As a sitter who has had 2 sits cancelled, the addition of cancellation records would improve my experience with THS.
I personally wouldn’t see 1 cancellation and completely avoid applying to a sit, however if a host has excessive cancellations relative to completed sits (regardless of the cancellation reasons), then I would probably reconsider applying to the sit or expect to have to book last minute accommodations. Many hosts would have the same approach for sitters with excessive cancellations.
Totally, there really is no way to do it without someone getting the short end of the stick. As someone who has always been cancelled on or date changed - I just wish there was more accountability as there was never a “serious” reason when it was done to me and I was left to pick up the pieces. If someone has a death in the family, etc. no sane person would begrudge them a cancellation. But, I have been through all of these things and have not cancelled. I think it’s reasonable to meet halfway somewhere.
@SeniorSitter1, we support idea of sit cancellation record on profile of both parties.
But comment above seems harsh. Issue to which you refer is the case on both sides.
We’ve certainly spoken with a subset of pet parents that exhibit employer mindset or free labour mindset. We speak with them in video calls and we withdraw related applications. Suspect this gnarly topic is unrelated to sit cancellations.
In my opinion the reason for the cancellation is not important. What is important is how often a host or sitter cancels confirmed sits. For instance, if a host has 3 recent cancellations (due to a major hospitalization, death in the family, or airline cancelled flight due to travel advisory) then most sitters would understand that theses cancellations were completely out of the host’s control, yet most sitters would view this host’s listed sits as highly probable of being cancelled. Showing the record of cancellations just helps the other party plan better, not to punish anyone.
@Sarah88 I’m a sitter and I’ve had 4 HOs cancel on me. Only one had an actual reason. All of those cost me money. However, I still don’t think punishing everyone is the answer. On these forums we are not seeing the full picture, this is where people come to complain. I think cancellations without a valid reason are probably not that prevalent. I think it’s good for THS to track but not make it public. The fact is, if someone has a cancellation on their profile they will have to discuss it to ever get another sit or sitter.
Also, if they move to making cancellations public, they have to make the welcome guide available prior to confirmation. A sitter should not be penalized for cancelling a sit after seeing a welcome guide with surprises.
I understand, and you make an excellent point about the welcome guide. I simply don’t see it as punishment. There’s only so many ways one can have accountability on this site for canceling and changing dates and this is not the worst idea. The star reviews a can be seen as punishment, depending upon your perspective and circumstances as well. Chatting with you, I was thinking about maybe a reverse option.. just throwing it out there, but something like giving members who have NOT cancelled a “Reliable” badge or something to that effect? Can you think of any ideas?
Thank you! Thank you to the website for drawing attention to this issue! Thank you to the site and its staff for everything! It might also be helpful to specify a timeframe within which a cancellation is generally considered acceptable—for instance, at least two weeks in advance; if a cancellation occurs closer to the date than this threshold, the user would then simply be required to provide evidence of the circumstances that necessitated the cancellation.
Fine—I believe that all sitters have the right to cancel a sit if there is still a month or more before it begins! Every single one of them, without exception! There are tons of sitters on the site—including plenty of new ones—so finding a sitter a month in advance is easy! You just need to avoid being biased or entitled, and you’ll find a sitter with no trouble. The reason for the cancellation is irrelevant in this context! A sitter has every right to change their mind!
Making cancellation stats public is not really helpful and could create inaccurate perceptions of perfectly good and reliable sitters.
If cancellations on the sitters end in particular were that big of a problem, I doubt they would have added a feature like this.
One incident of an illness or injury might lead a full-time sitter or someone sitting for an extended period to have to cancel numerous sits at once. Not really an accurate representation of their reliability.
A feature like this would almost certainly disproportionately affect solo sitters. I sit with my husband so if I broke my leg before the next dog sit, he could handle the walking and no need to cancel. Someone sitting by themselves wouldn’t have that same option.
What about when a host makes new requests or adds new responsibilities after confirming that the sitter would not have agreed to originally and they now want to cancel for perfectly legitimate reasons?
And blocking the ability to book new sits is not great either. For example If a sitter has to cancel a two week sit because of a funeral set for the day it starts, they should not be able to book anything for that whole length of time? Makes no sense.
It’s rare the site makes a change with which the membership is actually happy. I think this one would definitely not add anything helpful to the process or improve the experience for either side.
With this new feature, if THS is tracking cancellations on the sitter end and any chronic cancellers come to light , they may decide to investigate further.
@Jenny …hope this feedback gets passed on. This would be a really bad idea. I’m sure any sitter who thinks it is a good one has not needed to cancel a sit. But if they ever did I am sure they would feel differently.
This seems fair, and I’m pleased THS have implemented a feature many members have requested.
The one suggestion I have, is that possibly it should take more intervention for either party to cancel a sit within say 3-4 weeks of the start date (example only). For instance, if the sit begins in less than X number of days/weeks, it needs to be requested via THS Membership Services.
Hopefully it doesn’t happen often, but it seems like last-minute cancellations are so detrimental that maybe they should take an extra bit of effort so it’s even less likely they’d occur without good reason — and it would also allow THS to offer support to the member who has to seek alternative sitters or accommodation.
So, if I ever needed to cancel a sit because a family member was extremely ill and I needed to go help out, I shouldn’t be able to apply for a sit near where that family member lives? There are a lot of nuances when you get into dealing with life events, that’s why it’s difficult to make these types of policies.
Excellent points and I hope your feedback does get passed on. Just to say that if I do need to cancel, I trust that a homeowner that is the right fit for me would not hold a valid cancellation against me. Just as I would not hold one against them. I always take nuance into account and I probably wouldn’t match with a homeowner that did not do the same anyway.
No, I meant that if a sitter cancels, they shouldn’t have the ability to sit fot the canceled dates. If a HO cancel, they can’t advertise those dates for needing a sit.
If you are a HO who has an emergency, of course they can go sit where they need to be.
I disagree, I don’t think a month is necessarily long enough to ensure a HO finds a new sitter. If a sitter needs to cancel for minor reasons, then they need to provide a sufficient amount of time. I guess that all depends where the sit is. Also, if the HO is fine with it, then no problem.
Someone canceling because they feel like it, well, I wouldn’t want them as a sitter or HO.
I’m a sitter, you are saying if I had to cancel a sit because I had to be in a different location due to family illness, funeral, or other reason, I would not be able to apply for a sit in that other location. I would need to get a hotel or airbnb even if there is an open sit with zero applicants.
If a sitter needs to cancel a sit at location X due to a (say) health emergency and must travel to location Y for treatment, they should certainly have the ability to sit during the canceled dates at location Y.
