How generous of themš Any particular areas or characteristics about these āhosts with the mostā?
This has only happened to us once and it worked very well as we had use of the kitchen and snug in the main house and only slept and showered in the annex. As others have said it saved us the bother of being careful around very expensive furniture and the dogs didnāt seem to bother as they slept in the utility room and were used to be confined to the places we were in.
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This would be a NO from us .
On the other hand sometimes the separate accommodation is a luxury well designed space with ample room , plenty of comfortable seating , a small but good quality kitchen, luxury shower room , a large comfortable bed and stunning views . Such a stay if disclosed upfront in the listing it would be relaxing and less to clean than a rambling old main house .
Yes , itās useful feedback for hosts to know why sitters arenāt interested in applying. Then itās up to them whether they make changes and invite sitters to stay in the main home or continue to list with sub par accommodation offered to the sitters and as a result donāt receive any applications.
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These were in the UK, in leafy countryside areas.
Iāve only spotted a few that generously offer you to do their gardening and grounds maintenance, but when I do I cancel my application and move on 
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I frequently water pots, veggie patches and seedlings, but Iām not doing gardening beyond that.
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I draw the line at gardening. I pay someone to mow my lawn every two weeks so Iām not interested in doing this unpaid work. It is house and pet sitting, not garden sitting. Of course I donāt mind watering the vegetable patches and plants. That actually brings me joy and I get to use some of the delicious products!
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We have twice stayed in the guest accomodation- each very different experiences. The first was in a large country home built in a U shape with a large courtyard in the middle. At each end of the U they had separate small independent units they rented out on airbnb. We stayed in one of these which was comfortable enough but poorly equipped and they left only one toilet roll (for a week long sit!) The host said we were āvery luckyā to be the first guests in their new airbnb.. They were leaving the next day so, after a walk with the HO & the dog, we invited her into our āairbnbā for a coffee. We were not invited into the main house or offered a drink or anything. The dog stayed with us. We felt treated rather like subordinates/unpaid staff. But on the plus side we didnāt have a large space to clean.
The second time we had booked a sit and during the video call they asked if we could do a second sit a few days later- i.e two separate trips with a 2 day gap inbetween. As we had nowhere to go in those days they invited us to stay in their āroom above the garageā for those days and also for our initial arrival night as they didnāt really want strangers overnighting in the main house with them!! This sounded rather strange at first but we agreed anyway- as we were, at that time, busy building our review numbers and this set-up meant 2 reviews for the price of one! 
Well, their listing pics and description had been minimal so we were more than surprised to drive up a mile-long private road and arrive at a stunning Ā£multimillion house- set in gorgeous grounds- with a year round heated outdoor pool and jacuzzi! And the āroom over the garageā was actually a luxurious & fully equipped two bedroom apartment over their enormous garage filled with old timer cars! The couple took us out for a lovely dinner and, for practical reasons we ended up staying the first night &all the first sit in the guest wing, and moved into the main house for the second sit. The dog slept in a cage in the kitchen of the main house and we had access to the whole house all the time. This was a very positive experience and we were even able to invite the HOs over for dinner with us -in our wing- when they were home inbetween the sits! There were only two (minor!) downsides- one was we had two spaces to clean to pristine levels and the other was the weather was not great so we were only able to use the gorgeous pool and jacuzzi once! 
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Iād be curious to see your list! And if you wanted to start a topic on this, I bet other sitters would offer theirs. And that helps newbie sitters to know what to ask about or look for. I know weāve had ānopeā topics here (dealbreakers) but maybe a āWhat are your baseline requirements for a sit?ā Or something like that that puts it in the affirmative.
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Iāve seen listings that hinted similar situations, and recently declined a place that turned out to be a guest annex next to the main houseāwith the host also staying in the house during my potential stay.
None of that was mentioned in the listing, and dishonesty is never a good first impression, no matter how high the standard might be.
I hope people will flag it when they come across it. Imagine if it were an Airbnb listing advertising access to something you couldnāt actually useāit would be removed right away
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Did you flag it / report it to member services?
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Ahh yes watering is standard 
But Iāve seen listings where HO have requested you mow the lawn which I thought was really cheeky.
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Why? I enjoy mowing lawns and gardening. I also enjoy long walks with active dogs. And a really donāt have a problem greeting Airbnb guests.
Thereās always someone that fits a sit.
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Reported three listings so far, one of which was quite serious in nature. All still active ābut as with any company, roles can change hands. Hopefully, someone will eventually take action.
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Really puts a whole new spin on ātreat yourselfā!
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Fair enough, feels like unpaid work to me.
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Exactly, couldnāt agree moreš
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I suppose it would depend on what the guest accommodation was like. If it was a posh suite on a multimillion-dollar estate, well, OK maybe. Otherwise, if thereās no good reason for not letting the sitters stay in the house (itās being renovated/fumigated/theyāre moving/heat or plumbingās on the fritzā¦) ā¦ then no, I wouldnāt likely do the sit.
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That is breach of the THS terms, regardless of what a sitter feels or not. While mowing the lawn usually isnāt as long as it is disclosed in the listing.
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I have never studied the rules and regulations of THS in the five plus years I have been a member. My philosophy is if it fits we will do it. We have greeted Airbnb guests, had children/husbands call in at the house during a sit, done gardening, taken in parcels, looked after diverse and numerous animals and had the best time being a sitter. On the other hand we have had the chance to stay in beautiful vacation homes as a thank you and made so many friends round the world.
Personally, I feel getting hung up on what and wasnāt allowed sometimes retracts from the experience.
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Fair enoughā¦
I guess an issue could be this may set a precedent or expectation with the HO, which could negatively impact future sitters experiences, as most people probably wonāt want to greet AirBnB guests, or HOās children / family members.
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