Hi there. I am new and put my listing with dates live yesterday. I would love if experienced homeowners could review and give me some tips on how I can improve it. I will probably run the text I created through AI as well for readability but just wondering how to make my sit attractive. I don’t know what photo to feature of what to highlight—should it be my dog? my neighborhood? or the college town I live in? Thanks for any advice.
Also wondering do people tend to want longer sits or have you also been successful in getting sitters for weekend or 3-4 day trips?
You asked hosts for help. I take it that you signed up as a host. Wouldn’t it be better to ask sitters what they like and what could be changed to get more applicants. They are the ones you want to attract.
I’m sure she is open to anyone’s suggestions. Perhaps you can answer a couple of her questions without being able to see her sit. Her link is not working at the moment.
Some Sitters like short sits (example: new sitters trying to do local sits to earn their 1st good reviews, some trying to fill a gap passing through), other Sitters like long sits (if the sitter does not have the premium membership, they have to pay a per confirmed sit fee to THS and this really affects some Sitters and their interest in a short sit). I have more success filling longer term sits for my listing (ie. 7 days+).
Since we can’t look at your listing just yet, even knowing the city, state and/or country would be helpful.
I’m older and live in an active over 55 community. I like sits no more than 5 days. Drive there, food shop and bond with pets day 1. Day two, three and four explore the area, see sights I want to see, try good restaurants, etc, etc. Day 5 leave for home. That’s my sweet spot. Everyone is different. In a great location I want to see I will stay a week. I find after a week I want to go home. I’ve done longer than a week when I first started here but now know what I am comfortable with. So there is a sitter to fit your needs. Having just a two day sit will be hard to book unless it is a sitter trying to build reviews. Two days to me feels like working for free. No time to do anything. You arrive and then leave the next day. I have seen a few two day sits on here or three day sits lately with 0 or 1 applicant.
So helpful to know the link is not working. Probably user error! I will get that sorted and try again! Is there a way to see other hosts profiles to get a flavor of how these things look? I live in a cute college town—Chapel Hill NC in a neighborhood close to campus. Not sure if I should highlight the town, my neighborhood and its amenities, or my dog or house. Any ideas on that?
It honestly looks lovely, your home is stunning, Aloka looks cute & sounds straightforward to care for and your tone is welcoming. 6 hours freedom for the sitter is great and a walkable, safe neighbourhood with lots to do is all good overall. You’re mainly up against a $12 sit fee for each one so you could combine the first two short sits and host the sitter the two nights in between? That could help attract more applicants. You could also offer to pick up travelling sitters from the nearest train or bus station if they don’t have a car. A lot of international sitters aren’t coming to the USA at the moment so that isn’t helping but don’t give up! #lovelylisting
You have two sits listed that would only give you one day home and then you leave again. Are you spending that time washing dirty sheets and towels and cleaning if the first sitter didn’t do a good job. Or having a cleaning lady come in? There are a lot of nomads on here that prefer longer stays. Why not combine those two sits and could you stay away that one day you would be home. Better for the dog as he now knows the sitter. The biggest reason to combine them is that your 2nd sitter may cancel last minute and now you have no sitter. Then you have one day to think of a plan B as you leave the next day. I would also mention if they can take your dog to cafes and on hikes with them. Where is the dog park? Walking distance? Is a car needed? Not everyone will arrive with a car. Is public transportation close?
Yes, at the top of the homepage, you can click on find a housesit. You can search your area and see what the competitors are offering.
I think your listing looks quite good. For the second sit, I would also say arrival and departure time “to be discussed” if that’s a possibility. The departure time is a bit restricted and quite late for a sitter who has to travel.
Your home looks SO nice, clean and inviting. Here are my thoughts on improving the listing. (I am homeowner and sitter on THS).
Remove one living room pics as you have 3, I would take out the first one.
Make your 1st pic of your cute dog Aloka “waving”
Make headline “Walkable Sunny College Town with Easy Public Transportation”
The Intro part has info that I would move the the Home & Location part as there is overlap making reading longer than needed.
There is a lot of focus on sports and college town. I would add info about other things like nature - Hiking? Mountain Biking? Cultural museums? Try to appeal to more interests. I would put it in Home & Location.
You can delete the listing and repost to make it new again and not show the Low Applications badge a time or two if you would like.
