New to Trusted House Sitters and need advice please!

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
1

Hi everyone,
We are new to this platform and have had trouble attracting a sitter for our dates. We would appreciate any advice or ideas on making our listing more interesting and visible. We only have one cat that we need to be taken care of, with a lovely home in a nice part of Australia.

We have had three applicants; one young couple decided there wasn’t enough for them to do in our area. One lovely man I just missed out on booking ( he was also disappointed), and one young man changed his mind after we thought he had accepted.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Laurice

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Your listing looks really good and Rafa is adorable.

The only thing to add, that I can think of, would be some examples of the public transportation options available. Train/bus/taxi/? What would be the average cost from your home to the beach you mention. How close exactly are the supermarket, shops or restaurants? What and how far away is the nearest airport?

This would give an international sitter a better idea of how it would work for them.

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Your house is pretty big but you don’t have it listed as family-friendly. If you are open to families, you would increase your appeal.

if you can offer a car, that would also be a big incentive.

Only the first few words of the headline will show on a thumbnail search, so make them draw attention, e.g. “Family friendly, near beach and Sydney…”

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As a potential house sitter, I always look closely at the photos.

  • There’s a dog peering thorough a front door. Does this means the dog turns up, or used to be yours? (sorry for your loss, if that’s the case).

  • People who work from home need a comfortable, dare I say somewhat ergonomic place to work. I would want to see a photo of the dedicated work space.

(Am currently on a stool at a breakfast bar with my feet on my suitcase, and my last cat sit I was at a kitchen table… better, but not taking advantage of having a whole house!)

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A big welcome to the forum @teal. I agree that having a table and chair to work from makes life easier, so I always look for that in photos.

@Laurice - Your dining table looks like a super nice and comfy place to work from, and you have two gorgeous looking cats. You would have my vote in a heartbeat. You still have a little time, so I really believe you will find the right sitters.

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Hi,
Thanks so much for your advice and kind words. We do have a dedicated office so ill take some pictures and add them to the Ad.
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Hi,
Thats our daughter’s dog, he visits, but I would have definitely said if he was part of the sit. I will take some office photos, great idea, thank you!
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Hi Lassie,
Thank you for the advice. We arent family friendly, only couples or singles.
Ill look at the headline too, good idea.
9

Hi,
Great ideas, i will definately add that info to the listing, thank you!
L
1 Like