How do I find a sitter for my trip in 20 days?

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
1

Hello All,

I posted my listing one month before my upcoming trip. Usually, I have several sitters to choose from by now, but I have none! I have one dog and two cats, and will be leaving the Denver, Colorado area for two weeks. Any suggestions? Can I post my listing here for advice? (I will check the replies tomorrow, I have to sign off for the night)

2

Yes you can add the link to your listing to your profile on here. People often give very useful advice on how to tweak it to improve your chance of finding a sitter.

3

You can add the link to your listing to the box “About Me”

1000060980
10000609801080×2400 150 KB

4

There are so many sits available on THS—lots of competition.

I agree with linking your listing so that Forum members can offer some specific advice, but in general, when you need a sitter (especially for 2 weeks), it would help to post your dates at least 3 months ahead of time.

There might be someone in another state who really wants to visit Denver (maybe they want to visit their adult children or grandchildren), and they need to plan and purchase plane tickets. They need more time to make their plans.

How long have you been planning to be away for 2 weeks? When did you hatch the idea to travel? Sitters are doing the same thing. Hope this helps!

1 Like
5

Quite honestly I’ve never heard of either of those markets, are they grocery stores? I feel your listing maybe lacks some content on what is available for a sitter to do in your area. I guess I wouldnt assume they know that just because your in the Denver area. If you were going to a pet sit somewhere, what information would you want to know? What would hook you in to taking on that sit? Maybe keep that in mind if you update your listing. Your pictures and pets look so nice and that quilt on the bed, beautiful! :pink_heart:

6

I see that you now have one applicant, and you only need one but would probably like more. Just make sure you respond quickly to the applicants.

It’s great that you’ve mentioned how long the pets can be left for and that’s a good length of time for people to go out exploring.

Good luck!

1 Like
7

@AngelaAndBrandon Here are my thoughts, as I read your listing:

  • The ‘highlights’ shown to me (not you), showing how I may be a match in that I have experience administering medication. That makes me think you have ticked a box when setting up your listing that does not display in the actual listing.
  • In the introduction, including your preferences for when you are a sitter and your skillset are not relevant. If you are also a sitter, that information only need be in your sitter listing.
  • ‘A short drive’ is a subjective statement. Add the actual distances.
  • Where is the shared laundry room? Does it mean the upstairs residents come into your area? Clarify that.
  • Banjo loves walking around the lake. Please give the sitter an idea of the distance around the lake and whether Banjo is a browser/sniffer or walks at a good pace.
  • Where do the pets sleep? Some sitters will not have pets in/on the bed, or in the bedroom at all.
  • Are you willing to pick up and return someone from the local train/bus station or airport? Many sitters will not go to the expense of renting a vehicle and may not be able to bring one.
  • Are there stairs to/from the apartment, or an elevator? Sitters have varying levels of ability.
  • Being thorough, I view all photos you provide. The main reason for your photos is to show breed and size of your pets (and to pull at our heart strings). Two or three of each is ample but I think you have far more than that. I would remove some to avoid it being a photo album, rather than providing essential details.

Wishing you good luck and safe travels.

5 Likes
8

Thank you! I will fix this issue tonight, and will clarify what these are, and add driving distances.

9

I had that one application right away, and I reached out to them twice, but haven’t heard back. Hopefully another person applies!

1 Like
10

Thank you so much! These are great points. I will go in tonight to fix my listing. I really appreciate it!

I may also have a friend keep my dog, so that it is just two cats, which may make it an easier sit.

3 Likes
11

I think that would help, it would have a wider appeal.

12

Colorado has so much appeal to outdoor enthusiasts that it might be helpful to mention that you are within 15-20 miles of several mountain trailheads, 25 miles to Boulder, 1.5 hours to Estes Park, with hiking, Mtn bike, and rock climbing all nearby

1 Like
13

Your images don’t ‘sell’ your place in the best light. Definitely change your main image (the one sitters see in the big list of sits), in your main one you’ve got currently got random outdoor furniture, which shows 3 types of mismatching furniture items, and your cats are too far away to show any cuteness where sitters may have thought awww, so why use that image at all, when you have so many better ones, leave it out. Make sure every cat/dog image makes a sitter go awwww, and remove any that you wouldn’t put in a picture frame. Your home images are fine.

Also, your intro is all about you you you as a sitter, whereas a sitter is not interested in that in the slightest. A sitter wants to know about you as a person, because they want to know who they are helping, they want to help out people they naturally like and warm to, not someone that they don’t feel like they know nothing about, who seems to be writing the beginning part of their profile to pet owners, not sitters.

Hope that helps

14

If you decide to do this , you should amend the listing to remove the dog icon . Currently a sitter who is searching for a cat only sit won’t see your listing because you also have the dog on the listing.

15

Ok, I have updated my listing. I am also going to ask around to see if a friend will keep my dog for the time. If that is the case, I will update it again to reflect that change. Fingers crossed I get a qualified applicant! Thank you for all the tips!

3 Likes