Hello
A couple here from Campbell River, BC… Our first time here Worried about how all this works and for our pets.
Edit: we are HO’s
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Welcome to the forum! (We are sitters from Kelowna.). Starting off can sometimes seem a little daunting, but overall, it’s an amazing website. I take it you are home owners?
Maybe start by looking through some of the forum posts and/or doing a search (with the magnifying glass icon) and see if some of your questions have already been discussed. And then ask away! There are loads of home owners and sitters here who are always happy to help newbies!
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Oh wow, I’m just planning a trip to Vancouver Island, including Campbell River and Quadra Island! Too bad I’m not a sitter. I’ve never been that far north on the island, it looks so lovely.
I’m a homeowner using THS since Jan 2020 when I was visiting Vancouver Island the last time. It’s an awesome site, just create your profile, post great photos and lots of information about your home, pets, responsibilities. Post your sit dates and you should get some applications. Then chat with applicants and choose the best one! I’ve had five excellent experiences, just follow your gut and be honest about what’s expected and everything will work out.
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Hello @vanislelady and welcome. Here’s a blog post that you may find useful.
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Hi @vanislelady. As the others have said, welcome to the community forum. One thing you might do to give your listing more visibility is embed a link to it in your forum profile, then request forum members to provide ideas of ways you might make your listing more enticing. Here’s how to do that in case you decide to:
Like this? I have been busy trying to set so much up and read everything. This forum definitely helps Thank you
Yes, that’s perfect.
You’re starting early, and your dates don’t include the all-important year end holiday week, so that helps.
I’m hoping some members of the forum take a look at your listing and provide ideas about ways to make it even more enticing to sitters.
@vanislelady on Karen’s suggestion, I took a look at your listing. I must say that the first photo would not draw me in enough to click on your listing, but we are all different. I also suggest you have a better balance of photos when it comes to living areas vs. your pets. As much as we appreciate pet photos, sitters need to know more about where they will be living.
As you will get feedback from others, I’ll just focus on your ‘Home & Location’ section and what questions came to mind, keeping in mind what many sitters seem to want to know:
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Is the sitter required to do snow shovelling or clearing of a driveway, given the time of year?
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Given you say you are walking distance to so many services and stores, why is your listing tagged as needing a car? Unless the selected sitter has their own vehicle, most sitters find the cost of hiring a car prohibitive. That limits your pool of sitters. Also, ‘walking distance’ is subjective. Please give approximate distances (not time) and whether the terrain is hilly or uneven.
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‘Guest room for sitter’ does not tell us whether it’s on the ground floor or upstairs (mobility), or the bed size. It’s also important that you add a photo of the bedroom.
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Does the bathroom have a tub or shower, and is it on the ground floor or upstairs? If stairs are involved, is there another toilet on the ground floor, for example? Also a photo of that area of the bathroom would be useful.
Francine
Volunteer moderator 
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We live on the WET coast not the cold coast although we do occasionally get snow. If they bring their own car then they will have to shovel it out if it snows. That can be discussed with the sitter during the interview.
Walking distance is within 3 blocks to everything
Public transit here doesn’t run 24/7 and doesn’t go to all the great interesting spots.
I don’t feel mobility is an issue if they are going to walk my dogs but would definitely come into the discussion
Posting a lot of pictures of the interior of my home makes me feel a little uncomfortable
I have listed a lot of these questions in the welcome package
Great ideas but I have had a look around some posts and what I did see was not a lot of info or pictures…
This is just my opinion although enquiring minds want to know
@vanislelady That is understandable that posting photos of the inside of your home might feel uncomfortable. Just a few to entice a sitter are all that is needed! I would delete the photo with the snow in it; as you said, it only snows a couple times per year. Unlikely that the sitter is going to have to shovel snow. That photo immediately gives the wrong impression. I live in Portland, Oregon, and I can vouch that Vancouver Island is one of the most beautiful areas in the world! Walking in the crisp weather and then snuggling up by the fire would be wonderful! Too bad we are not available during those dates! For anyone interested, it would be fun to spend a bit of time in Victoria, Vancouver (BC), or Seattle before or after this sit. There are ferries to take you across the “pond.”
@vanislelady I have read your listing and have an important suggestion as I think that the bunk beds might be a deal breaker. In general, I think that your home/location/3 dogs are a good option for a couple rather than a single person, but most couples don’t want to sleep in bunkbeds! And if 1-2 dogs want to sleep with the Sitter in a small bed, how is that going to work? If there is any way to provide a queen or king bed for the sitters, that would be much better. Do you have Next Door where you live? I see free and really inexpensive, nice beds all the time on Next Door. People who are moving often don’t want to bother hauling a mattress/box springs.
@vanislelady Thank you for responding to my suggestions. My list was put together based on feedback I’ve read from experienced sitters on this forum.
Having good information in your Welcome Guide is appreciated by a confirmed sitter, but is not viewable by those who are considering your sit. Your primary goal must be focussed on getting applications.
You may well see sits with content below the recommendations of THS, but many of those may also have 0-3 applications. Listings that are successful with minimal photos likely have multiple feedback/reviews from past sitters, or returning sitters, all of which is helpful to prospective sitters assessing a listing.
The bunk bed is not going anywhere. It is a Double on the bottom. I have a large family who visit and they need the extra bed. The room will not support a king size bed of which even I don’t have one. There are no requirements that the dog(s) sleep with the sitter.