Have been using THS for about 3 years and LOVE it! I’ve had so many wonderful experiences. I have completed about 8 sits (with all 5-star reviews) as a sitter and have hosted over 20 sitters for my cats– that have all earned 5-star reviews from the sitters.
I just hosted a girl who asked to bring her mom when we did a video chat. They stayed for about 6 days. I received a 4 for hospitality and cleanliness from this sitter. This is my first time receiving less than 5 stars in any category (after 28+ reviews on both sides). I feel disappointed and embarrassed to have this on my profile. I wrote a respectful, factual message asking for feedback. I am awaiting a response.
Here are the details of the review, leaving me even more confused…
“… was a fantastic communicator! She gave very thorough notes for caring for Andy and Remy and always responded promptly when I had a question. She even allowed me to bring along my mom for this sit and suggested some great activities to do while visiting Nashville. Andy and Remi were incredibly easy to care for. They were affectionate and gave us a warm welcome the moment we walked in the door. Overall, it was lovely sit!”
(Yes, the cat’s name was misspelled the first time & spelled correctly the second time–did not edit the review)
Before the sit, I sent photos of the parking lots and stairwell to help orient her when she arrived. I also recommended a car as they weren’t going to rent one and the area is not as walkable as they were thinking. I went into great detail about my cats & home to ensure she felt comfortable and understood things–left instructions for the filtered water, filtered ice, and coffee machines. I also sent recommendations for restaurants, hikes, etc. In addition, disclosed how to use the washer/dryer without paying (a little trick we use as residents when it’s available). I cleaned my home well before leaving, even re-organizing all my cabinets and throwing things out, making sure everything was tidy, sheets were fresh, etc. It is an older apartment and could use a paint job and my fridge could have been cleaned better (but the areas where that was needed could not be reached without replacing the whole fridge). Those are the two things I could see being not as ‘clean.’ However, I have stayed in several homes that were clean but could have been better. I don’t hold it against them at all as the basics were clean and it is their home–not a hotel/Airbnb or place I am paying for.
I know I am waiting on a response, but I am worried about how this will affect my profile. I know I am much less likely to choose a sitter or house sit if the member has anything less than 5 stars. I am hoping people can see the number of 5-star reviews and take that into account.
Has anyone else experienced this and could provide insight?
“clean” is subjective, everyone has a different idea of what is a five star clean. I would not worry too much, as long as your photos show a home that appears clean I think most sitters would not be overly concerned with one star missing in a single review.
It’s completely understandable to feel unsettled when a single rating drops after years of spotless 5-star reviews — especially when the written feedback is glowing and doesn’t match the stars given. But truly, this doesn’t read as a reflection of you or your home.
Sometimes sitters mark a 4 without realising how it affects hosts, or they use the stars differently than most of us do. It can be inconsistent, and it often has more to do with their personal rating style than your hospitality.
Your long history of five-star reviews speaks far louder than one odd outlier. Anyone looking at your profile will see a genuinely caring, organised host with an excellent track record — that pattern is what reassures people, not a single “4” tucked among dozens of perfect sits.
You’ve done the right thing by politely asking for feedback. If she replies with something useful, great. If not, you can still move forward confidently. One off-beat rating won’t change your reputation, and future sitters will judge you by the full picture — which is consistently excellent.
You’re doing everything right. This one just seems like a mismatch, not a red flag.
How very strange, to rate you down on hospitality when you so generously allowed this sitter’s mum to join her for the sit.
You can write a response to this review, and it’s best of you keep it factual and unemotional. Something like:
‘I’m surprised and extremely sorry to learn you’ve deducted stars for hospitality and cleanliness, since I was more than happy to accept your request for your mom to join you on this sit and always prepare my home for sitters (as evidenced by my previous reviews). I’m glad that, overall, you felt this was a lovely sit and that you found Andi and Remi easy to care for; they clearly enjoyed having you and your mom here. Thanks for your feedback, which is always appreciated as I like to know how I can improve things for sitters.’
When you write your reply to her review, do it with other sitters in mind, just stick to the facts, don’t get personal. Say something along the lines of "I’m so glad you had a lovely sit and enjoyed your stay. I’m a little confused about the cleanliness score you have given me, as I’ve received 5 stars from every other sitter, so was there an area that I forgot to clean? bla bla bla.
That way you’ll look like the non-tit-for-tat type, friendly, personally, approachable, lighthearted, easy-to-get-along-with, and a lovely owner.
I wouldn’t worry too much about how it looks to future sitters, when owners get less than perfect reviews, its how the owner reacts in their response that is the most important thing to us. Plus your sitter cushioned things by saying she had a lovely sit, which makes me feel like you both had a really good connection, so you are personable and likable.
I have to say, if someone let us have a guest, I would have overlooked any simple faults in favour of the good things, just seeing the kindness in them instead.
Maybe she simply hit the wrong button. If so, she needs to contact customer service quickly and tell them.
If that’s the case, then it would follow that the host would hear from the sitter who would be apologetic and offer to fix the error if possible. No response seems to indicate the sitter wants to avoid getting into the reasons for docking a star.
@idocsteve that’s totally true and you may be right, but we don’t know how long the OP has been waiting for a reply.
It depends where the sitter is at now, she could be at work, overseas, on a flight, there could be a time difference, we just don’t know, also the 6th Dec and 8th Dec are really significant days in some countries, so that could be another reason for not responding yet.
Cathie– You are right about that. Someone else’s ‘clean’ could be very different from mine. I wonder if there is a way to make that less subjective…perhaps with descriptions for each star…? Thank you so much for the response & reassurance. I appreciate it
I stayed in a very clean home, except for the oven, which looked like it had not been cleaned in a year. And when I put on broil, even for a few seconds, the whole kitchen filled with smoke. So although the place was very clean, the oven was not and not useable, which then took it down to 4 stars.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and reassuring response — it really helped me put things into perspective.
You’re absolutely right that everyone uses the star system differently, and hearing that this kind of mismatch is more common than I realized makes the whole situation feel far less personal. I really appreciate you pointing out the bigger picture and reminding me that one odd rating doesn’t overshadow years of positive experiences.
I’ve reached out to the sitter, as you suggested, and I’ll see if anything helpful comes from that. Either way, your message has lifted some of the weight off my mind. Thanks again for the encouragement and for taking the time to support a fellow host.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply — I really appreciate you taking the time to look at the situation and offer such practical advice. It is strange, especially given how smoothly everything went and how happy I was to welcome her mum along.
Your suggestion for a factual, calm response is really helpful. I’ve been trying to find the right balance between addressing the mismatch and keeping things professional, and your wording gives me a great starting point. If I don’t hear back in my inbox messages, this will be perfect for a public response to a review.
Thanks again for the support and reassurance — it helps to hear perspective from experienced members.
@idocsteve and @HappyDeb It has not been long…about 24 hours. After reading these responses, I realize the sitter may not want to respond via message. I will give it a couple more days then respond to the actual review with something along the lines of what @Happypets suggested. Thanks for the comments!
24 hours is long when you think about the fact that just about everyone has their phone in their possession all the time and can reply to a message in a few seconds.
I got marked down on cleanliness because I missed dusting one shelf. Which they didn’t need to use, so it was bizarre. And they left it really filthy, so why mark me down if you aren’t going to even leave it as you found it? Reviews can be frustrating. Fortunately that is the only weird person I’ve had. Don’t think too much about it.
