Yes, we all have preferences, but there are some cities preferred by more sitters, so those get more applications — HOs from such places refer to the number of applications they get on the forum, for instance. So it makes sense for some HOs who don’t get many (or any) applications to ask, especially if there might be things they can do to improve their results.
@FrauSheri, there have been threads on which sitters have offered feedback for boosting the appeal of sits. Christmas sits are especially competitive to “market,” because there are so many of them vs. the number of sitters who are available. Some ideas that have been shared previously:
• Decorate the house and let prospective sitters know that they’d be sitting in nice, festive surroundings.
• Extend amenities that some sitters appreciate, such as food or the use of a car, if that’s something you’re comfortable with.
• Write more details about what attractions are accessible from your home and how to get to them realistically. Like if you’re X blocks from a bus or tram and it goes right to the Christmas markets, that would be helpful for prospective sitters to know. Without that, most sitters will not do a bunch of research into a potential sit, especially when there are plenty to choose from.
• If you can arrange for help, like a dog walker for an afternoon or such, that can free the sitter for a bit more flexibility for seeing sights or such.
Those are just some possibilities, for example. Ultimately, some sits won’t get picked, simply because sits outnumber sitters for the holidays. Some sitters, like me, won’t sit over holidays, because we want to stay home or to celebrate with loved ones, so the pool of sitters is even thinner vs. the increase in available sits over holidays.
Some people also try to avoid traveling over the holidays, because the crush can be greater. Travel cancellations can run higher because of weather over winter. Some sits also require sitters to shovel snow to clear sidewalks and such, which not everyone is physically able to do or might want to do.
Personally, even if I were to sit over the holidays, I’d probably avoid anywhere with significant snow and related delays. Or I’d sit pets that don’t require walking in the snow. I live somewhere with occasional snow and I have a dog that resists going into it even to pee and poo. I imagine some dogs are more trouble to walk along those lines as well, and some homeowners might not mention that to prospective sitters.
I thought it would be fairly easy to refill…who doesn’t want to visit the famous German Christmas Markets?! Plus, Hamburg is spectacular on NYE. But alas, crickets. So where ARE these locations that everyone is fighting over? 
