Hello 
I’m brand new here, trying to secure my first sitter for a week in June.
I sent invitations to 8 good prospects and got back 8 rejections.
Is it something in my intro or my location or my pictures or…? If so, please help me fix it.
Maxine (Max2)
4 Likes
If you add a link to your profile (in your forum handle), we can take a look.
Do you have the listing posted for people to apply or are you just sending private invitations out?
3 Likes
@Max2 , As @Kelownagurl suggests, here are the instructions for adding your listing to your forum profile.
How to add this listing or profile to your forum profile
Do this and you’ll have a lot of help.
4 Likes
In your initial reply give your phone number and the best time to call you. (Ideally soon.) If you are applying to an especially desirable sit - (great location with a couple of easy cats) you are up against lots of others (well, now, sadly limited to five.)
Don’t go on and on about how you love animals. Tell us your actual experience. Also explain if/how you could be competent to handle household emergencies. Be available and easy to reach. Stick to the facts. Leave out the fluff. Good luck.
6 Likes
I did notice on your profile you stated sitter could use your car if necessary but in the amenities, it says sitter needs a car.
Sorry - I misread this. Thought you were a sitter, not a HO.
I was sending private invitations. Honestly I don’t know if all sitters have access… this is unbelievably complicated for me 
1 Like
Hello Max2, we are here to help. Copy/paste the url (web address) of your housesit listing, and we will give you our honest feedback.
1 Like
Here is how to add your member profile to your forum profile
1 Like
Yes thanks I didn’t know which one to use
1 Like
I sent invitations to many sitters for our sit in April. First I tried local , then a few hours away thinking someone may like to explore a new area. No one was available but one young couple said they wish they could. I followed up. We set up a zoom chat and we’re able to resolve all issues. As a newbie, I was also confused by the site but am glad I kept sending invites. Our sitters were wonderful and asked to be considered for future sits. Great experience. Wishing you success.
5 Likes
Hi @Max2 - The Trusted house sitter system can look complicated and overwhelming when you are new but don’t worry - There are many great sitters and home hosts on this group that will try to help you out…and, honestly, it gets easier once you get used to how it works!
As others have said link your listing to your group forum profile by following the instructions that @Debbie-L sent you then we an all take a look and see if we have any suggestions on how you can improve your listing to give you a better chance of getting a sitter
5 Likes
KellyHC
Thank you so much for your insight and experience. Hopefully I’ll catch on soon.
2 Likes
Thanks! I still can’t figure out how to find the listing url so you check out the listing
Hi @Max2, I’ve gone ahead and added your profile URL to your forum profile. This will help other members give you advice on your listing.
5 Likes
Hi Maxine
I took a look at your listing - It is a great first attempt but can be improved.
To start -
“I expect the kitchen/dirty dishes to be cleaned each day, bathroom cleaned as needed, floors swept every couple of days/as needed. Turn off lights not in use. Swipe dirt/hair from couch as needed.”
In your responsibilities section, delete this paragraph - you’ll find that sitters are generally very tidy and don’t need telling.
Then add more information about your pets
Are your cats indoor or outdoor?
you mention medication - is that oral/added to food/injected?
You don’t mention your dog at all? - can he be left alone - for how long? Does he get on with the cats? what is his walking routine? when does he get fed? anything the sitter needs to know - aggression? pulling on the lead? reactive?
Where do all the pets sleep?
You say in your introduction that sitters can have the use of your car - this is a great bonus for many travelling sitters but you then have the tag ‘sitters need a car’ - which they do not as yours is available. - delete this tag
Under amenities there also is ’ use of my car available ’ tag which you have not added
I do not want to overwhelm you so that’s enough for starters! - If you make those adjustments first, then we can take a look at anything else that may help
7 Likes
Thank you so much for the help… I’ll get going on your suggestions 
Thanks Colin!
1 Like
Thanks so much Kelly!
1 Like
Hi Max
It sounds like you got some good feedback on ways to improve your listing. And that may certainly help. But don’t feel discouraged by the lack of success in inviting sitters–this in no way indicates your sit is not desirable in some way.
There are a few things that make this difficult, and it seems that most HO’s who attempt to secure a sitter through private invites are not successful.
The biggest issue I think is that a sitter’s location in no way indicates they are actually available to sit in that city, region or country as a whole.
Secondly, I once read here on the forum that the average member only sits 30 days of the year–this would mean at any given time, the vast majority of sitters probably aren’t actively seeking a sit.
A few other issues would be the huge number of members, calendars not being updated properly (many don’t like how it is set up) and very limited search filters.
While having sitters list their location may be helpful in some regards, in most cases, I don’t think it is useful.
For many people, it is where they are from originally, and they may not want to do sits in their local area, or even their home country in general. They may not even be there very much at all if they travel extensively.
Some people change their location to where they are currently, but may not be planning on staying in that area once their current sit/s are done.
Some may change their location to somewhere they want to be in the near future, hoping they may get an invitation from someone searching for local sitters for dates they are available. So like sitters who list where they are from, but are traveling elsewhere, some of these ‘local’ sitters are not actually in the country.
I think THS should implement a feature used on another site I belong to that allows owners to search for ‘local sitters’ within X radius, where the only members who show up in this search are ones who opted to be included in it. They indicate their location in the back office, but it is not listed on their profile.
Also, like other sites, it would probably be a good idea to filter results by people who indicated they want to visit that country.
With the size of the THS membership, tweaks to the location feature, expanding search filters,etc… would probably still make it challenging for HOs to find success with personal invitations, but it might make it somewhat easier.
While most sits are filled through people applying, based on what I read here in the forum , many HOs seem to utilize the option for private invitations, so it can’t hurt to consider some ways to improve that process.
5 Likes