You seem to enjoy rebuttals so much that you even rebut statements that were never made.
@Maggie8K has not claimed she knew the impact her review had. She simply said that the owners have continued getting sitters after her review, which is something everyone can check on THS platform.
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We’re sitting a lovely cat at the moment in the UK and the owners call their hallway “the death valley”, because that’s where all the dead mice end up.
We’ve also sat plenty cats that love toying with cockroaches, but that’s part and parcel of sitting in rural Spain. It’s not an unclean thing, it’s an inland Spain thing, it’s totally normal.
We had a load of ants on one sit in Spain when it rained really hard too, they came indoors to escape the heavy rain, but ordinarily in the countryside in Spain you just leave a crumb and ants will appear, and once one comes, the rest follow.
I think some sitters (I’m not saying you 
) don’t research the countries they are visiting too. I only say that because we’ve had the odd sitter raise things on the forum before that is very normal in the country/setting they were sitting. So it’s not that the owners were negligent in telling them at all, it’s simply that it’s very normal in that country or setting, it’s just normal.
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The exact post was “My honest review has not kept them from getting sitters”. As I said, there is no way to know if any sitters did not apply as a result of her negative review.
In fact, her honest review may very well have prevented the host from getting sitters, as I pointed out in my reply. It’s important for people to consider the result of things they write about another member rather than dismiss it with “oh my review doesn’t matter they will still get sitters”.
A friend sitting for us this past Christmas sent a photo of a mouse sitting on top of one of my handbags hanging on the coat rack and asked, “where do you keep your traps?” We told him and then we debated cheese vs a raisin as bait. We had never had a mouse climb up there before so it would never have occured to me to warn about that. If I mention where the mouse traps are kept in the welcome guide, will THS sitters back out? We warn about dust and spiders in our listing, should I include mice?
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I guess you’ll get different opinions. Fr some sitters it will be important to know in advance for others it won’t really matter. I really don’t mind and would not be put off if I read about it in in your listing or the WG, in fact, I would appreciate to know how you handle it.
I would say it may be better for you to add that “you have the occasional mouse” or something like that because it will help you make good matches and avoid bad reviews.
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Gotta say I’m really a bit phobic about rodents. Traumatised as a child. Spiders, snakes, giant cockroaches all good but one little mouse has me screaming and standing on the table 
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Same. We once had a dishwasher delivered with a rodent hitchhiker on board. The cat started chasing it, I ran upstairs, slammed the door to our bedroom shut, and stuffed towels under the door. I texted my husband to let me know when it was over 
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FWIW, I blocked him a while back, after I twice noted to him that he had mischaracterized something I’d said and he did not retract. That gave me the clear sense that it’s simply trolling behavior, to misrepresent what others say, etc. So I no longer see any of his comments, because I consider him a waste of time.
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My mother always said: “If you have nothing positive or helpful to say, then don’t say anything at all.”
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Yes, it would have been - very basically- thoughtful of them to have contacted you about the cat. Unfortunately, some hosts are not as aware as others. The one thing that can make a difference there and in the case of the mouse and spiders is to deduct stars accordingly and to write a factual and non-emotional review.
Hantavirus and plague are two that immediately come to mind.
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You are being unnecessarily provocative, as you very often are.
@Maggie8K clearly states those hosts have had no problem getting sitters since she (very helpfully) mentioned the negative issues in her review. It sounds like she did that in a sensitive way as it clearly did not put off ALL sitters. Subsequent sitters have obviously not been concerned about a biting/scratching cat. I, for one, would not apply for that sit and I’d be grateful for an honest sitter giving me the heads up. My personal horror creatures are cockroaches having once lived in a flat (in Spain) where we had to deal with a horrible infestation. If someone wrote about lots of cockroaches in a review I would absolutely avoid that sit. Others who don’t care will apply. Hosts & Sitters will usually find the right match if there is honest disclosure.
I appreciate @Maggie8K for choosing honesty & clarity for the benefit of future sitters. There are ways to be honest in a respectful way- giving future sitters choice about whether to apply or not- without slamming the HO.
Its time to block you again. You write far too many annoying, unhelpful and provocative comments.
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I’ve noted there are some HO who seem to thrive off the fact that they get ‘maximum’ applicants. Maybe validating to them to have desirable properties.
As a HO I don’t want to maximize applicants, I want the right applicants. I no longer want to hit the cap of 5 before I decide either way. I have tweaked my listings to put off unsuitable applicants. I am now upfront about the fact that I have a hairy shedding dog so don’t come near my home if that’s a problem for you.
But, some humans do have an ego and seeing ‘In Review’ right away, vs having the courage to get that stupid ‘Low Applications’ label can be very difficult.
Some HO are all about not frightening away applicants for some reason (which is illogical if you have say, an oceanfront desirable property) when really they can and should be Uber picky.
Personally I don’t have the ego and I know I want the right sitter. I don’t need or want to soft through 5, 10, etc. I want 2-3 max (even that’s a chore to work through, if your listing is clear you only get very close matches).
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Yes she did. As I pointed out, unless every potential applicant was questioned as to whether they were put off by her negative review and decided not to apply, there is no way that statement can be validated.
There seems to be a belief among some members that giving a negative review is somehow “helping” the recipient. The same result can be achieved by a personal message without harming their reputation. Especially in the case of a relatively minor, unintended regression or honest mistake.
But…why does it have to be every potential sitter? Who cares if the sitter applicant pool went from a maximum of x to x-y? As long as the Ho got sitters, why does it matter if they lost a few applicants?
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Excellent question and I am happy to elaborate. Losing a few sitter applicants who decide not to apply because of a negative review might not too significant to a host who has numerous applicants however the smaller applicant pool is likely to result in a lower average sitter quality, especially if you consider that the best, most established sitters can afford to be more choosy and may only select hosts with an unblemished review record.
In the case of hosts who have trouble finding even a single applicant, a negative review can be devastating, as it would be for a sitter with few reviews to offset it.
From my own personal experience: We have 3 reviews to date, the first 2 were 5 star, the third was 5 star but a star was docked for cleanliness without any sort of explanation in the body of the review. I’m not concerned about getting a sitter but I do wonder if potential sitter applicants question the docked star and expect to be walking into a mess, and whether some might not want to chance it. I almost feel like I need to explain to potential sitters that we’re generally clean and organized people but we live in a rural area with lots of animals and the place isn’t going to be pristine unless we mop ourselves right out the front door just before the sitter arrives.
Given the connection we established with that sitter, I would have much preferred direct honesty, something to the effect of “The sit was great, just a heads up that some sitters may be put off because your house was __________ (fill in the blank with whatever caused the docked star) rather than just tarnish my host record with no clarification.
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The problem is you are are equating volume with quality, like higher applicant sit pool will lead to a better match.
The reality is actually bouncing inappropriate applicants leads to a smaller pool of applicants that can be scrubbed better, leading to higher quality match.
Some outfits line to ‘make it up on volume’ but selective, boutique outfits love to be uber-selective and exclusive.
In either case, the HO in question wasn’t one that didn’t secure a sitter.
And you don’t seem to struggle (and wouldn’t, sounds gorgeous) with applicants given your property - so why the fear? Why not be exclusive? Be Beverly Hills exclusive, not Costco gonna do big volume mentality?
Genuinely curious as to why you seem so concerned about getting applicants when your property and location are the bomb…
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Hi everyone,
This discussion has gone off-track and has become a bit personal towards individual members. Please remember our Community Guidelines state that members should be kind and respectful even if they disagree with something.
We think the thread has run its course, so we are going to close it to new replies.
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