A home listing seasonal workers actually request: what to include

What someone working the season looks for

People who come for the season aren't on holiday. They need somewhere to sleep well between long shifts, to cook, to wash a uniform and to get to work without a struggle. Housing is one of the main reasons workers return to an island or don't, and anyone who has worked a season remembers rooms that looked nothing like what they were promised.

So before you write anything, think about what someone would ask if they couldn't come and see it:

• How do I get to the areas with the bars and hotels, and how do I get back late at night?
• Is there a kitchen and a washing machine, or will I eat out and wash by hand?
• Is there air conditioning for August?
• Does it cover the whole season, from the day the venue opens to the day it closes?
• What do I pay on top of the rent: electricity, water, building charges?

A listing that answers these without a message brings requests from people who already know what they're getting. That saves you questions, turn-downs and tenants who leave halfway through the season.

Photos that show the place as it is

You need at least 5 photos to submit a home, and the first one becomes the cover. The minimum is rarely enough, though. Photograph:

• Every room, from a corner, so the whole space shows.
• The bed and the storage — wardrobe, shelves, where a suitcase fits.
• The kitchen with its appliances, and the bathroom.
• Anything shared, if it's a room: living room, kitchen, bathroom.
• The view from the window or balcony, only if it's real.

Shoot in daylight with the windows open, and put your own things away. If a photo comes out blurry or dark, the form tells you; if you have a better one, use it. Never use photos of another home or from the internet: when a tenant arrives and the place doesn't match the pictures, things start off badly.

A walkthrough video

You can also add a video. It's optional and up to 3 minutes: a walk through the rooms. For someone deciding from another city or another country, a video shows what photos can't — how the rooms connect, how much light there is, how big the room really is.

1. Start just inside the front door and move through the home in the order a tenant would.
2. Hold the phone sideways and move slowly.
3. Open the wardrobe, the fridge and the washing machine, so it's clear they exist and work.
4. Don't show the door number or the street sign, on screen or in what you say.

If you add or change the video on a home that's already published, the listing stays up and the Recruvo team takes another look at the new video.

Description and amenities

Write about the place: how many bedrooms, what beds, what is shared with whom, what's nearby. Describe the home, not who you'd rather not take — an automatic filter screens the wording for discrimination, and the guide to renting to seasonal workers explains how. Keep the address out of the description too; if it looks like you've written one, the form warns you.

Then tick the amenities honestly. The ones a seasonal worker looks at first:

• “Kitchen” and “Washing machine” — with shifts all day, these are what make the difference.
• “Air conditioning” and, for anyone staying into late autumn, “Heating”.
• “Near public transport” and “Near the beach”, only if they hold in practice.
• “Private bathroom” or “Shared bathroom”, and “Furnished”.
• “Bills included” — tick it only if electricity, water and building charges really are in the rent.

If bills aren't included, say in the description how they're split. The deposit is stated in months, the way the form asks for it, and you state how many people the home takes. For the distance to work, say how you get to the nearby areas with shops and hotels — on foot, by bus, by scooter — and whether there's transport late at night. If you're not sure of a travel time, leave it out.

Dates that fit the season

The “Available from” and “Available until” fields tell workers whether the home covers their season. Set them as close as you can to when venues in your area open and close, not to when you'd ideally like to rent: a home that ends mid-season rarely finds a tenant.

The “Minimum stay” is set in months. Choose the one that genuinely works for you, so requests only come for stays you'd accept. Once you accept a request, its days show on the calendar as “Booked”.

If the home gets rented elsewhere or stops being available, set the listing to “Paused”: it's hidden from members and you won't get requests for dates that no longer exist. Which changes send a published home back to review is covered in the guide for owners.

Answer requests quickly

Someone looking for a season's housing usually sends requests to more than one home, and keeps the first that answers. Open each request as early as you can and tap “Accept request” or “Decline request”. A clear no beats silence, because it lets them keep looking. How long you have, and what happens if you don't answer, is in the guide to renting.

Many requests come from workers from abroad. Write your description in short, plain sentences: when an automatic translation of the listing exists, it's shown with a “Translated automatically” label and the reader can tap “See original”. A clear sentence translates well; a paragraph full of abbreviations doesn't.

The badge that builds trust

Between two similar homes, a tenant often picks the one that feels safer. The “Ownership verified” badge shows that the Recruvo team checked a document about who controls the property. How to request it and what it certifies is in the guide for owners.

If you also run a business that's hiring, see the guide to hiring seasonal staff, and see how homes look on Find your Home.