Hello,
We are new to the site, introducing ourselves and check out our listing. Any tips and advice? Thanks.
(Edited to meet posting terms and THS listing link added to forum profile)
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Welcome, I’m a pretty new sitter!
As I was reading the responsibilities I felt myself getting confused. It might be better to put all of the detail into the welcome guide and perhaps a daily schedule to follow and give a more general description of how long he can be left, how many walks, behaviour stuff, medical stuff, his character etc.
You say that he barks but as a sitter I’d want to know why this is what the triggers and for how long? He goes to bed early…. does it mean the sitter also has to go to bed early?
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Please complete the Amenities section. Very important.
Cut way back on the Responsibilities section. Bullet points like this:
Feed twice a day.
Walk twice a day.
Quick pee in the front garden before bed.
Dog sleeps in bed.
Dog can be left alone for X hours.
Bring in mail and packages.
Dog barks at times. Dog wakes up in the night at times. Briefly explain these issues, as they might be deal breakers for sitters.
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You need to fill in the amenities section for sure, which lets folks know if you have solid Internet and a TV package etc.
Your dog sit might suit a remote worker, if he doesnt like to be left alone, so having solid Internet is very important.
You have been totally upfront and honest about how your dog behaves, which I for one, as one who checks out profiles in your area thinks is good. Maybe post photos of your area, and is the bedroom photo the room the sitter is to be assigned.
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Welcome @Samanthaporter you have come to the right pace for helpful advice on how to improve your listing and get the perfect sitter for Archie .
Your title is eye catching and made me smile so that’s a good start .
A picture paints a thousand words . There are currently thousands of house sits listed in U.K. so your first photo needs to grab a potential sitter’s attention so that they carry on reading . Your first photo ( some shrubs ) could be deleted as it doesn’t tell the sitter anything about the sit . Replace it with something more eye catching ( like a photo of Archie )
When you write your listing there is a box to tick for how many hours your dog can be left alone for .However what most owners don’t realise is that this important information is only for data gathering by THS and it isn’t actually visible to sitters .So you have to actually write that in the responsibilities section .
“Archie is fine to be left on his own for up to x hours or “Archie can never be left alone, but he will be happy to come out with you wherever you go”
As others have said the Amenities section is really important information, you do need to complete that section .
As a sitter I always look at that for information- if a sitter sees that it’s completely missing they may conclude that the host is trying to hide something and pass by the listing .
. Alternatively I will have to contact the owner ( by applying) and ask all the questions ( what size is the bed, is there a fridge , high speed Wi-Fi, a tv , streaming services , a microwave, an oven , freezer, washing machine, dryer, bath or shower or both, parking , toaster, iron, kettle, coffee machine, hairdryer ,saucepans , towels etc ? )
… so as you can see although it takes a bit of time , it’s much easier if you complete the amenities section part of your listing . Rather than expecting a sitter to contact you to ask about all these . They probably won’t other to do that and will instead apply for a listing that has all the information provided .
This is a platform for mutual exchange so if you need a sitter to spend most of the time at home with Archie “advertising “ all the comforts and facilities of your home is very important. It doesn’t have to be a swimming pool or hot tub but basic things like office / desk space - fast Wi-Fi and streaming services , or a well equipped kitchen to cook in , or a beautiful garden to relax in or whatever your home has to offer the sitter.
If the sitter will be able to care for Archie and still have plenty of free time to go out and enjoy your location you could mention the nearby visitor attractions- or the places where the sitter can take Archie ( local dog friendly parks, cafes, pubs etc )
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Hi ya we do have solid wifi.and there is lots to do in the area, we have 3 bedroom but only two with beds in .i dont mind which room the sitters use.i also meant two walks a day.archie is just very playful not nasty barks.
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Put all of this into the listing- sitters don’t know what you know and are looking for reasons to not apply ie ‘red flags’ so you need to be completely transparent and explain anything, like ‘barks’, so that a sitter knows what they’re letting themselves in for ok. If he only barks when playing then this might be ok but if he barks for long periods then a sitter who wfh won’t be too happy. Basically you want a lovely 5* review so let sitters know what their experience will be like.
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Some of your photos are doubles, so they need to be deleted or replaced.
Totally agree with the other comments, the responsibilities section is too long and could do with bullet points.
Are sitters able to go out and explore the area, if so, how long can Archie be left for? Also, what are the local attractions? Nearest train station?
All the best x
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Hello and welcome @Samanthaporter
As others have mentioned please fill in the amenities in full details as this really is important to us as sitters. Also please re-read and amend any spelling errors and capitals when required and the last three lines of your responsibility section, it’s not making a lot of sense at the moment. Although (as someone else suggested) dot points would also make it easier to read. There is still one photo that is a double up, and a better photo of the other bed where Archie is on the pillow would be good. Is there a separate lounge area and tv if so a photo that shows where I would be sitting to watch tv and relax would also be great. Unfortunately I am already booked for August otherwise I would have loved to meet Archie.
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I see you posted this on another thread
That’s great that you have found a sitter - if you check your dashboard it will show as confirmed sit when the sitter accepts .
Next step is to write a welcome guide and send it you your sitters asap
Here some help on how to do it