I saw a sit in 2018 on another site just a few months before the Covid started, there were also no reviews after three sits. It wasn’t too far from me, and so I took a ride over the next Sunday afternoon, (ride as in on a motorcycle), I parked nearby and went slowly past the house, 2 very friendly dogs were looking over the fence so I stopped and stroked them. They were obviously very well looked after, and not threatening at all, even though they were both quite large. A few minutes later someone came into the front garden and we started chatting about the dogs. Eventually the subject turned to holidays, and being away for a couple of weeks. I mentioned that there were dogsit opportunities on various different websites, and he mentioned the sit he had advertised, asking me if I was interested at all. I said that I’d think about it, and that I would look at the website. I accepted the sit and in the end spent 10 wonderful days with 2 large mongrels who were very well trained, both on and off the lead. I was offered the use of the car, a Volvo estate car for taking the dogs out and going on trips around the area. On arrival one day before the family left. I was greeted by the entire family, incl. the grandmother who lived next door. I sent photos regularly, and also links to an app I use showing where I had been each day. When they returned I’d cooked a meal for them and stayed the night before going home. I mentioned the empty reviews, and they gave a very good reason explaining it which I tend to believe. The first was supposed to be a single person but 4 men turned up, there was naturally a discussion, and he had accepted the group, who had smoked in the entire house, he showed me dated photos of the way it looked, the second was a young girl who had left 2 days earlier than planned and had left the dogs with the grandmother, saying she was fed up. The third had written them a very nice email afterwards apologising for forgetting the review. He stated in the email that it was a 5* stay, and totally recommended. I remembered in time and made my review. You can guess how it turned out. We’ve become good friends since then, and I’ve recently been invited to the daughters wedding next year.
The moral of this story is, NEVER go by first impressions!
Sounds wonderful @RickH. I’ve done sits for a number of new HO’s on THS. 2 of those have turned into friends and repeat sits.
I generally judge by the video chat I have with the HO. I explain the importance of the welcome guide and I’m happy to help with it if they wish.
@richten1 we have also done quite a few sits for new hosts without reviews. All have been good, some have been excellent. Two are now regular repeat sits.
With newbies, the riskiest are ones who don’t have enough life experience and generosity of spirit to understand the value exchange of THS. And when I say life experience, I don’t mean age necessarily. Like some people grew up with families who know how to extend hospitality, even though they’re young.
About first impressions: We all go off them at some points, because there’s not enough time to go do due diligence on everyone or everything in life, whether sitting or otherwise. It also comes down to opportunity cost. There are sits for example that will likely turn out to be terrific AND there are good signals to indicate that already, so if it comes down to two sits and one has good signals, it would be logical to take that one, unless you want to take a risk for personal reasons or preferences.
Generally, I’m wary of newbies, but sometimes there are great ones in the mix.
For example, I did a sit for a pair of new hosts in the U.K., for my first sit abroad. I used our video chat to figure out whether they’d be good hosts. They turned out to be terrific. We still keep in touch. I gave them a chance, because they were in a great location.
They’d been referred to THS by a neighbor and when I arrived I got to meet her and other neighbors and friends. They invited me to tea and a lecture. And they checked on me when I felt poorly, offered to bring me food and medicine. Everyone was so kind. I couldn’t have had a better set of hosts or their neighbors and friends.
I have another newbie pair of hosts coming up, two sits away. We also screened each other mutually. I gave them a chance, because I used to live in their neighborhood, across the country. I know the area well and love it and plan to telecommute and see friends for lunches or dinners, as I told my hosts.
Both of the pairs of hosts above also fit into a similar profile — retired professionals with clean, comfortable homes in areas I wanted to visit and with pets I knew I could manage. Chatting with them all, I could tell they were the kind of people who already knew how to be great hosts, regardless of whether they’re new to THS. And of course, their pets are / seem like sweeties.
That’s a lovely story. Happy for you it worked out. Although, you had an initial reaction to the lack of reviews as well or you wouldn’t have investigated. What if you were not able to drive by the house, meet the dogs, talk to the HO? That’s the situation most people are in. Generally, a high percentage of non reviews is indeed a red flag.