Hi all,
I’m new to THS as a HO and have put an ad up for our first requirement, which is in about 5 weeks time.
I have looked at the forum for what to include in our listing and tried to make it as appealing as possible, but we have had no applicants, despite 4 people saving the listing.
Is it normal for sitters to wait until quite close to the date to apply? Or is there something glaring that is putting people off us?
Any advice or guidance would be welcome, thanks for reading!
Admin added listing link to forum profile
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Hi Sarah I see “currently no sitter needed” so you’ll need to list your dates to receive applications.
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Now there are dates!
And it has the “New”-label.
But problem is that the stays are short. One night, two nights. Personally, I rather take a BnB for that. Less hassle.
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I love your listing, you have a gorgeous Malamute and two super cute kitties, your home looks really clean, and well maintained. The only thing I can see is perhaps that shorter stays (1-2 nights) might take more time to receive applicants, as less appealing (the costs to get there can be high, especially in the UK, and it’s sometimes too short to visit anything). If you could list the time you’d need the pet sitter to arrive on the first day and leave on the last day, it might help with planning. Also, how easy is it to get to your place from the airport, train station? It sounds like having a car would make it easier to visit places, so is it possible to do this sit without a car? there’s a Co-op in Bishops Itchington, if it’s easy to get to by foot, mention it! That’s super important to know for us, sitters without a car. Keep refreshing the listing so it stays “New” and gets on top of searches until you get your perfect applicant!
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Hi there, my 5 common mistakes to avoid for a successful listing post may help you! I also took a look at your listing for you. Here are my suggestions:
1: Your listing’s profile picture is your kitchen, which does nothing to encourage sitters to click your listing. Change it to something that supports your title, such as the ‘stunning Warwickshire countryside.’ You also have a random image of a door in your images, which can be removed. The rest of the images are very nice 
2: Your home and location section mentions nothing about the house itself. Where are sitters sleeping? Do they have access to streaming services? Please describe the home. You also have it listed as accessible to public transport but don’t explain how close your home is to these services.
3: Responsibilities are nice, but sitters often want to know how long the pets can be left alone for and how long dog walks are.
Overall it has a very friendly and inviting tone and sounds like a nice sit! Best of luck
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It’s a pretty good listing, personally I would put Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick Castle, and Stratford Upon Avon, rather than the shortened version, as those are the more touristy and well-known place names.
Plus I’d re-arrange the location bit, so that the 2nd paragraph joins on from the first 2 sentances, rather than hoping straight to Southam, because you go in-depth about Southam firstly, so it makes it sound like there’s nothing on your doorstep… unless you read on.
You will struggle with just 1 night, because by the time a sitter gets settled it’s time to pack up and go, and clean too for just 1 night as we are reviewed on cleaning, so for a sitter to travel plus spend money on fuel etc, it starts to make it non-viable and less-lucrative, it needs to be a win-win for everyone. Two nights is much better. Maybe pop in your listing that there is no cleaning to do on the 1 night stay.
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Thank you so much for your feedback! I’ll add a little more detail on now! 
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Your home and animals look so lovely - unfortunately I think very short sits of just a night or two (where often people would rather just book a hotel than have to strip the bed/feel they are obligated to do a clean etc) with large reactive dogs are less appealing for many sitters.
I’m guessing people have saved the sit because they find it appealing but the stay dates aren’t long enough/don’t work.
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Sometimes for the shorter sits you might find someone more local willing to sit. Maybe try reaching out to a couple of locals. Or even newbies looking for their first reviews.
We were successful with this last year and had a fantastic couple who are only 45mins away.
Good luck
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But not good. I would not bother.
Aside from what you mentioned, there is also the application process. Just not worth it for most sitters. And I suppose not worth it for many HOs either.
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Thank you all so much for the advice. I completely understand that short stays aren’t as desirable - might have to find an alternative for these breaks!
Hopefully when Greg and I decide on a longer holiday there will be more success! 
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hopefully there are locals looking to get started as sitters, those first few sits are hard to come by as one has little to no reviews. Short sits such as the ones you’re offering are ideal to rack up a first few reviews on home turf for the sitter. In some markets, there is pressure no matter what, here in new york for some reason, no matter what the length of the sit there’s always people looking to rack up reviews, oor get away from their roommate situation for a few days.
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I can see you took on advice and it looks good! I would still suggest that re: photos, you shoot more wide angle and landscape because almost every single room looks cut off. Your living room is stunning. I would have used that as my opener and include an image that doesn’t have half of it cut off.
Also, if you’re not in a major city or super popular location, to everyone’s point, shorter sits can be tougher to fill but not impossible. I would list way in advance where possible as it will give you more time.
You may also want to share what common connections are from you to other cities. Many may not realise how convenient it is to connect from that region to Birmingham or London by train.
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Im new to this site and have posted my need and profile. I immediately got 1 hit that wont work and then nothing else! I downloaded the app but it doesnt have same options as this app im using now! Im confused!!
Edited to remove personal contact details as per the posting terms
Hi there,
I’m not quite sure what you mean - are you having trouble posting your profile? Are you a sitter or an owner? Can you more clearly identify the problem you’re having? We need a bit more info here in order to help you.
In my experience, using a computer to create and edit your profile is easier than the app, as the app can sometimes be buggy and is not laid out in the same format as on a computer.
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