To each their own I guess. You mention ‘‘we’’ so it appears you dont do sits alone. But a big house can be a lot for a single. person.
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My suggestion was to include the option for a fee. Not to have it included in membership. I generally manage well but I have (rarely thankfully) encountered people who have huge homes and gardens and can be very fussy. I would definitely use it for those types of places.
I certsinly would be. More motvated to do more sittings if that were an option.
Its possible but worth a shot 
Could not agree more.
Its a great idea but the very finicky ones will find ways to say there was dust here or something not exactly right in a cupboard. But I totally agree with you about the pictures. I do that myself. its a good back up.
@Hikergal When you apply to Sits, you could ask the Owner if there is an option to hire a cleaner at the end of the Sit. Oftentimes when we do Sits, the Owners already have cleaning people that come every 1-2 weeks. We usually don’t know this until we get the Welcome Guide (if they complete it) or when we arrive at the Sit.
If you ask the question this way, the Owner is prompted to inform you if they already have a cleaning person, and perhaps the Owner would go the extra mile and coordinate for their cleaning person to come on the day that you are departing (the Owner’s arrival day).
Owners have never asked us to pay for their normal cleaning person, but it would not bother me to contribute money for the final cleaning.
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If I were sitting pets in a huge home, I would make it clear in the interview process that I am only willing to clean the rooms that I use, not the entire house.
I have done sits in large homes where they have cleaners coming 1-2 times per WEEK, and I noticed that the cleaners do not even clean the entire house each time. They clean half the house during one visit, and the other half of the house during their next visit.
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As a sitter with 80+ sits, I’ve been called out on “clean and tidy” 4 times - 3 of the 4 still gave me 4 stars for clean and tidy. I vacuum the areas I’ve used, wipe down the kitchen and bathroom, wash the bed linen and towels, empty trash/garbage/recycling bins and take the big cans out for collection day (although I’ve done some recent rural sits where the HO takes trash and recycling to the collection site - something I did on a year long sit in the San Bernardino Mtns while in grad school). My longest standard sit has been 3 weeks.
I guess if I felt the house needed some extra cleaning I could use the web sites Angi, Thumbtack, or TaskRabbit to find a cleaner - yes the services get some of the fee, but I really don’t want to have THS picking up any of that money - they would probably use one of the local services anyhow. Angi works in 7 countries beside the US, Australia has serviceseeker. I’d think you could google maid service when you are in a country you would come up with a local service.
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I don’t think agree with @Pietkkuip’s idea that THS puts too much emphasis on cleaning. This is about non-monetary agreements between people, not what THS expects. As a sitter, I’ve seen a variety of expectations about clean up. I’ve always been able to meet those expectations. It’s also something I discuss on chats so if a homeowner had expectations I couldn’t meet, I’d negotiate it or not take the sit.
I’ve stayed at sits where the cleaner was coming either before the homeowner came back or shortly after and the cleaning instructions reflected that. And also sits where the homeowners didn’t seem to care much and were truly grateful that I left the home at least as clean as when I got there.
I’m also a homeowner. I’ve never been disappointed in the condition of my home after a sit. The apartment is small. The instructions are clear. The supplies and vacuum are available. I don’t require any laundry.
Cleaning, at least cleaning up after oneself and leaving no traces as a good guest, is an expectation of housesitting. The homeowner signs up because they are getting a free “housesitter” and the expectation is the housecleaner shouldn’t leave a mess. If a sitter told me that cleaning made them anxioius and I shouldn’t expect them to complete the minimal clean up that I request, I would not want them as a sitter because I would be afraid that indicates a level of disorganization that could manifest in coming home to insects in my house, or the cats getting a hold of something they shouldn’t. I spend so much time cleaning my home before sitters come that to me frankly it’s disresptful if someone leaves it a mess.
If you feel you’ve had sits where the expectations of cleaning were too much, that’s something you should be discussing with the homeowner. It’s okay not to be a doormat. This is a matching system.
Maybe there are some homeowners whose expectations for cleanliness are really high, but my guess is they already have cleaners and would not be interested in hiring cleaners through THS. As a sitter, I would simply avoid those sits. I can’t imagine in practical terms how THS – which doesn’t pay people – would contract with local cleaning services and what kind of responsibility it would take if the cleaners damaged the home, let pets out, got bit by pets etc. Homeowners generally are picky about cleaners. And if a company that advertised “unlmited sitters” suddenly started to sell me some other service, I’d think it was bait and switch.
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It depends a bit. In some places they talk about “reasonably clean”.
In the email before the end of a sit it says: “give the home a good clean and tidy” and “wash the dishes, launder used linen, take the bins out.”
But there is also the link to Auntie Angela’s checklist. With 10 points!
With absurd instructions like: “replenish any soaps or toilet paper you’ve used up” and “launder pet beds and blankets.”
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The cleaning list from THS also says to empty hoover bags. I recently got 4 stars for cleanliness from someone and I suspect that not emptying the hoover bag was one of the reasons. It was me and my partner sitting and we both cleaned, and the house looked better than some others I left on my own, and got 5 stars for!
Like someone above said, it’s very subjective and some people will never be pleased. Most owners have been very reasonable though.
I’d never pay for a cleaner. I do my best to clean myself, and if the hosts are not happy, it wasn’t a good match. I’m getting a better feel for a good fit as time goes on, I hope.
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Definitely true. I don’t ask for much cleaning for a week stay (strip sheets and towels used and leave them, I clean them when I return). I clean everything before we leave so for a week just light cleaning behind you.
I guess for a longer duration I would think about a cleaner at the end and maybe during, but not sure if that would be annoying to have the use of the house disturbed for a cleaner?
Those are general guidelines which are similar to the ones given to homeowners, which most people don’t even look at. It’s true that they could and should change the wording a bit, but it would still be an arrangement that people make.
This is the most ridiculous checklist ever! If an HO can’t offer hand soap & loo roll when you’re living in their home, taking care of their pets full time, then all good sense has gone out the window! Fortunately we’ve never ever been sent that list before or during a sit. #straightinthebin
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I’m not sure if hiring a cleaning service as a sitter is within the “third party” policy of THS T&Cs
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Yes but there is no garanty that the home owner would accept. If they have several applications as is often the case they would probably go wirh the one that will do the cleaning themselves.
I appreciate your comment but at the end of the day what you can and cannot ask depends entirely on the competition your are facing when booking. I have no trouble cleaning. I just think it would be nice to have the option to have someone else take care of it. Esoecially if the home is large and you are on vacation and want to be able to relax.
Housesitting is not a vacation. It’s a mutual exchange.
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Its interesting. Many of our reviews talk about how clean we leave the home and I get the feeling a couple of our ‘declines’ have been because they were intimidated. In reality, we dont do a deep clean. We do the usual tidy up after ourselves -floors, surfaces, dishes, garbage, fridge, appliances, toilets, linen/bed and leave a home as clean as we find it. We maybe do a few extras like shine and align the taps, wipe fingerprints of shiny surfaces that were there, sweep outside areas etc. Which makes a big visual impact. Our last two homeowners, who we’ve met in person have stressed they are not too bothered about being finicky, to enjoy ourselves and be comfortable… the second to last had an excellent cleaner who came in the day before we left and did much of the heavy lifting (vacuum, mop, bathrooms). We really appreciated that as it saved an hour or two. So I wouldnt pay for it, but appreciate it if the usual service is timed well by the homeowner.
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