Where have all the sitters gone to?

I’m finding the same - not one response and in all the years have been using THS I usually get loads. Starting to worry now!

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Make sure you add your listing like to your forum profiles and read through the threads to find out what sitters are looking for in a listing and how to make your sit more enticing.

Hi @desousaemma We just had a success story today from someone who had forum members review their listing and they tweaked theirs and success! I’ll add some links that may help you.

How to add your listing to your forum username/profile

Sitter/owner ratios - includes Angela’s 10 helpful tips

Top tips that keep being repeated on the forum by sitters:

  • make sure you have clear photos of the living areas the sitter will be using - living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen
  • only tag ‘sitters need a car’ if it’s essential, rather than ideal
  • give options for public transit and services (Uber, grocery deliveries) so they can decide if they can be without a car
  • set clear details (time/distance) on nearest services/shops
  • set clear details of how often (time/distance) pets are walked
  • set clear details on how long a pet can be left alone

Forum members are happy to give constructive feedback to help you succeed - after all, it’s in their best interests too! :smiley:

Francine,
Voluntary Forum Moderator

6 Likes

Just flagging this again.

It’s now hugely expensive to hire a car in the UK, so if you are open to sharing your car with a sitter it would be worth mentioning this upfront in your listing as this may well be a competing advantage.

As Australian sitters retuning to housesitting in Europe we will mainly be applying for sits that offer a car, or can be done without one.

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Great suggestion.

Being a sitter involves lots of juggling dates and travel. It would be worth mentioning in the headline of your listing if your dates are flexible.

So many listing headlines say “Sitter needed” which is a waste of space. A “Flexible dates” headline would attract more sitters looking to fill a ‘gap’. Even if the dates are only flexible by a day or two, it might make all the difference.

As an international sitter, unable to to return home ‘gaps’ are expensive as they involve paid accomodation. I often search around the dates I have to see if listings look like they might be flexible so we can avoid a gap.

Also, as sitters we are always looking for dates that start on a Monday. Most people who work seem to try and cover two weekends which leaves a sitter with a Monday - Thursday gap. So if you’re flexible try listing with this in mind. Start your listing on a Monday or Tuesday…

Flexibility is key. When I was a nomad (pre-pandemic), on a few occasions, a HO would ask me after the fact to show up on a Monday. They’d booked their less expensive Tuesday flights, leaving me to pay more to arrive on Sunday or Monday.

So, it depends. Now I’d definitely prefer to start on a weekend b/c I work full-time and need to set up and not be “training.”

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Agree. I prefer to start on a saturday or sunday when possible because I have to work during the week and would rather not have to shuffle that around the HO showing me the lay of the land.

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You have a lot of past sitters that haven’t given feedback which might be a red flag to potential sitters.

I am trying to find a sitter for my 8 year old rescue, Trigger and have had absolutely no interest. I am starting to worry as this holiday has been booked and rebooked for 3 years now and i am on the verge of having to cancel again as i have no one to watch my dog.

What can i do to gain interest in my sit?

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Your sit is almost 2 months away, so I wouldn’t panic yet. many sitters make last0minute plans.

Add brighter photos of the house, with clear photos of the areas the sitter will use. Delete blurry dog photos. Get a good photo of the dog and use that as the first photo.

Good luck!

Thanks. Will try to get some more pictures tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Hi @Amymcgivern I took a look at your listing. Seeing Trigger as the key photo pulls at the heart strings. It made me smile, as though he was already sad that you might be leaving.

You have so many positive features that are often promoted here: easy access to public transport and the motorway, family friendly, use of bikes, and few demands in your dog’s routine. It’s stellar for attracting so many sitters, so hopefully it’s just that it’s still a couple of months away that’s the delay factor. I realize that’s stressful for you, as you’d like to get everything organized, but hopefully all will work out for you. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I am trying to find a sitter for my 8 year old rescue, Trigger and have had absolutely no interest. I am starting to worry as this holiday has been booked and rebooked for 3 years now and i am on the verge of having to cancel again as i have no one to watch my dog.

What can i do to gain interest in my sit?

Hi my name is Yvonne,
I booked a holiday to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary after securing a sitter, they unfortunately notified us recently that they are unable to sit. I have reached out to dozens of sitters to no avail.
Please can someone offer advice on our i attract a sitter for my 2 dogs and bungalow in Norfolk,

I am having exactly the same problem for my July holiday. Starting to panic!

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If you include a link to your posting in the forum profile, we can make suggestions. There are lost of posts that explain how HOs can improve their listings - and the changes often work!

@Eve and @Amymcgivern welcome to the forum.

@Eve congratulations on 50 years of marriage. What a great achievement. :heart_eyes:

@Amymcgivern I see that you’ve added your link.

@Eve I’m going to ask @Angela_L to fix yours when she comes online as it’s not connecting correctly.

I’ll also add a link to a post that includes 10 of Angela’s tips for success

Francine,
Voluntary Forum Moderator

2 Likes

Hi Yvonne, Congratulations on 50 years of marriage … what a wonderful celebration.

I have added the listing link to your profile you have a lovely home, two adorable dogs and Norfolk is a lovely county (I used to live in Norwich) plus there’s a car included and your dates are not until September … our community are really helpful with their advice and feedback also.

Welcome to our community forum.

Thank you Francine, appreciated

Your sit isn’t until September, so no reason to panic yet. One trick that you can do to get additional views on your sit is, if you have zero applicants, delete the sit and recreate it. This will move it to the top of the search results for a day. Many sitters only look at the “New” sits that come in everyday.

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