Brand new member over here with a listing that has gotten 0 applications. I want to proactively search for sitters who’d like to come to New Orleans (which is a FABULOUS destination, if I do say so myself). But when I try the ‘find a sitter’ search function, I can only search for people who already live in New Orleans, not those who may want to come here. This isn’t that helpful because locals, of course, have their own homes and pets. I’d also need to pay them, which makes sense, but if that’s what I was looking for there are local agencies here I can go through rather than this website.
Am I missing a way to search for people who have New Orleans on their bucket list?
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It works better for the sitters to search specific locations. Sitters can click on what countries they want to visit in their profile but not city. Consider linking your listing to your forum post. Unfortunately many are hesitant to travel to the USA at this time. Your best bet is to ensure that your listing impresses.
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Completely, deeply understand hesitation about visitng US right now. Argh.
Having said that, it seems like a miss for owners to not be able to search sitters just as sitters can search location. They don’t seem mututally exclusive…
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Sadly, this isn’t a feature. It would make sense, wouldn’t it? I love NOLA. (I live in CA.) What dates are you thinking?
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I’m also in CA and would be interested. Can you share your link/dates?
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You aren’t missing anything. Trying to find sitters who might want to come to your sitter AND have the dates available is very difficult.
New Orleans is or should be a popular destination. If you posted dates for a sit and aren’t getting much traction you could try using this thread to get help for your listing. There is a way to add your listing to the thread, but I’m not great at that, so someone else can chime in with instructions.
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Would totally make sense! My listing is now in my bio (I’m pretty sure) on this forum.
(Post edited by the Forum Team to remove listing dates as per the Community Rules).
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My listing is now in my bio (I’m pretty sure) on this forum.
(Post edited by the Forum Team to remove listing dates as per the Community Rules).
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@jacogan1216 I think the biggest problem is that your sit starts in less than 2 weeks, and so many sitters will already have sits booked for your dates.
I believe New Orleans is a sought after location, so with more notice, you shoukd have no trouble getting applicants in future.
You have done a great job describing your home and all the different rooms. “Shotgun double” was a term I hadn’t heard before, but I now know!
Sitters sometimes hesitate to apply when a listing is in a big city but there is no indication of what part of the city. If you are able to inclde the area you live in, or distances to a few places / landmarks / attractions / highway intersection it would help sitters understand what part of town you are in.
The Responsibilities section is nice and clear, you’ve explained the quirks of some of the cats needing to be contained in different halves of the house, and been upfront about the cat who prefers to poop next to the litter tray and how you make this easier to manage.
You sound friendly and approachable. With a little more information and a little more lead time before the sit in future you are sure to get some applicants.
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I hope it’s ok to provide some sitter based feedback on your listing- you will need to share much more in your listing- it tells me nothing about the area, what I might see/do whilst I’m there. I’m in the UK and no idea what a ‘shotgun house’ is although I noted the dead animals on walls etc…. Zebra skin and Impala head mounted took me aback rather. Please give us an idea what communication would be like with you by sharing more about yourself and the pets.
Re the kitchen- definitely take another photo and remove the rubbish bag hanging from the cupboard door it’s really unappealing. Tidy up and retake ‘spectacular’ pictures. ‘Sell’ us the idea of staying in your home, encourage sitters to believe they’d feel really comfortable.
I feel there’s a decent sit here but you’ve not presented it in the best way. Best wishes
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As others have addressed the fact that you can’t search for sitters looking for New Orleans, I’ll point out a few other things that might help:
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Sitters who prefer cats, as I do, will NOT find your listing if they only search for “cats”. They have to specify cats AND poultry (or “Any Pets”, but many sitters don’t do that as they don’t want livestock, dogs, lizards, or whatever). Based on your listing, your single chicken is just not a big deal. But be aware that having it limits the number of sitters who will even see your post.
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I’m not sure how long your post was up, but for five - FIVE! - cats, and >2 weeks, you’re going to need to post way in advance. Like months in advance. I adore cats but I limit myself to sits with three. If I were brave enough to do five, I would want to know how I make sure one of them doesn’t eat the chicken!
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What the heck is a “shotgun double”? I’ll be honest, I recoiled at the word “shotgun”. I did go look it up and I see now that it is just a special kind of house, but given that this is an international community and that term might not be familiar, you might want to reword that.
You could take a stab at finding sitters by city and proactively inviting them. For example I did a search on sitters in Pensacola, Florida (which is driving distance to New Orleans) who have both cat and poultry experience and also member reviews. Twenty sitters came up, all with five-star reviews. It wouldn’t take long to send each of them a copy/pasted invite; even if they’re not available, they might know people who are. Do a search on cities that are driving distance to you and invite. I’ve connected with quite a few hosts this way.
Another idea is to align to events happening in your area. For example it seems there will be both Juneteenth and Pride Festival events taking place during your posting dates, as well as the “New Orleans Wine and Food Experience”. These events might draw some of those driving-distance folks who might not otherwise find New Orleans of interest at this time of year. Like change your profile headline to “Fresh Chicken for the Wine and Food Experience” (Kidding. I’m kidding. Please ask your chicken to forgive me.)
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The main thing is that the sit starts in less than 2 weeks which makes scheduling difficult.
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Thank you for the helpful reply!
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This is super helpful! Thanks.
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Nice listing. I would love to come to New Orleans, have not been, but not in the summer! 
I’m always looking for pet sits in the south in winter to escape the ugly winters we have up north!
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Just want to make sure that you understand, from a sitter’s point of view, that sitters who really want to find a sit opportunity in New Orleans are likely doing the following:
- They are searching for sits in New Orleans and have probably “saved a search” so that they are receiving notifications on their phone each time a new sit is posted which meets the criteria in their “saved search.” You might want to take down your posting for a day then repost, and it will be “New” again and trigger notifications to interested people.
- They browse listings in New Orleans (even those without current dates posted) and “favorite” listings that they like. Then, when these “favorites” post new dates, the sitters receive a notification.
If any sitters have “favorited” your listing, you might want to reach out to solidify a relationship. They likely are not available for your current sit, as they probably would have applied to it, but they are interested in you, and it would not hurt to reach out and consider them for the future. You never know!
Sitters cannot reach out to you without applying, so when YOU reach out to sitters who have marked you as a “favorite,” you are opening the lines of communication, which can really foster a continued relationship.
Also, I noticed in your listing that “parking” is not marked as an amenity. You may want to be clear about the parking situation and if any permits are available/required in your area.
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Great! We do indeed travel in the winters, too, so stay tuned! 
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Very helpful! Thank you for the info.
