Having trouble finding a sitter

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
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I see others posting similar issues. My last sit, I had three people almost immediately. Now, despite repeated attempts to invite sitters, I’ve had no response. My trip is at the end of May and concerned about not having this nailed down. I’ve been a member for a few years. They used to have a way of elevating your sit request - I seem to remember. Our profile is up-to-date. Our home is spacious and garden oasis. Small town charm, close to lots of open space, great recreation, and good food.

Any advice - Barbara

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Honestly, I can’t imagine why with one little cat you aren’t getting more traction in Chico! I might mention nearby hiking etc as it is certainly a nice country mini-vaction for someone living in the nearby sitters. Could you sweeten the deal with borrowing a car? I think you may be thinking of “boosting” the listing. Maybe it’s tier based, but I think this is just something you click. If the listing has been up for a while, you could try deleting it and posting again.

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Thanks, I have added all of that information about things to do and places to go. Plus our Welcome Binder has maps and guides to help anyone here for the first time. There’s no car to borrow and wouldn’t want to take that risk anyway. TIer based - where would that be? I forget what level I am but not somewhere close to the top. Thanks for responding.

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Your difficulty in getting a sitter is probably due to many international sitters and tourists avoiding the USA now due to the high chance of detention at the border. Numerous countries have updated their travel warnings about this on their foreign affairs websites. There is a very long thread on this forum about this. Sadly this will likely be the case for the next 4 years. You are best seeking a US citizen for your sitter.

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I think your listing looks great and if I were available I’d jump at it! The only thing that might make it a little easier “sell” is to mention the closest airport(s)? Potential sitters have to scroll through lots of listings and the easier you can make it for them to figure out what it would take to get to you, the better. So, for example, “Only a 90 minute drive from Sacramento International Airport, or you can fly directly to Chico on a regional airline”

To get away from the need for a car, you could mention that if a sitter flies directly to Chico you could pick them up and that “x” grocery store delivers so they won’t necessarily need a car while they’re there.

It might also be worth mentioning some of the truly unique things in town - the Yo Yo Museum? COOL. I’ve been to California dozens of times and had never really heard of Chico as a destination but I would have gone for the yo yos! The Museum of Northern California Art looks cool too.

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Cookie - Am I looking for a house? Sitter has nothing to do with international travelers. I’m specifically reaching out to people in California and domestically. I have never had anyone except my house that request that lives outside of the United States.

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I’ll add some information about the Sacramento airport. There are no airlines that fly into the Chico regional airport. And you definitely need to have a vehicle when you’re here unless you come by train and have a bike. We’ve only had one person who did that. It’s doable but challenging. Thanks for the updates

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You’ve got a brilliant profile, it’s just a tweak suggestion, but honestly, it’s great.

The only thing I would change is the very first paragraph in your intro, but it’s fantastic from there onwards, I can’t understand why you haven’t had more applicants.

It’s up to you, but personally I think kicking off your intro with Hi, we’re Barbara and Mike bla bla bla is a much stronger start.

It then tells sitters exactly who they are helping out straight away, and then you come across as being super friendly, & approachable straight away… instead of doing a sales pitch to a sitter, whereby some may click away at that point, before reading on to see how lovely you & Ruby Tuesday are.

Sitters only sit for people they like, so your opening words are the most important, but your own personality doesn’t shine, as you’ve redirected it into questions aimed at the sitter instead. But it’s not about the sitter at this point, it’s about you, because they’ve already clicked into your profile at that point, they were already engaged.

In the first few sentences I didn’t get to feel any nice friendly emotions towards you personally whereas the rest is great at that. It’s you I’m sitting for, it’s you that writes my reviews, and I need to feel like I want to help you personally, because THS has an abundance of other ads with cute cats and lovely pools, where they get their friendly personality across right at the start, so it keeps sitters engaged and wanting to read more.

Instead the only feelings about you, were that you’re business savvy, sales-orientated, and good at strategy… and whilst I connect really well with strategy minded people, there are much more important traits that I need pet owners to possess.

Owners need to be friendly, approachable, likeable, love their pets, kind-hearted, easy-going, which the rest of your profile does really well, just not your opening lines, it’s just a sales pitch, nothing about you, nothing about Ruby Tuesday.

You could easily weave the pool, spacious home, cat lover, & NC part into it naturally after you introduce yourself.

But honestly, you have a good profile, just the sales pitch intro could mean you put some off straight away before reading on to your really strong paragraphs.

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9

It sounds like a great sit in a lovely home! This Canadian would love to do it, if… well… :frowning:
You have some time yet. Hopefully someone will turn up before the last minute, although I know not having something sorted well in advance is stressful.
I’ve read that invitations are rarely successful, because sitters just might not be available for a random invitation, but – may as well keep trying. Are you mostly inviting California sitters or other states? Maybe try a little farther afield.
The only thing I’d nitpick on in the listing is the line, " In winter the garden takes," – ??
Good luck, hope you find a great sitter.