Certainly I believe in clean slates and restorative justice. Unfortunately the OP came here asking about sit length, and not with their tail between their legs asking how to overcome a negative but fair review when they’ve made actions to improve.
Even so, my advice in that case would be to address it transparently in your listing and say what you’ve done to improve moving forward, not delete your account.
And of course the HO reading this thread will have their awareness raised significantly we hope, to make future good decisions around mitigating the awful review issue.
Hi @emmieo. There’s no perfect length of time for a sit because we are all individuals with different circumstances. What you can do is remove your dates then repost them to make your listing New again.
Both @BJane and @Cuttlefish have given some good suggestions on ways to improve your listing.
Sadly, you have also come in for some rather harsh comments from sitters for a sit that was not a good match from either yours or the sitters’ point of view and was played out in the reviews and responses. BUT, it was two years ago and both you and the sitters have moved on AND received positive 5* reviews since then which needs to be acknowledged.
But does that mean that you would consider applying for this sit? I would be very wary.
I have done a sit that had an unfavourable review. And although I do not really regret the sit, I clashed with the HO, and it got me a nasty review. Learned a lesson there.
Possibly yes- but we’re in a different position- hubby likes doing chores - he’d enjoy cutting the grass- fixing the dishwasher…. I’m confident with chickens etc. We downsized from land/house/horses that was a lot of work but sometimes oddly enough we miss digging ditches and fixing fences or moving 1000 bales of hay into the barn. Not our location preference though…he fixed the patio sliding doors in one Airbnb for the owners and enjoyed doing it.
There’s a sit/HO for everyone….
There are tens of thousands of sitters. Some are sitting full time and looking for long stays. Some may be looking for a few days getaway a few hours or a short flight from where they live. Some may be full time looking to a book something between sits. Some may have friends or relatives near you and be on the lookout for any opportunity to visit without paying for lodging. Some might be new and local, trying to get whatever sits they can.
The length, might not be the issue. There could be something else. You might try starting a thread for help with your listing, so people could see it and make suggestions if there’s something that might be turning some applicants off.
@emmieo Unfortunately your bad sit experience with the highly reactive reviews and responses both ways is a big turn off for me. Even acknowledging this was nearly 2 years ago- with a lot of water under the bridge- it is quite shocking to read! Due to our own own past experience- one horror sit in particular- my hubby and I are very sensitive to review history & always cross reference when researching a sit. Anything dodgy is always now a big no-no for us. We just want a simple, happy, appreciative exchange. So I’m sorry to say that I think the length of sit is not the issue- it is that review exchange. I don’t really have suggestions for how to overcome that. But I hope that the experience caused you to reflect somewhat on your expectations of unpaid sitters.
@Maggie8K We do not have high-speed internet. Our location does not offer high-speed which I have indicated in my listing…rural Ontario is way behind the times.
@BJane Yes, that’s us.
*I will definitely improve my photos.
*The wifi issue can not be improved because that’s all we are offered in this part of rural Ontario.
*We were away for 2 months and the sitters assured me that they enjoyed gardening, grass cutting, and hens. This was discussed prior to the sit and during orientation. They asked for help with the hens and I arranged for my brother to help (since then, I read that 3rd party people are not allowed). What should have I done? I could have arranged for grass cutting and gardening too but they did not complain until written in the review.
*We have a RING camera. Perhaps we should offer to turn it off during sits.
Thank you for your insights and suggestions. Much appreciated.
Hi …
Glad it was helpful. Following your response - couple of suggestions:
HOs often say something like ‘we have someone who comes to cut the lawn weekly. If you’d rather do this yourself, we’re happy to provide mower and instructions’ etc. Given that hen responsibilities are quite a lot (several of the reviews mentioned that it did take quite a lot of time caring for them, it wasn’t just the ‘2 month sit review’ you mention) it might be helpful to remove gardening requirements, or make them minimal.
I’d also suggest tailoring your listing to the actual sit posted rather than a generic ‘we’ll tell you what to do depending on the time of the year’. For eg, as your forthcoming sit is just a week I’m sure the garden doesn’t need weeding/mowing so you could just remove that requirement, which may make it more attractive.
Wishing you the best of luck.
@BJane I will most definitely arrange for grass cutting and a gardener during a long sit next time. I offered them a cleaner but they refused.
On another note, they demanded a 5-Star Review or no review at all. I sought advice from THS and finally posted my review after THS’ approval.
There is so much more that my review didn’t even touch on.
@Cuttlefish Thank you for your suggestions. I’ve updated my ad and I’m working on brighter photos. A booster is not available for our internet. We have a 100’ tower which is the best we can do.
Oh dear 
no review at all would have definitely been the most sensible decision there for both sides.
Would you still not consider mutually choosing to remove your reviews of each other?
The lack of high-speed internet, plus that ugly exchange between you and that previous sitter probably are the main blockers for your sit. And that’s especially so if there are other sits available nearby, potentially with fewer pets and duties.
Rural areas often already have their challenges, with a lack of amenities. That tends to thin applications.
I prefer to book longer sits of 3 or 4 weeks or longer, you can really bond with the pets on longer sits. Then I fill gaps with shorter sits.
I’m typically flying to my pet sits, so I prefer longer ones…if I’m able to drive, a week is fine, but really its difficult to enjoy time with the pet and the area in a week, especially when I’m typically working remotely on week days.