Don’t you think that some sitters deceive other sitters, by leaving glowing 5 star reviews for bad HO?
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In my opinion, your idea about the ‘review’ being an equalizer is misguided. There are so many complications with that when it comes to retaliation from homeowners.
Sitters should be allowed to cancel the sit before it happens if they feel misled.
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It’s easy to say ‘stay away from the ones that don’t feel like fair exchanges’ but when homeowners are manipulative and deceptive, sometimes it’s hard to see it until it’s too late.
Reviews are not some magical equalizer that people think it is. We as sitters need to be able to cancel a house sit when we find out this house sit is not the right one.
Homeowners deceive by not giving the right city because most sitters are from out of town. How are you supposed to know that a homeowner lied about the city that they’re in? And that may mean you can’t take public transportation, or get there reasonably. So you have to pay $100 just to get there. Predators on the site are smart and will hook you into a house sit, painting a picture that isn’t real. How do you know?
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If there is such a trend then
I would assume that since the majority of THS members (hosts and sitters ) are from UK that is why there could be a higher number of issues reported from U.K. . However , it would be in proportion or lower to complaints from sits in other countries where there is significantly less members .
We have done 30+ sits for hosts in U.K. we felt appreciated by them all . Currently on a sit for a very wealthy family who are very appreciative and require nothing more than we take care of their lovely easy going dogs and enjoy their comfortable home , tv room with all the streaming services , beautiful landscaped gardens and heated swimming pool. After feeding and walking the dogs , we have plenty of free time to visit the area , but have found that most of the places we have visited nearby haven’t been as stunning as the home and gardens that we are staying in . So there has not much reason to leave .
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I barely look at reviews if I need a place to stay last minute. Especially when a homeowner has canceled on me last minute.
Let’s hope the HO actually read your friendly reminder’. Because most don’t.
Reviews are blind, neither party can read them, until both reviews have been left, so there can’t be any retaliation. If you feel you’re being misled, maybe you should ask more questions about location at the video call.
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It’s very easy to ask for their address before committing to the sit . Or even before applying. We’ve done this on many occasions. We say “Before we apply we would like to know which area of xx( town/ city ) do you live ? “
If after confirming the sit they later give you a different address, ( I’ve never heard of this happening ) you could contact THS and they would cancel the sit .
Keep in mind that the host probably didn’t lie - or set out to deceive , the location feature is not accurate as reported by many hosts on the forum .
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Wow! Seems like a lot of unlucky people out there. Currently on our 5th UK sit. All have been great. All different. All have had minor irritating issues. No deal breakers for us and I appreciate these opportunities. Reawakened my love for cats as the ones we have sat have been more affectionate than my own cats! We have mostly focused on dogs with cats as a side, but that might change 
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Reviews are only useful to potential sitters who do read them before applying and accepting a sit . If a sitter chooses not to read a review then they are choosing to take a risk , not knowing what they are getting into . This may work out but it’s an unnecessary risk that most of us would rather avoid . Those who apply without reading the previous reviews have to deal with the consequences of that decision. THS can’t force hosts to do xyz . Likewise they can’t force a sitter to read the reviews .
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Unlucky or careless ?
We have had very positive experiences . I don’t think it’s down to luck . We take time to throughly read all of the listing - including all reviews and also follow up with a video call BEFORE committing to a sit . This has enabled us to screen out potential red flags and sits that wouldn’t be a good match for us .
Sometimes you can make your own “luck” . That is increase the probabilities that the sit will be a good one by taking time and not accepting just any sit.
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If you are needing sits for accommodation, as many sitters do . You may consider upgrading to Premium membership which provides some ( limited) cover for sits that are cancelled last minute .
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@Silversitters yeah I agree , we screen carefully, I see plenty of sits and immediately think “no way” . During one of our earlier applications we had a HO say '“we are a desirable sit” well yeah otherwise I wouldn’t apply 
I also thought we are desirable sitters, but we didn’t have the reviews to back that yet so I kept it to myself. Got that sit and it was a great one. Too much “free” accommodation at any cost I think.
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@ Haylee I completely agree with you. I have experienced something similar many times.
Pet owners must inform the pet sitter of any potential inconveniences their home or pet may present. It’s not up to us to ask an awkward question, “Do you see any drawbacks to home/pet sit for your home and pet ?”
I’ve done a lot of pet sitting, and no review has ever mentioned the inconveniences I’ve encountered, so we can’t rely solely on pet sitters’ reviews that remain subjective and personal to each individual.
However, I agree that it is necessary to mention serious facts in our review.
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@Solela. Yes it is up to you to ask awkward questions . HO are not going to tell you how bad their home is.
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@Chrissie If you ask this question to a HO who does not present any inconveniences, he will be hurt by the question or will be worried about your requirement and will not choose you. Too bad, you will have lost an excellent site that does not have any inconveniences.
@Solela. Been sitting for 11 years, and never had any serious problems, so must be doing something right 
. Ask in a tactful way.
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But this is exactly why you can end up in a bad situation. No HO wants a sitter that “just wants a place to stay”, they want an exchange of real pet care for a comfy home. You have to read reviews before you choose a sit or it’s buyer beware. #oncebitten
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@ chrissie As I said in my previous post, the inconveniences are not felt in the same way by each of us. It is subjective.
However, I agree that it is necessary to mention serious facts in our reviews.
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Sounds like you’re not discerning enough to find good hosts.
For my part, I’m selective about listings and hosts, and I can tell they’re reading my friendly heads up, because Qs come up and such. We discuss.
Plus, I never take sits without a backup plan, so I wouldn’t stay if misled.
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