I am often surprised by some of the listings’ photos. Unmade beds, cluttered kitchens, one blurred snap of Fido.
What have you seen? How much do the photos influence your decisions?
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They definitely influence me as it indicates how clean and tidy the place will be on arrival. The bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are as important to me as photos of the pets.
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Yes, likewise. I (almost) never apply is the photos show a messy, unprepared house. The HOs must realise that this is their advert, their showcase. To me it’s incomprehensible why one wouldn’t spend a few moments tidying before taking photos.
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I say this all the time - it is crystal clear though the type of person that they are if they are too lazy to even take a handful of nice photos then you can guarantee you will be arriving to disorganisation and a dirty house.
Put the toilet seat down, make the bed, take photos with good lighting, wash the dirty dishes in the sink.
Sometimes the red flags offer themselves without even having to read the rest of the advert.
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But sometimes, the clutter with dirty dishes, unmade beds and used towels etc is even in listings by HOs that come here to ask for advice on how to make their listings more attractive!
And then I feel embarrassed to comment. (But some members here are really good at saying this nicely.)
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I figure some people just live in messy, unclean ways and don’t think anything of it. I say that, because I’ve interviewed people for jobs and there have been a few like that. For instance, would you wear a tatty T-shirt for a professional job intw, even if it’s done by video? Or would you intw with a sinkful of dishes in the background? I think that these are the same kind of hosts who post dirty, messy homes in their photos. I actually am grateful for them doing that — at least you know what you’d be in for. Better than anyone who posts misleadingly nice photos and actually is offering some dump that most sitters would try to avoid.
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I am quite influenced by photographs on the whole, I must admit.
I generally feel much happier in homes that are relatively uncluttered and have lots of natural light. This might sound odd to some but I can generally pick up on the atmosphere of a place from the photographs in a listing.
If I’ve ever found myself in a home where the atmosphere is just off (which is rare), I find it very hard to settle for the duration of the sit regardless of how adorable the animals are.
For me, the photos are often very telling.
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What I am MORE surprised at, is when HO’s ask for help on the community when they are struggling to find a sitter and think they are doing everything right, when one glance at their photo’s of an unmade bed speaks a thousand words.
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Photos are super important. I won’t apply for sits with unmade beds and/or cluttered rooms, Also rooms looking messy or dirty. I find that super disrespectful and totally univiting. I also don’t like pics of dogs sprawled across the beds, particularly if its the guest room I would be sleeping in! Dogs on beds is a No No for me (and the hubby)
If someone can’t be bothered to clean/tidy up enough to make good pics then I also assume they won’t bother preparing their home properly for us either.
I also usually scroll past listings where no internal pics are shown. I haven’t got time- especially with the 5 app limit- to ask them to send pics/info they’ve not bothered to include! Its just lazy and lack of thought of what sitters might need/expect etc.
Sometimes, despite good pics, we’ve still been caught out. Things aren’t always as they seem & you can’t always see dirt in pics. But pictures usually are a good indicator.
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Light-filled rooms photograph well, but I like to sleep in a dark bedroom. If you have window coverings in your bedroom, especially light-blocking, please show at least a portion of them. And please show any other window coverings/treatments in the home. I like to pull them when it gets dark. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way.
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I say “shhhh…” if HO cleans for just taking pix then it will be a real shock when you show up and the truth is revealed too late.
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The photos influence alot on whether I apply or not. The biggest thing I worry about is whether the unmade bed or clutter in the photos equate to a dirty house. Of course I have had a couple of sits where the photos look absolutely clean and beautiful and that’s not the case when we show up. Maybe I should give the cluttered photo listings a shot. Maybe I will be surprised with a clean home
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I learned after my first housesit just how important photos are of the interior. I’m both a HO and a petsitter on this site. One of the things I do is invite potential homeowners to view both of my profiles to get a feel for how I keep a house. It has worked well for me.
Not everyone is as adept at taking photos as others but that’s a good time to ask a friend or family member to help.
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In my daily alert yesterday, there was a completely absurd first photo of a kitchen, with towels hanging everywhere, cleaning gloves, etc. But the listing sounded quite attractive, actually, in a nice little country, with excellent reviews.
It is much worse that THS itself has problems: on the website, photos in portrait format are shown within a landscape-format window. It is not possible to zoom in on the image by opening it in a new window. It is tiny, just 240x400 pixels.
And then: still (after how many years?) captions not showing in the web interface!
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Absolutely agree with you guys. Im a HO . I think im “selling” my property as you would a b and b in a way. On the other hand, I had to tell a prospective sitter to improve her profile. Every picture was of her alone posing / pouting. Not one picture of a pet she’d sat for.
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I recently saw a listing where the bedroom was a complete mess and the mattress had stains on that were either dried blood or human waste. 
I’ve seen the odd one of those pouty photos and I’ve sometimes wondered if they realise what website they’re actually on. Quite off-putting to say the least!
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That’s pretty grim.
100%!!!
I look for immaculate homes 
Who wants to stay in a messy, disorganised, cluttered home on holiday?!
That’s why I glance at THS first, and if I don’t find something that suits, I book accommodation on airbnb or booking.
This is how I use THS, as ONE option for holiday accommodation.
If I find what I’m looking for, it’s a win:win for me and my host.
If not, HOTEL!!!
Totally agree. If the place is a mess I pass it by - no matter how tempting the pets or location.
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