Thanks Brad,
I will give that a try in few days as i am now waiting on 3 possible sitters who have shown an interest
Thank you Angela
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Including a car is a huge attraction, so I would put that in your headline. Only the first few words show on a computer (more on the mobile app), so this are important. You could start with “Car included, easy senior dogs near Norwich”.
Also add photos of the sitters bedroom and bathroom.
Good luck
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Thanks lassie,
i will look at changing my headline. In regard to photographs of sitters bedroom and bathroom, i will have to hold off posting these for a little while as the bedroom is being redecorated including new bed, wardrobes and carpet and the bathroom has been gutted awaiting a refit
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Hi! I’m fairly new to TH but did have awesome luck with my first experience.
It was last min after 3 failed attempts booking Rover sitters that flaked after accepting the sit.
Now we’re ready to travel again and initially only had one applicant so far, but turned him down because I wasn’t comfortable with his friend from elsewhere (who wasn’t family/partner and not on the site) staying in our home. Just a strange gut feeling.
Now we’re two weeks out from our travel date and the only other applicant that I had a call with changed their plans.
I’ve been searching for sitters, but everyone listed in Chicago lives in Chicago.
Is there a better way to find people who want to visit here? It seems odd that sitters have their hometown listed if they don’t want to sit in that location.
Sidenote: if anyone has advice on our listing, it would be greatly appreciated. Link in my profile.
I would use the second-last photo as the primary one in your listing. That will attract attention more than the house photo.
I don’t need such explicit details about feeding and other pet quirks in the listing. It is a lot to read through and makes the dog seem more work than he is. He actually seems very easy. If there is something that might deter a sitter (puppy needs a diaper, for example), put that in there, but instructions re amounts of food can wait until you confirm a sitter. Most sitters just want to know how long the walks should be, how long the dog can be left alone, and approx feeding times when perusing listings.
You could change your headline, focusing on the first 4-5 words which will show in a thumbnail. For example “easy senior dog in Chicago suburb”.
Good luck
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Issues related to the sitter’s location and calendar availability come up a lot. You can search the forum for explanations. Short version–please do not blame sitters.
You might consider posting on local FB groups and including a link to your THS profile.
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Hi @pergamino You’ve received excellent advice from @Lassie. Improving your listing will increase the chances of arranging a successful match.
I would encourage you to take some time to seek out local sitters, given you have a relatively short sit listed. When you contact them, perhaps mention that you are flexible with your dates. It’s acceptable to reach out to multiple sitters at the same time. If you book someone, just notify the others that you have confirmed a sit.
Locals who are most likely to agree to sit are those with references only, or just one or two sits. Check their calendars first to make sure they are not already booked for a THS sit. I’ll add an explanation for the various icons, with examples of what I’ve just mentioned.
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I looked at the map. You might consider changing the listing heading to something like “Sit for small dog in comfortable house 10 min to O’Hare.”
edited b/c “pupdog” I read as pugdog.
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I’d probably recommend getting rid of the office pic. Most sitters won’t use it and it looks a bit messy to me which might turn some sitters off. I would also redefine your view of local. Few people who live in the city are going to want to go out to the burbs, but if you target people further away who might want to get closer to the city, it might work. ex: milwaukee, rockford, even madison, you might have luck from someone who wants to spend some time in chicago and is still close enough that it’s an easy drive.
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That might explain it in the US, but it certainly doesn’t explain it elsewhere. There are multiple reasons, not just covid. The check required for US members is potentially one.
HI. we did manage to get a lovely couple for these dates. Excuse my ignorance, but what is CRC please?
Regards,
Lilian
Hey! We just joined the site and posted our first stay but haven’t had any interest. We’re in central London so we (mistakenly) thought this would be an easy one to fill. Could any veteran users give me some advice on the content of our listing? Anything we could change to get better results? Are sitters just applying to things crazy last minute? Thanks!
Hi @ozymandyas - Your listing looks great and I am sure you will get some interest. The only thing I would suggest is that you change the date to one day earlier then explain in your listing that you are leaving the next day but want to give the sitters chance to get settled in first.
The early arrival necessary would put us off because, knowing the importance of the time of arrival we would not want to take the risk of getting delayed and letting you down.
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ozymandyas Your listing looks great so I am sure you will get some interest. How long have you had the listing up for?
The only suggestion I have is offer that a midday dog walker (or doggy daycare) could be available for times when the sitter may wish to spend a longer day away from home. 4-5 hours limits the person’s ability to sightsee, especially when transport takes so long in London.
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Hello @ozymandyas and welcome to THS and to the forum. The one change I would suggest is to make your headline more dynamic. Showing which pets is unnecessary as it’s shown below. Central London is key, but maybe look for your key feature and use your headline to promote it. Keep in mind that on the website only the first few words show in a search, whereas more display on the app. Once you decide on the wording, check both versions to make sure it’s how you’d expected it to display.
To the home/pet owners I would like to point out that we sitters currently have a few new challenges. Car hire in a lot of countries is currently close to impossible. I looked at some offers in the UK and Ireland. If they state that the sitter needs a car, I check car hire. But at more than 1000 Euro per week, this is not feasible (I work in the travel industry, so I know my way to the cheapest solutions). Most offers are rather vague or incomplete regarding alternatives for car, like public transport, bicycle availability, etc. It might cost you a bit of time to look up alternatives in your hometown, but it can’t be too difficult and you only have to do it once. And please be complete if you do so. You can include links to public transport sites and other alternatives. If you hope to attract people from further away, indicate if you can/will pick them up at the airport maybe? Or at least indicate how easy it is to get from the airport to your home. Please keep in mind that for us home/pet sitters your hometown is an unknown area, while you should be very familiar with trains, busses, subway, bike hire, e-step hire, etc.
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I posted a few days ago and have had 3 applications. One can’t do the entire time, two others agreed to other sits, and another wants to borrow a car that we can’t offer. We are in Albania, which is an amazing country.
I have the same question. My first two listings were fine…the sitters were fantastic. The third listing had sitters book then sitters cancel (with the caveat “if you can’t find anyone else then I will come sit”) I didn’t feel comfortable booking them after that because it seemed like they would be sitting under duress.
My next listing is filled, fingers are crossed that it all goes well. But, my July listing…nothing yet. I am going to send out yet another batch invitation if I don’t hear from anyone!
Maybe my listing needs improvement, I don’t know. But the location is nice, the house cute, the animals easy. If anyone has any suggestions let me know. Thanks.