Hi I need some advice please. I post months ago for a trip we have planned and paid for. We have lots of sitters interested in sitters saving our listing but no sitter yet. I have reached out to 4 or 5 “interested” sitters and only one responded with not available. How can we get some interest? Our trip is the end of March and first few days of April. Thank you for your advice and thoughts.
Now that the 5000+ Christmas sits are no longer dominating the site, what you can do is remove your dates briefly then re-post them which will make your listing ‘New’ not ‘Low applications’.
Since posting your listing, THS has brought in new mandatory information for owners to complete so do update your listing in relation to pets’ needs.
The captions for each photo are only visible to sitters using the app so any vital information included needs to be in your actual listing.
Put your dog photos before the deer ones as your dogs are mainly why you need sitters.
Sorry to say but I found your introduction very much about your needs instead of making it appealing to sitters. It is a mutual exchange. It’s also very wordy with some repetition.
Break up the Responsibilities section into paragraphs for easier reading or use dot points.
Hope this helps @LBB.
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My initial impression: a Deer head on the wall, TV screen with Trump headline, umm that’s either a pointed message or simply careless. I’d lose both images. Also I’d lose all the stuff about being already booked and paid for- I hate to say this and not to be unkind but ‘so what?’. Possibly you’re trying to indicate you won’t cancel. Your listing needs to be an attractive invitation tempting sitters to do this favour for you. There’s a tone I’m sure you didn’t intend at all because later you show how kind and considerate you are of sitters needs. Perhaps two different people wrote this. I’d soften it and I’d declutter the photos and re arrange. Best wishes.
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We’d echo what @temba and @BonnyinBrighton have recommended. Your pics could be better & the descriptor could be more welcoming. Your pugs would make a cute cover pic. The sit needs to appeal to sitters, why should they come, what’s great about your location, who would it suit? Not this is what we’re doing so this is the deal. This is all about mutual exchange & finding a fit for you, your home and pets from someone who’s paid the same membership fees as yourselve. Try wording it differently & taking some brighter, cleaner pics of the home. I think the TV shots & the outside of the house wall could be removed too. Am sure more members will offer advice. Tweak and relist. #andoffyougo
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@LBB, appreciate your frustration.
Quite possible that some of the housesitters that favourited your listing are international, including nearby Canada. They may have favourited some time ago and the world has changed. Few international housesitters are visiting the US.
Suggest that you re-write listing from perspective housesitter - introduce property, pets, location and outline why someone would enjoy spending time there. Currently the text has significant focus on you and your travel.
Suggest that you update listing for new pet care section. We may have missed it but did not see information on pet exercise per day; where pets sleep; how long can pets be left.
Suggest read other listings in your area. That’s your competition. Find listings that you deem attractive and apply learnings to your listing.
Primary advice is to improve your listing. Great listings receive applications.
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I’d just add that I find your paragraphs of text not easy to read and so I find it hard to take in the essentials and would move on to the next listing if I were considering applying. Maybe you could ask someone or ChatGPt to help you reword them/break them up or perhaps someone on here would be willing to help.
Good luck finding a sitter.
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I am from the US and this listing turns me off. Why show a TV on with something about Trump? I can’t read what it says and only see his name but even his name makes me nauseous! Politics and house sitting should be kept separate. I don’t know the politics of the people I sit for and that’s the way I like it. They also don’t know mine. Dead animals on the wall is depressing to me as an animal lover and animal empath. I really like that you give the deer apples as I did as well when I bought my 2nd home and blessed with lots of wildlife around me. Then I see the deer head on the wall. Another turn off is you say one dog needs very little attention. That made me sad. It’s like saying, you can ignore him. Maybe say that they are easy to care for instead. I really think this is a sit where a car is needed. People without a car would be stuck on your property. To me that’s a big ask. If you have a car sitters traveling without cars can use, I think you will get some people interested. As they say, there is a sit for everyone.
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Along with what the others have mentioned, I’d change your title. There’s only the deer bit that’s enticing and unique to your title. You are missing a trick, you’ve very few enticing descriptive words, you need to set the scene for sitters, here’s what I mean…
You’ve got “Country Setting” whereas “Beautiful country home with scenic walks” sounds much more desirable. It also suggests there’s dog walks from the doorstep without having to say it, and the word “Home” sounds like a place to relax and unwind in.
You’ve got “with two pugs a few fish, chickens”, whereas sitters already know you’ve got “2 pugs, a few fish, chickens” as the sitter gets shown icons so they already know you have 2 dogs, fish, and chickens, so you haven’t told them anything fresh or enticing unless the sitter specifically prefers pugs over other dog types.
So you’ve got a lot of wasted words in your most important title, it’s the one that helps to capture them at the start. Before they decide to click to read more.
Personally, I’d leave the pets out of it in your title, they need something different and unique, because sitters already know what you’ve got, and most sitters like a lot of different dog breeds, so if it were me, I’d change it to:
“Beautiful country home, scenic walks, fire pit, gazebo, and visiting deer”
Hope it helps
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I notice that you would like the sitter to arrive the day before and leave after the dates that you’ve listed.
To avoid confusion it would be best to amend the listing dates to the dates that you want the sitter to arrive / depart.
You can explain that you will still be there on he first night as you have an early departure the next day- or perhaps consider booking a hotel close to the airport for that night so that you can vacate your home for the sitter after you have welcomed them and had a handover .
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Thank you for all of the input, some of it was brutal but I appreciate it. I have tried to address and make changes per each comment. The image on the TV was not intentional in any way. 
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Well done on your changes @LBB. I must say it is quite refreshing that you acted on the various member suggestions. Too many times HOs come on the forum requesting advice similar to you and then they make absolutely no changes.
Best of luck with getting a sitter.
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I’ll add to the other comments by reminding you that you are more likely to confirm someone if you respond to applications within a day.
Also, if you are willing to accept a family, I believe there’s a box you can check that will open that up to sitters who are looking.
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@LBB When an owner creates a listing, it’s best to then search your own sit, as though you were a sitter. I would suggest it’s done both on a phone and a larger device. You’ll then see how it displays.
You appear to have cropped your first photo to an unusual format. I don’t know what the system shows owners, as I’m a sitter, but I think a standard landscape format is suggested. This is how your listing photo displays on my laptop:
That certainly doesn’t draw me in. On my phone it was improved, showing fully the one dog.
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You may attract more sitters if you offer use of your car.
Well done on the changes you have made @LBB. The only things I would further add are to support what @Snowbird says about how the first photo is showing on both the app and website. Also, as it’s still showing Low Applications, do remove your dates for a minute or two then re-post them so it becomes New and sitters will see it! Otherwise, it is still “lost” in the thousands of listings posted after yours.
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I’m still seeing the dogs as the cover photo (on the web) There is a nice living room photo although it’s not as complete as it could be. I’d recommend using the outside of the house photo or the living photo or even a better version of either of them. You might also put a landscape view photo in if you can get one.
Can’'t remember if there is a car or if you mention that one is needed.
I’ve only been to Olympia once, but I know the area is lovely and you describe it well as what people can do. I think your cover photo is an issue since it only shows the dogs.
Just want to emphasize the previous post that you should reboot your listings to get rid of the “low applications” sign by cancelling the dates and reposting.
Your sit won’t work for us, but it seems like it would be really perfect for a Seattle/Tacama based sitter who wants a quiet country getaway, or even someone relatively new to the site who wants to build great reviews and have a great experience.
@LBB A month ago, we posted a sit for mid-February that, until today, had generated no interest.
We just received two applications and now that the holidays are over, we expect more.
Your dates aren’t until late-March. You have plenty of time.
As others have said in this thread, delete your dates and later, repost the listing. I’m sure you’ll see new interest in your sit.
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It’s almost 3 months away, I certainly wouldn’t worry yet. Most of my sitters applied 2-3 weeks before the sit started.
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As a sitter I would say still enough time. Not for me as in US but although I am casually looking at available sits I’m not applying for anything yet. You still have time and with the advice you have received and acted on it will likely be better once it is new again.
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It’s not about having plenty of time it’s about the lack of interest. I posted a sort of test listing on another, much smaller site just to test the waters and got a slew of applicants for next March.