Another housesit, another dirty house…
I’d love to be able to leave an anonymous score on how clean a house is. In my last three housesits, all the houses have been dirty, one appallingly so. I like the house to be clean rather than ‘lived in’. The published photographs rarely reflect this. Sitters’ standards/preferences are all different so I think a mark out of ten for cleanliness, tidiness etc… would help to ensure a good fit between HO and sitter. All my HOs have been nice people so I’m really uncomfortable leaving ‘honest’ reviews. I try to leave a review we’re prospective sitters can ‘read between the lines’. I’d be interested to have other sitters thoughts on this.
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It’s a tough one. As you say, cleanliness can be subjective, so even a mark might not have the result you are expecting. (What I might consider an 8, might be a 6 or a 10 for other people…)
We clearly put in our application that we are expecting a clean house (after having had a bad experience as well) During the video call we do before accepting a sit, we usually check the background, surroundings, … to see what the house is like.
I hope your next sit will be a super clean and tidy one!
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Thanks for the tip, I might add something to my applications about preferring a clean and tidy house. I think it would also be good if we could rate the accuracy of the photographs. Something else I have found misleading lately.
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Real question:
(tagging @Angela_L @Vanessa_A @Ben-ProductManager )
at what point is the “agreement” between HO and sitter “breached” to the extent that the sitter can reject the situation after arriving and not agree to begin the sit?
Even with a video chat, you can’t see smelly homes, sticky floors, waste-covered lawns, fleas, etc. so many issues won’t be apparent until the sitter sees/smells for themself.
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I also agree that there should be a better feedback system for sitters to rate a HO - we only get the option to give the sit a 1-5 thumbs up rating, whereas the HO can rate the sitter in 5 different categories - Organised, Reliable, Self-sufficient, Tidy, and Pet care
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I would take pictures of the place as you have found it and be straight with the owner,in a nice way, that the place does not appear to be as clean as it appeared in the pictures. We don’t always know what is going on with the owner( a death in the family?) you could just not leave a review but report to THS privately that it was very dirty(showing the pics). If this pattern of behaviour is repeated with the next sitter, the THS need to step in. It’s always worth trying to get an explanation first given that we are there for the pets
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quite right… turnabout is fair play, n’est-ce pas?
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And, now that I’m on both sides, I see that HOs can also anonymously “vote” whether or not they’d invite the sitter back.
A feature possibly borrowed from Airbnb? In the case of Airbnb, I am fairly sure that it a Yes or No only shows for the next prospective host and only if they have automatic booking turned off.
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That’s interesting - perhaps sitters also need a “Would you apply to sit here again” option?
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OOH 
that feels like you’ve shared a dirty little secret!
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Yes, that is one of my clues. I will always say I would love to go back so that the owners know I am entirely happy with them and their pets. If I don’t say that, it can only mean one thing!!!
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Wow, is this a new development? Is every HO now able to look at all of a sitter’s past sits and see a yes or no vote from each HO as to whether they would invite the sitter back or not? When was this feature added and are HO in all membership tiers able to “vote?” I would like all the details on this new feature.
Are they also considering giving sitters the ability to vote? It could still be a touchy area (and hard to get an honest answer) if you are casting a vote for someone with a combined sitter-HO membership (who can see your vote). I don’t know if this is the answer to improving the review system but I guess it’s moving in the right direction.
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Where do you see the ability to vote on a sitter? I have a combined HO-sitter membership and don’t see it. Maybe it will show when I review my latest sitter tomorrow.
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I’ve only had one sitter–and this is recent–so perhaps it’s very new. I don’t see any yay/nay votes appearing on her profile.
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Yes not sure id like the ability to vote on sit/sitter returns.
We’ve enjoyed all our sits but probably would only return to afew, quite simply because we enjoy variety, new places, different pets and different homes.
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This is an interesting subject but it’s off-topic from “Dirty Houses.”
Yes, even if a sit was absolutely fantastic, a sitter might not choose to return because of, say, the location. I loved my sits in certain cities but do not need to revisit those cities, even though HO and the pets were fab.
See this post from Aug 2021 by @Shafofo under the topic, An Idea for Review / Feedback System : This type of vote by the sitter for the HO/sitting could work:
Aug '21
I know this subject has been covered a lot but I haven’t seen any solution, aside from a system similar to Airbnb (which I agree would work better). I’m traveling right now and using a site called Hipcamp, like Airbnb for campers. I like their review system, part is anonymous and maybe something like this would help. In addition to a written statement, here’s what the review system looks like. Somehow “mixed feelings” seems nicer than a 3 star vote, and there are about 7 anonymous questions. Just a thought!
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I never thought about it this way, but actually, you are right!
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I love this idea and you’re totally right. I’ve had sits where I loved the pets/people but wouldn’t necessarily go back to the location for one reason or another. Or maybe we really loved it all, but just wouldn’t have a reason to be back in the area.
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I don’t think it’s about really going back but to let others know that everything was fine and there is no reason not to apply. I don’t think anybody cares if you will apply again.
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Hello,
I’ve spent a lot of time reading the forum but have only recently joined in order to start posting. We’ve really enjoyed all we have learned from other sitters and HOs. We’ve also completed a lot of sits (both here and via other sites) so hope we have some value to contribute.
I’m sorry that my first post might come across as negative, but it is really trying to be helpful. We love the housesitting world and so much about THS, and think THS will be more successful as a platform by being more equal in its approach.
I am struck by the irony of THS is posting about the imbalance of sits to sitters right now and advising HOs to stick in there with their membership fees and write a better post to attract more sitters. Yet at the same time, THS enhancing so many things for HOs to select sitters (the verifications, sneaky new features like this that are ONLY for HO and sitters aren’t even informed they exist) but not doing anything to improve the ability for sitters to have a complete view into sits (ie, if other sitters could leave an honest review without fear of retribution via the double blind system like Airbnb and have an option like this one HO have, etc.) Clearly the technology exists and yet THS has been promising to revamp the review system for years and it is still on the “next year” list for sitters, but already being improved for owners.
From the sitter point of view, it is hard not to feel that THS is catering to HO’s and then wondering why sitters are leaving this platform for others where there is a more even ground. Is this a corporate decision that has been made that the best way to make THS profitable is to make HOs the priority? We all pay membership fees and the platform needs both HS and HO to thrive.
Angela or Vanessa, are you able to share your views on this?
Thank you,
Kelly
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