I would like to know from others HO how you rate the lack of respect of some rules by the sitter in the reviews. I am not talking about narrow rules, but many things are common to many sitters I have had: Almost all of them have let the dogs out of the garden due to distraction (which if they had followed the rules would not have happened). Many have left me with vacuum cleaners completely dirty and clogged. Many have moved furniture etc etc. Overall they are all good people, very kind with the dogs and pleasant. But in the long run these things are starting to bother me because I wrote everything in the guide. I do not want to rate a person less for a mistake but the rules are not there to decorate the wall
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You donât rate on ârespect.â You rate based on what happened and what category it fits into. I have combined membership. When I am reading reviews as a sitter or as a host, Iâm interested in what happened which is objective. I am less interested in how people felt so âlet downâ isnât important to me. Not keep the gate closed if thatâs what happened is, and that goes under pet care. I might be a little angry to come home to dirty dishes left in a dirty sink, but the review would deduct a star for cleanliness with a description of what I saw, not how I felt.
I would also consider a couple of things: Good enough vs Potential Disaster. If someone left a door or window open allowing a pet to escape and this was reviewed and gone over, plus a lack of common sense was involved, even if the consequence wasnât disaster, future hosts need to know. If someone didnât wash the towels which Iâd requested, but everything else was fine, Iâm not sure Iâd bring it up.
If sitters are consistently not following your directions you might considered both your vetting process AND your directions. If sitters are moving furniture, why? Is there a narrow pathway and people are tripping? What is happening? People donât do this randomly and if there is a reason, they can take photos when they arrive and move things back.
I recently upgraded my own directions to include more photos showing rather than describing, a âcheat sheetâ chart, and of course lots of videos. While this probably scares some sitters away, Iâd consider that a plus.
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Thank u Marion very precious 
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Also if you are consistently being let down on cleaning, then it might be you and not them, as I havenât had this problem as a host. If thatâs the case, you might really consider hiring a cleaner to come after the sitters. Itâs money youâd be spending but itâs still much less expensive than pet boarding and better for the pet.
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Dogs let out of the garden if stated that they shouldnât and how to avoid isnât something I would think a good sitter should, but that would depend on the circumstances. I know a dog, for instance, that would stay in garden with owner, but if other persons would look after the dog, the dog could - and is able to - jump the fence. As stated by owner. 
. So depends on whether it was an accident that could have happened to anyone or pet behavior - or neglect.
If my vacuum cleaner was full I would assume it had been used and primarily was full of the fur of my pet, so I guess I would consider that a win, actually. In a thread a while ago a host was upset that the sitter had tried to empty the vacuum and not done it correctly, so hard to know how the sitter reasoned. It could have been in good faith.
Furniture being moved⊠Depends on what you mean, as it could mean a lot of different things. I would totally expect and want sitters to feel at home and to live in the home, including moving furniture. But maybe this is something totally different, totally «re-decorating» the home or similar.
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@Thelawyer, as context weâre experienced housesitters and not Pet Parents.
it sounds like you have extensive experience a large number of sitters. Perhaps worth appreciating that those âmany sittersâ have looked after your property and pets and were âall people, very kind with the dogs and pleasantâ. Some big picture gratitude may go a long way.
It also appears that your conduct frustration applies broadly to many sitters, rather than an isolated incident. As @Garfield rightly noted, âletting the dogs out of the garden due to distractionâ does not seem good at all. Only you can know whether related failings are negligent housesitter conduct; poor property/garden security; or otherwise. Redecorating a wall sounds clearly unreasonable! Lesser matters may be frustrating and unfortunate but itâs possible that they could be resolved through clear expectations at the outset of the housesit; some cleaning support; and/or simple action on your part. Context here is probably important - was a typical housesit for a few days, few weeks or longer duration? did the housesitter leave the property very clean (perhaps better than outset) but forgot to empty vacuum?
Perhaps if your frustrations warrant then consider clearly stating your requirements in the listing, and ideally also address in video call. Transparency. This may help prospective housesitters to self-select their level of interest, with some housesitters perhaps declining to apply (seems a win-win given context).
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As a sitter Iâve often arrived at homes to find the vacuum cleaner clogged up, so it works both ways. That doesnât bother me much, I just empty it. Iâve also cleaned dirty ovens and unclogged shower traps with other peopleâs hair, which I find strangely satisfying having bought little brushes for the purpose! The main thing is that your pets are looked after and kept to their normal routines.
By the way, I donât like that you say there are ârulesâ.
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I recently read a different thread with you complaining about sitters. Perhaps a paid sitter who doesnât touch a thing in your house might be the best. On another note, weâre on a Dogsit right now where I moved the coffee table as it was too narrow for the dog to play chase and tug I war with my kids. I also moved the table so that our laptops could fit better around the table. We do stuff like this when it makes sense. Luckily, instead of complaining about ârulesâ on a public forum, the hosts left glowing reviews. Perhaps looking at this exchange from a different perspective might help.
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This forum has an - Ignore feature that you can select so for an individual whose posts you do not want to see . I have found this very useful.
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Sometimes we do 4 back to back Sits, and there is so much information to learn at each home! We are detail-oriented and pride ourselves in following the Ownerâs wishes.
I always read the entire Welcome Guide and sometimes make separate âcheat sheetsâ for myself with feeding and medication instructions for the animals and a calendar with notes about âgarbage day,â âwater the plants,â âgardener coming,â âpool guy coming,â âcleaner coming.â
I find it helpful when an Owner creates bullet points in the Welcome Guide, to note some items that are of particular importance, i.e.
No Smoking or Vaping on the Property.
Donât Let the Dogs out of the Garden.
Donât move the furniture.
Donât drink my wine or liquor.
Please replace the vacuum cleaner bag at the end of your stay.
No visitors.
If you made such a list and reviewed the list with the Sitter, I think it would have an impact. You do risk, however, appearing to be strict and bossy, which might rub some people the wrong way. Some people like ârules.â Some do not.
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Thank you for bringing up something obvious that seems to escape many HOâs: That if sitters are consistently doing something to make the house different while they are there, that means that however the HO has it set up is NOT workable for other people.
Moving furniture is the perfect example. I canât tell you how many sits Iâve been on where the room I have to sleep in, and sometimes the living room where I need/want to hang out, is so crammed full of furniture or other stuff that itâs 'hard for a human being to move around. What are we to do, especially on a sit of several days or more?
I do try to always put everything back as I found it but sometimes this is difficult or I might not get it exactly as they had it.
In general, anyhing that multiple sitters are ânot getting rightâ is a clue that the HO may be setting up sitters to fail by the way their house is arranged or by the things that they require sitters to do.
Another classic example is the HO assuming that the pet(s) will behave for the sitter the exact same way the pet(s) behave for the HO. This is virtually never true, and while good sitters can manage most situations, pets may act out in ways that they canât prevent. If the HO thinks, âOh my pet never does that,â they may be dead wrong. e.g. I have been told itâs very easy to give meds to a pet and pet wonât resist them, and while that might have been true for the HO, it was definitely not for me because the pet didnât trust me the same way. (So I donât take sits anymore where i have to do that.)
Another common thing might be pets refusing to come back inside the house or trying to escape when the HO is away when they donât do that normally. It is very wrong to blame sitters for this kind of thing.
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I do the same thing, making lists for myself. I also copy the most important parts of the WG (my duties, any warnings, etc) and paste them into an email that I keep in my Drafts folder and can refer to easily.
Sometimes HOâs give a lot of ânice to knowâ info about local stuff, and extra info about the house and pets, and itâs easy for the important essential stuff to get lost in the WG if itâs not called out and emphasized.
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Perhaps you need to consider paid caretakers who will follow your rules to the letter?
With unpaid house sitters there needs to be some give and take.
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