First listing: how did I do?

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
1

New to the platform. Would appreciate insights and advice about my listing!

I don’t see how to find the link to my listing directly, but it’s called “Vermont farm dog sit in comfort”

Thank you!

Listing added to Member Profile by Moderator as requested.

2

Hi and welcome @gfxax44w5
Your listing is a great start, and has most of the information I would want as a prospective sitter.
The items that could be improved are:

  1. Mention how long the 4 walks per day are, e.g. one hour in the morning, then 30 mins in the afternoon. The other 2 walks are more to let the dogs out to go to the bathroom.
  2. Under Amenities, it says you have high speed WiFi, but your description says otherwise. Is there an option for “medium speed WiFi” or something that is more accurate to your situation?
  3. A photo of the sunroom would be nice, as this is mentioned as being near the guest suite.
  4. Your sentence about the Welcome Guide is not necessary. Instead use this space as an opportunity to explain the best thing about your area. You want sitter to keep reading and be tempted in your opening paragraph.
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3

Welcome to THS @gfxax44w5. @karinar has given you some good tips. You promote the ski season in your listing heading but judging by your responsibilities with walking the dogs four times I can’t see how your sitters are going to enjoy any opportunity to ski so your heading may be misleading. Even allowing sitters about 4 hours away from the home (which is quite normal for sits), still doesn’t allow for this. Yes, sitters are primarily there to look after your home and pets but I’m sure they would like to enjoy your lovely area too.

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4

Hi @gfxax44w5

The 4 times a day walk is your big stumbling block to find great sitters. That sounds like a big commitment leaving the sitter little time in between to do their own thing,

2 Likes
5

Thank you! I will do all of this— except maybe I should take out the Wi-Fi disclaimer entirely, and just explain it when we talk? We do technically have high-speed Internet. It’s just not what you get in Manhattan.

6

Thank you . Maybe I am approaching this wrong. It’s minimum four times outside total, all day. we live on a farm so the dogs just go outside, and someone should keep an eye on them. They like it when someone plays with them sometimes but it doesn’t have to be for hours every day, that’s what the other dog is for! A sitter could certainly enjoy skiing, ice-skating, winter hiking, snowshoeing, shopping in town…whatever they like to do. I guess I need to rephrase!

7

Thank you, I will find a way to rephrase this!

8

Fair enough, just include the download and upload speeds then people can decide upfront if it’s enough for their needs.

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9

Our experience is that HO request no longer than 4 hr intervals, but upon meeting them in person, they allways says 6 hours is also ok. This is enough time for sitters to do a bit of sightseeing in the area. So our suggestion. Say upto 6 hours is ok. Also we do not go out every day to go sightseeing. especially on longer sits, one week plus. We also find that HO say walking the dog for hour, etc. upon meeting we find out that they themselves do not do this consequently every day. We however are lovers of walking, so in general we actually walk the doggies longer and more time, than the owners.

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10

Hi @gfxax44w5 Thank you for sharing your listing. We wish you the best of luck in your THS adventure!

A big thing to us – we are sitters as well as homeowners on the platform – is that the photo showing what appears to be the sitter’s room has very little room for the sitter(s) stuff. It is a small room and your computer desk is full of your own items. Can the computer desk be cleared off so the sitters can use it? Is there a closet – with hangers – in which sitters can hang their clothes and coats? Where can the sitter put their open suitcase?

These are small things that can go a long way to make guests feel more comfortable.

Thank you for your consideration. :slight_smile:

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11

Thank you, this is helpful. It’s a guest room so it has an empty closet with hangers and an empty dresser. There’s plenty of space for belongings, not sure how to photograph that, but I did check the boxes on the list of amenities.

I guess I can clean my desk and take a new picture—of course it is cleaned up when someone is coming.

12

Internet is very important. You could say high speed internet but if you’re afraid it might not be high speed enough, you could explain a little if it goes out sometimes or what the mbps is.

You say there is enough time to go to mount snow between walks, but better to say how many hours the dogs can be left alone between walks or being let out. That will give people a better idea! If it’s 5 hours, and you are near the slopes, that’s plenty of time for a half-day lift ticket or if there is a couple a full day with a break.

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