Hi everyone, I just came across this sit in Amsterdam and I quote:
‘Please note that in the winter season we’ll charge the electricity and gas use which is around 10 eur per day
We ask our cleaning lady to come before your arrival. We expect you to leave the flat as you found it, either cleaning yourself or paying for the cleaning lady (2h=36€). We expect a deep cleaning (kitchen, bathroom, toilets, floor including mopping, etc, and we’ll charge for the cleaning lady if we need to ask her to come after your departure’ which they charged a sitter because her cleaning wasn’t according to their standard. Last time I checked HO weren’t employers nor do I want to be treated as a servant whilst paying their expenses. The rest of the listing was very demanding as well
I like it when owners are crystal clear on their unrealistic expectations. It means I avoid them like the plague, I prefer to sit for kind-hearted people.
Wow. Even as a paid sitter in my business, I’ve never had any client so audacious and demanding. I had one dog owner give me a hard time because I said driving her dog to a park a few miles away was not something I did in my routine dog walks (this is in the country, and she has a large property with plenty of land to take the dog for a good walk). I told her she could find another sitter. It was more the attitude of this dog owner that put me off - demanding, not requesting. As a sitter on THS, if the HO demands that I mop or vacuum before leaving or washing linens (I ask them during the video call what they’d like the sitter to do before leaving at the end of the sit and screen for strenuous demands) I decline the sit. I have all 5-star cleanliness ratings and obviously would mop up or vacuum any messes I make, and generally I sweep the kitchen before leaving. On my last sit, one of the cats had a loose stool on a rug near the litter box. Of course I washed the area rug thoroughly. But I did not sign up to be a housecleaner anf do deep cleanings!
Hosts are entitled to charge for utilities so long as they state this clearly, though it is certainly not common from what I have observed in almost 12 years of sitting. If hosts live in a desirable location, they may be able to get away with it. For some people, even with that cost, they may feel they are still getting a good deal with the free place to stay–not all sitters are operating on a bare bones budget and this may be something they are willing to consider.
As for the cleaning, my husband and I are pretty clean people, and we have gotten lots of positive feedback on the condition in which we leave the houses, including from some hosts who I could tell have very high standards of cleanliness.
For a person like this, I would be confident we could probably leave the house to the standard which they expect, but we wouldn’t sit for someone who wrote anything like this in their listing– in particular, the ‘threat’ of charging the sitter if the house isn’t left to their standards creates a very inhospitable tone and would be a major red flag.
Like someone else said, it is good they showed their true colors right upfront so people can know to steer clear. These sorts of listings don’t make me mad as sitters have total control over the opportunities to which they choose to apply–no one is being forced to do anything they don’t want to do.
When hosts are upfront about their needs, preferences and expectations, it is up to sitters to decide if it is a fit or not, if they think it is reasonable or not for them personally. People can’t be taken advantage of when they know what they are getting into.
I hope they are not getting any replies. I would hate to think free sitters allow themselves to be talked to or treated in this manner. Even a paid sitter wouldn’t take this type of assignment.
Oh Amsterdam, they will get someone, it’s now a crossover between Airbnb and THS. There will be someone out there that thinks this is a good deal for Amsterdam. I can’t believe some sits that I see ( starting or ending Xmas day and only 1 night for example) that actually have applications. Fair exchange??? Only the sitter can make that call.
@co_ri_na, no need for boiling blood. Not your problem to solve - unreasonable pet parents probably receive no applicants. Just keep scrolling/searching - plenty of attractive listings out there.
That said, and putting aside specifics of this listing, we recognize that the PP/HS “trade” can vary significantly. Some geographies areas face excess demand - with few pet parent listings and high housesitter interest. And vice versa. If we were highly motivated to visit a particular part of the world and there listings were scarce then pragmatic choices are necessary. Or if there were an especially attractive listing feature (e.g. spectacular property with no pets, yep they exist) then we’d assess on case-by-case basis. But it’s never ever worth considering “treated like a servant” employer mindset.
