I agree with much of this, as a sitter. I have been seeing a LOT of people using house and pet sitting as housing and much of what has been said - her phone being disconnected, her showing up late, not paying any mind to the dog, etc - says she’s got some issues and is using the platform for housing only, not for the genuine exchange. There are plenty of HO’s using the platform simply for the free pet and home care, and just as many sitters using the platform for free accommos, with neither having genuine interest in the experience of the other. A sitter made a comment here somewhere that she looks at a sit listing and if it doesnt exude hospitality she won’t even apply, which I really need to start doing myself. HO’s should be doing something similar, looking at a sitter’s profile and seeing how much they mention a genuine love for animals and the like, as well as paying attention to their message when they apply. Equal exchange, for sure, we all need to be reminded of that, and often!
You do not leave a filthy house upon departing, for any reason. If your standards for cleanliness do not match the HO’s and the HO’s photos reflect a sparkly clean house, as well as them stating that they are leaving their house clean and expect it to be in the same condition upon returning, you do not for any reason even apply for that sit if you cannot match their level of clean, it’s their home, not an Airbnb!
Hi Bonny, as a matter of interest, how do you mention that politely in your profile?
If you click on her forum name, there is a link to her sitter profile.
Thanks so much! I will give it a try.
ah yes, of course! Blame it on a lack of caffeine!
Haha I don’t say it politely, I’m blunt 
I say that we don’t sit in homes with kitchens or bathrooms that make us think ‘yuk’! Mostly HOs laugh at this if they concur with the sentiment. If it puts people off that’s a result in my mind, because why would I sit somewhere that’s not as nice as staying at home, it makes no sense to me anyway. I always mention in in the video chat as in ‘if you’re wondering about where I say in my profile about yukky bathrooms and kitchens I’m happy to say more…’ usually that creates a bit of laughter too, or if it goes the other way then I know it’s not a match.
Yes, i just checked out your profile - good for you! I’m the same too - I always look for amazing houses, unique places (boats, watermills) or in my favourite areas of London/Bath
@BonnyinBrighton @Rhe This prompted me to see how I show it in my profile:
I also admit to being a bit of a neat-freak when it comes to my home, and I’ll do my best to be the same with yours.
It’s worked for me for the past 11 years. 
Dig a little deeper and you’ll see that one of the HOs themselves got dinked a star by another sitter for the home’s cleanliness so their standards were non too great… and possibly didn’t notice the sitter was careless at housekeeping.
Well, I find myself invested and interested in topics for only a short amount of time and that time has passed! I gave it a good hour and that’s about it for me. That said, the star ratings aren’t always accurate, the system is pretty glitchy so I’d go on what has been said in a review without paying all that much mind to the star ratings.
@carpediem16 I have to say here, I think it’s a bit judgemental and assuming to say that if a sitter has never owned a home, doesn’t own one currently, they’re going to be far less conscientious, even grossly negligent and disrespectful with others’ homes. I am 50 years old, have never ever had an interest in being a home OWNER because why would I, I’m a single woman who loves to travel so why have that overhead? I’ve also been exchange sitting for more than 25 years, long before this platform was an idea and have more than 35 sits thus far on this platform alone since joining a couple of years ago, and I do longer term sits. My reviews are all 5-stars, glowing reviews, I leave homes immaculate upon leaving, and they are kept very tidy during my stay. No breakage, no damage, nada. Pets always so well cared for and loved. I am very conscientious of others’ homes and find it quite insulting that you or anyone else would think that I’m a dirty heathen because I’ve never enslaved myself to a mortgage. Lol. A LOT of Europeans don’t own homes their entire lives, they oftentimes rent forever until they die. I mean, I understand what you’re trying to say but what you’re actually saying isn’t very nice.
(Edited to comply with the Forum guidelines)
I’m saying this was what the HO’s said and I do get it. We had a similar experience. I also stated that I know there are plenty of ppl who never owned homes or are full time sitters who are reliable and responsible.
For the HO’s this was a factor they felt significant. Totally within their right to feel this way. We had a similar experience but understand this does not mean 100% of people who have never owned homes are not very neat, clean and conscientious. Everyone needs to use various parameters when selecting total strangers to live in their home. This happens to be one. If you have a bad experience with a certain profile of a house sitter, it is very possible you are unlikely to select a similar one next time.
Some HO’s may not select us bc we have never been dog owners. We have taken very good care of all the dogs we’ve sat for and also have nothing but 5 star ratings. But dog owners have the right to use this criteria when selecting sitters. That’s all.
No one is implying you are a dirty heathen. You read more into my comment than what is there.
I’ve done 31 sits in the US and most HOs don’t want to see you before or after!
Hosts are usually there to greet me (including often offering airport or train station pickups). If so, they invite me to dinner.
I usually leave before they return. In cases when I’m still there, they’ve offered to take me out for a meal.
Some have dropped me off at the train station or my next location. Like in one case, I went to sightsee for a couple of days in the next village over, so my host drove me there.
All these folks offered — I never ask anyone for pickup or drop-off
Some hosts even invited me to stay extra if I wanted to do more sightseeing.
OK but did you intend to eat the eggs after 2 weeks away?
As sitters, we prefer to leave before the hosts return.
As HOs, we prefer that sitters depart prior to our return home.
That’s just what we’ve done. Everyone should do whatever makes them most comfortable.
This hasn’t been my experience.
In most cases I’m invited to stay the night before at minimum. For afterward, I let the host decide. Sometimes they prefer to have me stay over an extra night if they’re coming back late, sometimes I just stay for an in-person hand-over & report. Occasionally I’ve left prior to the host(s) returning, but never until we all know they’re on the final leg of their journey, so there’s the bare minimum chance the pets will get stranded without care due to travel snafus.
I’m a HO and want to meet the sitter in person. We always leave very early in the morning so we ask the sitter to stay the night and we return very and have the sitter spend the night. I add these days to my listing when I post. I’ve only had one sitter not spend the night at the beginning, but they came over to meet my dog and go over the house. We went out to dinner after that and had a great time.
Regarding not taking on a “plus-one”, not even a married couple? The feedback I got from a couple (HO) they preferred couples over solo-sitters because of their large brood of fur-babies. I suppose if one only had one fur-babe then 2 sitters wouldn’t be necessary, but we got that gig (
).