IShe didnt have a regular cleaner, so it would have been a one off, hence our reluctance.
That did cross my mind as I worked as a domestic cleaner for several years. Good cleaners are never short of work. The same could be said of THS sitters depriving paid sitters of work.
I think the cleaning thing is leave as you find it.
We clean up as we go so last day is just bed changing and final wipe down.
I can think of many sits that were left cleaner than when we arrived as I hate mess and unclean places.
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Depends on the circumstances, but my hosts wouldn’t have hired a sitter if I weren’t here — they would’ve left her with their grown kids’ families. They didn’t, because their dog would’ve had much less attention with those families with young children and pets of their own. But that would still be preferable to say boarding her at a kennel, which they wouldn’t have done.
By contrast, most people wouldn’t ask their family or friends or neighbors to clean their home instead of a paid cleaner.
Since you have received 4 stars on more than one occasion for tidiness and cleaning, there may be something you’re missing. Do you take stock of the condition of the home when you arrive and strive to leave it the same way you found it?
Do you ask questions up front about expectations such as whether or not they want you to wash the sheets and towels or just strip it, do they want you to mop the floors, etc.? You may find you don’t have to do as much as you thought you had to do. In large multi-story homes you could save yourself some cleaning time by closing part of the house off when you arrive.
The fact that you’ve chosen a digital nomadic lifestyle so have a lot of your own stuff to organize and pack, is neither here nor there to the homeowner. If you’ve walked into a clean home, then that’s how it should be left. Just something to consider.
If you applied to stay at my house and I noticed you had received fewer stars for cleaning and tidiness on more than one occasion, I would definitely ask you about that up front and if I chose you I’d make sure we agree on expectations.
I’m also a petsitter on this site so know the other side of this, too.
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I often leave it cleaner than I found it, in my opinion. That’s why I think the “leave it as you found it” metric is a bit skewed. To some HOs they are thrilled with the condition while others randomly give four stars without communicating why.
I do think there is a slight distortion for HOs coming home to their own house after a guest versus when they leave, and yes a slight skew of the language of the platform to where they rate us as a service worker instead of a houseguest. I’ve learned to be more proactive about the discussion upfront and perhaps go over a checklist…if the checklist is too long on the HO’s part I may try to explain and negotiate or simply pass. But I’m also not going to sweat unexplained 4 star ratings. One time an HO did answer about it and it was very small, picky stuff that she never communicated about prior to that return home.
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Houseowner here, who has just spent several days deep cleaning my little cottage in preparation for a four night sit and it still looks scruffy! I hate house work and apart from kitchen and bathroom hygiene do little unless I’m expecting guests. I am the epitome of the poem ‘Dust if you must’ … life is too short! Given that context, I become anxious imagining how strangers see my home which I describe as ‘well lived in’! My only expectation is that my house sitters leave my home as clean as they found it but I don’t expect masses of dusting and cleaning, especially on a short sit. I am happy for them to strip the bed and leave the laundry for me to deal with in my own time. I suppose we’re all different and many people are more house proud than me. I think reading the comments is more important that the number of stars. If they’re less than four I would want to see a good reason why. So far I have been delighted with the sitters who have visited and most importantly my little dog Pippin has been happy. 
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Yes, I’m in favour of ditching the star rating, because of its ambiguity, especially when one or more stars are deducted. We really need an explanation as to why they are deducted, and a star rating just does not explain anything. For me, in my recent sit, I was deducted a star for pet care, because I didn’t send photos of the cat during my stay. The HO didn’t ask me to send any photos, but considering she wanted some, then why didn’t she just ask? She also said that the cat wasn’t happy. How did she even know that, and why would that be my fault, since the cat ate every day, and did not shy away from my pats, but somehow, that was my fault that she was allegedly unhappy? Some of these HO, either have high expectations of their sitters, or are somewhat delusional.
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I appreciate this post 
I do think most HOs that dock a star here or there are still happy overall. I just wish TH would edit the language around the cleaning and maybe include more detail, perhaps in the Welcome Guide or at the time of ratings, ie: “please rate in accordance with agreed upon and instructed cleaning” and a note to remember that Housesitters are not paid, trained cleaning staff, but rather nomads and travelers who love pets and can watch and enjoy the home as a guest.
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Exactly this—expectations which are not communicated, and then maybe excused as “other sitters did xyz” or “I would have done xyz/expected xyz” after the sit and rating period.
When you’re screening a sit I think HOs can also be in a rush and perhaps in a scramble to find someone so they’re very laid back, then suddenly the rating makes them find fault.
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Yes and if cleaning expectations were included clearly in the Welcome Guide !
No no, no splatters. Nowhere in my posts have I stated that I left a mess anywhere because I don’t do that of course. I leave places clean and tidy! Just saying there might be one fingerprint on a stove or one spoon in the dishwasher from the final morning. There may be fur or paw prints which appeared in the moments before the HO arrive because your walk and play schedule with the pet continues. Those are the only small things I can think of because everything else is clean and ready, as clean as or better than when I arrived. I think a lot of these star dock situations are just small things that are not communicated. Ie maybe they wanted the bedsheets loaded in the washer but never said so.
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If you’re cleaning as you’ve described, I’m wondering whether you’re picking the wrong hosts or sit homes.
I say that, because I don’t ask anyone for cleaning specifics, other than about sheets. And very few hosts have specified cleaning expectations — one or two out of my 18 sits — and yet we’ve gotten along fine and they’ve given me five stars on cleanliness every time. I live clean, but I just restore homes to how I found them. Like I don’t clean anything I’ve not used and I don’t spend that much time cleaning.
I do screen very carefully for mutual matches by looking for red or yellow flags in listings, reviews hosts have written and received, msgs we trade and our video chat. I consider tone and substance, and avoid any hosts who seem unreasonable, entitled, etc., especially folks who seem to think they’re hiring.
To me, screening hosts in the most important thing, because they’re the biggest potential dealbreakers, no matter how nice the sit.
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I completely agree.
I don’t ask because I take it for granted that the deal is: I leave everything as I find it.
In my case, only one out of 25 owners have given specific cleaning instructions in the Welcome Guide. Ironically enough, they start saying “ We don’t expect deep cleaning, just tidying up! Before you leave, please:” and then a check list of the usual things I do, which is basically leave things as I found them. I thought it sounded condescending to suggest that a deeper cleaning could otherwise be expected. Anyway, the sit went well as usual and I got my 5 stars across, as usual.
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Yes, I will not do that again. The H.O. docked a star for me in cleaning after their Housekeeper was there!
And I remade the bed, washed all of the towels.
At the same time I had so many surprises because the Welcome Guide was so outdated and did not even include their dog that I watched for 4 weeks.
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Is one ever truly sorry for being cruel?I think if you truly are you avoid doing it in the first place.
I have read many of the reactions here, some sympathetic, some not as much. But what I felt compelled to communicate to you is that you are not alone. Some people don’t get it because they don’t know what it’s like to do this on your own let alone while being a nomad and never having a place to go back to where you can rest and recuperate. I know because I was that person for well over a year of my life and I understand how hard it can be. Of course it could be argued that your personal problems and challenges are not the HO’s problem. But there are also home owners who don’t make it easy on the sitter and more often than not people like us will overlook that and still give them 5 stars. Most home owners I sat for have been kind and generous. But there are always a few who are unempathetic and irrational and don’t factor in some important elements when evaluating the situation… Such as the fact that the pets may not behave the same way with a stranger than they would with the owners. Or that it may not be as easy for one person to make everthing perfect in a large house on a big lot with several pets as it may be for a family who share the tasks in their own home. The bottomline is, you are justified in how you feel and I can only hope that you won’t let the more challenging experiences get you down. As a final note I just want to mention that for those who say it’s just a star, and it’s not such a big deal, it very much can be if the amount of places available in the area you need. is limited. Because it can be challenging to get what you need sometimes even with a perfect track record. And that extra element of restriction brought on by a lower rating can be something you simply cannot afford when you are doing this full time and need to stay in a certain area.
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Yeah I’m kind of surprised at the “shaming” responses but I’m also willing to bet those people are not in quite the same situation, or simply just don’t want to be supportive…in a support forum. It’s their own hangup. A lot of them are ignoring details or taking things down the wrong road, but what it signifies is that this is just a hot topic, I suppose.
And I do think the lifestyle details are important, they are something I communicate with every HO in the initial interviews. They know I’m alone, I’m doing demanding work on my laptop every day, I’m making international moves when I leave, all my life is in my suitcases. They still choose me because they like me and maybe they are eager to fill the slot, etc., but suddenly when review time comes they get picky. The last sit I did I worked quite a bit on cleaning, even left a small gift and thank you note as I always do. I waited to meet the HO on their return as somehow I do think that creates better vibes, including in the review window, though our timings don’t always sync for that to happen. And yep, I rated them 5 stars across the board even though there were a few glitches in communication and I definitely wouldn’t rate the home 5 stars clean when I got there!? That’s why it was especially surprising, I’m telling you I left it cleaner than I found it. Ah well.
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Put it this way…if they’re going to rate us like a service industry provider, like if they’re going to rate our “clean and tidyness” like an Airbnb HOST instead of an Airbnb GUEST then maybe we should do the same…I bet they would be very surprised to get 3-4 stars on cleanliness and communication. You’re exactly right in that HS grade leniently and are understanding when HOs are going overboard…
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I might be more on the “end the stars” side of the fence now because it does create a service industry feel to what it not a service industry transaction.
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