I, too, have had a listing for several weeks for 3 week sit from 17 December. No applicants. I shall try to link my profile (looks tricky). Anyone know anyone wanting Christmas in the Cotswolds?
Listing has been added to member’s Forum profile
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Hi Julia,
Just my 2p:
- Holiday sits are generally very difficult to fill because there are many more sits than sitters, so you should also be making a plan b.
- I would recommend taking some daytime photos. Many of your photos are done when it’s dark and even with lamps it looks a bit dreary. I know this isn’t the best time of year for bright sunlight, but it might help.
- You say there is farm work happening 100 yards away. Will that still be true over the holidays? How might it impact sitters? Noise, dirt/mud, etc. Personally the mention of your son dropping by for mail and someone usually being in the yard working would stop me from applying for the sit. I’m a very private person and I don’t want others coming by/hanging around.
- There has been frequent discussion recently of HOs in the UK keeping their house temps locked at (what some consider to be) low temperatures and sitters having no ability to adjust. It may be worth mentioning if you keep it set at a specific temp and if the sitter would have any leeway.
- While many people will be off work for the holidays, mentioning your wifi speed (you can do an online speed test) might be helpful)
- I would suggest explaining the dog routine in the post so people know whether they’re willing to do it or not. At a minimum you should include walk frequence/length, what time they generally need to be fed, any medications needed, if they can walk off lead and any behavioral issues, how long they can be left alone, and any other pertinent information.
- Could you open the sit up to families? That might get you more options and you seem to have the space for it.
Good luck!
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Hi Julia, I took a look for you.
@creaturecuddler makes a lot of great points already.
Personally I think the biggest reason you may be lacking applicants is because you state that there may be a 3rd dog, who is not actually listed as a pet on your profile (with their own pet profile/icon). Most sitters will not agree to care for a 3rd dog who is barely mentioned, and it’s unclear if Ella belongs to you or not. If Ella does not belong to you, then you must make this clear; most sitters will not agree to care for a third party pet who does not belong to the THS member, as this can lead to many issues and caring for her would be a private agreement not verified by THS.
If Ella does not belong to you, then Ella’s pet parent should create their own THS listing and get a separate sitter for her in their own home; very few sitters would agree to do a non-member a ‘free favour.’
Sitters reading your listing would be straight away wondering about Ella, who she belongs to, what she’s like, what her behaviour is like with the other two dogs, and how would drop off and collection of Ella be managed, especially in regards to the third party policy. Christmas sits are high competition, so you’ll need to make your listing as clear, attractive and engaging as possible, that leaves sitters with very few questions and doubts. You mention nothing about the pets routine, walks, how long they can be left, behaviours etc, which unfortunately won’t serve your listing. Sitters don’t want to waste your time or theirs by having a video call just to find out the basics and decide if it’s a good fit for them or not, so tell them straight away what the responsibilities are. Here’s a blog that might help:
Hope that helps! 
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It looks like Nala and Ella don’t belong to you, is that right? Three dogs is quite a handful but you should explain Melba’s routine, as suggested.
I would put ‘flexible dates’ in the heading as well.
Others have made good points about things that would concern me but it’s particularly helpful to know how long the dogs can be left alone once they’ve been walked and fed.
I don’t know when you first posted this but a lot of us full time sitters have been booked for Christmas for several months.
Good luck!
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Thank you very helpful
Many thanks all helpful,
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Is there no work on the farm over the festive period, it was mentioned work is 100 meters away but it’s no longer in your advert? It wouldn’t be fair to no longer mention these things because it could put people off but that’ll still be happening. It has the potential for an unhappy sitter over Christmas and a negative review. HO’s should be as honest and upfront as possible as there are always hundreds of willing sitters.
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Thank you. I’ll explain Ella, I’ve got her here at the moment, fab dog. I’ll up date info later. Thought I’d filled the boxes re. Time left alone, walks etc? Have I made a mess of the Forum?
Those boxes don’t show on your listing so you need to add the information manually in the text.
@JuliaBeldam As others have said, there are far more sits advertised than sitters available for this most popular time of the year so you have competition. Three dogs over winter in England can be a big ask, even if it is in the Cotswolds. I would make your Introduction more welcoming to try to attract sitters. Why should they come to your area for this particular time? Good that you have mentioned you are open to family and a friend stay over Christmas.
From reading your past sitters’ reviews I understand that Ella and Nala belong to family members. If this is so, I feel you just need to be more upfront about this. As the registered member, you become responsible for these lovely dogs should there be an emergency visit to the vet. Are they all registered at the same vet? Have you an account set up to cover all three dogs? With public holidays included, does your vet have emergency hours or would an unfamiliar vet practice have to be used and how would payment take place? Is this where your son down the road would be able to step in and help?
You can also remove your dates then re-post them. This will make your listing New again for about 48 hours instead of staying with the Low Applications label and getting further and further buried in the many hundreds of listings advertised for the UK.
Filling in the boxes is purely for THS data collection (!!) which is a bone of contention for sitters as it is the information we need and, unfortunately, owners are unaware we do not have access to it.
I can see you haven’t used sitters this year so perhaps don’t realise there have been several new changes introduced, especially in relation to the review system which is now “blind”. Owners and sitters have 14 days to complete a review then that window is closed. Once both have completed their review, it will go public which often happens within a day or two after the sit. The other change is that there are now 5 owner categories that are star rated by sitters - Hospitality, Communication, Cleanliness, Pet Behaviour and Accuracy of Listing. So being clear about the three dogs is most important.
It’s good you have come to the Forum for advice and taking notice of it. Wishing you well in securing great sitters.
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Thank you SO much, really helpful and I shall tweak my info again. I had no idea about the tick boxes. This forum is tip top in helping.
FYI. Nala is now registered with me as my daughter is living in SA. Ella is here most of the time but I shall put that on the info.
It’s getting a lot trickier than it used to be.
All the best
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Thank you so much for your help. I’ll update my info now. No one works here over Christmas !
All the best. Julia
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You’ve clearly amended your listing following advice given on here, but it now reads as if all 3 dogs are yours. Transparency is important, so you should make it clear in the listing if Ella is not a permanent resident but belongs to someone else.
This has also now been removed from the listing? Please just do be aware that it’s really important for pet parents to be totally honest about the circumstances sitters can expect. In amending a listing to better attract sitters, all relevant facts must still be included so that sitters can make an informed choice regarding whether or not this will be a good sit for them.
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Yes! Only remove things that actually won’t happen. Otherwise you run the risk of a sitter walking out when you spring a bunch of stuff on them at the last minute.
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The farm work stops for a 3 week period?
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Thank you. I’m updating right now so hope it will be clearer. Takes ages with all this super help. About to post so any more advice great fully received.
Correct. Yes everyone off from work till 6/7 January
It’s heartening that you’ve taken advice given here and amended your listing accordingly.
I’m surprised you don’t mention what a lovely town Broadway is (my home is in Cheltenham so I know Broadway). You mention The Mount Inn which is indeed a fabulous pub and well worth a visit. So many other wonderful Cotswold villages to visit.
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Well Smiley come and say hi when passing Stanton! Thanks for all your help.
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If you haven’t already it may be worth reaching out to your previous sitters who based on the reviews really enjoyed their sits.