Hi there, I am new to this forum! I am writing because I was wondering if anyone is experiencing low responses to their find a sitter ad. We have had 2 sitters in the past for our lovely animals in beautiful Santa Fe, NM. However, we have had our listing up for a week and no applicants. A few showed interest and then realised they got confused with the dates. Nothing since. We didn’t have this problem last year in December nor last summer and we received glowing reviews from them. I look forward to anyone who has any insight? Thank you, Very best, Frances
Sorry you’re having trouble, were previous sitters international? Or from within the US?
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Part of the issue may be that many international sitters don’t want to sit in the States right now.
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I am so sorry you are having trouble. Can you add your listing to your profile? Although I am already fully booked for 2025, I could consider helping you out sometime next year, and would like to favorite your listing. I hope you can find someone soon.
I think I found your listing.
It seems your region has quite a few sits - all with the Low application-mark. That means that the sitters interested in your region have a lot of choice, and your listing is then very important to attract interest, so they don’t just scroll on to the next listing. You have quite a few pets compared to the other listings, which can make sitters prefer sits with less tasks. You can make it a bonus, if for instance a family could be tempted to have several kinds of pets on same sit.
A couple of things:
It doesn’t say how long the animals can be left for outings. This is important info. If less than 4+ hours, you will lose a lot of interest and I’d suggest you offer someone to look after the animals at least once per week so the sitters can go somewhere. 4+ hours is the minimum for many to apply. If 6+ hours most sitters would be interested when it comes to possibility for outings.
You seem possibly open to families, and at the same time say single/ couple. I would clear that up. As a solo sitter I would not apply as it is too much work and seems easy to get an easier sit in your area. If you are open to a family I would enhance that more. That would ofc totally depend on a good match, as usual. Maybe a family with children similar age as yours (?). In that case, clarify and check if you have ticked the family welcome box, so they get your listing up on searches. Maybe say something on what is available to a sitter bringing teens (sport equipment? Games? Books? Local things to see/ do for a family - bowling, skating, mall etc.)
It is true that many international sitters now prefer other parts of the world, so probably US-sitters would be your main target-group.
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Is it the x2 dogs x2 cats and a rabbit? Perhaps not many people like to sleep with 2 dogs in the bed mentioned in one review. Perhaps offer an alternative solution for sitters?
I note one sitter describes the no Air Con issue during the summer and needing to go to the library to work-you mention this is resolved now with mini splits (I didn’t know what these were being English) and a sitter might miss this so I’d also add it to the first thing they read about the sit.
Sitters often skim read initially, I know I do- I look at a location the animals the photos and then I read the reviews… if all of that is OK I’ll go back and read the details so your recent air con solution is kind of buried a bit in the house section.
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Welcome to the Forum @Frances_Seward_Santa_Fe 
Our members can take a look at your THS profile if you use this helpful post to add your listing link to your Forum profile.
If you need a hand adding the link just let me know
Jenny
@Frances_Seward_Santa_Fe
I have looked at your listing and I think it would help potential sitters if you added the following information to the responsibilities section .
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How many hours can the dogs be left alone for ?
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You mention taking them to the dog park - what does that entail ? Is the sitter expected to transport them in their own vehicle , will you contribute to the gas for that ? Is there a charge for using the dog park ? How often , would they go there ? Daily?
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Where do the pets sleep ? One of your reviews mentions dogs sleeping in the bed with the sitter . Not all sitters are ok with that . If that is expected , please be upfront and add it to your listing so that you get applications from sitters who are comfortable with that .
These are the questions that come to mind when I read your listing and sitter’s can’t contact you to ask these questions ( unless they send an application) so putting this information in your listing will be very helpful.
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great points given by the others above! a few more suggestions that may help attract more sitters:
I’d suggest using either the sitting room photo or outdoor seating area photo as your main! (I love the chimney in the corner of the sitting room - makes it feel like a more unique stay for those of us who aren’t used to that kind of architecture. and the outdoor photo is nice and colorful and gives the feeling of a peaceful retreat. there’s nothing wrong with the kitchen photo, but it doesn’t stand out to me in the same way as the other two photos do.)
you might also consider adding some detail about the pets’ personalities. the previous sitter reviews give a little insight into what it’s like being around them throughout the day, but you could say a couple sentences about what they’re like. are they cuddly and attached to their humans? are they playful and energetic? what makes them most endearing? do they have any fun quirks? and, as others have noted: how much time and energy will they ask for in a normal day? do they sleep for several hours at a time or play with each other to keep each other entertained?
it sounds like a very scenic location. there are already some beautiful photos of the garden, but if there’s any more scenery that isn’t yet shown via photo (for example, a view of the Sol y Luna Mts perhaps?), I would snap some photos of it to include in the listing as well!
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