No applicants for upcoming sits in Virginia

I have two week long sits posted in the upcoming few months and I haven’t received any applicants so far. This is really unusual as I’ve been using this site for about four years and have had applicants for every single sit I’ve posted. The longer sits are usually more popular and in the past I’ve always had applicants within a few days of posting them. I’m just trying to figure out why this might be and see if anyone has tips or advice. Thanks!

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Unbelievable! What an amazing home and dogs you have. Your house is just what a Brit like me imagines a traditional American house to look like. I would apply in an instant if I could. I read your listing and looked at the pictures; it all looks great!
I’m not much help am I? If I could change one thing I would put the local area pics last, or swap a couple for more in-home photos but I’m nitpicking really.
Good luck!

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Hi Emily ,

Everything about your sit looks great! If I was going to offer any constructive criticism, I might say that you could adjust your responsibilities section? It’s quite long, and it has a lot of detail that doesn’t include the feeding/walking basics, just information on the “social” detail of your dogs, and I had to pick through and read it twice a lot to find the actual “responsibility” (which by the way, you could not stop me from loving on those two dogs! :heart_eyes:)

Here is what I would do, but of course do as you see fit for your listing.

Make the first word of that section. Say RESPONSIBILITIES in all caps, and then put the essential responsibilities as the first paragraph.
Maybe it would look like this:

  • feed each dog one cup of food at 8:00 a.m. and another at 6:00 p.m.
  • take each dog out at 7:30 a.m., and again every 3 hours or so when you are home. At least one time you go out should be for a 30 to 45 minute walk
  • after their final walk of the evening, they get one dental stick each and they know that means it’s bedtime.
  • dogs can be left alone for up to 5 hours, (They don’t need to be crated )
  • Very light household duties including collecting mail & packages, watering indoor plants, (whatever else you put)
  • Please leave the house as clean as you found it. At the end of the sit, you can simply strip the sheets from the bed and put them in the laundry room

After that, leave some space, or put in a dozen dashes or so, and then in all caps again, “ABOUT OUR DOGS:” And here is where you could say all the awesome things about how well your dogs get along and such.

I hope that helps!

(Edited because I accidentally deleted a sentence)

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Your listing looks great. If I were interested in that area I would totally apply. I’m stumped myself on why you don’t have five applications already

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Hi ! I’m also a homeowner in Virginia looking for a sitter for a week and have had zero applications and also 7 invitations to “available “ sitters that have been turned down. I understand your concern!

Hello @Benning91 and it’s lovely to see you back on the Forum :wave:t2::slightly_smiling_face:

I am sorry to hear that you haven’t as yet received any applications. When is the sit due to start?

For reference, you can also add your TrustedHousesitters profile on to your Forum profile by following the attached link, should you wish. This will then enable others to offer you helpful advice and feedback and will also give your listing extra exposure!

If you are unsure how to do this, or if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask, we are all more than happy to help.

Also, remember you can use the spyglass symbol at the top of the page next to the TrustedHousesitters logo and search for any questions that you may have as they have most likely already been answered on here and of course if not then please just ask! :blush: