Most owners know to do this, but I see many profiles where there are lots of photos of the pets, or the town, or local parks, but very few of the inside of the house. I have just seen two profiles that had no photos of bedrooms or living rooms, but have duplicated several photos of the pets and garden! And several without bathroom photos.
For example, many people like showers, myself included, but I also like a long soak, so a bath is important to me.
Ideally a photo of every room would be helpful. And the garden!
The reason I put Bedroom in the title, is because I can tell within a second if I feel a connection with it or not. It doesnāt have to be posh or pristine, just nice. Itās not something I can put my finger on, but if thereās no photo of the room I will be sleeping in, I wonāt contact the owner to ask for a photo of the bedroom, but I also wonāt apply either. Even if everything else seems perfect.
I am only saying this in case owners are wondering why people are not responding to their listings. Though I suspect most people who omit these photos probably donāt ever look at the community forum either.
Hi @BillyBonnieBenji. Yes, omission of important pics is something we try to scan and look for, but unless we know about them, itās hard for us to find. When we do find them, or if someone brings it to our attention, we reach out to the member and advise to please update the pics as we all want to see what our ālivingā will be like.
It is a work in progress, but hopefully, new members will be reading all the guidelines as will adhere to the specifications required.
Double bed = no! How two ppl can sleep in a standard double i do not know I agree it amazes me too that photos of important things are sometimes missed!
@PetsSit You may want to take a look at this post, as ādoubleā means a range of varying dimensions around the world. For many years double was the largest bed size, at least in places I lived. Raised in the UK, I had never seen larger ones until I came to Canada. Once again, the preferences of sitters are as varied as the range of bed sizes.
Do you know of any tech issue with adding photos on a mobile phone? Because I see a lot of HOs duplicating photos. All mine were done on a laptop and I had no issues.
Great advice! Yes, I agree with this. This is definitely a selling feature of a listing. It gives a level of comfort and confidence to see where you will be sleeping, especially if it is a week or longer sit. As well, I want to know if there is a window in the room or it is in the basement. All considerations.
100% agree, pictures of where the sitter will be sleeping is important. A few months ago I was contacted by a local owner asking if i would like to sit, she expressed her concerns as no one had applied. I politely declined as I work full time from the office and the sit was for a dog who was not used to being left alone. The description of the home was that the sitter would have the annex building, fully contained but there was only one picture of the outside and non of the inside. I gave feedback on the listing as there was a lot of restrictions listed. My main feedback was post images of where the sitters will be for the month long sit. A month went by and still no changes to the post & no applications 2 weeks prior. Some people just donāt listen!
If everything else is perfect but no pictures of the bedroom or bathroom the sitter will use I ask. Itās important to see the space thatās going to be yours for the duration of the sit. Iām not really bothered about the size of the bed, more about the space for clothes and personal belongings.
Some pet owners offer their bedroom but I always feel awkward because all their things are still lying around. I always feel more comfie in a spare bedroom unless the6 do a bit of clearing up.
My biggest concern is mustiness as I am allergic to mould and dust mites. I very often have to wash the bedding once the homeowners have left as they can be musty. On one Housesit we were given the use of a very old and dusty sofa bed which gave me such bad asthma that I lost my voice for a week. Another basement flat had severe damp issues and I had to move into a nearby hotel and leave my husband on his own in the flat. Unfortunately itās not easy to see this in photos.
Ah, yes @Londongal thatās bad. I once had to move into a nearby Airbnb too, as I got such extreme asthma at the housesit, that I couldnāt sleep in the house.
I often find the spare bedroom is a very neglected bedroom in terms of airing and dusting. It feels so great when you arrive at a sit where the host has placed a tiny little flowerpot in the room, then you know they gave the room some love - if thereās tiny flowers, then itās very likely dusted and vacuumed and aired too in anticipation of our arrival.
A recent sit had a tiny bathroom with no counter space. My makeup bag fell off the back of the toilet (the only place to put anything) and all the powder makeup shattered.
Do you mention your allergies on your profile, @Londongal ? Because as a HO I would hope that my home, and especially the bedrooms, donāt have mould, but Iām not sure I would like to guarantee an absence of dust mites, however much Iāve vacuumed the mattress. I would probably not consider someone who has house-related allergies because of the risk, however small, that it would ruin their sit (and make them ill) and potentially my holiday too. If youāve made your allergies clear in your profile, I would expect an interested HO to ask what specific steps have to be taken to reduce the risk to your health.
Thatās good to know, I would hate to be responsible for triggering something as dangerous as asthma or allergies. I think itās common courtesy to give any visitor freshly washed bedlinen, but maybe some people keep clean sheets on a guest bed until the next visitor comes. Thatās actually a powerful argument for giving the sitter the master bedroom, as we generally do - it means all the bedsheets are fresh that day.
Iām housesitting for thee weeks in what looked like a very grand house from the outside and from the āsuperficialā photos, but immediately I entered through the front door the āmustinessā smell was almost overpowering. I should have asked for an impromptu video walk-though of the house and if I had seen all of this chaos, I never would have accepted the sit. Funny thing is, I know the town, and this part of town is a very well-to-do area.
How long have you got left of the three weeks? Itās not as if you can just close the kidsā rooms is it? - especially as one of the cats has disappeared in there!
I agree it amazes me too that photos of important things are sometimes missed!