Not sure whether this topic has been brought up before. I’ve been a sitter on THS for seven years now and as all of us sitters do, we have numerous photos posted on our profile of us and the pets we’ve looked after. I’ve done over 30 house sits and only once have I done a house sit where I saw a photo of the homeowners on their listing. I think it would be really nice to see at least one photo of the homeowners in their profile/listing rather than the tiny miniscule photo we see when we apply. Thoughts/feedback?
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I think this is a great suggestion @Globetrotter and we will pass this over to the wider team as product feedback. It will be interesting to see what others think, but getting to know our homeowners is a key part of the process for us, and we also like to see them, especially if we don’t do a video call, and just talk on phone.
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I agree. I peer and peer at the little homeowner photo and occasionally try to expand it in a futile effort to see who I am communicating with. I know that the size of the photo circle is a choice, but I suggest that THS increase the size on the website or give us a larger size to view when we, as members, are viewing the listings.
However, In my opinion, this software task does not rise to the level of other projects on THS’s plate. It is a nice-to-have if it can be done easily.
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I think it has been raised before @Globetrotter but it’s great you’ve brought it to the fore again. I, too, would like to see owners’ photo as one of their listing photos instead of the minuscule one we strain our eyes to look at! And sometimes it’s not even a photo of them!
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I used to hate it when the first photo on a listing was of the HO which it used to be quite often, in the nicest possible way, I didn’t care, the pet, it even the house is much more important
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Would totally agree with this Jackie, that it doesn’t need to be the main or first picture (pets & home for sure), but if the small image were clickable to full size that could make it an easy way to put faces to names.
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Just to put a different slant on this post - I have a facial disability & HATE having my photo taken. The most recent one is probably 6 yrs ago. I would not be happy having to have my photo on the THS site.
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As a home-owner, that’s a hard no from me. It’s a safety thing.
I do my best to appear friendly-in-words in my listing and make it clear that I’m happy to chat by phone or video call so a sitter can ‘meet’ me.
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I’m not quite sure why sitters would need a picture of the home owners…… this isn’t a dating site after all. I can’t really see what relevance what we look like has to the sit that we are offering. When we have video meetings with applicants they see what we look like, if anyone is put off applying simply because they don’t know what we look like then they possibly aren’t suitable sitters for us….
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That’s a very important point Margaret, and there should always be choice and inclusiveness of whatever personal preferences people have. Thank you for reminding us that not everyone is comfortable with showing photos. I don’t ever think it would be the biggest issue for sitters nor a deal breaker (I hope I’m right on that), but I suppose because as sitters it’s all about pictures of us on our profiles, it sometimes just feels it would be nice to see our counterparts too. But totally respect that might not work for all 
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I’m just curious as both an owner and a sitter whether you would consider a sitter whose profile read really well and they had excellent reviews but there was no photo of them @Ketch and @Foldor13 .
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It is nice to see people interacting with other pets that they have sat with, but it would not stop me considering someone if they did not have photos of themselves, as I would see them on the video chat anyway……. And I assume most people have a profile photo of themselves, like I do as a HO…….
I had to pick very very carefully which was going to be our profile picture. I hate having my photo taken. I’m usually the one taking the pictures.
I agree, as a sitter, I would like to see a larger picture of the homeowners. I am also a homeowner, and I include pictures of me with my pets in my listing. I’m not sure what the safety aspect of having a larger homeowner picture on the listing would be. Our last names are not associated with the listing, so if someone could explain that aspect, that would be great. And, another disparity that exists but I’m not sure why – why does the sitter have to give their age but the homeowner does not?
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Completely agree! I’m a sitter and what the homeowner looks like is totally irrelevant to me, the pets and house are the pictures i want to see!
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I also don’t understand the comment re this being a safety concern! Also why do sitters have to provide photos of themselves and homeowners don’t.
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As the originator of this post, I had no idea there would be so many comments and I respect and appreciate the different opinions of the members on here. I have often wondered why us as sitters have to post pictures of ourselves whereas the homeowners don’t. I’ve been chosen for sits where the homeowners commented that I looked so happy in my pics taking care of the pets so that must have influenced them somewhat in making a decision. As one member pointed out - “how would homeowners feel if sitters provided no photos of themselves”? Also, I’ve arrived at airports to be picked up by homeowners not really knowing who to look out for from the little miniscule photos on the site. In no way would a photo of a homeowner have any bearing at all on my decision to apply for a sit. I’m mainly interested in the pets, the home and location but it’s nice to see who I’m going to be meeting with. I also agree that this is certainly not a priority for the THS team to implement. Just thought I’d throw the idea out there
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Yes, I’d consider it but in fairness I’d be reluctant. For a sitter, the photos (ideally) show them interacting with animals. Otherwise the animal photos could just be random pictures. Of course if someone has reviews that does largely outweigh the photos.
But the ‘ask’ of a home-owner is not the same as it is for a sitter. Home-owners provide pictures of their home and full details of its location on an open website. The home-owner is leaving the sitter in charge of their house and pets - we need to know that you can be relied upon; you need to know that pets/house/location are as described. The risk level is not the same at all (I’m not saying there is no risk to the sitter).
I understand where you are coming from @Ketch as I was a new owner back in 2015 and didn’t really like the idea of posting photos of my home but realised photos of exterior and interior were important. Our exact location isn’t shown on the website, only our town/city. Back in 2015, the idea of having a phone chat let alone a video chat with potential sitters was virtually unheard of (emphasis on this has grown during the last couple of years and through the forum) so putting a photo of myself in my listing was a way for sitters to recognise me when they arrived for the sit or if I was picking them up from the railway station. I also felt it was a step in building the relationship between an owner and a sitter, including the trust that is shared.
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Using your logic, you wouldn’t need photos of sitters.
It helps to know who will be coming to your house, of course, just as it helps to know what your host looks like.
Not in dating site way, just so you know who you will be meeting.
For example: I met a host couple in a cafe long before the sit date, when they wouldn’t be on site at home when I started the sit.
I don’t do video calls.
Here’s what should be compulsory photos:
Pets
Hosts
Lounge room
Kitchen
Bedroom(s)
Bathroom
Garden if applicable
Nice to have:
Views
Local attractions
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