It’s worth mentioning this in your listing, since some sitters have health conditions affected by heat or cold, and others may not realize how expensive utilities can be in your area.
For instance, a friend of mine grew up with geothermal heating that was virtually free — it took her years (and her first gas bill) to understand how costly gas heat can be elsewhere. Another friend adores chilly environments and prefers to keep his thermostat at 53 degrees Fahrenheit, which I could never tolerate - but he’d be a great sitter for you! A quick note about your local costs and a reminder, in writing, when they arrive helps set expectations and keeps everyone comfortable.
If you can, you might want to offer them a warm robe, a cardigan and a lap blanket to use during their stay, with a reminder that those can be helpful when they get chilly. Many sitters travel light and might not have enough layers to truly stay warm in your house. If my host offered me a warm robe to use (making it clear it was a loan, not a gift), I’d be kind of charmed and would definitely think twice before turning up the heat.
Very curious. I can only think, from what you said about them being younger, they haven’t lived on their own enough to realize that is irresponsible and potentially costly. I wonder why they had to open those cabinets too, and both bedroom doors? Had you welcomed them to use the primary bedroom?
If they took good care of your home and pets otherwise I’d likely give 5* overall with 3 or 4 in the relevant category and mention the specific issues briefly and factually. As an HO I read all comments and appreciate knowing when things aren’t perfect but also try not to ding a sitter for what, in the end, is not a huge issue. You might wait a couple days and make sure nothing else comes to light before reviewing.
You don’t need to state emotions (like disappointment), one can just say that you had given advice on how to handle fans etc., and found them all on at your return.
It could be something like
«The sitters were friendly and communicative, and I appreciated the updates they sent during their stay. Instructions regarding energy use and home care were not followed, for instance multiple fans and A/C units was left running with windows open. Some cabinets marked as off-limits were accessed. The pets seems happy, which was our main concern. I hope this helps for future sits.»
If it was only the shower that was not clean I don’t think I would mention it, as I would find that minor and could have been forgotten.
For energy usage in the future, it could also be an option to discuss what is normal usage in the home and that sitters could reimburse you if there is a surplus, and/ or make an option available for them to monitor their energy usage if there is a meter, an app or similar.
There are also the pets to consider with temperature. Sitting at the moment with heatwave conditions in the UK. Homes are not built for the heat. We have fans running almost constantly and two playing on the dog during the hottest part of the day. This won’t cost much as fans are cheap. Leaving aircon on with windows open is unfathomable to me.
Our approach is to use a Nest thermostat. We can program it for different periods of heat through the day. We/sitters can manually override the program setting but the thermostat overrides any manual setting at the beginning of the next programmed time slot. If a sitter increases our utility usage because they manually override the programmed schedule, they obviously were uncomfortable and we chalk up the extra cost as a reasonable cost of accommodating our sitter.
They probably have no experience of running a house, hence the lack of cleaning, and excessive use of energy. Leave a factual and unemotional review. They are not 5 star sitters, I would give them 4 stars.
I’m so sorry this has happened, it would be my biggest fear if I were the home owner. I am super careful with utility costs, partly for environmental reasons and partly because I’ve always had very limited finances.
Even if the home owner encourages me to turn up the heat I resist. I find the temperatures that some people live in completely unbearable. I would much rather be provided with cosy throws and a hot water bottle. I have even had a dressing gown and a pair of cosy slippers socks, or sheepskin slippers, provided for me on some sits and that would be my preference.
I mention in my profile that I am frugal with heat.
I have had the opposite problem though, I have asked for the heat to be turned off and been refused. I think they were quite insulted they said they wouldn’t turn it off because they could afford it.
You could possibly mention in your profile that you try to be economical with hearing and offer to supply the items I have suggested.
As for Aircon, I loath it so it’s very unlikely I would have it on at all, even if the temp is in the high 30°Cs. I might have to turn it on briefly if it were in the 40s.
I live in the tropics so it’s pretty much in the high 80’s - 90’s here in the summer and mostly in the mid to high 70’s in the winter . And my a/c doesn’t really get cold enough to warrant a robe, plus I have it on “economy”, so it regulates to go off at a certain temperature (74 is what they had it on).
These are not five-star sitters. I’d review them factually.
As a sitter, I expect to be able to control heating or air conditioning, so pets and I can be comfortable, but I wouldn’t waste electricity. Like my current and previous hosts this summer have specifically said I’m welcome to adjust the air conditioning as I see fit.
At my current sit, they have zoned central air, so I turn it up or down depending on what time of day or night and whether I’ll be spending my time on which floor, awake or asleep.
I also keep a checklist when sitting, so I restore the thermostat to whatever the normal setting would be before I leave. It’s part of my checkout process, along with cleaning X, Y or Z.
I’m a five-star sitter across the board and have never left a shower or bath dirty, either. I clean and reset homes to however clean and tidy they were handed off to me.
As for updates, I usually do them at least once a day, as discussed with hosts, unless they prefer to not get them. I find that hosts overwhelmingly enjoy receiving daily updates on my sits, which are usually one or two weeks long.
And if I were told to not open something, I wouldn’t.
It depends on the HO. For instance, I stayed with my dad for four days, “helping” him downsize (think lots of physical labor). He complained to my sister that his electric bill doubled because I had the air on 70°F/21°C.
L🤣L
For future sitters, perhaps 1-2 days before the sit ends, you could send a text stating: Please make sure all the doors and windows are shut and locked before you leave, and please turn off all lights, fans, and AC units also.
You could put this in your Welcome Guide, but you don’t want to sound too bossy if you make a list of 20 things for the sitter to do before they leave (even though that is the reality!).
I would choose more mature sitters who own their own home and thus perhaps are more understanding about using electricity.
Also, after your review of them AND their review of you have been published, you might consider sending them an email outlining where they fell down on the job. Constructive criticism might help them.
Yes, and for some people double the bill is thirty dollars instead of 15. If we’re talking a thousand instead of 500 - then we’ve got a problem! As a sitter I would definitely want to know. For sure I’d choose to stay at a hotel instead of a sit if I knew I couldn’t be comfortable..
Ok, now I just found that they used pretty much all of my honey, the jar is 30 oz., I only used about 5 oz. and they left another 5. So they used about 20 ounces. They also drank the soft drinks I had in the fridge and possibly (I’m not positive) an unopened container of Greek Yogurt (Costco size). I don’t know if they vacuumed before leaving, but this is the first time my feet were actually dirty when I went to shower. I told them to leave their footwear at the doormat, not in the home. So not sure if that’s they followed that. Now I’m very unhappy. I hate doing it, but I do think they are 4 star because too many issues. Oh, and I noticed that one of my necklaces (fashion jewelry) was not in it’s correct place. I actually took a photo of my jewelry cabinet before I left. Ugh!
I don’t want to sound Simon-Pure, but I’m sometimes astounded by how some sitters seem to live in bubbles. I happen to be a Brit and a pretty cold-hardy one at that; my own heating never goes above 17degs C and only kicks in when the temperature hits 14. Anything above about 22 feels hot to me. Does that mean that, when sitting in a hot country, I run the a/c 24/7..? Nope. Because I’m aware that…………..gasp! ……….. It uses power. And that power has to be paid for. I’m not paying for it, so the decent thing to do is be mindful of the amount I use. It’s just common thoughtfulness, regardless of your native climate.
As an aside, I know I’m old, but no wonder the biosphere’s either burning or choking..!
@DieFledermaus I could have written this myself although the temperatures quoted would have been lower because I have spent a lot of my life financially challenged.
@ecco I’m glad you waited to write the review, and sorry you found more issues. Definitely not 5*, on a generous day I’d give 4, maybe 3. Did you invite them to use your supplies (like, help yourself to pantry items)? You haven’t mentioned, but were your pets well cared for (if you have them)? Please definitely review honestly, I’d be very disappointed knowing sitters were poking around my personal stuff.
No I did not say help yourself or use anything. I only mentioned that some of my spices are old, but I still use them. But seeing that they have been snooping in my stuff and helping themselves to whatever they needed/wanted is not cool at all. The reason I’m torn is that they did seem to take good care of my pet and my pet seemed happy and content in all the video’s and photo’s. And it seems like they have no idea that they did anything out of the ordinary. She even texted that they would love to sit for me in the future. I think going forward, I’m gonna go back to my sitter using my guest room, and only a single person.
I’ll be reviewing next week before the 14 days.
Honey is expensive. I definitely would have replaced that if I had used it. Same goes for an unopened large container of yogurt. A few sodas—not a big deal, right?
Best to be clear with future sitters.
If you add up all of your food and drinks that they used up, and then divide by 18 days of pet and house sitting, you might not feel so frustrated about it.
I am curious what your electricity bill will be, compared to the usual. Please let us all know when you get your next bill! Again, divide the EXTRA energy used by 18 days, and ask yourself if the exchange is fair (housing accommodation for the sitters versus pet/house care for you).
