Just updating with some positive news, after my moaning a few days ago! I tweaked my dates, improved the listing a bit, and got a couple of lovely applicants. One is confirmed for the sit, and I’ll stay in touch with the other for future sits. I guess it’s just waiting for the right people to find it!
It’s interesting that the people doing both my sits are retired, travelling in the UK for an extended time, and so have their own transport, which is ideal for our location.
I’m very happy to be able to focus on my own travels, knowing that my cat team and home will be well cared for.
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Thanks you 
I wish you could come stay with my adorable kitties and throw the sheep some apples! We try hard to make this a win win. This really is a sweet spot to land, I don’t know why sitters have dropped off. I did notice a lot of sits in my area have low applicants, which is weird because wine country is a big draw and it’s expensive to stay here for an extended period. Ah well, fingers crossed we get lucky soon. Lmk if you start sitting!
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Hi @ClaireUK yes, I’ve got someone for the September sit now - it was a few days ago when I first posted, but I updated the listing and got two good applications the following day. Definitely keep an eye out for future listings - it’s likely to be 2024 unless we decide to sneak in an extra trip!
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Welcome to the forum @premtema ! Please don’t think that all TH Sitters are looking for longer sits. While it is true that many of those sitters who sit full time prefer longer sits, they often need to fill gaps with shorter sits. There are other sitters who only housesit during holidays from work or weekends.
I work in a school, so I only housesit in school holidays or on weekends with my sons aged 14 and 12, and sometimes with my husband. Our sits so far this year have been 4 nights, 4 nights, 6 nights and 2 nights.
Our closest sits have been less than 30 minutes drive from home. We are happy to have a change of scenery and different paths to explore, even if we are still close to home. As they say “a change is as good as a rest”. The furthest we have travelled so far from our home in South West England is East Lothian, Scotland. I agree that we wouldn’t go that far for just a couple of days.
Where are you based?
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It’s good to hear I’m not alone on this one!
@ClaireUK Not sure why you can’t see any dates. I have two different trips posted and no sitters confirmed.
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Hi @ Lokstar
All the points you have expressed were just running through my head. You have summed up the ‘two way street’ very well. The combination of opportunity to travel and stay in lovely homes without the burden of huge, unaffordable accommodation costs by providing free home security & care of animals in the comfort of their own home /surroundings is a great concept. We won’t be travelling to the UK until April/May next year and hope to sit/travel for up to 3 months. I am spending a lot of time selecting 
Favourites both from location and the gorgeous pets. By staying close to locations we’d like to visit will allow us to spend time caring for the pets/home/garden morning & evening and have a block of time 4-6 hours exploring and enjoying the wonderful towns & villages. Perfect 
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Hi @ geoff.hom
Found your tips very helpful as a ‘newbie’ to House Sitters. There are a lot of ‘moving parts’. 
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I read your listing and the replies about the lack of sitters. It makes me even more worried my time will come. We’ve been members since July and though at times, I’ve really stressed about not having a sitter, we’ve had great sitters for every sit we posted, and I think we are on our 7th this month and 8th next month!
I think your house looks great and the location is superb. (I don’t see the bit about sitters needing to be there every few hours so maybe you deleted it. That certainly would be a big turn off for me. I’m coming to stay and take care of things, but I certainly want to be able to enjoy the area.)
If you were getting sitters, I’d not suggest a thing. But since you aren’t, I’m looking at your listing with a critical eye. Please don’t take offense!!
I’d suggest more pics of your home inside without the dogs. I started feeling overwhelmed that they were everywhere and thinking they look like a lot to handle. Let me see where I’ll be staying. What views I can expect. Where I will be sleeping, relaxing and eating.
I’d share the temperament of the dogs and bunny. Why are they fun to be around? Are they calm? Do they like to go for walks? Are they good on a leash? Do they have outside yard to stay in or are they underfoot all the time? Do they keep each other entertained or must they be supervised continuously? Are they barkers? The photo of the dog in the hold put up a red flag- Do they have a special place to dig or is that hole bc of boredom, and will they also chew furniture or shoes?) If they are really well behaved- say so. Brag about them; share all the great things about them (but also share the things that could be a challenge. If you tell those up front, then they can trust the rest!)
As for the sleeping, I’d be much happier in a room you’ve set up for me. I don’t really want to stay in your bed, your room, especially if there is a guest option:) Also I’d phrase if sitters want to sleep with the dogs, they are invited to stay in the main bedroom, but if not, the guest room is a perfect option- (does it have a comfy bed)?
I wouldn’t emphasize that your kitchen isn’t anything special. Just show it, and tell what makes it work - is it clean and organized. Has it got a microwave and dishwasher? Will they have a washer/dryer and a car for their convenience?
I’m not fond of the close up of the coffee appliances (the photo isn’t too appealing but you can just say you have a variety of ways to make coffee and have tea available, too if you think it’s a selling point.) The living room pics are great, but the shot of the kitchen isn’t so much to me. While I bet it’s clean, the shot makes it appear messy/cluttered- please close the drawers. And straighten the covers on the bed. It looks like the dogs were just laying on it (which they may have been and while this might be a selling point for some, for others it’s a turn off.)
Sell the great things like hens will give you fresh eggs every day plus they are a convenient disposal for vegetable waste. (But if they aren’t real find of chickens, can they minimize the time they spend with them?) AND you have a housecleaner?!?! WOW.
Have you checked other listings and you felt you would like to stay there? What about those listing made you feel that way? You have a great house in a great location, and your opportunities should be in high demand!! (Feel free to check out our listing.)
Best of luck! I bet after you get your first and they leave a glowing review, it will get easier and easier!
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Do you look through the profiles of sitters? We have had people find us and invite us to consider Housesitting for them.
We Housesit all over the world and our reason for Housesitting is to explore and live in a community with locals, not just to be a tourist.
Feel free to check our profile and see if we are a fit. We are now booking into 2024.
Personally I don’t look in the forum for housesits, I see it as a stay connected and good place to ask questions.
Janet
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I just looked at your post. If we were not booked I would definitely apply to Housesit for you. We love the animals we Housesit and enjoy spending more time at the house with them than out every day. When away from home if there is a Housesit where we want to spend more time exploring build that in for before or after the sit.
Janet
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As someone who has gone from having so many people apply within 24 hrs, a few years back, to having very few or no applications at times now,. I feel for you.
I noticed that you’d have a television in the pictures but you don’t list that in amenities.I would list the television and whether it comes with netflix, prime etc…
Definitely clarify how long people can be away from the house, whiskama? I think that’s a big factor. Do you have a neighbor who would be willing to come over and let the dogs out for a pittle break so that the sitters could be away for longer occasionally?
Rather than putting the routine in your listing, perhaps make that more generalized as to approximately how long it takes in the morning and evening to look after the. Animals, and then request people contact you for more information. That way, someone who might be interested has a reason to contact you with questions and that way you’re starting a dialog, rather than people just reading all of it.
Also, I like that you’ve specified what the car is but I don’t think you listed the car under amenities.
I’m finding that i’m starting to get more applicants again, as travel is increasing after covid. Having said that, If I don’t get any applicants when I am posting some time away, I will pull my posting off of the site and repost a few weeks later so that it’s fresh.
Sometimes I wonder if a posting has been up for a long time with no applicants or a few applicants if that makes some sitters wonder if there’s an issue. I’ve just rewritten my posting and I’m trying to emphasize the positives but still be honest about the sit. Good luck!
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Because we pay the fees.
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I only range from San Diego to Santa Cruz, so I looked at your area. Quite a few sits up for offer. That could be one set back. Only looking for a place to stay? I just did a farm, with sheep, donkey,goats, crooks, ducks, sugar gliders, birds, cat, fish, and I learned so much, especially with a vet crisis, where we got a ewe up and running again, little field surgery, so she could feed her twins. I look for health problems, I learned how to inject insulin, anyone can sneak a pill past the goalie, and diet quirks.
Remember, this is free. I told a local park ranger what I was doing, and they offered me a well paying gig in August for a few weeks. In San Diego, I got people begging to give me money, but I mainly want the Central Coast.
I’ll go back to the start, quite a few sit requests in your area. I seem to get knocked back for the easy ones.
I’ll keep an eye out on your posting, I might do a leap frog up the coast.
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Hello @Ozseppo and a warm welcome to the Community Forum and thank you for joining in the conversation on this topic. 
Ahh yes, I know what you mean, we also love looking after farms and small holdings, looking after the sheep, cows and pigs amongst other things. 
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.
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. 
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Yes friend of mine and frequent sit for me has same problem. She had multiple people that had liked her profile info and then possible sits but when she contacted people for an upcoming sit they all said no. So she has also somewhat given up on trying to get a sitter which is a shame because I always enjoy staying at her place and looking after her pets and would highly recommend this sit to people.
@JanAlayne if you like hanging out with animals maybe you’d like to come to Sonoma County in July and chill out with my brood 
Over 60 sitters have saved our listing and we still have no sitter for mid July. I’ve sent three invites to people who’ve favorited but no luck there. I’ll be hiring a petsitter soon, I can’t deal with the stress of not knowing if we’ll have a sitter, this trip and my animals are too important.
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@Shafofo I am sorry to hear that you have not yet found a sitter for your dates, it is great that you are reaching out and connecting with forum members, remember to private message (DM) members via the forum so you can connect on a personal basis. If you need any help let me know 
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@Shafofo We would love to!! Unfortunately we are booked right through now until March 2024.
Please keep us in mind next time you are looking. I will check with 2 other people I know that are on Trusted Housesitter.
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