I so know a few cats who would love a Roomba to beat up on their kin!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Service sends dead pets into outer space | Springwise
WOW - when I heard about this service for people I thought, wow I'd love to make space my final frontier, not sure how my part time pets would feel about a trip into outer space - I reckon a couple of them would be right up for it!
You can read about the service right here on Springwise
Service sends dead pets into outer space | Springwise
Monday, June 9, 2014
How to Find a Great HouseSitter
If you have an easy care property and your main focus is having your pets loved just like you would while you are away, then I'm the housesitter you want.
I'm experienced, I have great references, you can talk to actual people who I've house sat for around the world. I don't tell you this to boast, I tell you because its not only true, its the result of years of experience.
You want me!
So, it's like anything you want to sell, you have to market it
To get me or any experienced sitter even remotely interested in hitting that all important "reply to owner" button, you've got to get us interested in YOUR sit above all the other alluring listings.
Many new home owners go into the house sitting arrangement thinking that they are doing the house sitter the favour. In my experience, it's the people who go in thinking "this is a partnership where we both win" that will always get the most experienced and best sitters.
You see the experienced ones have been lured into their fair share of bad sits in the early days and now we can scan and pick up the good listings in a heartbeat.
I've listed with several agencies over the years and now I only list with the agencies that charge the house owner, as well as the house sitter.
Get Some Skin in the Game
Why? Well, people who pay for anything, like the Americans like to say, "have more skin in the game". It means that they see the value in investing a small amount to get the right person and know the power of an equally balanced handshake. Without exception I've always had great sits with Trusted Housesitters.
But even when owners have paid, they frequently miss the first important way to make a good impression. PHOTOS! You wouldn't dream of listing your most important asset for sale without photos, so why would you expect someone to respond to you if you haven't even taken the time to click a few happy snaps of the surrounding area.
I understand people don't want to show interior photos on their listing but if there are NO photos on your listing, you can be sure I've skimmed over you. Like I say, you want me because I'm good, so you have knocked yourself out of the running at the most crucial part of the process.
The Early Bird Gets The Sit
You see the good sites allow members to see the listings 24 hours before they go up to the general public. The good sitters have nailed that job in under 24 hours because we know the fast responders get the sit.
This week I secured a beautiful sit in an idyllic location in under 24 hours. The owner said as we closed our call "oh good now I can just tell all those others who replied that I'm set". This is a fast and furious game and you have to be in it to win-win it!
Each morning we get a list of sits that have come in during the past 24 hours.
This morning we had a choice of 30 sits, and that would be an average of what we see each day. So each week it's fair to say we get access to approximately 210 new sits per week.
You have to stand out to catch our interest.
This morning was interesting. Because of the time zone differences, areas tend to group together. UK & European sits generally sit higher than the Australia Pacific region. Grouped together was a list of three great sits in Europe. Two in Switzerland and one in Belgium.
I don't have time to read every single sit, I just scan looking for city, date and image, so below is how I scan house sit listings.
I would only open one of these sits
You guessed it, the one with the happy pets and owners showing how I might experience their locality. The people who haven't even bothered to get rid of the generic avatar wouldn't even get opened unless their dates were a particularly good fit.
The listing must speak volumes
Then once you get the listing open, you are looking for people who get the reciprocity thing. In the listing about with the photo there is a line of text within their very well written advert that states:
That's what I look for, someone who wants to treat me like a guest in their home because that's how I will treat your home, with respect and honour just like any good guest should. That is why I have such successful sits, because both parties understand we each have "skin in the game".
It's About Getting the Right Person
The other clue in the quote above is "our goldies". Listings that go into great detail about how the property should be maintained with little mention of pets .... well you can bet they won't be right for me. They need the outdoorsy people who love to do all that stuff.
The people I like to sit for already have those services in place. At my current sit I have four people who come and maintain the property. These owners know they have great staff and are happy to keep them employed while they are away so they don't lose them.
But people who love their pets like children, well they speak differently about them and in the ideal listing, 80% of the text will be about the pet and 90% of the Skype call will be about the needs of the pets. People who love their pets more than life itself have big hearts and in general, treat everything, including their housesitters just like their pets.
Make It From The Heart!
So folks, if you want the good sitters interested in your properties think carefully about your images and write your text from the heart.
I'm experienced, I have great references, you can talk to actual people who I've house sat for around the world. I don't tell you this to boast, I tell you because its not only true, its the result of years of experience.
You want me!
So, it's like anything you want to sell, you have to market it
To get me or any experienced sitter even remotely interested in hitting that all important "reply to owner" button, you've got to get us interested in YOUR sit above all the other alluring listings.
Many new home owners go into the house sitting arrangement thinking that they are doing the house sitter the favour. In my experience, it's the people who go in thinking "this is a partnership where we both win" that will always get the most experienced and best sitters.
You see the experienced ones have been lured into their fair share of bad sits in the early days and now we can scan and pick up the good listings in a heartbeat.
I've listed with several agencies over the years and now I only list with the agencies that charge the house owner, as well as the house sitter.
Get Some Skin in the Game
Why? Well, people who pay for anything, like the Americans like to say, "have more skin in the game". It means that they see the value in investing a small amount to get the right person and know the power of an equally balanced handshake. Without exception I've always had great sits with Trusted Housesitters.
But even when owners have paid, they frequently miss the first important way to make a good impression. PHOTOS! You wouldn't dream of listing your most important asset for sale without photos, so why would you expect someone to respond to you if you haven't even taken the time to click a few happy snaps of the surrounding area.
I understand people don't want to show interior photos on their listing but if there are NO photos on your listing, you can be sure I've skimmed over you. Like I say, you want me because I'm good, so you have knocked yourself out of the running at the most crucial part of the process.
The Early Bird Gets The Sit
You see the good sites allow members to see the listings 24 hours before they go up to the general public. The good sitters have nailed that job in under 24 hours because we know the fast responders get the sit.
This week I secured a beautiful sit in an idyllic location in under 24 hours. The owner said as we closed our call "oh good now I can just tell all those others who replied that I'm set". This is a fast and furious game and you have to be in it to win-win it!
Each morning we get a list of sits that have come in during the past 24 hours.
This morning we had a choice of 30 sits, and that would be an average of what we see each day. So each week it's fair to say we get access to approximately 210 new sits per week.
You have to stand out to catch our interest.
This morning was interesting. Because of the time zone differences, areas tend to group together. UK & European sits generally sit higher than the Australia Pacific region. Grouped together was a list of three great sits in Europe. Two in Switzerland and one in Belgium.
I don't have time to read every single sit, I just scan looking for city, date and image, so below is how I scan house sit listings.
You guessed it, the one with the happy pets and owners showing how I might experience their locality. The people who haven't even bothered to get rid of the generic avatar wouldn't even get opened unless their dates were a particularly good fit.
The listing must speak volumes
Then once you get the listing open, you are looking for people who get the reciprocity thing. In the listing about with the photo there is a line of text within their very well written advert that states:
"looking for a trustworthy pet-sitter who will be our guest at our place during that period and take care of our goldies."
That's what I look for, someone who wants to treat me like a guest in their home because that's how I will treat your home, with respect and honour just like any good guest should. That is why I have such successful sits, because both parties understand we each have "skin in the game".
It's About Getting the Right Person
The other clue in the quote above is "our goldies". Listings that go into great detail about how the property should be maintained with little mention of pets .... well you can bet they won't be right for me. They need the outdoorsy people who love to do all that stuff.
The people I like to sit for already have those services in place. At my current sit I have four people who come and maintain the property. These owners know they have great staff and are happy to keep them employed while they are away so they don't lose them.
But people who love their pets like children, well they speak differently about them and in the ideal listing, 80% of the text will be about the pet and 90% of the Skype call will be about the needs of the pets. People who love their pets more than life itself have big hearts and in general, treat everything, including their housesitters just like their pets.
Make It From The Heart!
So folks, if you want the good sitters interested in your properties think carefully about your images and write your text from the heart.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Sleeping Bags For Dogs!
What a great idea for those out-doorsey types of dogs who go into the wilderness with their owners.
Most of my part time pets are definitely only up to sleeping by the heater, on the end of the bed or under the covers, but I thought this was excellent, even if they never go hiking.
Barker Bags are named after little "Barker" who gave his owner the idea for the bed while they were having an adventure. Now Barker is almost famous!
Check it out here: http://barkerbag.com/
Most of my part time pets are definitely only up to sleeping by the heater, on the end of the bed or under the covers, but I thought this was excellent, even if they never go hiking.
Barker Bags are named after little "Barker" who gave his owner the idea for the bed while they were having an adventure. Now Barker is almost famous!
Check it out here: http://barkerbag.com/
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
It's Like Air BnB For Dawgs!
I was so ahead of the curve of this one! Before I started to do housesitting I had several of my part time pets over to stay at my place while their owners were away. It really worked a treat and meant I had a dog to play with for a few days or weeks. It meant the dog wasn't at some horrible kennel feeling all neglected and lost.
I believe that housesitting gives the pet the very best experience though because they don't have their routine messed with and they don't have to adjust to a new location - just a new person and lets face it, they get that person trained pretty darn fast :-)
But if you are uncomfortable having someone in your own home, then DogVacay is an awesome second best option.
The video is very funny ..... a further lesson in never working with animals or kids on TV! If it had been me I would have had a couple of doggie treats in my pocket in case of such behaviour - Greenies solve so many problems :-)
I believe that housesitting gives the pet the very best experience though because they don't have their routine messed with and they don't have to adjust to a new location - just a new person and lets face it, they get that person trained pretty darn fast :-)
But if you are uncomfortable having someone in your own home, then DogVacay is an awesome second best option.
The video is very funny ..... a further lesson in never working with animals or kids on TV! If it had been me I would have had a couple of doggie treats in my pocket in case of such behaviour - Greenies solve so many problems :-)
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Button'd Up
Bed Wars
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| Happy families - Billie likes to think beds work best upside down - Bob is grateful for his bed not being stolen - Catnap LURVES her new Telly Tubby Sleep Solution |
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| How come Billie always gets prime position and there is never room for Bob? |
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Don't even think about taking me out of my Telly Tubby!
Dawg Time
Food o'clock?
Ball-o'clock?
Cat Time     Autumn Splendor  |
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