Hello! I’m barely a week old THS member and would be ever so grateful if I could receive your feedback about my current listing. I have incorporated the advice from the very helpful “5 common mistakes…” article and feedback for others on this forum, now feel ready for more feedback. Thank you for your time!
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Looks like you have attached your Sitter profile rather than your Owner (home) profile.
I just changed it (I think). Thanks for noticing!
Hello!
Author of the 5 mistakes post here. I’m very glad my post helped you! I have given your listing a read, and enjoyed it. You have a nice listing and it sounds like a lovely sit. I would only suggest making a few small changes below:
1: change your listing’s profile picture to one of your bunny rather than your front porch. Maybe also add some more images of your home and declutter some areas (such as the office desk) and neatly make the bed etc to make it look a little neater & more inviting, especially as some people may be turned off by sleeping in a kitchen area right next to a fridge (fridges can be quite noisy). You only show images of the guest basement and rabbit area - what about the rest of the home? Living areas? Garden?
2: can you introduce yourself a little more than ‘a family of 5.’ for example - hi, we’re (names) and we have (e.g 3 children). We are (occupation). This gives a bit of a better sense of who you are, because at the moment I don’t have a clear picture of your household and I have to scroll to the bottom of the listing to find out your name.
3: can you put the responsibilities in bullet points to help sitters better understand what they need to do for the rabbit? E.g:
- Feed pellets twice daily (morning and evening?)
- refill hay, water and give fresh veggies once daily (is there a specific time?)
- clean bunny litter box twice a week
- put her in her cage at night
Hope that helps and best of luck!
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Hi @ilovecheesenuggets and welcome.
I have not read other posts on this thread…my suggestions:
Explain in the sleep quarters photo what size or kind of bed, ie, looks like it sleeps one person? Note it is in the basement in the caption
If I had to choose from the photos, I would suggest this one …sorry but the current cover photo looks like dead animal…
Tile: HOP ON A TRAIN AND DISCOVER D.C.!
Being greeted by stairs sounds odd.
Does the sitter have acces to the rest of the house or just the studio?
I would not state your bunny is like a cat.
The listing says 1 bunny but ginger looks very different in color in each photo
An overall pleasant tone comes across.
Good luck!
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“Hop on a train and discover DC” makes it sound like they live in the suburbs of DC which is not the case.
Hello @ilovecheesenuggets - I think you’ll struggle to get a sitter who wants to sleep in a basement with a fridge and a kitchen for company & no sunlight or chilling space. Do you not have a proper bedroom in the main house that you can offer? Especially as that’s where the bunny lives so it would make sense. There are two repeat pics, one of a piece of carpet and some baskets & not much else. Exit and entrance by stairs sounds as if it’s “do not enter the main house” which also isn’t very welcoming. It’s a competitive market for good sitters so still needs some work IMHO
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You might find someone and you sound really friendly in the listing which is great and the location sounds nice. The offputting thing for me would be staying in the basement - that room looks very dark and if there’s no windows plus a kitchen between the bed and the exit that feels like a fire hazard and would stop me applying. I’ve not yet met a silent fridge either!
What puts you off having a sitter in your main house? Maybe we can provide reassurance! The tone of the words in the listing overall don’t match what’s offered to the sitter imo.
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So nice to meet you, and thank you so much for taking the time to write that very helpful article and your feedback just now! I’m trying to strike a balance between privacy and transparency with my photos and intro - appreciate your examples. I appreciate you!
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I am so appreciative of your perspective - I wouldn’t have even thought about how some of the photos and words came across. The photos were meant to showcase other rabbits we have cared for but I can see how that can be confusing. Thank you so much!
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Especially that fridge next to the bed would worry me, it would be likely to wake me up when the pump starts and stops.
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You need to list your suburb - I don’t have a clue where you are - I would expect to see this in the about my home location but it’s all very vague like 10 minutes to the supermarket.
Secondly a windowless room in the basement with a pull out sofa bed is a tough sell
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Yes, mention at least what metro station this is.
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@Junipers Thank you for your perspective. I’m genuinely curious about your perspective about the basement as it is very common in DC to house guests or live in finished basements. In fact, many airbnbs in the area showcase this kind of set up.
That leads to a related question I have - does it feel unwelcoming to ask sitters to not use certain areas of the house? For example, in my listing, the basement and main floor would be open for someone to stay in but not the upstairs bedrooms. Everything that someone would need would be on the floors I mentioned so doesn’t seem like a need to use them anyways. Thoughts?
@ilovecheesenuggets - what a good username hahah! I think to me it’s the fact that it’s a pull out bed (which might be uncomfortable) and it’s so close to the kitchen area. I’ve stayed in a finished basement before but there was a bedroom with a proper bed and the easy ability to escape through the window in case of fire or flood, plus a living space down there and a kitchen/living room upstairs that was on the listing and we felt very welcome to use. In that place the bedrooms had the doors closed and we didn’t go in them although we weren’t specifically asked not to.
So sitters would be able to use, e.g. your living room and kitchen on the main floor? If so it’d be worth including a picture of that so people can see if there’s a couch or a TV etc.
It’s not necessarily unwelcoming - but this is a trading platform essentially so the more you can offer the more you will get (i.e more experienced sitters with many good reviews). If I knew there were 3 good bedrooms upstairs and I was in a basement sleeping next to a fridge on a pull out bed I wouldn’t see that as such a decent trade. You might still find someone great though - maybe I’m an outlier in finding basements a bit off-putting.
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If you are offering the sitter use of a sitting room , main kitchen and main bathroom include photos of these .
At the moment it looks and reads as if Ginger the rabbit has free run of the home but sitter will be confined to the windowless basement.
A sofa bed is not the best option as it has to be made up and put away everyday and they have a reputation for being uncomfortable.
If you can offer sitters a proper bed and wardrobe space in a bigger bedroom with windows and not next to a fridge - you will attract more applications from sitter .
It might help if you look at other house sits in your area and see the bedroom / bathroom / kitchen set up they are offering sitters. These are your “competition “ .
Sitters paying to travel your city will pick first a sit that offers them the most comfort , facilities and convenience of location in exchange for the pet care and home security that they are providing.
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@Junipers Your wording is so helpful, thanks for the specifics. @Silversitters The bed is actually not a pullout so I should note that - good point! And there is a window plus a door out or the backyard. But alas, it is still a basement so lighting isn’t great so hanging out downstairs wouldn’t be appealing unless watching TV.
I would prefer to stay in a guest room rather than someone else’s main bed if that were an option. Something about staying in someone’s bed feels, for a lack of a better word, intimate.
Also, I’m trying to learn the culture on THS and am not sure where to land. For example, staying in Capitol Hill could cost at least $100/night for a similar setup for one person. And IMO, pet sitting part Ginger seems very easy and rewarding as sitters can leave for almost the entire day if they’re wanted to and although somewhat aloof, she’s very sweet.
Is my listing maybe just best for families who consider this a good trade (because accommodations are upwards of hundreds per night then) or someone who’s main objective is to explore DC?
By the way, you guys are so amazing sharing your experience and perspective.
Sure, but a pet sit is different. When the pet is a dog or a cat, the HOs like it that there is human company. And then the sitter wants a comfortable and cosy place to be in, maybe to work in.
If it is just a bare room without windows, the guest is more likely to spend time in the museums or at a conference etc.
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Another way to look at @ilovecheesenuggets is to view the competition, there are currently 347 sits open in Washington for applications so there’s a lot of choice. Yes the sleeping in someone else’s bed is an odd one but us sitters do it often. Great the living room & main floor is on offer, please add some pics. Am sure Ginger is super easy when all is well but think about if she was ill and the vet was needed and then the value of a sitter being at home with her. It’s always a sticky subject comparing rentable values to sitter values on the forum as with pets it’s never a free stay, the human care is everything. #allfoodforthought 
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