And even outside the US, I’ve stayed in some places where there is a bus stop, but it’s like 2 in the morning, 2 at night, and 1 mid-day. So it’s more for commuters to the nearby city not for just running errands through the day.
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Deleting because I sound repetitive.
Maggie8K covered most of them.
Top for me is lack of photos. It is my pet peeve when there are no photos of ALL the living spaces the sitter will have access to. And the worst is when there are only photos of the pets and no inside home photos. Makes me nuts.
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@carpediem16 I totally agree! I notice sit listings like this, every day. Why on earth do some pet parents assume that sitters don’t need to see the interior of homes which they’ll be occupying?
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I have seen AI generated postings on some amazing looking sits. They sound so bizarre… written in third person. I am surprised that the owners don’t review them before posting. It tells me that they don’t care much. Even if say they are not english speakers they can ask someone to review it.
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Removing the first line is what makes the difference, IMHO.
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Would be great if homeowners could specify on their listing if it’s a dealbreaker that someone comes and stays the night before, especially if they have cats, as I think it’s rare for cat sitting.
I recently had a HO say I sounded perfect, so I kept the dates free. She didn’t have space for a video call for a few days though. Then on the call she said she’d only have me if I came the night before, and that they were leaving at 4am. I couldn’t do this because of work arrangements. I do wish she had specified this was a must on the listing so I didn’t unnecessarily keep the days free for her, consequentially missing out on other sits I could have applied for.
This is a fantastic list! I agree with all of these.
Maggie8K covered most of them, but a few more:
Owner says in listing that you are to do a total house cleaning before departure, including floors, etc. Basically wants a professional house cleaning on top of the sit.
Short listings with minimal information. I don’t want to have to fill it all in on a phone call or Zoom. I want to know up front what the sit, animals and location are like. Also the more the owner writes, the more you get a sense of who they are and what their expectations are.
Listings with minimal photos, or with more than one photo of the owners (I find this very strange as we don’t care what they look like) or just photos of the pet(s). Especially when there are no photos of the house, including showing where the sitter will sleep and bathroom they will use.
Animals that require help due to medical conditions. I will no longer sit for geriatric animals that are near death, or animals that require things like an asthma inhaler treatment every day, or given pills or shots, etc. (The owners always said this was easy, which it might be for them, but was not for me!)
Mention that animals may act out in any way – biting, scratching, peeing and pooping on floor or furniture, running away, etc. All animals may do these things now and then, but mentioning it in listing suggests that it happens often. No thanks.
Significant maintenance required for house/property that suggests owner really needs a property caretaker, not a sitter.
Isolated properties (others may not feel that way). I usually drive to sits, so needing a car is not a problem, but being in a very isolated strange place makes me uneasy.
Resistance from owner to answering questions from me about nearby transit, stores, restaurants or anything else. Suggests owner sees you as a servant who has no needs and shouldn’t want to be comfortable or enjoy yourself.
I’m sure I’ll think of more but that’s a start!
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As a side note, I lived for decades in a city with a high crime rate. When I see listings for that city (often), they always say their neighborhood is safe. Babe, there are NO safe neighborhoods in that city! I lived in the safest one for 20 years and almost all our neighbors were at some point burgled, had their cars broken into or stolen, there were home invasions, robberies at gunpoint, etc. I feel it’s a form of deception that could endanger sitters.
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I have seen HO’s downplaying things too, but rather with pets…
“He is easy to care for, low maintenance”
and the reviews say the dog is very energetic and in cryptic language not low maintenance.
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Lack of any information at all on the pet care section of the listing… just leaving it blank.
Or just the slight above of “look after the (pets)” or “walk the dogs”.
On the former, just… what? You don’t feel like letting folks know anything about what your pets need or is wanted is important to mention?
On the latter, that is not information. Those are words, yes. That is not information lol. That’s basically just confirming the pets exist lol.
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Completely agree. But for me it’s not necessarily a nope if there’s a positive feeling in the listing. I have had some wonderful experiences with not very specific listings, it was just out of inexperience. It’s true that the process of getting the information is a bit tiresome, though.
Probably already mentioned in this thread but extreme time restrictions on leaving the house. I just declined a sit upon finding out that the sitter can only leave the house for up to 2 hours. This is a sit for a young, healthy cat so no apparent reason for the 2-hour restriction. They also require photos and videos to be sent 3-4 times a day. It was a sit where I have some family in the area. But if I can’t leave the house long enough to visit them, there is no reason for me to travel there.
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@systaran . . . Astonishing! Yes, I would scroll as fast as possible past this one. I wonder how the PP manage their own lives with this 2-hour restriction. When I see such unreasonable expectations, I do wonder if some PPs think THS pays us for this. 
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They do @RosiePosie, have had exactly that conversation. THS hires the sitters & then the HOs choose the one they want!! No wonder it’s messed up. #changethemessagingths
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I think this is exactly why it makes sense to ALWAYS have a chat before accepting a sit. Even if someone has used THS before, it doesn’t mean they understand it. I’ve also gotten it from both ends: Suspicious hosts asking for social media and references AND sitters who feel ripped off because I chose to go with someone more experienced.
Maybe I’m an optimist when it comes to education and training, but I don’t think it would be the worst thing to put together a five minute video on How to get the most out your membership.
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where the heck is this so I know to avoid it! 
Oakland (SF Bay Area)