We have used TrustedHousesitters twice in the past and always had wonderful luck finding a sitter quickly, with plenty of interest. However, we have dates coming up in June and haven’t had any luck this time around. We actually had two sitters lined up, but unfortunately, they both had to drop out due to unexpected circumstances.
We live in Caerphilly and have two wonderful rescue brothers—Bichon Frise x Lhasa Apso crosses. They are incredibly sweet, love their routines, and everyone comments on how easy going and chilled they both are.
Since June is peak holiday season, I know sitters are in high demand! I would be incredibly grateful if some seasoned sitters could take a look at my listing (linked in my About Me section) and let me know if there’s anything I can improve or clarify to make it more appealing. As I said, we haven’t had this issue the last two times, but maybe we just got lucky!
Hi @ToddAC your two dogs look very cute and have great natures. I suggest you put their photos nearer the beginning; certainly before the sights in your area as it’s the pets that are of importance.
It says that they can be left for up to 6 hours but then it mentions they need a lunchtime toilet break outside which doesn’t fit the 6 hours away. Do you take them on outings which sitters might be willing to do to have longer away?
What you can do (as often as you’d like to) is delete your dates then re-post them. Instead of having the Low Applications label, it will show as a New listing. All the best!
The house & pets look lovely, stunning views. Unfortunately a lot of HOs seen to be struggling to find sitters at the moment. The advice from Temba is good, relist and it will appear as new. Good luck
Hello Todd, it looks wonderful! Wales is a very beautiful place with incredibly warm and welcoming people. Agree with the comment above regarding the six hours, that question came to my mind as well when reading your lovely profile.
The search filters when browsing listings are one week, two weeks etc.. If you’re able to extend your travel/time away a few more days, it might gain more interest and traction. Many tend to look for stays longer than a week, since your listing are in between they won’t see it.
Have attached this too which fortunately turned out helping others finding a last minute match. Good luck
I don’t think this is a reflection on the appeal of your sit at all. Reading through it, it actually looks like a really lovely THS sit - two small relaxed dogs, good walking area, Cardiff nearby, dedicated workspace, scenic setting etc. If we’d still been doing our annual UK/Europe “Escape to the Country” trip in 2026, this is exactly the sort of sit we would normally have applied for.
I think there’s currently an amalgam of circumstances affecting sitter availability generally, especially for UK/European travel, and many of them have nothing to do with the quality of individual listings. In our own case, changes around entry visa requirements for expat British citizens ended up affecting our plans quite significantly.
June is also becoming increasingly competitive because many experienced sitters now book peak-season sits a long way in advance, so when dates reopen after cancellations it can sometimes create an awkward timing gap even for very attractive sits.
For what it’s worth, your listing comes across as warm, clear and appealing to me.
Your sit looks lovely, and is one I would be interested in, normally. I have done sits in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland and naturally want to do one in Wales too, unfortunately I am abroad on holiday in June. I did notice one of your photos of a Castle was badly out of focus/blurry, I would delete that one. Plus the blurry one of a wee Loch. I hope you find a sitter.
Thanks for the advice all! We have already deleted the dates and re-posted them. I read that doing this too often will be flagged by THS, not sure whether that’s true or not.
We had a very similar situation where our agreed-upon sitters canceled for a long-term Sit this year. Because of the timing of the cancellation, most Sitters who do long-term sits were already taken, so it was very difficult to find a good fit. I posted on this forum and was advised to make the Sit more attractive, and one of the things I did was offer the use of my car to the Sitter. I would suggest doing that if it’s possible, and I think it may dramatically increase your chance of securing sitters. Lovely listing and cute dogs. Best of luck.
