Star ratings are a great idea
I read and trust the reviews of former sitters, and will be disappointed if they gloss over the downside of their sit.
I am currently in an AirBnB and had to re-read the reviews to find the little comments buried that told the truth about this AirBnB being a total dump. Im stuck here now 5 weeks.
I owe my fellow sitters the truth and wont hold back on the positives nor the negatives, hope you will do the same. This is our profession and like GlassDoor, we really need to know what we are getting in to. Plus the homeowners may think dirty linens and kitchen are ok, assuming we are housecleaners too. These things need to be very clear; and can be done in a kind, professional manner.
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I just completed a house sit where the bins were not emptied and overfilling, there was no space in the fridge for us filled with leftovers (yuck!), we had to go out and buy dog food because there was hardly any left and there was dog faeces dried up everywhere in the backyard. No space to park the car and had to be on the road.
Of course i didn’t complain during the sit and attended to it all but i certainly wont be returning. They want me back for a future sit despite feedback provided directly.
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@HappySunflower For the sake of future sitters, I hope that you mention the problems (except the parking, maybe the HOs can’t change that) in your review.
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Free house/petsitting is not a profession, and most people on THS work for a living.
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I sure did
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My apologies for the misunderstanding, no sitting is not my “profession” but I look at each sit from a professional point of view.
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Indeed FREE pet sitting is not a profession but there are pro pet sitters and agencies out there, so it is a profession, and a hard job too
Reviews should be organised like in tripadvisor/ amazon etc. with total scores as an average (stars) and different scores (stars) for both sitter AND homeowners for different categories and be kept anonymous.
Comments if necessary, should be left between the sitter and the homeowner privately and with THS if any problems.
As a sitter, I can give my point of view from my side but am sure there are also bad stories of sitters equally.
Homeowners do not want to be “publicly” told that their house is dirty or their pet badly behaved and some sitters wouldn’t want to be judged unfairly or picked at for pointing this out (and vice versa)
Bad review HO or PS, if not consistent with the rest of the reviews then there is a more complicated story behind it…
Someone here spoke about the home owner as their “boss”, I don’t agree with this at all. We are the boss of ourself, and it is true for the HO and the PS.
I have found actually that the sitter has the upper hand when it comes to choosing.
There can be many misunderstandings and miscommunications that could be avoided with fairer ratings.
As a sitter I read all reviews where I choose a HO. When there is a negative one, then I go and find the other side and on and on until I have a clearer picture of the person/ place and story.
Once I accepted a sit that had no review and found this strange, then I discovered why…
Also I once noticed a HO who gave average reviews (and seriously that is not good enough) to most of their sitters… which also makes you think twice before sitting for that person.
It is equally difficult for first time HO and PS (first time on this site doesn’t mean in other places) to be “trusted” so reviews are important and should be done in a honest way. Categories are important for both sides,
In brief, anonymous reviews -stars and categories for both,
and only the total to be showed on the profile.
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Of course.
Agree. However, we rely on positive reviews. Sometimes it depends on who goes first in submitting a review. What we need is a separate forum to rate hosts but this could backfire too. In australia, we are just starting to explore this in relation to rating landlords.
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Oh, really? I would like to rate a few former landlords/property mgrs in Sydney! 
As a general comment, I thought it was too bad that Yelp never took off in Australia.
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I been reading this topic with interest. We have only had one couple sit for us last year who were brilliant. I had a look at some of the sitter reviews. It was hard to find any that did not have 5 stars. When I found a couple who didn’t I had a look to see what the problems were ( to help me learn what was needed). In each case I found that the replies were quite aggressive and each blamed the other. If this is the case, who is to be believed, the sitter or the HO and how does that bode for future sits? If people retaliate like this, how does the rating system really work?
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It doesn’t! This is widely discussed here in many threads and might be changed sometime in the future.
So far you need to read between the lines for red flags.
In cases where HO and sitters write aggressive reviews/feedback I would actually stay clear of those (sorry for skipping the chance of having great sitters), because I wouldn’t know who speaks the truth. Usually in cases like these both sides are responsible, because there was a lack in communication beforehand and there’s not only one to blame for everything that went wrong.
I don’t give much on 5-star reviews as well, because it’s simply not possible that there are that many people doing so very great. 5-star means outstanding! 4 stars are actually good.
I rather rely on my gut feeling, the video call and, what was the case with my last sitter couple, that there have been return sits. When sitters are asked to come again, they must have done a good job.
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Thank you for replying. It is a help. I would very much agree with you about communication before hand and as much as possible.
That’s some great wording, there! I appreciate the ideas (and hope I will never need to use). Thanks, Petermac!
Hi @Coco and thank you @anon39388349 for helping …
As @anon39388349 has said the review system is under review to find a system that is fair and works to give a true reflection from both perspectives.
However reviews are just one aspect, a very important one of course but choosing the right sitter is a process and involves considering more than one part of the whole.
It is about communication and making the right choices based on all of the information available and the direct contact made prior to reaching a mutual agreement and confirming.
Are we not able to leave photos of the home interior in a review? (Asking as I’m new)
No, you are not.
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Is there an option for the sitter to leave a review?
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