I don’t know about everyone else, but for me, if a sitter’s bio sections are really short and not detailed at all, that is an instant “no” for me. In a sense, sitters are trying to “sell” themselves to us, and I want to know what’s they’re all about. Am I being a jerk?
I’m curious what details you look for? I don’t have any trouble getting sits and have a lot of info in my profile, but I’m wondering which details HOs find important.
As a sitter, I also don’t like when HOs have no info about themselves in their listing. I like to know a little about the people I may be partnering with.
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I think if you have specific questions you need answered just include them in your profile. You may want to say, when requesting a stay for this sit please answer the following questions in your correspondence.
As a sitter I just want to see pictures of the house, pictures of the pets and complete honesty on duties and temperament of pets so there are no surprises. I don’t think it is necessary for me personally that pet parents tell me details about themselves as far as profession or hobbies and of course political views.
I think most sitters will tell you on their profile if they work online, are retired and things that will have to do with the care of the animals.
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No you aren’t being a jerk, we do exactly the same for HO’s, if parts are too short it’s difficult to feel like I know the HO, and if I don’t feel connected to the HO I don’t apply. It works both ways.
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When you say bio, do you mean profile or application?
My profile is extensive and I only put a summary in my application and point them to my profile if they want anymore information. The application is more about experience with the animals the host needs looked after and the care of their property. Pointing out we are fit and healthy and our hobbies include hiking is another thing we always add. I never go into great lengths why I want to visit that particular area but I will mention if there is a specific thing we want to do.
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Perfect! I love that you add hiking as a hobby as we hike everyday with our Labradoodle from our home with many trails in the hills basically in our backyard.
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It’s perfectly understandable @Lisfnord that you want to know more about the people who you are entrusting your home and pets to. If that’s not covered in their application or profile, then move on as you do.
I do the same when looking at owner listings. If there is no information about the owners themselves plus they use a pet photo or something else in their small profile photo which is meant to be of them, then I’m not interested in their listing. I’m looking for a connection between the owner and me and not including anything about themselves in their listing tells me all I need to know!
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info on our bio is very small, we include everything we think a home host needs to know in our application which is famously VERY long!
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I guess what turns me off is when their bio/application says “I really love animals! I had a dog when I was a kid.” and not much else. I guess if you can’t make the effort to “sell” yourself, I don’t want to waste my time.
Our bio is very detailed and our applications are similar. More info the better, when being considered.
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To me, there’s a mutual job to be done — both sides need to sell themselves so they can arrive at a match.
It’s like a dating app — each party gets to set their own standards and everyone has to find their own “level.”
The easiest way to tell whether you’re being reasonable is, are you getting what you want? Since it’s a dynamic marketplace — with everyone making decisions in real time — if you don’t get what you want, then your expectations are out of whack with the market. If you’re getting what you want, then you’re spot on, not trying to date above your level. 
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I’m also going to be more positive towards a longer and more detailed bio (or application message - that’s just as fine). It’s not even that the details matter as much as it’s about showing a level of enthusiasm and communication. I hold myself to the same standard in my listing and when replying to people.
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They sitter bios or “about” used to come first and the “eperience” was further down in the profile. Then they switched it which I found annoying because I had a nice flow between my about and experience. Eventually I just combined the two categories. Now my about says to see experience and “ask me for a link to my homeowner page.”
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@Lisfnord, you’re not being a jerk at all.
The “trust” is THS requires transparency on both parties. And the “sell” is two-way.
We experienced housesitters, we have elected to include extensive information about ourselves and prior housesits in our profile. Nothing to hide.
But the underlying theme of your observation also applies to Pet Parents. Listings vary a whole lot in their completeness and/or fail to provide information that is relevant to prospective housesitters.
Two-way appropriate information leads to a better fit, more informed decision and ultimately better outcome. All good.
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Welcome to the forum @Lisfnord .
It would be really useful to sitters ( old and new ) if you would tell us from a host’s perspective what kind of information you would like to see in a bio that has been missing from the ones you’ve seen .
Also do you want this information in the application too or just in the profile?
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@Lisfnord You are not being a ‘jerk’ at all. It works both ways. I’m a sitter and from my perspective a host profile that is too short and/or has poor pictures is a complete turn off. I will just move on. if a host cannot be bothered to provide enough essential information for me to decide if I should apply or not then they are not worthy of my time and effort. I don’t mind if I have to ask the odd specific question e.g bed size. But not multiple questions. Or having to ask for essential pics like bedroom/bathroom.
In our sitter profile we have provided extensive information about ourselves, and plenty of photos, and we also write a detailed application message including the pets names etc. The HO receives a great deal of info on us in order to make a decision to follow up with us or not.
I also dislike if a host does not address us by name, or only uses my name (as account holder) when we are clearly a married couple and I sign off every message, also during our on-sit updates, with both our names.
I just find it rather rude.
We had one (potential) host who sent all messages to ‘dear both’! She never once used our names. She also wanted to confirm the sit immediately without a video/audio call. She said we could have a video, or a normal call ‘much nearer the time’. It was all a bit too impersonal for us. Ultimately we withdrew our interest.
This is a very personal exchange and I do believe both sides should make an effort to make each other feel valued, at ease, and properly informed.
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Here is the thing about sitter bios. There is now an “about” section and an “experience” section on each sitter’s profile page. “About” used to be above “experience” but they switched it. At least for me this was bothersome. So the first thing you are seeing as a host is the experience. You now have to look down to get to the “about.” IMO, this was a mistake. I rectified it on my profile by combining experience and bio, and then using “about” to offer a link to my host page if contacted.
There is also other info about sitter’s on the profile page, info which is missing entirely from the homeowner section. The age of sitters, the “profession”, and the option of link to linkedin and airbnb. That’s a lot.
But I get it. Hosts may still be nervous because how “real” is any of this and who is coming to my home. But again, it is a lot to have up on a public website, and that’s without further details in “about.”
Frankly, I don’t think homeowners should have access to all that unless the sitter applies to their sit or they request it from the sitter with an invitation. And I don’t think “all that” needs to include age.
I agree that people should know about the person literally sleeping in their bed and taking care of their pets, and you shouldn’t choose a sitter if they seem too guarded and evasive, but let it be a process.
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Yes, also because all this personal information isn’t even open to paying members only. It is on the internet open to all when on listing.
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Don’t believe you’re being a jerk at all… Just want to to comment that I agree with others on public display of age info & even profession. Safety is priority.
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As a sitter, I wish pet parents included more info about the pets and photos and details of the rooms. Sometimes I see 4 photos of the pet and that’s it.
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