Actually, this is going to help you because other sitters will think this sitter may be a bit fastidious and, in general, we don’t pay so much attention to stars if there’s no explanation of why they were deducted..
I’ve had dozens of sitters over the years, and only one downgraded me for “cleanliness” and gave no explanation. I do thoroughly clean the whole house, focusing on the kitchen and bathrooms. But I’m not a professional house cleaner! Anyone expecting AirBnB type cleaning has unrealistic expectations.
of course people would rather not say to you face to face, to avoid confrontation, that’s human nature. Also, they dont want say anything in case you retaliate in some way by giving them a poor review. As sitters, we look out for each other. I sat in a very dirty house and marked them down accordingly the owner said I was preventing her from getting any future sitters, I told her No, You did that yourself. She ran an AIRBNB, attached to house. so should understand ratings.
If I saw that reply from the host I would certainly
Apply for the sit. The host is thoughtful in taking consideration of comfort for the sitter and wants to do better. Excellent response from the host if she uses that and excellent writing on your part.
I’ve gotten docked a couple of times in the cleanliness category on what otherwise are 5 star ratings across the board. Some people are impossible to please and the slightest bit of dirt or dog fur that could have been left behind immediately following a thorough cleaning is enough to send them scrambling to punish by docking a star.
Good lesson to learn from this. I always read the reviews that my sitters left for other HOs, not just the reviews that my sitter received.
I would be annoyed by hosts leaving crumbs and not cleaning their microwave and/or oven. I try to avoid such hosts from the get-go.
If they’d not mentioned that their home is “lived in” or such, I’d see that as the hosts shortchanging the sitter.
Cleaning for days doesn’t mean anything if the home was dirty to begin with and parts are still not clean when the sitter arrives.
Cleaning for several days doesn’t mean my home was dirty to begin with. It means I did a deep clean but missed some of the routine things in the process. I also work and don’t have the luxury or privilege of being a full-time remote worker. So, with limited time, I did the best I could.
I’m also going to update our listing. It’s not a sterile white minimalist box. We love our comfortable home with a fantastic art collection and vintage furniture that adds charm and character. And I’d hope for a sitter who also appreciates it.
You misunderstood. Please reread:
Edited to reflect this. Thank you!
I did the same with pet hair. I just put in my listing that I have a big hairy shedding dog and two cats. We have tools to manage the fur but if a sitter is expecting a home without absolutely no dog hair anywhere, then please don’t apply to my sit. So far it’s been fine and the sitters that do apply confirm upfront they are fine with a bit of dog hair here and there. Life is much better weeding out the sitters that want extreme levels of clean.
And yes, most people who don’t travel a lot or clean excessively every day do have to do deep cleans once or twice a year. That doesn’t mean your house is dirty and it was rude for that to be said.