I’ve been sitting for young to middle-aged-ish. I tend to gravitate towards urban sits, often newer city apartments with loads that is walkable, so kind of natural that those would more often be younger people.
Age is not really something I vet for. I have so far found younger hosts seamless and wellprepared and they have been very friendly and in line with the community spirit and mutual exchange/ equal partners, as @KittySitter has mentioned.
We seem to have wonderful luck and usually end up sitting for really great couples ages 40-70+ but we haven’t picked based on that, we pick based on the pets and the reviews sitters leave.
We have seen nightmare listings that have come in all ages so I’d say the best thing is to consider age less and character/reviews more.
I hadn’t considered this; I haven’t intentionally avoided households with young children, but I avoid sits that appear cluttered, in doing so, I haven’t had sits with young children.
This is a useful tip.
I haven’t ever sat for a marrying couple, but generally have wondered why hosts even bother posting their reason for traveling — does it help them better attract some sitters?
To me as a sitter, it’s irrelevant why the hosts will be gone, listing wise. It might otherwise come up in chitchat if we overlap, but the reason wouldn’t sway me in the first place.
I have sat for a couple of families with vacations planned, who, despite their best efforts, apologized for not fully preparing for me as they were scrambling to get out of the house. I’ve also sat for someone with a last-minute request due to a family emergency, who still managed to prepare for my stay.
Yes, I figure cleanliness and tidiness depend more on the hosts’ conscientiousness or lifestyle more than anything else, with maybe the exception of people with young kids who can’t stay on top of things or afford a cleaner.
Like I think some folks would realize that they shouldn’t leave a dirty home for any guests, including sitters. So they could hire a cleaner in a pinch.
And some folks simply live clean regularly, so there’s not a bunch of cleaning that must be done, regardless of a trip coming up or not.
Personally, my husband and I live cleaner and more tidy than many folks. That means, we could leave home suddenly and still leave things shipshape.
We just hosted eight house guests for the better part of a week. My husband and I cleaned as we went, as typical. So as the last house guest has left this morning, we just have linens to wash and the house will be reset to normal cleanliness and tidiness. We never have overwhelming cleaning or tidying to do, because we always clean as we go. And we’ve always lived this way, across decades. Even when we rented in our early 20s, we always got our rental deposits back, because we returned rentals in good condition.
Sometimes, people get older and lose mobility and can no longer clean (as well). If they’re fortunate, they can afford help or their loved ones help. My father-in-law is about 90 and now has regular cleaning help, handyman services, etc., for example. He’s always lived cleanly and tidily. We’ve never seen his home otherwise.
Yes, I hear you. However, It’s when they’ve been using THS for a few years already, where their photos are from before they had children and before the clutter creep. So when you show up to the house, it’s suddenly more cluttered than the original photos, because it’s several years later…that happened to us on one or two occasions.
In my case it was not in the listing but became apparent in the video call. I didn’t know any better! It was actually an acceptable sit but I wouldn’t do it again. Not just because of the cleanliness (which was lacking), but also because the communication was quite challenging given the wedding chaos.
Hmm. Maybe we need to ask something along the lines of, do your listing photos reflect the typical state of your home now? Of course, if they’re liars, that wouldn’t help. But that might put on hosts radar that they need to come clean or clean up. I’ve read about some hosts using realty photos, for instance.
Yes, there is one sit I’ve seen repeatedly in New York City, and it is SO clean and SO shiny and SO photoshopped that I never apply. It is not believable at all. (And if it IS real, I cannot possibly maintain that level of perfection when caring for a furry cat 
)
I sat a pristine high-end apartment that looked exactly as pictured. Had to run the robovacuum more than once a day, because the cats were triple coated and shed like crazy.
Even if the hosts had not mentioned frequent vacuuming, I would have done it anyway, because the shedding was actually making my nose itch and I could feel scratchiness in my throat. That has been the first and only time that I’ve come close to being allergic to any animals.
The hosts must’ve also had similar issues, because they didn’t allow their cats in their bedroom and they had an air purifier going nonstop. I slept in there and could sense the difference in air quality in my nose and throat.
The hosts were maybe 20-ish or early 30s. Very clean.
Yes… mid range is typically the best. Most organized and set up.
(Post edited by the Forum Team to comply with the Community Rules).
Just accepted another sit with a couple in their 30s.
I had no idea what age they were for starters.
Usually, I see the listing and look at the location and dates. I don’t go past the first photo till I’ve read the whole listing, plus reviews.
If all those check out, then I look at the rest of the photos.
The tiny host(s) photo is hard to see. I usually don’t get a sense of people and their ages till we video chat.
I prefer to read the listing and reviews first, because to me the No. 1 potential dealbreaker of any sit are the hosts’ mindset, no matter how good the sit otherwise.
If the listing and reviews sound like the hosts are good partners, then I’ll look at the photos. I don’t do the photos first, because it’s too easy to get hooked on visuals and then potentially talk yourself into a sit despite warning signals. I avoid that trap.
I do the same, I leave the photos to last, the first thing I read is the responsibilities section.
I’m sure it’s not mine! 
(But seriously, it’s entirely possible they have a cleaner if this is the case! So you wouldn’t have to maintain the level.)
I would just use the sink if there was no bowl.
I try and avoid having to do that because then, unless it’s a double sink, there’s nowhere to rinse things but it also uses more water.
I don’t consider the age of the home/pet owners. The vibe between us is most important. I’ve sat for people in their 20s and up to their 70s.
My worst sits (just 2 out of more than 60) were with older people, but I believe that is just coincidence. My best sits were with people of all ages.
Interesting…I have a single sink/no dishwasher and it has never occurred to me to have a designated wash-up bowl, nor would I ever consider someone else’s home (or an AirBnB) without one “poorly equipped”.
I had to gooogle washing up bowl😏