That is true. But I have felt sad sometimes for the dog. Being a pit mix rescue. This person took in this dog. And you feel some empathy even though the sit was not great.
And, it is hard to evaluate because “did the sit reflect the listing?”. Yes, the sit did reflect the listing, though it was like a 3 star hotel. I have never had a horror sit with cockroaches. But I have had sits where it looks perfectly clean and then I go and use the toaster oven and it has never been cleaned. Is that reflective of the sit? The house was perfectly acceptable, the bed linens clean, bed comfortable. The pet responsibilities were fine. But then you open up the toaster oven. The house was clean otherwise. The ratings are very subjective.
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I agree in general that the old style sofa bed with a thin mattress are a hard stop, but there are newer nicer ones, that have no springs or bars and are quite acceptable. We also need to have at least a queen and I really like it when there are pictures of the sitter sleeping area. Having the bed pushed up against and wall and no side tables or lamps will also put us off. We are older as well and need our sleep!
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I’ve passed up several listings that include a picture of the cat box next to the bed in the “guest room” or basically a bed shoved into the cat room.
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Agree with this wholeheartedly, including the hatred for memory foam. I love the suggestion that the HOs sleep in the guest bed to see what it’s like!
When I have a sit with a good, comfy bed, I always mention it in my review so future sitters know.
On sits that I drive to, I always bring my own pillow. But I have a wonky neck and most pillows don’t work for me. On one sit, I went out and bought a set of sheets at Target (which I took home with me) because the sheets on the bed were flannel and it was summer and I literally couldn’t sleep for how hot and uncomfortable I was. (No other sheets were available in the house for that bed.)
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@NETime we were once on a housesit in Australia (our very first sit in fact!) And the owners had kindly bought new bedding for us. Unfortunately (for us!) It was all synthetic fabrics which we dislike so we went to the local IKEA and bought feather pillows and cheap cotton bedding. What a difference that made!-For a 4 week sit this small investment was well worth it! Years later, and on the other side of the world, and we still have those pillows & bedding sonewhere in our storage room!
Since then we always travel everywhere with our own pillows and its extremely rare that we don’t need them!
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I feel the same way about microfiber. Microfiber sheets are THE WORST. Not breathable at all, you wake up in a pool of your own sweat. They are inexpensive, look great, and are soft. BUT THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE.
An even better idea than having a homeowner sleep in their guest room, is to have them have a FRIEND sleep in that guest room and give them an honest assessment. If it is still your own home, you might not notice things like the flannel sheets - because you know where the hidden, comfy sheets are. A friend won’t know and can give an honest assessment of the failings. Plenty of websites offer checklists for providing a comfortable space for guests (room in the closet, tableside lamp, natural linens for the bed, at least two pillows per person and a mix of firm and soft etc). I think a lot of people tend to view their guest room in terms of how it looks What really matters is how comfortable and functional it is. I just got back from a 10 day sit where the only place to hang any clothes was over the shower rod. That was quite unpleasant.
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It can be about the way things look, but also a guest bedroom can be where things go to die — where owners put the old bed with a mattress that’s breaking down, the sheets that no one liked, the blanket that has holes in it, etc.
That’s not how we set up our guest bedroom, nor how everyone does, but some people seem to feel that it’s just fine to furnish a guest bedroom with leftovers and discards. Maybe they think “well, it’s just for a few days.”
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I’m currently on non-sit travel, booked into a boutique hotel chain that I like. Their mattresses are the same, no matter whether in London or San Francisco, for instance. Between the nice, firm mattresses and the blackout shades, I sleep like a coma patient when I stay.
I mention that in case you’ve slept badly on a sit and can do a reset at a hotel between sits, to set yourself back to rights. Personally, I also find hotel stays after or between sits to be a great way to decompress, because no responsibilities.
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