While I agree with this, I find it pointless to mention attractions that are too far to visit with a pet that can’t be left alone long enough to visit that attraction.
If the pet/s can’t be alone for more than 3 hours, for example, why mention something worth seeing that is an hour or more away?
7 Likes
While it’s great to have a lot of detail in a listing, I don’t let that stop me from applying if the dates, location and pets are appealing. For me, this level of detail is discussed through email communication and ultimately, during the video call if we move to that stage. We sit full-time and we would have missed out on some fabulous opportunities if we only applied for sits with a high level of detail. This approach may not work for everyone but it has served us well over the years.
1 Like
I agree completely! When there is little to no information I move on to the next listing. Information about your town is nice to know but first I want to know about your home and your pets. The more pictures the better!
4 Likes
I think it’s lack of knowledge about information a pet sitter would need/want…mixed with a dose of laziness!
One big reason you might not see as many pictures of the house and rooms as you’d like is that I recently discovered that TH continues to make it possible to view profiles(including all the pictures of inside your home!) even when there are no dates listed on your profile looking for sitters ( and this includes non-members able to see as well!) This REALLY disturbed me. It is not something TH used to do and we were given no warning that this had changed. I feel it is an invasion of my privacy sheerly for TH’s benefit to entice more people to join.
I now have to remember to delete pictures after dates are filled, and re-upload when new dates are added. Really an unnecessary pain.
3 Likes
Unless you can bring the pets?
1 Like
As a HO I was getting worried recently that no-one was applying to come and sit for us, so I asked for advice on the forum. I received some really useful suggestions, most of which made me realise that I hadn’t really put myself in the sitter’s shoes. There was so much that I honestly hadn’t considered might be useful info for a sitter. It seemed totally obvious once it had been pointed out, but it just hadn’t occurred to me before. I’m pleased to say that after updating our profile and adding much more information we are now sorted for our current sits 
7 Likes
Hi @Tolleys thank you so much for the update and we are delighted with your message …
Congratulations and well done.
1 Like
Can I ask what sort of information you added that wasn’t there before? I’m curious to know what made the difference.
Good point! Though it should be mentioned when describing these points of interest far away or when describing the care for the animals.
1 Like
@carpediem16 I added some pictures from inside our home (previously we had only posted external pictures) together with information about what kind of room (and bathroom) the sitters would have. Plus I added a lot more information about our lovely dog: that she likes company, enjoys days out, loves the beach and travels very well in a car. I also added what is needed for the chickens, which, while I don’t think it’s much, is obviously a consideration for sitters.
I think it’s a real balance between putting enough info to attract sitters and putting too much that isn’t required while people are looking.
5 Likes
Hi @Tolleys , Poppy and your home look delightful and I’m very pleased you have managed to find a sitter for your time away.
2 Likes
@Tolleys My opinion on the ‘real balance’ is to consider what information will help the sitter decide whether they are a good fit for your sit. Putting too much is when the listing includes which cupboard the dog food is stored in, and I’ve seen that on listings so many times. That belongs in the Welcome Guide, as it won’t affect a sitter’s decision as to whether to apply. However, the sitter may need to know if you are on a public transit route. I purposely haven’t looked at your listing yet, as I want to use examples that I see often in the way of too much or too little. 
When owners do provide what can be seen as a lot of detail, there needs to be white space (extra blank lines) when switching from one topic to another, and that the same topic is all grouped together. For example, once the house details are covered, start a new paragraph for the transport details. Some people write one very long paragraph, and most readers don’t find that easy to read. I’m adding this for the benefit of any owner reading this post, as it’s another common problem.
Edit: Oops - and now, later, you can tell that I didn’t look at your listing, as I see you don’t need a sitter so you must have been successful. Yet another owner who used feedback and was successful. 
1 Like
I wish HOs would state where the dogs and cats sleep on their listing.
A HO has sent 3 personal invitations over the past year where I coudn’t do the dates. The recent one was for dates where I was available so I started to ask questions including where the cats slept. The answer was that one of them would tend to sleep in the sitter’s bedroom.
Our profile does clearly say that we don’t want pets in the bedroom.
2 Likes
Yes, me too! I just arrived at a cat sit and the comforter and pillows for the sitters room was COVERED in cat hair (and dust and lint) -
I don’t want my head covered in pet fur in bed.
We are SUPER light sleepers and even the deep breathing of a pet or them moving around, in and out, etc would prevent us from sleeping.
Hi @carpediem16 and everyone looking at this thread…
Can this lack of vital information in the listing be a result of the THS marketing being done, which is bringing in many new sitters and HOs who really don’t get it yet?
When we joined, no guidelines were “pushed” to us by THS about how to write a good listing for our home or as sitters. However, because my husband and I retired from marketing/website development/social media management careers, we did find it easy to handle.
But most people don’t have this background and hence, are facing challenges, especially since a majority of THS members are not on the Forum (a stat cited by THS through many threads I’ve followed).
So what I am asking is that THS, now that they are driving an influx of new people, “push” guidelines to these new folks so their home listing has what it needs and their sitter profile is equally complete.
Can be as simple as a template with bulleted points (of info and photos to include) that goes to newbies as soon as they hit “purchase” on the annual fee.
Just a thought.
2 Likes
And a very good thought it is.
Agreed. A very good thought it is as @ElsieDownie says.
Will THS take any of our suggestions?
For months members have been begging them to change the rating system to a blind system or some other way that allows people to be more honest.
I’d love a way to private message past sitters and I’d be happy to be contacted for more info on a past sit.
It seems clear that most of us leave out the negative in most or all of our reviews.
So far I have not seen any reply from THS to address this very long time request.
1 Like
I’ve done this a few times, and then always get an 'Application Declined" 
and when I look at the listing again, no further details have been added. Oh well. I guess some sitters don’t care about the details.
1 Like
I have an upcoming sit that the HO just added to the welcome guide (that she finally posted) that the three cats are to sleep in the bed with me. Never mentioned that before and did not ask if I was okay with it. I typically don’t mind one cat in the bed, but three is a bit much. Glad this will be a shorter sit since I won’t be getting any sleep.
Hi @carpediem16 the review system has been the topic of many conversations on and off the forum by members and in continued discussion internally.
A new an improved system is on the roadmap and that is all the information we have at the moment but rest assured when we have any relevant details to share members will be updated.
1 Like