So I had a sit scheduled to start on the 24th of February the same day another one ended, everything lined up perfect. The owner texted said she got a better flight to leave the 22 nd … ok, I agreed my wife would stay at the sit about to end and I arrived today. Owner and 2 friends went off to the airport, ok great. Now the owner is off on her trip and the 2 friends are back at the house because they missed their flight. Are the flying out tomorrow or Sunday you may ask ??
NO next Thursday so basically they will be on this 10 day sit for 8 days
Are you kidding me wtf
My wife and I are fans of our personal space and not living under a roof with strangers
Politely said this is not going to work can you get a hotel? He tells me, No we spent all our $ on the flight😡… I then said you are going to make me spend $ on a hotel.
He tells me no you can stay, we spend a lot of time in the bedroom. But he did advise they can watch the dog.
These are adults in their 40’s not kids -unF’n real
I’ll take any advice but waiting until the owner lands at her destination and then making the call that I’m Leaving
This situation leaves no room for doubt; its ridiculous and totally unacceptable. It contravenes T&Cs. Have you contacted Membership Services? I’d do it now, and message the pet parent now as well. It’s imperative you get the sit cancelled ASAP so you can apply for other sits.
@Junior you can realistically leave the sit now, since it’s not properly begun and you won’t be leaving the pets unattended. Please contact the pet parent immediately and get her written acknowledgement that you are rejecting the sit becsuse she has contravened the T&Cs. Send it to MS and get this sit cancelled.
Thank goodness you still have a couple of days left at your other sit, so you can tske stock and check out other sit opportunities.
A question: when does this problem sit officially commence? You can’t have officially agreed to overlap, so presumably this new sit doesnt start until 24th?
These friends are not in a position to make any decisions about you.
I wonder whether the HOs actually know that they missed the flight and have returned to their house. As @Happypets states, you need to contact the HOs as soon as they land.
I also agree with everything that @Happypets says. If you have problems contacting Membership Services then keep trying, asking to speak to a human if you go down the Chatbox route.
As the sitting doesn’t actually start until tomorrow, you can leave the house immediately.
THS have a strict policy around sitters leaving sits because of concerns around abandonment of pets .
However In your situation
The official THS doesn’t start until tomorrow. ( so you can leave today )
The third parties have said they will look after the pets . ( so you are not abandoning the pets )
Usually you will need to involve THS if you want to look for another sit as they will have to cancel the dates before you can apply for a replacement sit.
If you are a Premium member you may be entitled to cover the cost of alternative accommodation for the confirmed dates of the sit as the homeowner has broken the agreement by having third parties staying in the home . You would need to deal with THS to see if you are covered and you have to do this asap for a valid claim .
However I can see it might not be possible to involve THS today as overlapping sits are not permitted and officially (until tomorrow ) you are still at the first sit ( where your wife currently is ) .
In this situation it may be best to inform the homeowner that you are leaving this sit today ( leaving the pets in the care of the other houseguests) and go back to the sit you are officially on ( with your wife )
All the best and please let the forum know how it all works out.
@Junior Welcome to the forum. It’s unfortunate it’s under these circumstances.
You have 2 options from the sound of:
Stay and continue the sit with the others in the home
Call THS and tell them the owners have a 3rd party in the house and they do not wish to leave and can they terminate the the sit based on the owners breaching the terms. As Happypets says you’re not abandoning the pets as there are people there.
Personally I would take option 2. the downside is that it can cost you a lot of money unless you have travel insurance that covers this type of trip curtailment or you have premium membership that should cover this under the insurance. You may be able to find a last minute listing close by once the dates are removed from you profile.
First option sharing the home with unvetted strangers looking after the pets doesn’t appeal. They sound unreliable at best if they missed their flights can’t get another for a week so who knows what they’re like as house-guests.
That’s really frustrating, and frankly odd. They missed the flight–OK. So you get rebooked on the next one. But sounds like that would have cost them. So this is their vacation.
Thanks for the feedback it is much appreciated.
So here is the update……
Late last night the houseguest came out of his room to advise they got an Airbnb starting Sunday to Thursday when they fly home. So that is good.
Now it’s Friday. After review with my wife we have advised the HO we will be back on Sunday after her house guests leave with the understanding the house guests will watch the dog until Sunday. I believe we are all on the same page now.
So now need to find and Airbnb for 2 nights versus 10 if we cancelled the whole sit.
Hopefully that will be the end of this saga
This Sounds like a a good solution for all parties. I recommend that you also advise THS of the situation so there is a written record to cover yourself if there is any negatively from the homeowner in their post sit review.
Something like
“Homeowner has guests staying at the home until 25th. We have agreed with homeowner to start the sit a day later on 25th and take over care of the pets and home when the guests have left”
Couldn’t agree more, I have doubts about it, everyone I know would book the flight for the next day and move on. They were not exactly upset about missing the flight
Things happen I get it, but, be an adult and go get a hotel rather than put me in this position and break THS rules. Worse case their friend, the HO could have lent them the $ and work that out later, don’t make it my problem.
i’ve noticed a cpl of sits lately where ppl are actually wanting a sitter while they are still living in the home and also one where the owner is working and wants someone in during the day as pet is anxious. why are homeowners not getting the full understanding of the rules? and i’m beginning to feel viewed as free help
And why are THS not picking this up and dealing with it? Totally fed up with the number of sits offered that don’t meet guidelines. I used to report them but don’t bother now as I am not an unpaid monitor for the site and despite simple suggestions to reduce instances of this (i.e. a check list for home owners to tick) nothing has changed.
Hello and welcome @thebestbear, I would like to suggest that you use the search and check out members’ experience has been with making insurance claims…
