Indeed! It was a very uncomfortable experience. Thankfully, over 95% of the sits I’ve done have had very good standards when it comes to cleanliness.
Hi @Newt - No worries and not reading anything into it. I would have no issues giving a video tour of my space to anyone to prove that I live tidy and clean at all times. As of May 2023, however, I am a full time sitter, so I do not currently own or rent my own space, but even when I did, it was clean and tidy. I’m a Virgo and an HSP (highly sensitive person) and I can’t function or be at ease in a sloppy or dirty space (be it a home, place of work, restaurant, etc.)
And I’ve thought of the reverse, when we do have our own place and want to have a sitter, I would most definitely show them our home to make sure they feel at ease with staying there.
I would also say that our reviews speak to the fact that we leave a home always immaculate. Considering we do sit full time, every home is our home actually, so we treat it as such. Every review we have speaks to the beautiful state we leave the home in, so I think that speaks to our integrity on this factor. But again, thankfully, we don’t have to deep clean to get it there. It’s always already a beautifully kept home, and we just leave it in the lovely manner we found it when we pack out.
1 Like
@Louise7 This is exactly what I mean! Home owners who take pride in their homes and consider their homes beloved, love to welcome people in and show them off in a sense. Not in a boastful way, but in a “this is kind of like a member of the family” way! I also would do this!
1 Like
Lordy. Mine have been nothing like as bad as that. I wonder if I’m being a bit too fussy…
if you search the forum you can find the information that THS sends to HOs before a sit starts, advising them how to prepare their house.
1 Like
Not necessarily being fussy. You’ve a right to a certain standard and that’s only fair.
1 Like
Very sage advice in this comment. I’m continually tweaking, adding to and modifying my questions for the pre-sit stage to ensure no unexpected ‘surprises’ once I’m on the sit!
This is me. I’m doing it for our comfort. I doubt the HO notices the dirt on the cabinet doors is gone or the top of the washer and dryer is clean.
3 Likes
I can only feel comfortable in a clean and tidy environment so I do due diligence before applying which includes:
- a tidy home- if the HO thinks it’s OK to give a photo of an untidy environment , chances are they don’t see dirt
- no photos of kitchen, lounge, bedroom - why would not include these?
- no mention in previous reviews of tidiness or cleanliness.
So far this has worked.
2 Likes
I learned that lesson. I had noticed a very untidy lounge in the pictures but I told myself not to be too strict and that being untidy doesn’t necessarily mean not being clean and I applied for the sitting, was chosen with no video chat, there were other applicants and the reviews were good. It was a very nice location and a car was offered. I felt lucky. The untidiness was not the real issue. The place was filthy. I now know you are right. The owner can choose when to take the pictures and what pictures to upload. It they show a very untidy place it’s most likely that it’s the way it is most of the time, and there is where dust and dirt come. They keep gathering in different layers and strata and become fossilized like in an archeological site.
1 Like
Sitters can ask whatever they want. So can hosts. Sometimes asking a question can put someone off. As a petparent, I try to arrange video-chats as quickly as I can and also of course at the convenience of a sitter, so I don’t always clean my house before a video chat. It’s like depending on the time of day that my spouse may be working and his desk area is in the bedroom. It’s likely they’ll be dishes in the sink! The horror! And maybe torn up boxes in the hallway we haven’t taken downstairs.
So I don’t see planning to make sure my home is guest ready when I put my listing up. And putting off video chats because oh my there’s clutter in the kitchen!
If a stranger suddenly demanded a video tour, I’d tell them I’d be happy to send them a video and refer to them to both my reviews as a sitter and as host. But probably I wouldn’t choose them even if this was “good enough.” It would make me uncomfortable. I’d be worried that I wouldn’t be up to their standard and they wouldn’t be happy.
6 Likes
I think you are right. As a sitter, I would feel embarrassed to ask for a video tour. Some HO have volunteered to show me around when we don’t meet in person for the handover and have sent videos.
I am learning to ask more questions now, mainly about the requirements (pet care, pet sleeping habits, garbage disposal, plants…) Regarding cleanliness, I just ask the information about cleaning materials or the use of specific products to be included in the guide or shown at handover.
I have just had a bad experience with hygiene and it was really my fault not to trust my first feeling about the pictures. All reviews were 5 stars… I now know better.
But, just out of curiosity, would it be different if the sitter asked for a video tour or video chat tour at a time of your convenience?
Would you and other HOs take it as intrusive and demanding or as an indication of the sitter’s cleaning standards?
I am really not sure how I would feel as a HO. Even as a sitter I think I would only ask if that was standard practice, and not asking was interpreted as careless or something like that. I even feel embarrassed when I have to ask about emergency arrangements but things happen and when you are in panic because of the emergency and need to take action quickly, that’s not the best time to start considering options. Better to have possible contacts at hand.
1 Like
I have mixed feelings about that @Newpetlover . Our home is normally clean and tidy, but not as it would be, when sitters come. So, I’m afraid they’d get a wrong impression on where they’d be staying.
F.ex. we have some books we’re reading and other stuff on the dining table and guest room also serves as my craft room so I often have something going on in there. Also, our living room is decorated with random, half chewed cardboard boxes, that our cats play with.
All that gets cleared away before sitters arrive (including the cats and all their belongings, they’ll go to a cat hotel), so the place looks like the pictures in my listing. But that’d be too much work just for a video tour.
3 Likes
I don’t mind a lived in house as long as kitchen surfaces & cooking area are clean and clear, the bathroom is clean, the bedding is freshly laundered and there is somewhere to put our clothes. We don’t expect people to clear all there stuff away as long as it’s relatively tidy and clean. Fortunately so far we haven’t experienced anything negative on this front.
1 Like
I would interpret that as a lived in house not unclean or untidy. But, as I said, I don’t think I would ask.
3 Likes
Re: asking for a tour “at my convenience.” If they weren’t going to accept the sit until after the tour, then I’d say no because that would mean preparing for the tour and usually I get a lot of applicants, so I don’t feel delaying the process for that sitter’s convenience works for the other people who applied. I’d be afraid of losing a good sitter who wants the sit because I was doing stuff to accomodate someone who was suspicious of me and might not even want or take the sit.
If they meant after confirmation but before the sit started so they could get an idea of the layout. I would send the video home tour but if they still had questions and wanted me to show them something “live” or demo something fine. But if it was still something that made me feel like I had to “prove” myself beyond presenting myself at the chat, writing a listing, having reviews, having a sitter’s page with reviews they could check, having a linked in on that sitter page, etc then nope.
Just like when I apply to a sit and someone asks me for social media or something because they clearly don’t trust me – even though they’ve seen my reviews and my linkedin and could easily google me. On the other hand if someone asked me what I would do if x, y, or z happened to their pet, I’d be happy to go through the scenarios and explain exactly how I’d deal with those situations.
1 Like
Thanks for your answer. You can see it from both sides. It reassures me.