I was deep diving on a sitter who applied to my current Housesit. I saw she only had 1 X 5 review, no others. So I looked at her review of the HO, which was 5 . I noticed something though… this HO had 11 Sitter reviews of her home, she replied with something nice to only 3 of the 11 but all had given her 5 (The Replies to Sitter’s reviews were: 1. my dogs miss you too, 2. You guys were great! Never had a worry. 3. we look forward to hang out again)…..The rest she didn’t reply at all. Is there a hidden message here (ie. Sitter wasnt worthy or a reply reiterating how wonderful they were?)? Still learning the tricks to inferring on THS, as it is a definite art form .
I never Reply to Sitter reviews given to me as a HO which are all 5 , and I have given 5 to my 6 Sitters I’ve used thus far. Only been on the site for 13 months.
AND I just switched to Dual Membership and have my first sit in April. I want to know what the protocols or possible hidden meanings are if I DO or DO NOT reply to peoples nice reviews in either direction. Is it possible it’s different around the globe?? I am an American living in Mexico, planning sits mostly in US.
Good question @MTBer. For me, I’d be hesitant about applying to a host who makes a habit of either leaving no review or writes very little. I don’t feel they appreciate the equal exchange. Reviews are important for both sitters and hosts today whereas when I joined, reviews for owners were not common. It was all about sitters being reviewed.
As to responding to a review received, that’s entirely up to you and may depend on the actual content of the review. My responses, when given, have always been for a sit I have loved and the hosts have expressed their appreciation of the care I have provided. I have not received any negative reviews but should that happen, I would respond, as recommended, in a factual and non-emotional way.
It wouldn’t bother me. Maybe they liked those 3 the best, or maybe they just didn’t have time to reply to all 11 sitter reviews.
With only one review for this sitter though, it can be hit or miss. I’m sure you have other applicants - do they have more platform experience? If so it’s fine to decline this one and just note you were hoping for an applicant with a bit more experience. Or schedule a video chat and go with your gut instinct about this applicant.
I didn’t know for a very long time that you could respond to a review. I have 10 5* reviews for a HO and I’ve never responded to a review. I have sent private messages to sitters thanking them for the review. I don’t think it really matters unless it’s responding to a negative review.
I think sometimes we overthink things. Go with your gut instinct, that’s the best way rather than trying to read into something that probably isn’t there.
I don’t think the OP was suggesting she didn’t want the applicant because of having one review, which was 5 star anyway. We’ve all applied to a listing with one review, so not fair of you to suggest she might decline this one.
I think we understood. Not necessary to reply to a good review given. As a sitter I usually say something like “thank you for your lovely review”, but it’s a personal choice and, as @ziggy says, don’t read anything into that, the initial review is what matters
Occasionally I leave very poetic and detailed reviews, occasionally I leave three lines of everything went fine. These differences tell about which part of my menstrual cycle I was during the writing, nothing more. Usually hosts answer to the more poetic, detailed reviews. They often have not replied to other sitters. Also some first time hosts reply to reviews, and then stop it along the way. I never answer to a review, mainly so that I can have the last word in case the host would reach out with something after the review period is over.
I, as an over thinker, say that in the example of OP it is too much overthinking. You can do that, of course, we can choose whoever we want on whichever barometers, but there is a limit of how much better choice you can do with how much extra work.
Please do. I mean there is no agreement about secret messages in THS. Even the lack of reviews for sits that have taken place can be a red flag or can have a very reasonable explanation with no negative associations.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read between the lines. I read what’s written, not what is not mentioned.
Going back to your original question, I sometimes have replied to a review and sometimes a HO had replied to mine. There’s no message there. I think I have replied after receiving a reply, out of politeness.
At the beginning, I wrote shorter reviews, then I joined the forum and learnt that lots of people were frustrated by short reviews even if they are great. So I decided to write detailed reviews and mention some facts for every category. This doesn’t mean those sits were any better than the first ones I reviewed.
@MTBer We are sitters and Homeowners. We don’t respond to reviews. Except one time when a sitter, in spite of their 5-star review of our home, stated one factual error and so we politely and briefly clarified it.
We tend not to respond to reviews publicly but we do sometimes send a private message thanking the HO if we had a great connection. Occasionally a host may respond to our review. I notice when cross referencing sits that some people respond to every review given and some people don’t even give a review to start with! As others have said reviews are very important both ways these days. (It used to be mainly for sitters) In a nutshell- Reviews are expected but responses to reviews are not. Just do what feels right for you.
review, no others. So I looked at her review of the HO, which was 5 
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