Dear all,
I tried to read all the messages of this long forum (440 so far), but after reading more than 150 I started getting cross-eyed.
For this reason, apologies if I’m writing any question or comment that had already been quoted.
This blind review system is totally new to me as the last sitting that I completed was last August.
By the way, I did not write any review for that sitting and neither did the HO. The sitting ended on August 27th. I’m not sure of the exact date that the new system was introduced. Were we supposed to receive an email for reminding us to write the review following the new procedure?
I understand that THS is following the same idea of blind reviews of Airbnb. When the HO posts the review, Airbnb usually sends a notification email and reminds to write a review within a certain time frame. Is THS also notifying about the review being posted by the other party?
Regarding what we can or cannot see on the app/website, on the app I can see when a pet sitter took part in the sitting and didn’t leave any review of the HO.
It is also possible to see when a sitter leaves a review, but the HO does not as it is possible to access to the sitter’s profile (not sure if this was mentioned).
Reviews for pet sitters are very important, however the same for the HOs.
As a sitter, if I see a HO with a few reviews missing I also see this as a red flag as you call it, and prefer not applying.
I’m not sure if you are asking any particular question?
But re-the new 14 day blind review system it started in Dec/Jan time. The categories to rate hosts was added a little later- Feb time. It seems the reminder messages from THS are rather random- we certainly don’t receive them regularly or for each sit. You just have to remember you only have 14 days to get your review done so its good to get it out of the way quickly to avoid missing the deadline. On your own profile page- the first time you open it after a sit finishes you will get a pop up asking you to review the sit. The host should get the same- however if the host has no further sit dates listed they may not go on the site again for a while so could easily miss it. Therefore I would suggest, as a fellow sitter, to always send a review request to the host from the site the next day. If necessary follow up with a reminder of the 14 day limit so you don’t miss out on a getting your review.
There is no time limit on responding to a review you receive.
In the past it was quite common not to leave a review for fear of retaliation. But now reviews are blind that fear should be eased. Also the categories give you the opportunity to rate down in a category instead of avoiding to mention an issue completely, as was often the case before.
Not really, as the party receiving a bad review can still retaliate by replying to said review. So, expressing your feelings by not writing a review seems to be easier, or at least a much quicker way. It also doesn’t require masterful writing skills to avoid a retaliatory response (which btw I don´t mind practicing 
)
It would also be useful to have screenshots for what the sitter is asked when rating the homeowner.
TIA
Reply
JennyCommunity Manager
I’ve passed that to the team, watch this space and I’ll hopefully get some answers for you and @bronwen 
@Jenny can we have an update on this please ? Thank you
@anon47943759 Actually I agree with you!
I said the fear of retaliation should be ‘eased’ but it is not entirely removed. But responding (factually & unemotionally) to a negative review received is still not the same as receiving an actual negative review given purely in retaliation.
I know from my own experience we always requested, and waited for, our review from HO first before writing ours and what we wrote was sometimes influenced by what they wrote for us. In some cases we opted to write nothing, especially if the sit did not go great. At least that potential bias is removed now with blind reviews.
I don’t really like either system or the star rating. We all got so used to giving/expecting 5* that anything less, even dropping 1* in one category, grates!
Recently we received a review where the host wrote the review for only one of us despite having personally met both of us on a pre-sit visit & at the end! She refused to explain why and refused to get it changed (and add the other name) very strange & unfair. all we could do now is comment on it in a response to the review. We already gave them a great review. In the past I would have witheld our review until they change theirs to acknowledge us both (that did happen once before)
Hello @Silversitters The team have been looking into this for you. They are not sure of it is a small glitch or to do with timezones. The best bet if you want more information is to reach out to Membership Services as they can open a case and they will be able to collect additional information from you and liaise with the tech team.
I will also see if I can get a screenshot of what pet parents see when they are asked to leave a review. In the meantime if any owners have a screenshot feel free to share!
Thank you for your message @Lokstar
Yes, there were some specific questions, with a question mark beside 
My understanding after reading a good number of messages was that the 14 day time frame for sending the review was introduced some time in August 2023. I also read that an email from THS was going to be sent for all the sittings where reviews were not posted yet and here’s the reason of my question such as, if the HO and I should have received that email (I haven’t received it).
The other question is, I am aware that on Airbnb when one party posts a review, the other party receives an email being notified that a review has been posted, but that it is not possible to see it until the 14th day unless the other party also posts the review. I was wondering if THS sends a similar email or if once I post my review or at the end of the 14 days I see or I see not the review from the HO. I hope the question makes sense this time…
Last, these comments “Regarding what we can or cannot see on the app/website, on the app I can see when a pet sitter took part in the sitting and didn’t leave any review of the HO.
It is also possible to see when a sitter leaves a review, but the HO does not as it is possible to access to the sitter’s profile (not sure if this was mentioned).
Reviews for pet sitters are very important, however the same for the HOs.
As a sitter, if I see a HO with a few reviews missing I also see this as a red flag as you call it, and prefer not applying.”
were related to some other previous comments where somebody (I don’t remember who) said that it is not possible to see if a sitter received or not a review from a HO and this is not the case.
Also somebody else (again, I don’t remember who) said that reviews are mostly important for sitters and I think it is also important for the HO as detailed above.
I hope also this makes sense now 
Thank you.
Hi @Mokina
To briefly answer some of your questions!
The 14 day blind review system was discussed & introduced back in summer 2023 but not officially implemented till about December/Jan. We are full time sitters and the first blind review we ourselves experienced was in January 2024 when our Christmas sit finished.
THS announced that regarding any sits from the past-where a review had not yet been given- a review could still be given- but there was a cut off date sometime in November 2023 I believe, after which that option closed.
I’m sorry I don’t know exact dates. You should have received an email announcing the deadline. I did.
That means that- now- (and since Nov) no backdated reviews can be given. On the relevant sit it will say ‘review window has closed’ Unfortunately all you can do now for that August '23 sit is request a reference from the host. Its not the same as a review, and will not add to your review count, but is better than nothing! You, however, can no longer write anything for the host.
The new system is similar to Airbnb in that Yes, you do ( or should) receive an email notifying you when the host has submitted their review and inviting you to do the same. We, personally, always wait for that notification before submitting our review. I would also suggest you click the ‘review request’ button the day after a sit finishes to encourage a quick review from the host. Once you both review they will both become live. If only one side writes a review the other side will have to wait 14 days to see it.
Regarding existing reviews on profiles. If you are looking at a listing on your laptop you will see all sitters, if any, who have left a review of the sit. However if you go on the phone app you will also see those sitters who didn’t leave a review- there will be a blank space below their name. This can paint a different picture. Too many missing reviews are usually seen as red flags. You will only see those red flags on the app so its very important to check there too!
Regarding sitters- if you cross reference you will see all the reviews a sitter has received. However if a sitter did not receive a review for a particular sit nothing will show i.eYou will not see a sit with a blank space below. That sit will appear to have never existed. So its different than on host profiles where you see who the sitter was but a blank space below. On the sitter profile the sit simply does not exist…
Reviews are important for both sides- but are only helpful if they are honest! Personally I’ve always felt sitters place a higher value on reviews (than hosts do) Reviews help build up a sitters reputation and are a way to receive acknowledgement and appreciation from the host for a sit well done!
However I think the new, more equal, review system is slowly changing that.
I hope all that makes sense and is helpful! 
Thank you again for your time @Lokstar
It’s great that you and your partner are full time sitters. Did you permanently leave your home and live between sittings and accommodations? I saw @Colin and his partner are doing something similar, I read their diaries. It must be amazing.
I never received that email. However, not to worry. The HO was happy about the sitting except for one thing and it was the same for me. I was going to write a review only if they did it first which didn’t happen. It is just a pity that I worked quite hard for that sitting… never mind.
Yes, I’ve seen that the website shows only sitters who left a review while the app shows all the sitters. I’ve never understood why this difference, do you think there is any reason?
“Regarding sitters- if you cross reference you will see all the reviews a sitter has received. However if a sitter did not receive a review for a particular sit nothing will show i.eYou will not see a sit with a blank space below. That sit will appear to have never existed. So its different than on host profiles where you see who the sitter was but a blank space below. On the sitter profile the sit simply does not exist…”
Do you mean on the app or on the website?
If I find myself on the sitters list, I see that there is no mention of that sitting. However, I can search for sitters on the website not on the app (I think! I have some technical problems with my mobile phone, so I can’t verify this).
While on the HO profile as you also say, I can see myself among the sitters with a blank space below. Then if I click on the profile, it is possible to see the sitter without any review from that HO.
I am aware that there is probably not a direct way to access to this, but I have wondered if a HO can have the information of this missing review and refraining from accepting my application for their sitting?
Both. Missing reviews in sitter profiles are not visible at all. You can see it in your own profile, but nobody else can.
@CatsAndDog has answered your Q about sitter missing reviews- they do not show anywhere. However you, yourself, can see the blanks/missing reviews on your own profile. But no one else sees that. So the sit is still recorded as having happened- but only for your own information.
Re-hosts rejecting you because of missing reviews. Its highly unlikely they would ever know about them. Since they only see reviews you received, and no blank spaces, they are not prompted, in the same way, to do the detective work a sitter might do to track back on missing reviews on a sit listing.
I.e sitters have the advantage of investigating ‘red flags’ but hosts do not. So sitters have an advantage in that respect.
Yes we kept it factual, not emotional. Not the 5 star review the owners kept asking us for either (!). We prefer to leave honest feedback, otherwise how can the next person make a decision. Although we would have liked to include how rude the homeowner was towards us, we didn’t - I’m not sure how to include that in a review?
Afterwards, we received not pleasant text messages from the owner which we reported to THS.
Thank you @Lassie
Ok THS team…
I completed a review and within seconds I got this.
No one on the team read my review. Let’s keep it real please…
Good point @HelloOutThere
member services have previously stated that they view members reviews as just a matter of opinion. They definitely do not read them (unless perhaps when dispute is raised ).
@HelloOutThere - appears to be an invitation to review THS on Trustpilot although that isn’t made clear.
The previous ‘leave a review’ message was very misleading and led to reviews appearing on Trustpilot instead of on the member’s profile so they changed the wording.
Looks like they have reverted to the ambiguous approach.
My post is about THS reading my review for a home host…not the trust pilot thing.
I think Carla wrote something that THS keeps an eye on reviews with few stars.
I am sure that THS keeps track all kinds of interesting statistics.