I have posted several dates but had no applications. I messaged a couple who had saved my profile, and they are lovely and are coming for my April sit.
Is there away of getting more interest in stays?
Member’s listing has been added to their profile by the Forum team.
You can add the link to your forum profile if you’d like some feedback on your listing. It is important to have a good listing that give an accurate impression of the sit and that show the things sitters are looking for when they choose what listings to apply for.
Hi Sandra,
The title doesn’t really attract potential sitters’ attention. It should grab our interest, it’s the first line of your ad, try to sell your location better, it’s a great part of the country.
The map shows your location being in the eastern part of England.
It’s unclear how long Hector can be left home alone for. Some details about the dog may be left in the WG.
The mention of the Airbnb in the annex will make people wonder if they’ll need to assist in welcoming guests, or other tasks. Also, is there some shared communal space, like the garden? If so, I’m afraid that goes against the Third Party Rule.
Edited to add that the photos are great! I’d lead with the one of Hector with the Christmas garland or of him and Mabel by the fire. It’s great to see that they get along
The biggest issue you have at the moment is that while the location section of your listing makes clear that you are in Bishopstone near Salisbury, Wiltshire, the location shown on the map on your listing is another Bishopstone in Kent. The mapping software THS uses is not great, and it is quite common for listings to be incorrectly plotted where there is more than one village of the same name. What this means is that your listing will not appear when sitters search for listings in Wiltshire or near Salisbury, but will appear in searches for Kent. This does not help you find a sitter! If the mapping software does not recognise Bishopstone near Salisbury, you may need to put a nearby village as your location and explain in your listing that you are in Bishopstone. Make sure to check on the map by previewing or searching for your listing, to ensure you are now showing as being in the right part of the country.
The only other things I recommend you do is to make better use of your title. It currently refers to dates in February and April that you may have filled? Maybe mention Salisbury and Stonehenge?
I’d recommend you put in the text of your listing how long Hector can be left for. You may have selected a time period from a drop down box for this, but for some reason, these fields are not visible to sitters. We often take dogs we sit out in the car to explore different places - could sitters do that with Hector?
I see you have mentioned that you have an AirBnB. Perhaps expand on this a little so sitters understand what interaction they are likely to have with the AirBnB guests. The AirBnB may put some off applying without this information, others will not be worried by it, as it seems that the AirBnB is separate to the house.
I notice that you have 2 sets of dates very close together with a short gap over New Year. Would you consider having a sitter do both sets of dates and stay in your AirBnB for the few days in between? This could effectively make a longer sit that might be more attractive to some, without the need to travel between sits between Christmas and New Year.
Took a look for you, and overall your listing looks nice, but could include some more details. Here’s some ideas to consider:
1: Title.
All sitters here already know listings need a house sitter, so instead try an engaging & attention grabbing title that tells sitters straight away why they should sit for you. For example: “Discover Bishopstone: Stonehenge, beaches & New Forest!”
2: Intro.
Staring off straight away with the info about Airbnb will be off-putting for many, as, others have said, without further info sitters may think you could be breaking the third party policy. Be sure to read the policy and make sure no Airbnb guests will share the property during the sit. Add to your intro how many sitters you can host, and what you expect for a handover/arrival time. Give sitters a compelling reason why they should sit for you straight away in your intro & what they’re gaining from this sit.
3: Home and location:
Give more details about your home; is there parking, what amenities will sitters have to look forward to, where are they sleeping & how big is the bed?
4: Responsibilities section:
How long can hector be left?
Can he go for car rides with the sitter?
What is his personality & sociability like?
Besides this, your dates may be the issue; although most sitters like to plan ahead, listing a whole year in advance is bit of a long shot. Try 6 months or so. Although it’s certainly possible to secure a sitter a year in advance, consider that it can be easily subject to change or cancellation from either sitter or owner, as circumstances may change until then.
You are also looking for Christmas dates, but don’t give any reasons why sitters should spend Christmas at your home. Christmas is a very competitive time for sits. Will your home be nicely decorated for the season? What Christmas activities can sitters do during this time? How is the heating in your home?
Hope that all helps, and here is the post that was given earlier turned into a blog by THS:
Here is also the third party policy, just incase you haven’t yet viewed it:
You asked for feedback on your listing, and I’m hopefully helpful and not critical.
Forgive me if I’m mistaken but your title says Feb and April 25 but your dates to apply are Dec 25 and Jan 26?
You mention you have an Airbnb you run, on your property. It would be helpful to specify that the Airbnb will not have guests during the sit(s) if this is your intention. Alternatively, would you consider a sitter using the Airbnb space rather than your guest bedroom?
For me personally, I don’t accept double beds, showers over baths, or the sitter room being in the roofspace, BUT that’s purely my own preferences. There are so many UK sits available at the moment and especially will be for Christmas coming. So your sit needs to ‘pop’ with extras, and use of your Airbnb and the flexibility it offers could be your strong point. For short sits in the Airbnb you could for example list that extensive cleaning is not required. Your choice of course but you asked how to make the listing more attractive. Arrival / departure date being flexibile by ‘n’ days (do specify upfront) without pet duties could make your listing attractive to digital nomads who may need to fill a few days between sits. You have a great asset having the Airbnb, consider using it.
Also list how long Hector can be left alone for your sitter to go out to explore.
You might start on your Welcome Guide as it takes a little time to collate/enter. I believe the new release can be saved as a pdf and you could do that and tell prospective sitters that the WG is already done and can be sent immediately on application.
My opinion entirely, but these are things I would look for in a Home Owner (HO) who needs to come across super organised and responds quickly.
Hi @sandrahill2023
Nice part of the UK. Your dates being 11 months and 12 months away are a little far out yet for many sitters but good to post early.
@sandrahill2023 It’s great to see you have taken onboard many helpful suggestions by sitters. I feel the dates are the main issue; it’s just too early for sitters looking for Christmas/New Year sits, especially when sitters know just how many hundreds of listings there will be from around September onwards.
You could mention if a sitter was interested in both sets of dates, you would be more than willing to offer them your Airbnb accommodation for free so they could see more of your area without having pet responsibilities in that gap.
I would also break up the Responsibilities section into separate paragraphs for Hector, Mabel, the fish and house/garden to make for easier reading.
By removing your dates for a short time, then re-posting them, your listing will become “New” again, which is what you want so that it is brought to sitters’ notice. You can do this as often as you would like to.
It is a lovely listing with beautiful pets which I would enjoy doing, except I don’t sit in the UK over winter!
Looking at this now. The dates that are up are for next year! While I know that Christmas sits are tough the January dates shouldn’t take more than a year to fill. I would also consider extending the Christmas sit past NYE if you can as I’ve seen mentions on other forums that sitters away for Christmas would probably prefer to stay in the same place for NYE.
I would consider just keeping the Christmas one active, and adding the January dates later or discussing them if anyone asks about the Christmas dates. You could try doing a test 3 or 4 day trip away maybe in a couple of months and seeing if a sit a couple of months away would get more traction. You have a lovely home and adorable pets.