We’ve been travelling already for 3 months via THS, that’s an amazing experience.
But sometimes that is not so, when the pics of the house on website differs from reality. And mostly I mean the order and cleanliness in the house.
It’s not first time when the HO leaves the house in total mess and I am not the fan to stay in one and I just clean. But if I not?
At the end the HO rates my cleanliness and if they left it and I didn’t clean then they rate me with low rate?
I mean is there any possibility that THS website can also add the rates to HO, not only to HS. I like the people, the pet, for example, but I don’t appreciate the mess they left.
I am not pedantic at all, but at least I would appreciate if HO won’t leave dirty dishes, greasy stove and tables, and sticky floors.
When I come to the house and see the HO busy with packing and stuff, it’s quite embarrassing to ask them to clean everything.
Ok, I am open to hear your opinions.
@Mariyka_mir , THS had said they plan to add review categories for sitters just as there are for owners. They were not introduced concurrently with the new system to allow any glitches with the new system to be handled first. Like you, I’d like to see them as soon as possible and a category for clean and tidy to be included.
I think they’re in the process of adding the five categories for the rating in the Ho review so that is progress @Mariyka_mir - we’ve also had grubby houses to contend with. Our solution so far is clean them on arrival (they’ve never been hideous) and only the rooms we are using and then mention NOTHING about cleanliness in the review. Just the animals and the greeting/house/space/location and hope it comes through. Not ideal but a workaround until it improves
@Mariyka_mir this is just one of many inequalities between homeowners and sitters. HOs are the cash cows of THS and without them the site would not exist. The sitters are the work bees, and they are easily replaceable through a clever marketing campaign promising carefree travel in exotic locations. THS has always paid more attention to what the owners are requesting, but often sitters’ requests are ignored. What I’ve done in the past is mentioned in the review – I had a good time walking with Fluffy, but perhaps a thorough cleaning before future guests arrive would enhance the overall experience or… Despite some minor cleanliness concerns, I enjoyed our time at Ann’s home and I am grateful for the experience.
You can also leave a comment to your review once it is posted – for example: Thank you for allowing me to house sit at your lovely home. I truly appreciate the experience. I noticed that the floors could benefit from thorough cleaning, the fridge needed attention, and the trash bins were full upon our arrival. Perhaps taking care of these for future sits, will make everyone’s experience more enjoyable.
There’s crumbs everywhere, moldy bread, rotten veggies on the counter, food scraps in the sink trap… come on!
The fridge was also half full of moldy food, and nearly empty jars of condiments. The interior was so dirty I did not want to put my food in it until I cleaned it.
Every surface in the kitchen is greasy and has visible sticky lumps of unknown substances.
Though the dishes in the dishwasher had been just run through a cycle (in fact it was still running before the family left) and everything was still dirty. Ran it again, and it was STILL DIRTY. So I guess they live like this… so I just put their dirty dishes in the cabinet.
… and the COBWEBS? Like, I get it in very high corners of the ceiling, but that’s not acceptable at easily accessed areas like windows and shelves.
I even had to run the washing machine empty, on a “sanitize” cycle, because I did not want to put my laundry in their dirty machine.
We had a video chat! We had “good” photos of the house. Everything you can do for due diligence, besides asking them to run a finger across a surface and then hold it up to the camera lens during our video meeting.
I am so grateful that I can finally post an honest review at the end of this sit, because it’s clear that the other sitters who gave five stars were fearing retaliation. I am going to implement my own rating system, and include it on my reviews. (Maybe that is something we can crowdsource as a group?)
Thankfully the pet is adorable and well behaved so at least there’s that!
I just felt disrespect with all this mess, lots of trash and greasy tables, baby diapers everywhere, broken windows so I can feel the wind.
They asked us to come 2 days beforehand and already on the first day asked to walk the dog, even though they were still at home. I felt like - am I hired in here?
I don’t think not to mention the cleanliness of the house is a solution, cuz this app is a win-win opportunity, not boss-employee relationship, where HS start to literally work in the house.
There is likely another thread about this. What should the categories be? Here are a few ideas:
Clean and tidy
Communication - Pre, During, Welcome Guide
Organized
Pets and Care Description Accurate
Supportive
Followed all the Rules
Home Photos and Description Accurate
Respectful
My current sit had many great reviews. Only one mentioned it being clean. Lucky for me, because I would’ve skipped it otherwise. The house is actually clean and the other sitters were just bad a covering that. That’s the problem with having to read between lines with reviews — some people are just bad review-writers and there’s not actually anything to read between lines, but there’s no good way to tell that. I support explicit reviews and ratings for hosts as well.
Yuk! It makes me retch when reading things like this. I’ve not had too many really dirty homes but certainly a couple of disgusting fridges and ovens. Why owners don’t take notice of the THS request to clean everything before owners arrive I don’t know. We should be reporting dirty owners to THS so at least they get a warning in addition we can now be more honest in our reviews without fear of retaliation.
I don’t mention it in my reviews. I don’t really need level of cleanliness that one expects in a hotel room. I often tell owners not to stress about any deep cleaning for my sake.
All homes where I have been have been clean enough for me. Sometimes, I find some dirt but that is then often at the end of the sit, when I start cleaning.
The only hygiene thing that has bothered me was when pets ran over tables, the kitchen counter, etc.
I don’t expect hotel clean. I don’t want to have to clean up after people’s messes or grime, though. Luckily, I’ve had only one dirty house, and that wasn’t as bad as what some sitters have encountered.
We’ve encountered a few dirty houses, but what the OP has described is just horrible. On our last sit we had to run the dishwasher twice on arrival because was full of moldy, stinky, food covered dishes. The trash was also full and the fridge was grimy and full with half rotten produce. We try to think that just how the people live, and it’s not a deliberate act. We have started taking pictures on arrival and rating the house cleanliness from 1 to 5 - room by room. It takes a bit of time, but it’s the best way to protect ourselves. On our last sit the oven was so disgusting , so we decided not to use it all, but we still took pictures in case the owners later mentioned that it has not been clean. We follow @Cuttlefish’s practice - if the house is dirty we clean it on arrival, if the house is clean, we clean it on our departure. As an unwritten rule if the sit was good our last sentence in the review is always that we recommend that sit.
Totally fair @Mariyka_mir if it’s as you describe. That’s beyond disgusting. Contact membership services, ask for help, take photos and write an honest review. We were talking about “grubby” not “filthy” in our approach. Can you leave the sit?
Thr majority of our sits have been fine but, we’ve been to a few beautiful homes where the ovens, microwaves and / or fridges have been disgustingly unhygienic! On a long sit, we’ll clean them (for our own sake!) If they’re dirty but, on filler sits of just a few days, we won’t.
We’ve done sits where we’ve been told the silver cutlery needs polishing after use and all glassware must be washed by hand, so now we carry a couple of our own plates, glasses, mugs and cutlery, plus a portable induction hob, pan and coffee pot. We travel to sits by car, so carrying a few bits and pieces is not a problem.
I have been known to occasionallt run crockery and cutlery through the dishwasher, before we’ll use it.
We always strip the bed and wash bedlinen and towels before leaving a sit. In one very grand old house, I was horrified to see the state of the duvet and pillows we’d been using!
People have different standards of cleanliness. Most sits have been absolutely fine and some outstandingly so.
Company design choices should be consistent with the company’s overall messaging, including advertisements, mission, terms of use, and code of conduct. This includes ensuring accurate listings.
Review systems should be designed for their intended purpose, which is to provide feedback and insights into user experiences. Conflating review systems with the responsibility for ensuring accurate information can lead to misuse and a lack of focus on providing valuable feedback.
“Shadow work” refers to the practice of companies outsourcing their responsibilities to their customers. This can include tasks such as content moderation, customer service, and quality control.
To address this issue, this company should provide clear and accessible reporting mechanisms for users to flag inaccurate information or inappropriate behavior. This could include adding a “Report” function to listings and messages, allowing users to directly report issues to the company.
It’s important to differentiate between reporting mechanisms and review systems.
Reporting mechanisms are intended to address specific issues and violations, while review systems are used for general feedback and recommendations.
By clearly defining these purposes and providing appropriate reporting tools, this company can reduce the burden on their customers and ensure a more reliable and positive user experience.
On the new review system one could do this in a review:
Pets *****
Communication *****
Cleanliness **
Overall my stay at blah blah was good. Pet behavior was as expected and the location was great for public transportation. As a sitter I would have appreciated the home being as clean as presented in photos. I had to clean upon my arrival, which included more than should be expected of a sitter and less than what a HO should provide.
