We are just starting out with travel. What do we need to provide a sitter with? For instance we do not have any TV’s in the common rooms. Is that needed?
I was on a sit without a tv recently - I did not really miss it. Programs in Danish would have been challenging for me anyway.
But it might be good to mention that explicitly in the listing.
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The requirements are a clean house, a room to sleep in, fresh linens, etc. If you take a look at some of the listings you’ll see a variety. Sitters are choosing which listing to apply for. They aren’t being sent to you, so you’ll need to make your listing as attractive as possible to attract good sitters.
Many people don’t have/own televisions. It sounds like you don’t have a television in the room where the sitter will be sleeping or in the living room. That’s fine, but state it upfront in your listing. Remember, however, that sitters are your guests, so if for example you have a large screen television in a room that’s not closed off where the pets have access to, but the sitter doesn’t except to clean up after the pets, that might be a little awkward, so you should consider things from the sitter’s perspective.
+1 to Marion’s comment.
Personally, I don’t need a TV or coffeemaker, which many people consider essentials. I consider high-speed internet important enough that I pass on sits without it.
I also appreciate cleaning or maintenance supplies to match whatever surfaces you have. For instance, I had to buy food-safe butcher block oil for a sit, because I wanted to make sure liquids didn’t damage the kitchen counters, which had dry spots.
What else: a fully functioning vacuum cleaner or whatever else is needed to clean the home. I’ve been on sits where their stuff was in poor shape, making cleaning unnecessarily harder. This is especially important with pets who shed a lot.
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I just finished a sit without a TV. I do think you should list it in your profile so the sitter is not caught unaware. For me, if there is sufficient wifi to stream shows on my laptop I am fine.
@mrhardrockcafe Welcome to the forum. You could start off by asking yourself how would you prepare your house if your favorite friend or relative was staying with you? Important things to provide: A clean, safe and tidy living space, a comfy bedroom with room to to store/hang their clothes, room in the refrigerator and freezer for their food, space in your pantry for their dry goods, adequate food and supplies for your pets, cleaning supplies, at least a starter pack of toilet paper, a completed welcome manual, sent prior to the sit.
I would assume a TV would be less important than a solid WiFi connection to most people. As mentioned, just make your listing as attractive as possible but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy a bunch of stuff.
Most people just want well appointed, clean, quiet, and comfortable, then everything on top of that is a plus.
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@mrhardrockcafe
As sitters we look for listings for
A clean tidy home with a
Comfortable king size Bed ( we sit as a couple )
Good Wi-Fi
Clean shelf in the fridge & freezer for our groceries
Space in the wardrobe for our clothes.
Desk space to work from
A table to eat a meal at
A sofa or living room to relax on in the evening
A washing machine
and
A warm welcome .
These are essential for us and anything else is a bonus .
The most important thing is to be accurate with the listing of the amenities in your listing ( e.g shower or bath/ gas oven /BBQ etc )
Welcome @mrhardrockcafe. No tv wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me. I’ve done sits without one. I travel with my laptop anyway for work so I can watch anything on this if I want.
I always take my I pad as long as you have internet.and I travel with books I’m sorted.
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We lived on a boat for five years so TV was a novelty when we sold her. Now, not as much. As long as I can get radio reception and have internet access for books I’m good.
Home requirements (for us) are
Comfie clean bed
Somewhere to put clothes or leave suitcases without falling over them.
Clean shower and bathroom with somewhere to leave a toothbrush
Room in the clean fridge/freezer
Room in the clean pantry for our food
Hob, oven, microwave
Enough food left for the dog
Treats for the dog left in the original bag so we can buy them more
Comfie place to sit for reading
Clear instructions about the care of the animals and property.
Anything else is a bonus. Stop fretting. All sitters have different needs and requirements and I’m sure you’ll find the correct person.
Good luck.
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Get most of my programmes on Netflix or I pad. so may complex I just give up,
I would choose a clean house, food to snack on, and fresh linens every day of the week over a TV. My kids might have different opinions though
A TV wouldn’t be a deal breaker for us as long as we knew beforehand.
All we really need is:-
Good wifi,
Toilet rolls/soap,
Salt, pepper, herbs, spices,
Tea, coffee,
Clean bedding and towels,
Kettle.
Other things are not so important as long as we are made aware of any normal household items that may be missing via an owners profile/advert.
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Thank you to everyone for all the comments. We are putting the list together and will post soon. 
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