Rather you than us @Huronbase but if you don’t mind all that hairy company then happy days. #differentfolksdifferentstrokes
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75 lb puppies are the BEST! 
Hopefully never again. I prefer the small ones, below the neck line
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You are so right! I am on THS as a sitter, but I also have two dogs. They do not sleep on, and are not allowed on, the bed. However, we do other things with them. For example, my husband rubs them for hours every day. If we had sitters, I would expect them to take good care of my dogs—feed, water, walk—brush them every few days—but I wouldn’t REQUIRE a sitter to rub them for 2 hours a day like we do. Nothing bad would happen to them if they get different treatment from a stranger compared to what they get from us.
It’s reasonable to expect me to take great care of someone’s pets but not to expect a sitter to mirror the exact routine or level of emotional attachment. As long as the pets’ needs are met and they are happy and healthy, small changes in routine, like a slightly later walk, shouldn’t be a big deal.
For me, a homeowner who writes, “I want someone who would love my pets as much as I do,” is a red flag. I will take care of their pets as well as they do, but to expect me to love them as much, even as a figure of speech, shows me they have unrealistic expectations. I don’t want to deal with someone I know I can’t satisfy.
I was at a sitting where the homeowner wrote that the dogs go for a walk every morning at 8 AM. They had door cameras on the property. I slept in a little, and at 8:30 AM, I got a text message: “What’s going on? Why haven’t you taken the dogs for a walk yet?” I did let the dog out for a potty break very late at night (or rather, early morning—around 3 AM) when I got back home from a night out, so it’s not like they urgently needed to go.
Pardon me, but nothing bad would happen to the dogs if they go for a walk at 9 instead of 8. I love dogs, and their well-being is my first priority when they are under my care, but give me a break! (Sorry about the rant; I REALLY hate being spied on through cameras.)
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I usually walk dogs more than the owners. Although I don’t have a dog now, I have usually had dogs and I don’t like making dogs wait. I believe if you are sitting dogs, you should keep to their schedule or better.
I cancelled my sit in the Ashville area in Dec. The power and water may be back on, but the roads are a mess. I needed to take I40 out of Ashville leaving and it is out until mid 2025. So the deal breaker for me was taking a detour 50 miles out of the way with all the truckers and causing me hours of delay. The HOs were not happy but THS allowed the cancellation.
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@DeeMcC I’m wondering if you communicate all this on your profile? As a host, I always read the application note AND check the profile. So if you had applied to my sit and I saw this on your profile, and I was interested in further exploring, I’d write back to let you know that I don’t have a guest room, so you’d be sleeping on our queen. (I know this is already a dealbreaker for some sitters.) And that I would vacate 4 cubes on an Ikea cube for storage, and make more room in our coat closet for hanging stuff. Plus there is desk space or a folding table you can use as a platform for suitcases or stuff in the bedroom. Possibly not all hosts read the profiles. Maybe some only look at reviews. But if you do mention stuff one question to ask and way of letting hosts know would be to ask them during the chat if they’d read your profile, or suggest reading it in your application. When I apply as a sitter, I always mention looking at the profile and reviews for more information.
I think to some extent, sitters should be able to ask open ended questions on the chat about all of this stuff to get the information and then decide if there are “dealbreakers” or not. I would for instance ask about the room that I’d be sleeping in, and if it wasn’t acceptable maybe explain why and ask if there was an alternative and if not, just let them know as politely as I could that they seem lovely but it wouldn’t work.
I think it can get tricky trying to sort it out before a chat through emails, but to me the important part is asking questions and getting the information and not setting it up so the host doesn’t feel like they are a problem. Most people don’t have too many sleeping options for guests. Some hosts are going to have their own dealbreakers like pet must sleep on the bed, and there is no point in arguing or negotiating, just find out where the pet sleeps and move on if it is an issue.
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Thanks @Marion - yes, I include a list in our profile and preface it by saying, “We’ll provide you with a high standard of care and in return, these are some of the things we look for and appreciate”. We also mention in our application that we have a lot of information in our profile, and sometimes I might repeat the list. That way, HOs can easily decline us or it can be a good prompt for further conversation - and we don’t waste anyone’s time 
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@DeeMcC – Just curious about your “guestroom” requirements. I sit part time. Out of 11 sits, 6 we slept in the primary bedroom because there was no guest room. It’s more of 50/50 as one of those was a second sit at the same home. These were mostly sits in cities but also in small homes in small towns. Our own apartment where we have sitters for our cats is a one-bedroom in a city where comfortable guest rooms are a rarity. Do you find that your need for a guest room limits you? (My own need is for a COMFORTABLE bed, but it’s hard question to ask as it is subjective.)
To me, sitters have power, because no one can force us to show up. I use that agency to make sure I avoid getting stuck with a bad sit and/or too little info. I suggest that sitters use their power accordingly.
Yes, exactly. but I also have to think the last thing a HO would want is somebody staying in their home and taking care of their pet(s) feeling sullen and misled. I take care of their home and pets as if they are my own. Not sure I’d feel that way if I was not happy and felt tricked.
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Hi @Marion, we just house sit as a fun hobby so we apply for sits that tick most of our boxes (which usually rules out apartments, units, and city areas here in Australia. Our preferences will probably need to be more flexible if we ever housesit overseas).
We’ve done 7 sits on another platform and all but our first has had a guest room - it’s just turned out that way.
We’re pretty new on THS (our first sit was this month). We’ve included our list of “preferences” (rather than deal-breakers) in our profile and it hasn’t limited our choices at all. All of the 4 THS sits we’ve confirmed have lovely looking guest rooms
Like you, our stipulation is a comfortable bed and we get a sense of that when we ask about the room setup. Even though bed size is often mentioned in amenities, we always double check (a double bed is a deal breaker) and hosts will usually volunteer information like “it’s a spring mattress that’s probably x years old and other guests have said it’s very comfortable”. Plus photos usually help give a sense of quality. Mind you, the worst bed we (tried) to sleep in was in a gorgeous home of a chiropractor 
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You and I agree, but we’re normal and I think hosts who try to trick or exploit sitters aren’t. They have warped thinking, so we’ll never understand them.
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I too work from home and always make it very clear that I must have high speed internet.
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I’m out of space on my profile to list everything but after 10+ sits I have learned to always ask about the following:
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The comfort and peace of the home. I treat sits like work retreats and I really do work a lot during them. I can’t do this with constant traffic noise, construction, or noisy neighbors. This also includes wifi, a large bed, amenities etc., plus the ability to sleep and wake at my own set hours! If I have to wake up at 6 am every day to walk a dog or feed a cat, that’s a bit much. I prefer some flexibility in the mornings as well as the ability to stay up late without it disturbing the pets, as I want them to be cozy too! (Once I sat a dog who simply couldn’t go to sleep until I did, and seemed to have a usual bedtime of 8pm! So he would give me side eye lol.) I also need to know I can walk around outside safely as a woman and that getting basic things like food and groceries is easy enough without transportation. It’s ideal if there are cafes etc. nearby and food delivery. Mostly I stick to urban or semi urban sits for this reason.
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Well behaved pets. This one is tricky since pets sometimes behave differently when their owners are away, or because certain things the owners don’t mind are actually not cool with others…for example a biting cat or a dog that doesn’t obey. I have learned that leash behavior matters a lot too, it’s quite a lot of work to deal with a dog who is attacking every other animal it sees. At that point I feel they should pay a professional sitter.
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A cleaning checklist. After doing several sits where I worked very hard to clean, or was told there was a cleaner, only to get docked a star on that part of the review, I now think it’s best to have an exact checklist. This can also help you gauge their expectations…some HOs expect too much in this department I’m afraid, and/or have certain things they look for which they don’t communicate. (You could have been focused on vacuuming when they care more about the dishes, for example.) Ideally for a big home or a long sit they’ll have a cleaner come throughout or at least at the end. Small homes and apartments aren’t as much of an issue. I did one sit in a huge home where a cleaner was coming every week, and suddenly she went on vacation. In a home like that with a very furry dog, suddenly the cleaning began taking up a ton of my time without warning.
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The HO needs to have emergency contacts and a plan B just in case. Ie a neighbor who can come when called in case of emergency, and even takeover the pet care if needed. Emergencies happen and if you, say, break your leg or get deathly sick, you need to be able to leave the sit for your health.
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Of course no other guests and no inside cameras. And of course good communication! A welcome guide is a must and I really love when the HO takes the time to show me where everything is rather than saying “any questions just text us”, because I don’t love texting people on their vacations and there also tends to be quite a lag on the reply, understandably.
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Thanks @Hiya - that’s a comprehensive list! Great point about the comfort and peace of a house - know exactly what you mean
Like you, a lot of sits don’t have a guest room and I sleep in the main bedroom. No different than sleeping in a hotel room to me, in the sense that many before me will have slept in that same bed as well!
I work freelance, although never ask about the Wifi. As, since when do people have very unreliable slow Wifi in these days? Or maybe that’s for countryside sits??
In terms of cleanliness, friendly pets -that should all be in the pictures or description. Fridge space seems obvious to me; no need to ask. Cameras not a thing in Europe. Noise - I guess I’m pretty trusting and expect people to disclose construction works upfront. Desk - I will ask for desk or table if not clear from the pictures.
And re pets in bed: I only sit cats. If there’s clear signs that the kitty will wake me up at night, I lock them out of the bedroom regardless of whether the owner allows them to sleep in their bed. I value my sleep!
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These are both wrong. There are regularly comments in this and other groups about people coming into houses with full fridges/freezers and no space for their food. Similarly there are frequent comments about people with cameras in their homes (in Europe) - sometimes required for insurance purposes.
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I’ve done >50 sits in Europe and have never been unlucky enough to encounter a fridge with no space; never heard of cameras. Certainly not something insurance requires in the European country I live in. Perhaps some people in the UK have them??
Good thing I mention on my sitter profile that I need internet fast enough to Zoom — a pair of hosts let me know that their connection was slow and they’d upgrade before my sit. It was in Stratford-upon-Avon in the U.K., not rural.
I happily ended up doing a repeat sit for them a year later as well, but certainly wouldn’t have sat without the internet upgrade.
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I have many “deal-breakers,” but most I can see clearly as I peruse listings. For instance, if a home is all neutral colors, with no color or charm or artwork or individual character, I will not feel comfortable. I especially dislike the industrial look. But obviously as soon as I see that sterile look in the photos I rule out the listing. As for the dealbreakers that I put in my profile and which I put in my applications just in case they don’t read my profile thoroughly enough, I have two significant ones: 1) I am fine staying in a home with dogs but due to just enough of an allergy I can’t sleep with them (though I love sleeping with cats!), and 2) with the ongoing pandemic, I won’t share living space with anyone so I make it clear I cannot stay over the night before the HO leaves. Rather, I offer to meet before the sit to go over the routine and offer to stay in a hotel the night before to meet up if they have a very early start to their travels. I’ve only lost out on one application because the HO required the sitter to stay over with them the night before they left. I totally understand why some HOs prefer that to make sure the sitter is trustworthy.
This thread has reminded me to ask about any smokers in the house during the video chat. I stayed at a home where someone smoked. I found a pack of cigarettes in a kitchen drawer. Luckily the only stench was from their coats hanging on their hooks, so I’m guessing they smoke outside - thankfully!
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I have a sheet that I send them to fill in that lists my questions and also my expectations before I do a sit. So far so good. I choose great owners though. I only had one challenging sit that we still adored but had so many moving parts and expectations which were not upfront.
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