I’m sorry but this is a hard NO from me.
Why?
Well if I had x4 cancellations next to my name and the medical reason, why should my personal information be available to all and sundry?
In 2024 I had to cancel a series of sits 3-4 mths out, this was due to major surgery being required and I didn’t know if I’d be fully recovered sufficiently for walking large dogs or caring for equines.
So what would I write as the reason?
What medical evidence should I provide for a HO?
All the HOs got sitters and thanked me for cancelling to give them the option to find a sitter in a timely manner.
So a hard NO to putting cancellations on profiles.
It’s nice to know that TrustedHousesitters has our back!
No, from the platform. Premium members receive lodging reimbursement if an owner cancels…but only if the cancellation is within 14 days of the sit. Those of us who are responsible sitters will have arranged our transportation far longer in advance than 14 days. As a premium member, those cancellation benefits should kick in when we can show that we’ve purchased a plane ticket, not just when a sit is cancelled within 14 days of the sit commencement.
Well, after waiting for over a week for a reply from the HO and getting no response (they’ve not even read my message), I’ve gone ahead and canceled that sit. Weirdly, when I tried to do it on the website I got an error, but when I did it on the app it went through immediately.
It’s completely understandable. You can’t wait forever.
This is yet another situation that proves the importance of setting up an alternative means of communication, at least once the sit is confirmed. In my case, I always do a WhatsApp video chat before committing.
@Jenny, I don’t know if all HOs have been informed of this change in the cancellation process, but if they haven’t, I think it would be very important to do so. They need to be aware that a sit can be cancelled by sitters.
Let’s take this situation as an example. A sit is confirmed and welcome guide is sent. The sit is not going to take place in several months, so HO relaxes and doesn’t intend to check THS site or app until closer to the dates. They have notifications turned off and don’t see the sitters messages they’re not aware that the sit has been canceled and when they realize it might be too late to find a replacement.
The HO should and will receive an email advising of such. It is every homeowners and sitters responsibility to have notifications turned on for such an event so email can be sent. THS cannot always be responsible for what members choose to do or not to do. We need to be responsible for all our actions. It’s quite normal for any website to have email turned on to advise of any changes etc E.g. booking.com any changes will always be notified through the spp
I completely agree with you and I have notifications turned on but I often miss important notifications. For example, I have learned about this change and the new terms and conditions on the forum. I never received those emails. Not even as spam. Not sure why this is happening. Other members have also complained that they receive emails randomly.
What I always receive is notifications of confirmed sits and declined applications. I hope that’s the same for sits cancelled. I’ve never had one.
I’ve received emails consistently over three+ years, FWIW.
Don’t know why other folks would be receiving them inconsistently, but you have to make sure you don’t mark any as spam, because that might end up triggering your email provider to block emails from the specific sender — you wouldn’t even know they were being sent and they wouldn’t necessarily go into spam.
Same, I always give my WhatsApp number and ask for theirs. This HO never responded to my messages on WhatsApp either! So…
That’s so weird! It’s really great that you have been able to cancel.
Did you get options to justify the cancellation?
Sure did! I saw several options including: changed mind, can no longer do the sit for a few specific reasons (health I think was one?), safety concerns, and “other.” After selecting an option, I had 500 words to explain why I was canceling which was then sent to staff (the HO won’t see it).
Thanks for your answer.
Just to clarify, “welcome guide included undisclosed relevant information” was not one of the options?
I have had 2 sitters cancel on me in the past 2 months: both for health emergencies. I understand that things happen but both were rather last minute. I would like to see that cancellation records are part of the profile( it does not need to include a reason). For the record I have never cancelled a sit from my end as a homeowner/pet parent.
So, if I’ve understood correctly (from how you’ve described the process), anyone (host or sitter) can now cancel a sit at any time for whatever reason they choose and “extraordinary circumstances” are a thing of the past. That’s not aimed at you, by the way. It just seems we’ve all now been given equal free rein to do whatever we want without really having to justify ourselves
I think this is a VERY big mistake. The proverbial is about to hit the fan and the forum is going to be inundated with complaints and distress. I believe the HO will be most affected by this new update as sitters (who shouldn’t be on THS) will start finding “a better sit” and cancel for no good reason, a reason not quite honest. A recent two cases on the forum springs to mind.
Some people will always complain no matter what. I think it’s great that sitters can now cancel. It makes things more equal. We need to trust each other that people won’t cancel without a good reason, and most people indeed won’t.
Hi everyone,
I just want to clarify that there have been no changes to the “extraordinary circumstances” part of the sit cancellation process, as mentioned at the bottom of my announcement post.
Our Code of Conduct still clearly states that sitters and owners should only cancel in the event of extraordinary circumstances.
I checked the email that was sent out regarding the sitter cancellation update, and we also added confirmation to that email, as per below.
Jenny
@Jenny there can always be extraordinary circumstances when people need, or want there to be unfortunately.
As a new’ish member trying to housesit full time, I often have gaps to fill. There have been plenty of times I took a sit to fill a gap and then a better sit (whether it’s better filling the gap, or better logistics to get to the next sit or easier pets) comes up. I have searches and favourites still sending me notifications of new listing even if I’m booked. The temptation is there for a sitter to cancel.
Don’t get me wrong I want the right for sitters to cancel but I also agree with this by @ziggy. I’m not sure the best way to prevent the opportunist cancelling by sitters.