House cleaning at end of sit - your thoughts?

That’s brilliant! :rofl:

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Let’s get down to the nitty gritty here.

Pet sitting v Airbnb holiday

Pet sitting.
The sitter is taking on a commitment to look after the pets and property. The host is taking on a commitment to provide the sitter with a clean and safe environment to stay while looking after their pets and property. Each party discusses how this is going to happen. In exchange for the stay and pet care the host deserves ( and I use that word deliberately) to come home to the pet and property in the same state as they left it.

Airbnb stay
A guest is paying a fee plus cleaning costs to stay somewhere. They have no other commitments than to do what they want to do. They can come and go as they please. It is good manners to run the dishwasher, wipe the kitchen surfaces and tidy (a little) but there is no expectations to clean. That’s why they are paying a cleaning and laundry fee.

Now can you see the differences?
Airbnb stay, free and easy life. No commitments. Come and go as you please but costs.
Pet and property stay. Look after pets and property as the owner asks. Have to factor in pet care before doing anything personal. Leave the property as you find it. No money changes hands.

We can all use free will and decide which one we prefer but we cannot treat a pet/property sit like an Airbnb stay. There is no comparison.

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I don’t think you can compare an AirBnB (and I’ve certainly never stayed at one charging $200 a night!) with pet/house sitting. I do both. And I can tell you that they’re totally different experiences. As a sitter, it’s not just the responsibility for the animals; you’re responsible for someone’s entire home. I take that very seriously indeed. If I want a financially free holiday, I stay with a friend or relative. If I want a care-free holiday, I stay in a hotel or (Air)BnB. I certainly don’t take on a sit.

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I have never stayed in a place that was super dirty. Most are spotless and lovely. I just had an interview for a place I applied for before my vacation, so didn’t chat. And luckily, there was a better sit that popped up yesterday, got the phone call and booking before the chat on the prior one happened. Got the whatsapp call and the house was a mess. Yes, they just got back from a trip but it was the clutter. And looked at the pictures again and there was clutter, just grouped together on counters etc to look like less. And I would have had to sleep on the child’s trundle bed. Luckily I booked the other trip and withdrew, there was a conflict going from one to the other. But I realized it would have been difficult to tidy and clean before I left and only a 2 night stay. My first experience in dealing with a possibly unpleasant stay.

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Hard NO on that. :woman_facepalming:t2::no_entry_sign::no_good_woman:t2:

I always ask about the lint brush, or clothes roll as you put it. One place showed me their pet attachment on the vaccum, which was really good. If I am leaving early, I sometimes vacuum the day before, but tell them in my exit notes. Never had an issue with getting 5 stars on cleaning.

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I was (and am) a paid local house sitter first and doing a thorough clean/tidy of the home on the wrap up day is my practice and I think has been a huge reason why our clients keep coming back - because we leave the place immaculate. Even though TH sits are free, I carry over this standard to those sits and yes, spend a few hours on the final day cleaning the kitchen (parts I used like the stove or oven, wipe the fridge, counters), vaccuum, make sure bathrooms are clean, trash & recycle is emptied. But I will say we only sit in super clean, tidy homes anyway, so this sweep on the last day is not awful and I am happy to leave the house tidy because I value that personally.

If I were an HO, I would not want to return to a home that was worse than I left it, that much I know.

But I think for the average TH sitter, to leave the place as you found it, if not better, is a good practice. That’s it.

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