Another one😡

[bakindoki]

Just posting this for others (as I see you’re planning to leave)

… but the current work around might be to ask TH to shorten the sit to one day so that a review could be left and then you’d still be free to look at open sits, albeit one day later start.

to be honest, I’d also find it odd to not have an alternate contact number provided during the sit confirmation/vetting process. I know not everyone does video calls (which would require an alternate contact form) but even without it, I make sure to clarify that an alternate contact is a must. I’m also super wary of hosts who do not share welcome guides immediately after th sit is confirmed, or in the case of a sit that’s months away, I’d still expect to get one weeks as opposed to days out. If not recieved, I would be wary and reconsider the situation as thats a red flag to me.

[Silversitters]

@Dutchy

When was the last time you checked in with the host ? We usually check in one month before and then again 1 week out .

[MaggieUU]

@Silversitters

When a host cancels a sit and they select “Sitter cancelled “ as the reason , does THS verify this with the sitter ?

And the reason AND whether same sitter tries to apply to another sit during same period?

[Mark_B]

@Silversitters

When a host cancels a sit and they select “Sitter cancelled “ as the reason , does THS verify this with the sitter ?

@MaggieUU

And the reason AND whether same sitter tries to apply to another sit during same period?

In short, no.

At this time, my understanding is that the data is being looked at from a macro level.

[Silversitters]

In that case it would be easy for a host to blame the sitter so as to avoid any negative record on their own profile .

[Crosswords_and_puzzles]

@Silversitters @Mark_B Well, one way to verify is for THS to look at the message thread on the THS platform. This is how the sitter canceled on us. So, there’s that, at least, for verification.

[Nofurbabies]

But ‘sitter cancelled’ or ‘owner cancelled’ doesn’t give enough information. There should be other options within that eg bereavement, illness, family emergency, travel disruption.

[ChiaGrowth]

As long as the users dont get the data, who cares if or what is being asked. I think THS should implement a review in case the cancellation is last minute. What is last minute? THS probably cuts it like the new fee: same for everyone*. Maybe one week would be a good cut? Anyway, so that both parties can leave a “cancellation review” to the other. Why was the cancellation done and was it done tactfully.

*I would create a mathematical system where into account would be taken the distance to the sit, the average hotel cost in the town, the length of the sit… and maybe couple of other things. A line of code can calculate that, and another line of code can display it next to every sit. At the same time I do know that there are 100 more important code lines that are missing, this is just fun to think about.

[KC1102]

I would hope that THS would not start offering stats for cancellations or penalties of any sort. Without context ,and the sorts of ‘verification’s that a matching site is unlikely to check, this information is pretty useless. And to give the option for a reason, anyone can say whatever they want–is THS going to ask sittesr for their grandmother’s death certificate or the medical records confirming their cancer diagnosis or need for surgery?

For someone sitting full-time or for an extended period, a single incident of illness, injury, family emergency,etc…could lead to the cancellation of numerous sits all at once, as opposed to an occasional sitter who may just need to cancel one. This sort of tracking would probably have a disproportionately negative impact on single sitters–if I break my leg before our next sit, I wouldn’t have to cancel because my husband could walk the dog,etc…

And the idea of blocking sitters from booking any other sits during this same time is not any sort of appropriate response to a cancellation.

If a sitter’s family member dies the day before a one month sit is due to start and they need to cancel the entire sit, the idea that they would not be able to book anything else that entire time makes no sense.

People that sit full-time may need to cancel a sit because of a family situation and would possibly be looking for new sits near the people to help out with recovery from a surgery,etc…

While I think it is important for both sides to do their best to honor their commitments, things happen and cancellations are always a possibility on both sides. Of course, if there were a sitter who seemed to have a regular pattern of cancelling sits, it is good to note that and perhaps deal with these situations on a case by case basis.

But I can guarantee you if THS involved themselves more in this issue, no one would be happy and it would be yet another thing people on this forum complain about endlessly. It is easy to be all about punitive measures, etc… when you have been fortunate enough to never have had to cancel a sit, but it can happen to anyone.

While I think that cancellations are not that commonplace on either side, they can happen and people need to think about what they would do if a sit didn’t go as planned or a sitter cancelled at any point prior to the start of the trip.

THS is just a matching platform at the core and the more they seem to add to that basic function, the less happy people seem to be with the service. For the most part, sitters and hosts should be left to sort things for themselves and they should minimize their involvement.

[Wildcolonialgirl]

Appalling behaviour by the owners

[OnTheRoadAgain]

@Dutchy

however over recent months it has completely exploded

Based on the many times new hosts have asked on this forum about inviting sitters, it is really common for new hosts to think the pool of sitters is something they’re supposed to sort through rather than publishing their sit dates and waiting for sitters to apply. It’s clear that a lot of new hosts aren’t clear on the THS concept. If THS is successfully recruiting lots of new hosts (their 2025 goal was to double membership), some of the explosion of invites you’re receiving is a knock on effect of expanding membership.

[BunnyCat]

Showing cancellation history isn’t about punishment, just transparency for informed choices. Like if a flight is canceled: reason doesn’t matter, you’re not arriving, and chained bookings (hotels, rental cars) rack up high costs. A sitter with 3-4 cancelations in a single year might not be a good fit for a host’s who needs a 2-month sit, even if those cancelations were legit. Likewise, sitters could easily avoid hosts with frequent cancellations by spotting patterns upfront.

[Highfive]

I think cancellations are going to be going up dramatically.

When I meet potential Home Owners and talk about the joys of THS their big worry is : “ Yes but what if I’ve booked my holiday and last minute the sitter cancels?”

No wonder premium is being pushed for both parties !

I’ve cancelled once in my life as a Pet Sitter. It was due to Covid restrictions and my wife got Covid.

Now people are mixing paid and non paid house sitting and there’s a big financial gap. I’ve booked 7 sits ahead before my renewal to avoid extra booking fees being levied. A friend ,who I made through THS, and worth her weight in gold, has now gone totally paid sits and offered me one that clashed with her programme involving a large sum of money( I’m talking 6 years of membership costs!) and one dog up the road from where I live, so no travel costs.

“Why don’t you cancel your arranged sit? They’ve got ages to find someone else?”

“Yes they have, but that’s not an option for me.. “ I find myself saying…

Instead in future I will be paying an extra £10.00 to sit “ for free”.yes I know it’s a fair exchange for accommodation!

MIND THE GAP! IT IS WIDENING!

Maybe THS should be now heavily recruiting from religious orders? Who needs money? apart from big business, obvs!

[teya]

I gree. Especially if there is some additional information on the cancellation given, this would be very usefull for both sides.

Many carpooling websites are displaying this - percentages on how often users on both sides are cancelling their rides.
If a driver had 50 rides and cancelled 2, you know they are quite reliable and the risk of something happening is rather low compared to someone who cancelled 25 out of 50 rides. And if I need to travel urgently, I will pick accordingly, even if that means going for an alternative service like coach or train, to avoid bad surprises. We all know life happens…

THS already have all the infomration they need, but I would say not displaying it is probably a choice. Adding this information, a number of profiles on both sides may appear less attractive all of a sudden. Which is probably not good for marketing, especially in regions with few HO offer.

[BunnyCat]

Totally agree and your excellent ride share analogy gave me a mini anxiety. So, on Monday we’re going to be moving between sits and we discovered that getting to the local airport without a car is… an adventure. The airport is literally 7–8 km from town, but apparently, public transport here is just a myth, and there’s one Uber that shows up if the stars align. Local taxi companies have mixed reviews with frequent cancellations or no show ups.
Our strategy? Shuttle booked for 10 am​ Taxi booked at 11 am​ Reminder calls on both Monday morning And now… polite neighbour stalking for a potential paid ride request Plan C.
It’s a humbling reminder how one cancelation can change your travel plans entirely.

[teya]

I was actually referring to platforms like Blablacar and local equivalents.
Where people offer to share their free spaces in the car if they have a trip planned themselves. Not sure what people call it these days as ride sharing and similar expressions were taken over by Uber and co.
But yes, always good to have backups planned.

[BonnyinBrighton]

In my case I had major surgery so had to cancel 3 sits (from 3 mths out) it’s unlikely to happen again and I’ve completed all sits in the 18 mths since.

[Dutchy]

Or contracting membership, and people really struggling to find sitters, their new rules and fees and low service levels when problems arise has done it for us. Auto renewal has been cancelled and when membership expires in spring it will be just our regulars and favourites. Plenty to choose from.

[richten1]

Wow that’s incredible bad luck. I’ve been on THS for nearly 4 years and applied for 28 sits. Only once did a sit get cancelled. The HO contacted me with a week of the sit being agreed to say unfortunately her father had been taken seriously ill into hospital and could I hold off booking my train ticket. Unfortunately it was found he had aggressive cancer and the HO cancelled her holiday. A very sad situation. I didn’t lose out personally as I never booked my train ticket.
My plan B would have been ti book a guest house my friend owns.