Yes on the car.
Probably not on the republishing. Your listing is already shown as “new”. Removing the dates and then adding them back in will make it “new” again and, I think, s3nd out notices to some sitters.
You could contact your prior sitters, apologize for not reviewing them and ask if they’ll write a reference to publish on your profile.
@IvanAlej I can’t access your listing on my phone right now to see details of the sitters. However, if your two past sitters still have active accounts, you could contact them, apologize, and offer to provide your ‘review’ in the form of a reference. In that reference you would need to explain the scenario, set out the dates and location, and provide an appropriate, favourable response. If the sitters are accepting of your offer, you could then at least refer any applicants to those references. At least it would show a genuine effort made to correct the omission.
Hosts don’t get references added to their profile that’s only available to sitters .
You can add the link on your listing
It’s a bit strange that as AirBNB hosts you didn’t think it was important to leave a review? That site is very review driven, as is THS…
I’m also not clear on the explanation. If you don’t leave a review, the sitter would have no way of knowing that until the review period was over (14 days, I think) and their review of you would have been published. They are blind reviews, so neither side knows what the other did until either both reviews are submitted (then they are published simultaneously) or the review period is over (14 days, I think) then if one party left a review it gets published.
I don’t know how the sitters could know you weren’t going to leave a review, unless you told them that upfront?
Also, the sitters did leave reviews for their prior hosts. So them both deciding to not leave a review makes it seem like they perceived some issues but just didn’t want to air it out.
At any rate, it’s water under the bridge now. Offering a car would help but not leaving a review makes you seem like you don’t understand the concept of the site, which is harder to get past.
@Felinelover - Thanks for the technical clarification. You’re right that the reviews are blind, and I didn’t explain that part well.
To be clear: I never told the sitters I wouldn’t leave a review. I just didn’t do it. That’s on me.
You’re also right that Airbnb is review-driven. The difference is that on Airbnb I was hosting commercially, so I was very focused on reviews. On THS, I mistakenly saw it as a casual exchange and didn’t realize how seriously reviews are taken. That was my mistake, and I own it.
Water under the bridge, as you said. I can’t go back and fix it, but I can be upfront about it and do better going forward.
Thanks for the honest feedback.
OK, but then that means both sitters, without knowing you weren’t going to review, unilaterally choose not to leave a review. And both sitters did review other hosts. That doesn’t seem like the sits went well from their perspective then.
I would reach out to one or both, apologize for not leaving a review, and ask their honest opinion if they had any issues with the sit (so you can improve on anything that wasn’t quite right). Then try to include something in your profile fessing up to whatever the issue was and how youve improved it.
That, and offering a car, may help.
But with fuel and airfare prices right now, its going to be an uphill battle, I’m afraid.
You state this about the two previous sitters “one was fine, the other was fine”. That’s what I would call dammed with faint praise, it’s passive aggressive and implies that things weren’t great. Perhaps I see fine as a Brit differently to an American. If I ask someone how they are and their reply is “I’m fine” my response would be to ask what’s up.
I asked Gemini about possible differences.
British English: Often serves as an understated or sarcastic remark meaning “not fine,” “bad,” or “leave me alone”. It can also describe pleasant weather, a “fine day”.
American English: Typically means “good enough,” satisfactory, or “okay” without necessarily being positive. It can also be used in slang to describe someone as “sexy” or “hot” (e.g., “He is so fine”).
Contronym Usage: In both dialects, “fine” can act as a contronym, meaning both “extremely high quality” (fine dining) and “barely acceptable” (“It’s fine, I guess”)
As a sitter I would definitely perceive there is something wrong with this sit, so if you want a free sitter in this competitive market you have to offer something good to entice me. A golden retriever works for me, but US no, so that’s no help. My thoughts would definitely be why didn’t both of those sitters review. I think that’s your biggest stumbling block.
Why don’t you add, close to the top of the listing “Apologies for not reviewing previous sitters, we were unaware of their value on THS. Please see feedback from Bob on their stay with us.” And add the positive comment underneath if you can get one. The “both were fine” doesn’t sound great and it is odd they both haven’t reviewed you so hopefully you can make this happen. Yes to offering a car for sure, perhaps add “with car” in the listing title for added appeal. #reviewsaregold
Thank you all for the feedback, both the helpful and the harsh. I’ve explained the missing reviews, apologized, and shared our Superhost history. I’ve also reached out to previous sitters for references.
I’m going to focus now on finding a sitter for our dates. Thanks again to those who offered genuine advice
@Felinelover I hear you. I’ve already reached out to both previous sitters to apologize and ask for their honest feedback. That’s done.
As for the uphill battle, maybe. But I’d rather try than give up.
Thanks for your thoughts.
@Felinelover I must say that if the HO leaves a review the sitter would be notified by email. If no email has been sent within the 14 days, it is assumed that no review has been submitted. Not sure if the same happens on the HO’s side.
@IvanAlej I would ask the previous sitters to write a review for you now (and perhaps you might consider writing a review also for them). You could then copy and paste those reviews on the description of your sitting highlighting them as much as you can.
It could also be worth it to ask for a character reference, but I’m not sure if this applies only to sitters or also to HOs.
You may want to mark this topic “resolved,” & can also request @Jenny or one of the other moderators close it if you feel you’ve received all the constructive input you require at this point.
There are plenty of sitters that sit locally. The reasons are limitless, but some are to take a break from roommates, home construction, seeing a show in the city, a weekend country getaway, rent avoidance, not allowed pets in the current living situation and researching other neighborhoods for a move.
I am based in a large sitting with tons of local THS sitters. The next big city, four hours away has even more local sitters.
If I were you @IvanAlej I would contact the Support team. In case both you and the previous sitters agree on writing each other a review, they could be flexible and allow to publish these on both sides. As far as I know, they are very strict on the 14 day time frame, but I think it is still worth it to ask.
Another option could be waiting until the yearly renewal is due, cancelling the membership and registering again from the scratch with a new posting. You could also do it now, but I’m not sure if you could get a refund for the remaining membership.
A sitting with no previous sitters looks better than a sitting with no reviews. Sitters who had already seen the posting might remember and still not apply, but there are always new people searching in the area or new subscribers .
Support team might advise you on either option or give you further solutions on the matter.
All the best and please do appreciate the hard work of the sitters 
I stand corrected then. Local to me is within 30 minutes away. I sit two hours away and that is the big city. Local to me is the same neighborhood.
Hi
Took a look at your photos as your house really does look like an Airbnb. I would avoid sits that are rented out as they often have very basic facilities especially kitchen equipment. Do you have any current photos that show it as a lived in house? Also like others have mentioned the lack of reviews can be a deterrent, do you have any personal reviews of friends who have pet sat for you?
Leave a paragraph in your introdcution explaining the review situation. A nice mia culpla. It won’t hurt.
Outsiders need to be careful when dealing with border agents because America is unfriendly to visitors. Especially visitors that are entering the country to provide a service that is explicitly prohibited by the rules and regulations of that country.