Hi I am Lorraine and new to looking for a sitter to take care of my lovely pets in rural Wales
Can someone give me some feedback on my profile as I am struggling to find a sitter. I appreciate it’s not until August but with everything else booked and am worried
It’s great reading through everyone’s profiles and seeing so many lovely pets and places.
Hello @Lorraine1 and welcome to the forum and to TrustedHousesitters. Many of our forum members know of the magic of Wales, myself included (born and raised in South Wales).
I suggest you review this blog post:
My general comment is that sitters want to see far more details than you’ve included, especially about the home and the pets. Put yourself in the shoes of a possible sitter, figuring out whether the home layout works for them, whether they can handle the tasks involved, and how much free time and freedom they will have while there.
When considering how much detail to include, distinguish between what a sitter will need to know to decide whether to apply, versus what they can be updated on later. For example, listing where the pet’s food is kept is irrelevant in your listing (and I’ve seen it done), as that’s an example of details you put into your Welcome Guide.
Francine,
Volunteer Forum Moderator
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Thank you I’ll take a look and edit
Lorraine
Hi @Lorraine1 and welcome to the forum. Wales is a beautiful country and I was fortunate to spend 6 weeks sitting there a few years ago, undertaking 3 sits in different parts of the country.
You have provided good information in your listing and made it family friendly as I can see children really enjoying their time with the animals.
My only suggestion is that quite a few of your photos are dark so having the lights on when you take them, might be a good idea. Preview your listing and see what you think if you were looking at them from a sitter’s perspective.
You still have plenty of time to attract sitters!
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Thank you for the feedback I have retaken a few and updated them.
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Going into my second year with THS. I managed to secure a few sits for last year for long weekend breaks, I am however struggling to find a sitter for August. I have reached out to a few but they are not available, 2 people have contacted me to ask if they can bring a dog with them, which I declined as I have 3 cats who would not come into the house if a strange dog were here. Any suggestions as to how I can make it more appealing.
Hi @Lorraine1, I’m sorry you have not attracted sitters this time around. First I would add that it is not suitable should sitters wish to bring their own dog as your cats would not accept this stranger. They are used to your own dogs but not others.
I would clarify exactly which bed is for the sitters as if it was the one under the alcove, I would not be applying because I would hit my head! If you are offering more than one bed (and I’m assuming you are because you have listed it’s family friendly) then be clear which bedrooms are available.
The other suggestion is to remove your dates, wait a short time then put them back in and re-post your listing. This will make it a New listing rather than stay as a Low Applications listing and be brought to sitters’ attention once again.
I have just finished a lovely sit near Denbigh further north than you but you do live in a beautiful part of Wales.
All the best.
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Thank you for your reply. I never thought people would be wanting to bring their own pets to a sit as it had not occurred before. But I shall mention it.
All my bedrooms are shown in the photos so any are available, perhaps I need to make that clear too!
Thank you
Lorraine
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I have had 2 lots of people apply full of enthusiasm but no response since I replied both were new to THS too.
I have also reached out to a few but all declined one fairly local said she only did paid local sits! I didn’t enquire further.
Not sure now what to do.I’ve still got about 4 weeks but with everything else booked I’m worried about finding a sitter in time .
I checked your listing again @Lorraine1 and I didn’t notice you had made any changes re sitters not bringing own pets. Do remove your dates, wait an hour then re-post as I previously suggested. You want your listing to become “New” again rather than lost in the many sits advertised.
You do need to have a Plan B should you not get a sitter.
All the best.
Thanks, I have added that in and temporarily deleted dates I did that the other day too and had 2 replies unfortunately that didn’t respond back after.
Plan B - I think I’m not going on holiday as I don’t have any other options.