Thanks for the positive feedback. It is helpful to know the photos look good! Adding a list of grocery stores is a great idea. I hear what you are saying regarding transportation. Unfortunately the sitter will need a car to even get here. I live in a small mountain town with no reliable public transportation. Perhaps I can make that more clear in my listing.
Good input! I cover the chicken care briefly in the responsibility section and then more in detail in the Welcome packet. I’ll expand this for folks reviewing the sit listing so they have a better feel of what is involved and if they need poultry experience.
Thank you!
Great input. I made a few changes in my listing. Thank you!
As I subsequently stated, my initial wording could have been better. I would prefer not to have strangers staying in my home that do not have verified references or reviews.
I get that sitters need to start somewhere, and perhaps hosts who have limited options will take their chances but I’ve got the luxury of numerous applications from verified 5 star sitters so I can be choosy.
We all started somewhere, but it totally depends on the feeling you have about the applicant, if you feel like they are the perfect fit for you, then they probably are. Whereas if you feel unsure whether to go with them or not (which I think you are), then maybe not.
Change your title, you’ve got:
Stay in one of Colorado’s BEST mountain towns with my furred/feathered family.
But it’s only the first 6 or so words that sitters read when they see the big list of sits, so use your best-selling words, ‘stay in one of’ is a waste of good word space.
Something like ‘Colorado mountain home, shops & pubs within walking distance’, because most sits we all do are furry sits, whereas walking/cycling distance of the shops gives your place a USP, which a lot of others don’t have.
Also, simplify the way you’ve wrote your responsibilities, you’ve made the chicken part look really lengthy/heavy duty with a big long list of chores just the way you’ve displayed them, when in reality it’s pretty basic and simple, because it could potentially put someone off that hadn’t cared for chickens before.
Not having a TV could potentially be a problem, could you perhaps leave a laptop for the sitters to use if they didn’t travel with their own laptop?
Great input! Thank you!
I’m a combined member, and personally, I don’t think I’d take a newbie with your multiple pets and their different needs – eye ointment, trazedone, etc. unless that person had considerable experience with their own pets, or on another site. But it might be worth chatting with that person to get more of an idea.
I think in addition to having some more specifics in pet care – how long the dogs can be left alone, I would simply post with more notice next time.
Not being able to offer a car especially with a multipet household may be a tough sell, but I understand why you wouldn’t offer one. Possibly there might be a way to sweeten the pot such as offering to reimburse car rental costs for the term of the sit or offering “free groceries” for sitters who do have their own cars.
Salida is a fantastic town – my brother lives there, on D Street. I would add some photos of downtown so people can get a flavor of the place.
I would include what the sitter can expect in terms of the weather during those dates, and will there be snow?
At first glance, sounds like a place in the sticks at the end of a mountain road. Probably not the impression you’re suggesting?
Salida sounds like a charming town. Never heard of it. One of your first pictures should be a quaint downtown shot. If you can get a downtown shot with the mountains in the background, make it your first photo.
As well as administration of eye ointment, your listing states that Odin also requires oral Lysine. Has he been diagnosed with Feline Herpes Virus (HFV-1)? It’s important to be up-front about any and all medical conditions and behavioural issues in listings, to ensure applicants know what they’re taking on and so that you find a sitter who is well-prepared and able to properly meet your pet’s needs.
Administering meds is something we’d do, but only if we knew why it was necessary and how the animal responded. A cat who doesn’t want to take his meds is a challenge, even for pet parents, so not something which an unsuspecting sitter should take on. Also, if HFV-1 is implicated, sitters may be concerned about it being transmitted via clothing etc., especially if they plan on travelling to a follow-on sit where cats reside. Of course this is all speculation, since you haven’t given greater detail in your listing (which is exactly my point).
You’ve stated that the dogs need to be taken for a hike in the hills, but then add that they need to be taken in the sitter’s vehicle. Not every sitter will be prepared to take dogs in their own vehicle, since a muddy walk in the hills with 2 dogs equals a great deal of car cleaning! If it’s possible for you to offer your own vehicle to facilitate dog walks, it would surely help attract sitters.
Sitters need to make an informed choice, so transparency is key.
I just wanted to swing by and say welcome to the Trusted Housesitters forum.
What makes a great listings can be subjective, but our amazing members have a wealth of knowledge and experience that’ll help point you in the right direction.
If you need any advice/tips on getting started, the forum is always here to support. 
Our very first sit was also for first timers- 2 cats (one of whom was tricky), in another country, for a month- where both parties were flying in or out. We didn’t even meet our hosts! Now after several years on the forum and reading so many horror stories I see a huge number of potential red flags in that whole scenario that we, ofcourse, had no awareness of at the time! 
We also had absolutely no experience with cats! It all went extremely well but, in retrospect, I think we were just lucky!
So now when I look at your listing from the perspective of great experience I’d say this is not a beginners sit. And especially not a first timer who hasn’t even completed their profile fully. You could still have a video call and check this sitter out properly. However imho you need someone experienced, especially one who is comfortable given meds successfully. It can be very tricky!
The other point that sticks out for me is the car. We would not be willing to take dogs out in our own car. We travel and live out of our car when on road trips in Europe so it’s always full and, even if space, we wouldn’t want to get it muddy and full of dog hair etc! If we are overseas and renting a car most rental companies do not allow carriage of pets and would charge a hefty cleaning fee if they suspected you had. So best scenario is if you are able to offer a car for dog walks or if its possible to walk them from the door.
Good luck!
You’ve heard from sitters who don’t want to take dogs in their own car. We live in the mountains too, and don’t lend our car. But we provide a seat protector and a cordless hand vacuum cleaner for removing dog hair, which we mention in the listing.
Returning to the original topic. I was very grateful when someone took a chance and applied for my first sit, before I had had any reviews. That sitter had good reviews, everything worked out, he gave me a great review, and all has been well.
But the other side of it, using a first time sitter is trickier, at least to me. Everyone has to start somewhere, so eliminating applicants solely on that basis doesn’t seem fair. But as the HO you are taking a chance and I’m wondering if there’s a way to identify potential red flags before confirming a sit with a first-timer (or anyone for that matter, obviously, but that’s another topic). I’m asking because I recently had this very experience. First-time sitter sent a lovely, personalized application, we talked on the phone, they said they had several other sits already lined up (mine was several months away), and they clearly had considerable experience and affection for cats (of which I have one), so we confirmed the sit. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, various yellow flags developed (transportation issues, communication, a general growing sense that the applicant didn’t really grasp what the exchange entails), I was starting to feel uneasy, and then they got a detailed scathing review from their first sit. (To be fair, their second review was short but good). Even allowing for hyperbole and a potentially agitated HO, it was clear that I would not be comfortable leaving my house and cat in this person’s care, so I unconfirmed ( I sent them a note beforehand explaining generally why it was not the fit I had envisioned).
So bottom line, from a one bad apple perspective, I would feel bad making a general policy of not using first-time sitters, but without reviews, I haven’t figured out a way to know the sitter would be appropriate.
@mgp I think you made the right decision with that particular sitter. Your niggling doubt is probably what led you to monitor her reviews which confirmed your fears. Every situation is unique and gut feeling plays an important role. But even with the best attempts at due diligence one can still get caught out. It can be a steep learning curve at times!
I ditto all this.
Can we see your listing please? You can link it.
If you mean mine, it should be linked to my profile above. Thank you for your responses. I was a little nervous after cancelling the sit but realized that even if in the worst case I had to hire a paid sitter or board my cat, it would be preferable to having this sitter. Fortunately, I got a wonderful application shortly after I relisted, also first-timers but I feel very good about them in all the ways I didn’t with the first person. Definitely going to focus more on trusting my gut!
Having been a member for a couple of years now, I’ve reached the conclusion that it would always be better to hire someone trustworthy if I couldn’t find someone suitable through Trusted Housesitters. Fortunately, I’ve always been able to find someone and I’ve sometimes been able to get return sitter-guests.