag. I’m not sure it needs spelling out tbh.
Sorry you got a party goer ‘sitter’ that refused to clear up vomit. Let’s be honest if you cat sit then you are likely to clear up vomit as cats make themselves vomit due to fur balls.
I don’t think you’ll have an issue getting a great sitter but remember of any of the first 5 sitter applicants feels off you can decline them and getting another applicant.
Hey @richten1 - I’ve always taken the liberty to decline applicants for selfish reasons (no message sent at all, not responding in time, not interested in the pets, etc. etc.). That’s why I also leave some vague things in the listing - if you don’t ask, you don’t want to know, I’ll assume. Tactical approach 
The partygoer was very very young (19 or 20), and new, so I thought I’d just give her a leg up. The parties did happen at home, and I suppose she did remove the vomit, but wooden floors stain of course if you don’t do a cleanup immediately. Can happen, but it was a consistent pattern. I like to laugh about it nowadays, it’s an experience. It might have been preventable, but I’m not really sure.
The cats were alright after those two weeks - I mean, hey, they were basically fed only treats all the time, but they appeared to not care too much for her. My cats are quite (one) timid and (the other) easily startled, so the partying might have been too much.
I generally want to have sitters that the cats will not want to leave. That means they had a great time
One remark: If sitters don’t like cats on their bed, then this sit is not for them…
For me the issue would be the cats directly on an unprotected mattress as that would bring up hygiene concerns for me. I welcome all furry creatures into my made bed for all the cuddles and would agree you should make it clear that they’ll expect to be there so there are no surprises.
There’s going to be a better picture of that; I just took what I had 
Sounds like a great sit to me, in fact I’ve saved your listing. A couple of duplicate photos maybe.
If you’re fine with roughness, it’s a good sit with very nice cats that are easy to handle. I’ve already deleted a few of the dupes, I’ll be taking new photos as soon as the painter’s through with the cottage and I have cleaned up a bit.
Btw, what I don’t know is why my highres photos turn up lowres once uploaded. They’re all 4K upwards.
That’s totally up to you, but I can see your reviews are from early in 2023, that was before the new rating system started for home owners. So just in case you are unaware, home owners get reviewed on cleanliness nowadays (not just sitters), it’s marks out of 5. So your cats being on the bare mattress in your photo’s may not help that score. Your place looks great though.
I don’t see any dirt on the cats or the mattress (I mean apart from this being a “photo of opportunity”). You might have a completely different style and expect others to meet that style, which can fail
Re the food - as long as you don’t literally make reference to common sense! There have been some lively discussions on here about what is and isn’t common sense and peoples views vary widely. I would say exactly what you want. That said, as a sitter I would prefer this info to be left to the welcome guide.
I echo others comments on photos - labelled photos of the useable space esp full pic of bedroom and bathroom would be helpful.
I did find the language around car a little confusing as you make a reference to "the " car but i dont see it in amenities and the other text suggests to me you expect sitter to arrive with their own. Maybe that could be clearer.
Love the clear explanation at the start about handover date. And love your cat names!
Thanks for the input; I should take the car thing out - I really only want it used in emergencies - I don’t even think the insurance would permit regular use by nonlisted third parties. (It’s also impractical for most things, just a 2-seater with almost no trunkspace)
The food part I’ll rewrite, although there was never a misunderstanding in the past, and the wording has been identical for multiple years in the Vienna listing.
The photos are actually labelled - THS gives you a field to input a label. For me, it doesn’t show though. I suppose I’ll have to open da Gimp and label them myself.
The photos of bedroom etc. will be coming (well, lack thereof didn’t deter anybody), but since I just kicked the builders out today, that’s gonna be a little bit.
Oh, and taking an overview picture of the cottage bathroom is literally impossible; sit for me, and you’ll understand
PS: I’ve already made a few changes, since responses here paused, so I thought I’d already start…
PPS: Thanks for the lot of input. When you think, something’s fine, just ask a rando
Yep, ask a rando and you will def end up with responses!
Actually in Vienna (suburbs) myself on a sit just now…but it feels more like Tenerife!
The heatwave just ended here (Tenerife) today. We’re back to 25 by day (and I hope 19 by night). Vienna can be brutal in summer, and with all the concrete, there’s just no relief.