Super new to THS and looking for advice on my listing. I’ve followed the instructions on how to add the link to my forum profile. Can anyone suggest any further changes or items that would get me more, or any, responses. We are trying to keep the stress levels of our cats down to a minimum, we have 2 that are nonplussed by most things and 2 that do not adjust well at all. Thank you in advance for helping me out with the minutiae of creating a great listing. And I hope to work with some of you very soon.
2 Likes
Welcome @MedicJenn911
Ok I’m going to give you some blunt feedback (no offence intended)
Your first few pictures do nothing to attract me to your listing. If I were you I’d take one clear picture of your home from outside (possible without the garbage bins) as the first picture. I’d then have your 4 beautiful cats. Then a clear picture of your kitchen, bathroom (full picture) and sitters bedroom.
4 Likes
I’m sure you and your kitties are lovely and the right sitter will be lucky to connect with you. Many sitters have have plenty of experience with high maintenance cats (ask me how I know LOL)
As a fellow HO who wants to see you succeed, I agree with the points above about the order of photos and removing the garbage cans. You want to present your home realistically but also in as appealing a way as possible, Airbnb style. Most of your photos show a loved and well-lived in home, and if that’s how the sitters will find it (clothing on chairs, used towels in the kitchen, etc) then that’s a very honest way to represent it. You don’t want to post fake real estate photos, but ideally you’ll clean up unnecessary clutter, clear space on countertops in the bath and kitchen and in the (clean) fridge, etc. and make it so someone else can settle in comfortably while you’re gone. Try to see it from a stranger’s perspective, and keep in mind that house/petsitting is a lot of work and the perk of doing it for free is often an inexpensive getaway or a place to work remotely. Presenting your home as a nice place to hang out will attract the best sitters and your darling kitties will thank you for that! Best of luck, I hope you find someone wonderful and get a well-deserved vacation 
7 Likes
Unfortunately, your photos are letting you down. They all look dark and gloomy - was it night - time when you took them? some are not needed at all ( you have 3 photos of your toaster?) De-clutter, drag the rubbish bins out of shot, wait until a sunny day then take them all again.
Also, there is only a picture of one single bed. Does this mean that you are only looking for a single sitter?
There is a photo of a treadmill up against the wall - is this usable?
The 2 pm feeding would put us off as it means we cannot go out for a day. Is there any flexibility with this?.
3 Likes
For someone who is not familiar with the geography, point out that it is also close to St. Louis.
Hi Jenn,
I agree with the advice about moving bins and getting brighter photos if possible. Presumably when a sitter’s coming you will do a big clean and de-clutter, so even though it’s a pain to have to do it in the middle of your everyday life, it would help if you also do that for photos.
You want potential sitters to have an idea of what the space will be like when available to them.
When I looked for feedback on my listing some of the helpful advice I got was to have clear uncluttered photos of the bedroom and bathroom the sitter would be using and to specify if there will be fridge space and drawer/wardrobe space left vacant for the sitter (if you can show a pic even better but that’s hard in the context of daily life!
You are clearly very honest and responsible and are emphasising the cats’ needs but honestly you don’t need to apologise or justify yourself- we all use THS because we think it’s better for our animals. You might be able to reword the piece about the cats so that it is still clear about their needs but normalises things a little bit- i.e. reassure the sitter that it’s normal if they don’t see the girls for a few days, they don’t have to worry, and that it’s normal if the girls don’t eat brilliantly, just after x amount of time try their favourite food.
Your cats are beautiful- I hope you find great sitters and get to enjoy some travel.
6 Likes
@ElEd thanks for the tips. I will work on making it more appealing. Was in a bit of a rush to get the listing posted, just to get it out there.
@Colin Thanks for the tips. I will see what I can do to adjust some things.
1 Like
@Shafofo Thanks for the tips. I will see how to make them more appealing.
@richten1 No offence taken. I was trying to get the listing posted to get it out there. I’ll look into getting better pictures.
People are right about the photos. You don’t need close ups of kitchen cabinets. It looks like the sitter will be sleeping on a single bed in I guess a guest or kid’s room? There’s a good chance your sitter could be a couple or two people not a couple who travel together, show more sleeping options would be good as well as a living room – some place to hang out.
You don’t say much about the neighborhood. You have accessible by public transport, but no sense of where you are in relation to traveling options, and how doable this would be without a car.
Regarding the cats, I don’t think most “cat people” will be turned off by multiple cats, but you should be specific about whether they or not they go outside. Multicats who are in and out are harder to keep track of and increases the chances of a disaster happening on a sitter’s watch. Also fleas! So if your cats are indoors only, or even limited to a yard or catio and have flea collars, that will help.
Having said all that, you have a relative short sit that’s a couple of months away, so it might take a while to find the purrfect sitter.
@pietkuip I adjusted the city to reflect a larger, more recognized area.
Yes, and then I at least know more about where this is. But that moved your pin to the the city center, somewhere near the Arch I guess.
This is a problem with the map interface that THS is using, that homeowners cannot adjust it. Your description of location is good, but you still might want to mention Bridgeton (if I remember correctly) there.
I initially only used Bridgeton because it didn’t give me the option of my actual city in the location space. I’ll add it in my written description although that may be a moot point now since I’ve added our 1 mile proximity to the airport.
1 Like
Also occurred to me, since you mention your partner cares for your elderly stepmother, either take out that mention or specify that your stepmother won’t be there during the sit.
2 Likes
I’ll reword it, she lives nearby and just needs a driver, she will actually be on vacation with us.
@Marion Thanks. I’ll make some adjustments. I didn’t think to add that they were totally indoor cats. The living room was in one of the pictures, albeit from an odd angle, mainly due to a weird room layout. I will also add distances to public transportation. At the time of the posting we hadn’t decided if the master bedroom would be available. But, I will adjust it to reflect that change and add some better pictures as soon as we get a decent sunny day. 
2 Likes
@MedicJenn911 PLEASE delete the weird BBQ photo completely, when you redo your photos. It just looks like a mess, and I doubt any sitters would be out there for a grill. Just leave it out. Also, small things like kitchen drying cloths: fold it neatly before taking a photo. Small, neat details make all the difference. And just one, tidy kitchen photo is necessary, not several.
I really hope you find someone, as your cats will love in-home care. With better photos, I think you stand a good chance.
As a sitter, I look for an uncluttered , tidy home because that suggests it is probably a clean home which is very important to me. If the photos show clutter, I will assume the home owner doesn’t see it and that would be a red flag.
Before you take the kitchen photo, put all the washing up away as well as all other unnecessary items which don’t need to be out. The same goes for all other areas.
Try to present your home in the best possible light - both for the photos and for the arrival of the sitter.
Good luck in your new venture.
1 Like
Welcome to THS! Your listing is in a fabulous part of the country to visit! I am sure you will find some great sitters. It seems you have already gotten lots of great advice here. I too wondered when I looked at the photo of the single bed exactly what type of sitters you are looking for? For example, can you(or do you want to) accommodate a couple? As a sitter, I also find too many details in the “responsibilities” section distract from the listing. Just my opinion, I think most of the feeding and home care detailed information is best to put in the Welcome Guide instead. Sitters can refer to it in the guide prior to and while we are caring for your home and pets. Hope you enjoy THS as much as we do!