Hi all! I’m new to TH. My listing has been up for a couple of months, a few people have saved it but no one has applied.
I’ve put the link in my profile and would love some feedback - where am I going wrong?
Hi @Annette2026 & welcome! Your listing looks fine, easy to digest and Xasco sounds like good company. A few suggestions would be - you need a better cover photo, a close up of your pooch or him at the pub perhaps as he likes that. You need a lounge photo, put the loo seat down in the bathroom, make the bedroom look a bit more welcoming, show the workspace and desk as it would suit a WFHer/DN perfectly. Also maybe a couple of photos of your pretty village. If someone can manage without a car then offer to pick them up from a bus or train station to open up your pool of potential sitters. Change the title to “Pretty village, great dog-friendly pub & chilled Xasco await you.” or something that makes people notice your sit. Pause the listing, make the tweaks and then relist it and you’ll go back to the top of the “new” listings which should also help. Best of luck. We have friends in Childrey so can vouch for how nice your part of the world is! #lovelyletcombe
Those are really helpful tips - thank you!! I’ll make those changes (I’m glad you like our part of the world too 
)
Your profile says, no sitter needed
I’d taken it down to make the changes recommended by Cuttlefish. It’s back on now so happy to get some feedback!
As yours is an older dog aged 15 you need to say something about your arrangements for the Vet, about having a trusted decision maker nearby (I’d insist on this in case I couldn’t get hold of you). Also describe his physical condition honestly as in why he no longer has daily walks? That made me pause…
You shift between 3rd person and 1st person, it makes the tone shift from impersonal to warm. I’d put it all in the 1st person.
I’m not sure why dressage and golf is relevant here….please do write about why your sit might really appeal to a sitter. And for digital nomads state internet speeds etc
That’s interesting - I’ve put vet and decision maker info in the welcome pack but not on the listing, I can certainly add it. I’ve put info about his walking in the listing, I think most 15yo dogs prefer a short walk to long hikes?
I’ll check text for grammatical consistency.
As for our hobbies, TH asks the owner to write ‘about us’ and I thought people might want to get a sense of who we are, but maybe I’m wrong?!
Yes TH gets that bit wrong, a sitter gauges who you really are by reading the tone of the listing, what matters to us is how you might approach things if there’s a problem along the way eg with house/pets. This isn’t to do with your hobbies… it’s more about character.
We sat a spaniel 14 1/2 at Xmas he was very lively and did hour long walks along the beach…
In the first paragraph you speak of you two in a third person voice. I find that cold. Why not try, Hi, we are so and so. I honestly don’t find people listing their hobbies of any interest to me. I want to know about the pet and the neighborhood. I once applied to a listing I would have passed on when the homeowner listed interesting things in the area that I thought I would enjoy to do or visit and didn’t know was there. You may want to mention how far you are from an airport
Or train station for people who are considering applying from another country.
Thank you - will amend!
Bless him, at 14.5 he was still happy to do an hour’s walk (sadly no beach around here, I think the softer sand would be nicer for him than fields and tracks!) but over winter he seemed to prefer shorter walks. Now it’s warmer he’s more up for a longer walk 1-2 times per week but at his age we listen to him carefully. I’ll try to word something along those lines.
I really like your listing and don’t think the lack of application is due to anything you wrote in it, but mostly because it’s a UK sit and there tends to be a lot of them, so harder to compete. It could also simply be because having a car is suggested. Updating your listing frequently so it doesn’t get buried, adding info on the WIFI speed, and changing the first picture to probably your kitchen which is gorgeous (and is the type of kitchen I’d like to cook in if I was sitting for a few weeks in a quieter setting) might help attract more views!
I’d add that you seem really nice and I love how you respond to feedback you are given on the forum, sos to me it means you’re a great home owner to sit for!
Thank you! I hate writing about myself, it’s so hard 
Thank you for your very kind comments!
Hi Annette, I actually enjoy reading about hobbies and interest of owners. I also tend to gravitate towards owners who have similar interest to myself. I have also had owners say they have been interested in offering me a sit, because I do have a good profile where I mention my interest etc. I tend to dismiss any that do not tell me anything and just one sentence and that is it. Far better to give too much information than not enough. But I think your listing looks great, although I do like to see an outside photo of the property and I like a garden.. The area looks lovely. I never worry about the age of a dog and have looked after some very elderly ones including an 18 year old Jack Russel still walking everywhere, and a 15 year old Border Collie who loved long walks over Dartmoor and was very energetic. I have never enquired should the worst happen etc. But owners always leave vets numbers and can normally be contacted via WhatsApp. Just think it seems a bit incentive, to mention something that is highly unlikely to happen when owner about to go on holiday.
You still have plenty of time though, as September is quite a way off yet. Good Luck.
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I agree. The way you are responding to feedback gives us assurance that it would be fine even as a first time HO. What many sitters are doing when reading a profile is assessing risk versus reward. New HO: risk. Older dog: risk. Nice mellow dog: reward. nice home: reward. public transit: reward. Overall, looks pretty good. But if I search your area, there are SO many sits to choose from.
I honestly don’t think you are going wrong. A lot of homeowners are having trouble filling sits because everything to do with travel (not just accomodations) has gotten so expensive.
This makes it kind of a sitters marketplace. This means sitters can be cautious and choosy. You have a couple of things that might just make it really hard right now: (1) Your dog is old. He seems chipper and isn’t on any medication, but a sitter thinking three months ahead might have concerns about everything that could happen before the sit. There really isn’t much you can do about this. It’s the elephant in the room. (2) This is your first listing. Some sitters stay away from first timers so that reduces applications a little more. (3) You really do describe the location well, but I’d lead earlier with the towns nearby. If it’s possible to leave the dog occassionally for more than 6 hours OR for you to have someone pop in if the sitters took a slightly longer day trip that might be helpful. (You could keep the 6 hour max but also write something in about longer days with planning.)
Many people sit on this site. Some are full timers planning seasons months in advance. Others are more spontaneous. Sometimes it’s just a quesiton of timing with someone realizing a gap in a schedule or getting a cancellation and needing to find something or just having a sudden hankering to explore an area, so it could be worth it to to keep to take your listing down and repost it later so it appears as “new”. If you are getting cold feet and not getting responses, it could also be worth it to see if you could get a refund (or maybe an offer to stick around and more months or a free upgrade – worth asking.)
Personally, if I sat full time, and was going to be in the UK, this would sound lovely to me.
You’ve made some tweaks which definitely make the tone far nicer to read- it’s warm and friendly. I think I’d put your dog as the main picture he’s lovely.
Your sit looks fabulous! Love the first pic. I can visualize myself walking in those fields enjoying that gorgeous scenery. If I was in that country I would apply after these changes made. You named day trips people can take for a city day for a change of pace which is really nice. Some sitters book months in advance. Don’t remember how much advance time you posted. It could be just more sits in your area than sitter looking right now. Hope you find a great sitter soon
Sitters vary with what information they like to read about their potential hosts. I’m one who is interested in what they do or hobbies as I often look for a connection. We’re all different so do what you feel comfortable with providing.
Each summer I’m usually looking for a sit around Wantage as I have friends in the area. I know Court Hill Centre well! Your listing would have been of interest to me (with info about yourselves included) but your dates don’t suit as I will have returned to Australia.
You’re being very responsive on the forum which sitters appreciate. Wishing you well @Annette2026.