As an experienced in demand sitter, I have felt taken advantage of at times. Home owners are not at all generous or thoughtful of what they are receiving for free. Especially with 2 high maintenance dogs, it would be nice to feel appreciated for what is hard work and not a holiday for the sitter at all. I know it’s free accommodation but a grocery gift card would be wonderful. Also, please get a professional cleaner in before we arrive- especially bachelors!! I spent my first day scrubbing toilets and sinks at what was described as ‘ boho’ apartment but really was a ‘dump’
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@kathy99 Yes, all true. But we become better at selecting sits - experience has to count for something! I am sorry if this sounds prejudiced, but we have been burned by a young couple going on their honeymoon (no time after wedding to clean the house) therefore no more honeymoon sits for us. One look at some bachelor listings and I can tell you we will definitely not apply for those. And previous reviewers will generally write if home owners were generous, not only for goods, but opening their house to sitters to make them more comfortable - that’s a good sign. So become more discerning…it sure helps. If in doubt, don’t take the sit.
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So that is short for “bohemian”?
Then it is not unexpected that that was euphemistic. Why take such a sit?
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If you’re an experienced and in demand sitter, you can afford to be more selective.
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Actually, I was in a tough spot and had no choice after a sudden cancellation. I was lucky to find a place in that location and those dates! I understand that we have to take the good with the bad, but just venting.
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Like Forest Gump said, “petsitting is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”. We’ve had two sits where the photos make the house look spectacularly clean but when we got there, it was dirty. That when we feel like hired help instead of guests there to take care of their pets.
Someone’s dump is another persons love nest.
Pick better. Don’t take something just because. There’s always airbnbs or cheap hotels. And as for grocery cards or freebies I am actually embarrassed when left something like that. It makes me feel I have to leave something for them, apart from a happy pet, clean house and watered garden.
This is a mutual exchange. Both parties are getting something from it.
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Hi @kathy99 ,
It sounds to me as if you have had a recent bad experience and are still smarting from it. If this is the case, I feel your pain - most of us have been there at some point and getting your annoyance down in writing as you have here often helps, I hope it has for you!
However, now you have had time to breathe and reflect on the situation, we all joined THS fully understanding the general spirit of exchange that we were signing up for.
Sitters are getting free accommodation, and home hosts are getting free pet care - it is a fair exchange and either party expecting ‘extras’ would only cause an imbalance to the agreement.
The balance is rarely perfect on each individual sit, but looking at all your past sits as a whole you should get the feeling that, on the whole, you have had as many sits where the balance was equal, or in your favour, as those where you thought the balance was tipped in favour of the home host.
If you get the feeling that you are getting the raw deal the majority of the time then I think you should re-assess the way you are choosing your sits and consider what you can do to improve your sitting experiences.
Good Luck!
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I normally look at listings in THS the way I would look at listings by estate agents and translate in a similar way:
cozy - cramped
open plan - you can see the kitchen from your bed
10 minutes walk - 20 minutes cardio walk
etc
I think there’s a similar motivation to attract sitters as buyers/renters so in general I like lots of pictures and prefer to skip anything that may be a bit suspect. Not expecting a gift card though.