We’ve been THS members since 2017 and had nothing but great experiences until the past year. We have a trip coming up in 1.5 weeks, and we’ve had two sitters cancel on us. The first a couple months back, and the second just today. Is this becoming more common recently? We’re worried that we’ll need to cancel our trip now despite planning for it half a year in advance.
4 Likes
Did they give a reason for cancelling? As a sitter, I would never cancel unless it was an absolute family emergency. So sorry to hear this happened to you.
2 Likes
One was to care for a friend in the weeks after a surgery and the other is due to an unspecified family emergency. Both for the same sit after having no issues for 19+ sits in the past 
Im a sitter and would hate to cancel once a sit was agreed unless for an absolutely genuine unforseen reason.
So sorry to see this happens.
2 Likes
@austentalbot There are many active sitters on the forum. If you put your listing link in your profile, that may help with increased visibility.
You can see the instructions at the top of this thread: How to add a listing or profile link to your FORUM profile
2 Likes
Hello @austentalbot and welcome to the forum. I’ll suggest the following, to help promote your listing:
-
If you’d prefer not to do #1, add in this post the details of your listing - location as shown on the listing, and date range.
-
Review Angela’s 10 tips in this post thread and see if you can tweak any details to improve your listing. Even creating a more dynamic headline can sometimes make a difference.
-
If you get to within 7 days of the start date, you can add the details in the Last-Minute Sits category.
-
If you have a standard or premium membership, after a few days if you don’t have a confirmed sitter, boost your listing to move it to the front of the listings.
-
Consider having your listing promoted on social media. See the post before you in this thread (#150) for details. You would need to direct message Angela to give your approval.
3 Likes
Thanks, just updated my profile with the link to my listing. Do I need to close and reopen the dates for people to be notified about the availability, or should it be advertised as it were new since it’s become available again?
1 Like
I can see the link but I can’t click it. It should not be in black but in green letters, so somehow it looks different than mine or others.
It works, however, if I do copy and paste…
I just looked at your listing. It’s a nice apartment, very tidy and clean and Charlemagne seems to be a very cute little dog.
I agree with @Snowbird to maybe change the headline of the listing but otherwise I think it’s absolutely fine. All essential information is to be found and there’s nothing which would raise a red flag for me (even if I am not a sitter 
)
1 Like
@austentalbot I was able to view your listing from your forum profile, so it is active. I’m going to tag @Lucy-Moderator for her to confirm but I think it becomes similar to a new listing. I’m not a homeowner member, so I want to make sure.
I didn’t read your listing, but do suggest that you change your headline. From the search screen, someone can already see that the sit is for a dog in Seattle. Look for what may be a highlight of your sit and create a heading by keeping that in mind. I did notice that you don’t show that a car is essential, so maybe, for example, starting your headline with ‘Walkable …’ will draw in sitters who do not have a vehicle, as most find rental costs prohibitive these days.
2 Likes
@anon39388349 when links become clickable is all related to what features are available to forum members, depending on how long they’ve been on the forum. It’s part of Discourse, which is the platform the forum uses. I only have a basic understanding of that. This member joined very recently.
Hi @austentalbot so sorry to hear that you had a cancellation. I have boosted your listing for you so that it goes out as a brand new listing on the platform.
Looks like @Snowbird has already given you some great tips there and I second all of them. You are also welcome to contact our Membership Services team at any time.
All the best
Lucy
1 Like
Ah, ok, that makes sense 
Thank you all for the tips. Just updated that. Never thought much about the title when we lived in Tokyo and Singapore, but I suppose those locations were just much more in demand for visitors 
3 Likes
Charlie looks adorable. I suggest reordering your photos to have something eye-grabbing upfront - one of Charlie’s happiest faces or the one with him and Seattle in the background maybe. Best of luck!
While I would prefer that the people I sit for didn’t have any of those kinds of charges, only the animal abuse one would actually affect me since I’m not required to spend any time with the people themselves. If the HO has great reviews from previous sitters and I get a good feel about them in the interview, I feel pretty comfortable staying in their home while they’re away.
1 Like
I’m not a fan of guns, nor the gun culture in the US, but still not sure how/why it would affect me if I was sitting for a family that had guns in the house. I guess if I was taking kids with me, I might ask home owners if they had any guns in the house so I made sure my kids didn’t get near them.
You’re just down the road from me, Austen. I live in Greenwood. It’s a good listing. One issue that may deter sitters is that your dog cannot be left alone for very long. Even running errands might be difficult for a sitter relying on the buses. Seattle housing being so expensive means that many available full-time sitters have (non-remote) jobs. For example, my last sitter cleans houses, but only part-time, and doesn’t have a car. I can see a sit like this being appealing to a sitter like that otherwise. Would you consider hiring a dog walker to take care of the midday walks?
Edited to add–a few years ago when I was a digital nomad, I was based in DC and applied to sits here in the PNW b/c there were so many good ones, and airfares were reasonable. Domestic airfares are erratic right now.
1 Like
you might have missed the point of my concern - I don’t care if there are guns, I have guns in my own house. They’re not mine, I don’t use them and for sure I don’t travel with them!
I’m talking specifically about
charges for possession of unpermitted/illegal weapons
Oh fair enough, I didn’t get that point.
Hello all, new to the site & I posted a sit last week in the Seattle suburbs but haven’t had much interest. 2 applications, one was a new TH couple with 2 pics of them, no pet pics, no references, no personalized message, so that was a no. The 2nd app was also a new TH couple with no references, but a few pet pics & better profile, & a longer but not really personalized message.
I’ve read all through the forum & blog, tweaked my listing countless times, added better home photos, offered the car, linked in my forum profile, & finally boosted the dates yesterday, but still nothing. I understand people say not to freak out too much & more people are booking last minute, but as the trip out of the country approaches I am getting pretty worried. I will be inviting sitters tonight but appreciate any other feedback or help in finding someone great to enjoy our home & pets. Thanks!