Hello Trusted House Sitters Family! I have been trying to find a sitter for approximately 1 month and unfortunately have had no success. Our up coming trip is within 3 weeks and we are starting to fear that we will be unable to find a suitable sitter. Have tried countless time and hours researching sitters using the filter options, and find that there are very few sitters who are actually available (with dates marked in green). Therefore I find myself viewing every single sitter to check the calendar status. Wondering why sitters with available status (green only) donāt show up saving time viewing sitters that are not available (white status). Helpā¦time is running out!
Sitters donāt usually maintain a calendar on THS for various reasons (mostly that the system doesnāt make it easy to do). Sending invitations seldom leads to a sit, unless it is another sit with someone you already know.
Have you published your dates and are not getting applications? If you would like help with tips for improving your listing you can for sure get it here. Just add the link to your listing in your forum profile.
With only three weeks to go, also have a plan B.
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The THS calendar isnāt any help unfortunately @kallalb as it only shows when sitters have THS sits booked, itās not possible for a sitter to add other travel plans/sits/commitments rendering it close to useless! If you use the spyglass on here youāll find lots of discussion threads on it. Hence your issue. Do you have a live listing up & posted? Add it as @Garfield suggests to get some help from members #letsseethelisting
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On the offchance that you missed this:
You did publish your sit, didnāt you? (Add dates ā publish)
Only when you have published dates can sitters searching for a sit see your listing as available and apply.
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Billy looks like a wonderful dog! Your home is very nice, and your area would be really fun to explore before the snow arrives.
You might want to add where Billy sleeps, and expected weather during that time. Also, could you have a cleaner come in at the end of the Sit?
I think you will find someone!
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Hi there, I took a look at your listing for you. Overall, your listing appears welcoming, fun and you certainly have an exciting & adventurous tone. Here are some suggestions to improve your listing:
1: Change your cover photo to the one of the bikes infront of the city - this is a much clearer, brighter and more exciting picture that is more likely to gain attention and clicks.
2: Your title has a nice tone & energy, but itās not very specific in the first few words. In a listingās preview, sitters can only see the first 6 - 8 words before it is cut off and a sitter has to click on the listing to view the full title. So keep your title to 1 sentence under 7 words that states āDiscover Edmontonā first. For example: Discover Edmonton: festivals, culture and more!"
3: Your intro has a nice tone, and itās great that you have told sitters in your intro who you are looking for, but you may also want to add who can sit for you - a couple, a single, a family, somebody travelling with their own pets etc. Also try a strong opening sentence that tells sitters straight away whatās on offer and why they should choose your sit.
4: Your home and location section has many details about the local area, but says absolutely nothing about your home. Break this section up into 2 paragraphs:
1: Your home
- Briefly describe your home, how big it is, if thereās a garden, what amenities you have, where the sitter will sleep, and how big the bed is. Will a sitter have streaming services, a fully equipped kitchen, a guest room? Do you have bikes available for sitters to use (as your cover photo will suggest!) A car?
2: Your location:
You have written a lot for this section that can be cut down and simplified into dot points. A lot of this information can be shared in your welcome guide instead of your listing. Including links to info about the local area arenāt actually clickable on THS, and not many sitters will take the time to explore external links, so just remove this from your listing and keep it for your welcome guide instead. You have also written quite a lot about the weather, which isnāt exactly key detail. Key details sitters are looking for here are:
- A few brief notable things to see and do in the area, which gives compelling reasons as to why somebody should visit your area. You donāt need to mention everything though, just outline a few general points of interest.
- How close (on foot) you are do public transport
- How close you are to amenities & to central Edmonton.
3: Responsibilities section.
You have made good use of clear bullet points here, however you lack some key details and information about the dog. Tell sitters:
- More about Billieās personality and sociability with people? Does he like to play at home? Or mostly sleeps?
- Does Billie have any health or behavioural issues?
- What time does Billie wake?
- where does Billie sleep? (In the bed with a sitter will not bode well for most, so sitters want to know in a listing where the dog sleeps)
- When is the walk?
- When is he fed (is it morning & evening? A sitter needs to understand when they can go out & about on adventures).
- What is he like on walks? (Does he pull, does he bark at dogs etc)
- For sitters with cars, can Billie go in the car with them?
Have a read of this blog to help you, particularly with your introduction and home & location section. Hope that helps! 
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Nagy28, you already nailed most of the things. I personally would like to know that if I were to go on adventures, whether I could take Billie with me. Like - how good is he on hikes, can he come with to the city etcā¦
I also completely agree with the photo swap 
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Oh, btw, Iād like to do this sit if (a) I had time and (b) were a registered sitter. This feels like ālong walks in the forest with a nice energetic dogā and ālots of time to start writing that novel I always wanted to writeāā¦
Heed the tips to improve the listing, and Iām crossing my fingers for you.
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Thank you for your reassurance!
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Hi, the listing does say that it is live so can I assume that the dates are showing up on the listing? Thank you for your assistants!
Yes, the dates have been published.
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Thank you for your suggestion to add my profile to the Forum Profile. Greatly appreciated!
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Thank you for your kind wordsā¦ so inspiring!
It is certainly appreciated that you allowed the time to view my profile! Great to have another set of eyes and someone elseās view point! I can now see where some editing will/should make a significant difference. Advice well taken! Thank you so much!
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No problem, always happy to help
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Your sit looks great and your dog is just adorable. Your first picture shows a pair of bikes, yet you dont offer them for sitters to use?? Can they use them? If so, maybe add that into your post as well. I fly to most of my sits and having the use of a bike really is great. Hope you find a great sitter.
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We have an additional mountain bike available but neither of the ones shown in the picture unfortunately.
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Might be a good idea to remove that photo then @kallalb, especially where it is your first photo.
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Well, my advice would have been to buy a second guest bike 
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I think you can add bike to your amenities, if you want, of course.