How the TrustedHouseSitters Blind Review System Works in 2026

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Quick Facts

The blind review system removes the single biggest source of dishonesty in house sitting reviews, but only if both sides actually use it properly. Neither party can see the other's review until both are submitted, or the 14-day window closes, which means there's no advantage to waiting and no reason to hold back an honest, specific review out of fear of retaliation. What still trips people up: what happens if that window closes with no review at all, and whether it can be fixed after the fact.

The TrustedHouseSitters blind review system launched in November 2023 after being one of the most requested community improvements for years. Before it, sitters and homeowners could see each other's reviews as soon as one was posted. Whoever went second could tailor their review in response to what the first party had written. The blind system removes that dynamic entirely. Neither party sees what the other has written until both have submitted, or the 14-day window expires.

Based on 20 sits across 12 countries, we have left and received reviews across the full range of sit quality. This article explains exactly how the system works in 2026, how to write a review that is useful rather than just polite, what to do if you receive something unfair, and why the empty review section is one of the most telling signals on any profile.

How the Blind System Actually Works

When a sit ends, both the sitter and the homeowner have 14 days to leave a review. During that window, neither party can see what the other has written. The review you leave is submitted into a sealed system.

Once both reviews have been submitted, or once the 14-day window closes on whichever party has not yet reviewed, both reviews become visible simultaneously. This means the person who reviews second cannot adjust their review in response to what the first person wrote. Both reviews are the independent, uninfluenced view of each party.

The practical implication: there is no advantage to waiting. Write your review within 24 to 48 hours of leaving. Do not hold back hoping the homeowner goes first. You cannot see their review either way until both are in. The sitter who waits gains nothing except the risk that 14 days passes and neither review is submitted.

The platform also allows public responses to reviews on your profile. A homeowner or sitter can reply to a review that others can read. This is useful but should be used carefully, which we cover below.

Before the Blind System: Why It Mattered

Before November 2023, the review system had a clear problem. Whoever reviewed second had an advantage: they could read the first review and either match it in tone, respond to criticisms, or adjust their framing based on what had already been said publicly.

This created systematic pressure toward inflated reviews. If a homeowner left a positive review first, a sitter who had actually had a mixed experience felt pressure to reciprocate generously. If a sitter reviewed first and was honest about a problem, they risked the homeowner responding with a retaliatory review.

The blind system solves this. Both parties write their review without knowing what the other has said. The result is more honest reviews from both sides, because neither party is reacting to the other.

In practice, the community is still working this out. The forum debate about whether blind reviews have actually changed review honesty is ongoing. Our experience: the blind system has made us slightly more willing to note specific issues in a review, because we know we are not triggering a retaliatory response before the homeowner has read ours.

Our Star Rating Framework

This is how we personally approach the star rating, built up across 20 sits.

Five stars: The sit was a great experience overall. Good communication with the homeowner, pets were as described, the home was as listed, we enjoyed the time. Minor issues (a dirty corner, a fuse that melted, fleas we had to manage on one sit) do not reduce the overall rating if the experience itself was positive. Most sits are five stars.

Four stars: One serious failure in a specific category. The home was significantly dirtier than the listing suggested. Communication from the homeowner was poor throughout. The pets were different from the description in a meaningful way. One serious issue that affected the experience warrants reflecting that in the rating.

Three stars or below: Multiple serious failures, or one category that was truly unacceptable. Home not as described, homeowner demands that exceeded what was agreed, pets that were dangerous and not disclosed, communication that was effectively absent.

One star: A sit that was a complete breakdown across multiple dimensions. Bad communication, the home not matching the listing, unrealistic demands, the homeowner being dishonest. This rating is reserved for situations that were truly harmful to the sitter.

The key principle: the rating should reflect the experience, not the person. A homeowner who left a slightly messy house but was warm, communicative, and whose pets were lovely is not a bad homeowner. They deserve a full rating with an honest note about the cleanliness. A homeowner who misrepresented the sit, went silent, and left the sitter dealing with an undisclosed animal health situation is a different story.

What to Actually Write in the Review

Most sitter reviews of homeowners say almost nothing useful. They confirm the homeowner was lovely, the pets were adorable, and the location was wonderful. These things may all be true and none of them help the next sitter decide whether to apply.

The review that is actually useful contains specific information that the listing did not cover. Not emotional language. Factual detail.

Useful information to include: What the pets were actually like to care for, beyond the listing description. If a dog had separation anxiety that was not mentioned, note it. If a cat turned out to be completely independent and easy, say that. The next sitter is making a decision based on the same listing you applied to.

Any condition of the home on arrival that differed from the listing. Not to shame the homeowner. To give an accurate picture. We noted the cleanliness in Kefalonia and in Luxembourg. Both reviews still expressed genuine gratitude for the experience. The information was there.

Anything about the homeowner's communication style. Responsive and proactive, or quiet? Did they check in during the sit? Were they easy to reach in the moment something needed resolving?

Anything specifically positive that goes beyond the generic. We mentioned in one review that the dog in Manosque was like a shadow: always beside us, full of love, occasionally anxious but manageable and clearly attached to people. That is a detail the next sitter can actually use when deciding whether this is the right sit for them.

What to leave out: Emotional language that makes the review about you rather than the homeowner. "We had the most magical experience" is nice to read and meaningless to act on. "The homeowner left a detailed welcome guide, the pets were exactly as described, and the home was clean and well-equipped" tells the next sitter something concrete.

The Kefalonia and Luxembourg Reviews

Kefalonia had fleas: nine undisclosed cats we only discovered days into the sit. The home needed cleaning on arrival. We handled both. We still had a wonderful two weeks on a Greek island, rode out a cyclone in a solid house rather than in the van, and were grateful for the experience. The review was five stars overall, with the cleanliness marked down, and a factual note that flea treatment had been needed for the outdoor cats. The homeowner's warmth and the experience overall warranted the rating. The specific issues warranted the note.

Luxembourg was a split sit. The house had been left in a state by the previous sitter. The overall experience was still positive, but the cleanliness score reflected what we found when we arrived.

Neither review was a takedown. Both were honest about something that would be useful for the next sitter or homeowner to know.

The Empty Review Section

An empty review section on a homeowner's or sitter's profile is one of the most useful signals on the platform, and one that is almost never discussed.

Three possibilities explain a missing review: the other party forgot, the window expired and neither submitted, or one party decided the sit was too bad to review and simply let the time run out rather than leave something negative.

The third scenario is the most important to understand. Many sitters and homeowners who have a truly poor experience choose not to leave a review rather than leave a negative one. This feels kind in the moment and creates a real problem for the community. The next sitter who applies to that listing has no information about what happened.

A homeowner with 20 sits and 18 reviews has two unreviewed sits. Those two gaps tell a story. They might be nothing. They might be the sits where the sitter had a bad enough experience that they decided silence was better than conflict. A pattern of gaps across a profile is worth taking seriously.

An empty profile entirely is a different situation. Everyone starts somewhere. But a profile with multiple unreviewed sits in a pattern warrants asking the homeowner directly during the video call: "I noticed a few sits without reviews. Is there anything you'd like to share about those?" Most homeowners with nothing to hide will answer without hesitation.

Timing: Write It Within 48 Hours

Write your review within 24 to 48 hours of leaving the sit. The experience is fresh, the details are clear, and you are more likely to write something specific and useful than you would be a week later when it has blurred into a general impression.

In our experience, we are almost always first to submit. The homeowner's review typically arrives a day or two after ours. If a week passes with no review, we send a gentle reminder through whatsapp. Our template, used successfully multiple times:

"Hello [name], hope you and [pet name] are doing well. We were just wondering if we could get a review, as it really helps us with getting future house sits. If there is anything you would like to discuss first, please do reach out. Thank you again for the lovely sit."

Most homeowners respond within a day. Those who do not were probably not going to review regardless of the reminder.

If you're not yet a member, TrustedHouseSitters is the platform this whole review system runs on.

What to Do If You Receive an Unfair Review

This is the scenario the community dreads and nobody covers clearly.

First, distinguish between a review that is honest and one that is fabricated or inaccurate. If the review reflects a real failure on your part (you were less communicative than you should have been, the home was not as clean as expected) acknowledge it. A public response that takes responsibility is far more credible than one that defends or argues. Arguing online makes both parties look difficult. Taking the high ground and acknowledging the criticism with maturity is what future homeowners will notice and respect. Our guide to negative reviews covers responding in full.

If the review contains factually incorrect information that you can demonstrate is untrue with messages, photos, or platform records, compile your evidence and contact THS membership services. Request a review of the submission. THS does have a process for challenging reviews that contain demonstrably false information. Document the evidence clearly: timestamped photos, message screenshots, the original welcome guide. The more specific your evidence, the more seriously the platform can assess the claim.

What you should not do: respond to an unfair review with emotion, make specific accusations about the homeowner in your response, or enter into a public back-and-forth. Your public response is visible to every homeowner who views your profile. A calm, factual, professional response is the one that reflects well on you.

A Review Writing Template

Not a script. A structure. Adapt every sit.

Opening line: State what the sit involved and how long it lasted. "We looked after [pet names] for two weeks at [homeowner]'s home in [location]."

The pets: Specific and honest. "The cats were independent and easy to care for." / "The dog had higher separation anxiety than the listing indicated but settled within a few days and was a joy to be around."

The home: Factual. "The home was well-equipped and clean on arrival." / "The home needed some tidying on arrival but nothing that wasn't manageable."

The homeowner: Communication and reliability. "Communication with [name] was excellent throughout. They checked in regularly and were quick to respond to any questions."

Would you recommend: Most reviews should end with a clear recommendation. "We would be delighted to sit for [name] again and would highly recommend this sit to other sitters."

If noting an issue: Factual, one sentence, not dwelt upon. "We did need to manage a flea situation with the outdoor cats on arrival. Worth being aware of."

What If Someone Asks You to Send Your Review After the Deadline?

This comes up more than people expect: the 14-day window closes, one side never left a review, and the other side, having already left theirs, messages directly asking for the review to be sent by email or message so they can request it be manually added to the platform.

Based on how the system is actually built, and on real, current community discussion about this exact situation, we don't believe this works. The blind review window appears to function as a genuinely tamper-proof deadline, not a soft guideline. We haven't found any confirmed process where Membership Services will manually add a review submitted after the fact based on a message from either party. If you're on the receiving end of this request, it's reasonable to explain honestly that you don't believe the platform allows this, rather than feeling obligated to write something you're not sure will ever actually be used.

You're also not obligated to leave a review at all. We personally almost always do, a review, even a brief one, gives genuinely useful information to the next sitter or homeowner, and a blank one doesn't. But if you'd genuinely rather not, for whatever reason, that's your choice to make, not something the other party is entitled to pressure you into after the window has already closed.

The better fix is earlier, not after the fact. We message homeowners about a week after a sit if a review hasn't come through yet, framed as an invitation to talk rather than a demand: if something specific didn't sit right with them, we'd genuinely rather hear about it directly than have it show up as silence or a low rating with no context. That conversation, had while there's still time within the window, resolves almost everything before it ever becomes a post-deadline request. Our guide to conflict resolution on TrustedHouseSitters covers how to have that kind of conversation constructively if there's a real issue underneath the silence.

If the request turns into pressure rather than a simple ask, you're not obligated to keep engaging. Block further correspondence if it becomes unprofessional, and report the situation to the platform, not to punish anyone, but to have an accurate record on file. One thing worth remembering: staying in a sit's home, or hosting a sitter, doesn't create an ongoing relationship you're required to maintain. In the best cases, sitters and homeowners genuinely become friends and the community grows because of it. But it's unrealistic to expect that from every match, and you're under no obligation to keep the door open with someone just because you once shared a house.

Conclusion

The blind review system is one of the best changes THS has made. It removes the retaliatory dynamic, gives both parties the space to write accurately, and is close to the only way to get genuine feedback circulating in the community.

The system only works if sitters use it properly. Write the review. Write it accurately. Note the things that would have been useful to know before you arrived. And read other sitters' reviews the same way: not for the star rating but for the specific details that the listing left out.

Caro and I have completed 20 house sits across 12 countries, driven 19,000km across Europe in our 1998 VW T4, and saved over $26,500 in accommodation costs over three years of house sitting through TrustedHouseSitters. Read our guide to handling a negative review before you need it. DM us @housesittersguide, we answer everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How does the TrustedHouseSitters blind review system work?

  Both the sitter and homeowner have 14 days to leave a review after a sit ends. Neither can see the other's review until both have submitted, or until the 14-day window closes. This prevents either party from tailoring their review in response to what the other has written. The system launched in November 2023 and replaced the previous arrangement where reviews were visible as soon as they were posted. Our full THS review covers the platform in detail.

• Should I wait to see if the homeowner reviews me first?

  No. There is no advantage to waiting. You cannot see their review regardless of when you submit yours. Write your review within 24 to 48 hours of leaving the sit while the experience is fresh. If you wait too long, the 14-day window can close and no review is submitted from either side.

• What should I do if I receive an unfair TrustedHouseSitters review?

  If the review is honest, acknowledge it with a calm public response and move on. If the review contains factually false information, compile your evidence (messages, photos, platform records) and contact THS membership services to request a review. Our negative review guide covers both scenarios in full.

• Is an empty review section on a TrustedHouseSitters profile a red flag?

  Yes, especially if it is a pattern. A single gap could be an oversight. Multiple sits with no reviews often suggests one party chose not to review because the experience was poor enough to opt out rather than leave something negative. Ask about unreviewed sits during the pre-sit video call.

• Can I get a review added after the 14-day deadline has passed?

  Based on how the system is built, and on current, ongoing community discussion around this exact situation, we don't believe there's a confirmed process for this. The window appears to function as a genuinely tamper-proof deadline rather than a soft guideline. If someone asks you to send your review by message or email after the deadline so they can request it be manually added, it's reasonable to explain that you don't believe the platform allows this, rather than assume it will actually work.

• Am I obligated to leave a review if the other party asks me to after the deadline?

  No. You're never obligated to leave a review, before or after the window closes. If you'd genuinely rather not, that's your decision to make. If a request for a late review turns into repeated pressure, you're entitled to block further correspondence and report the situation to the platform, this isn't about punishing anyone, it's about having an accurate record on file.

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