It is a company’s “fault” if there is nothing to stop people “slipping through the cracks.” There is no acceptable number of petsits ending as that one did. The company has said nothing publicly but nonsense about this.
You have a nice looking website, so why not make a video and invite forum members to contribute and comment on it?
I am a premium member and I am still reconsidering it. I turned auto renewal off, let the membership expire and then, when I was offered premium for the price of basic, I rejoined just to gain time and reconsider it. I haven’t taken a sit since then and still not sure what I will do. I don’t like this new THS.
Less is more. They aren’t saying much publicly because just like with the unrest following the booking fees and other unpopular policies, less is more. People tend to have short memories.
I learnt about this on the forum, I never noticed my account being blocked and I only had to sign the new terms when rejoining, in February.
Thank you, I haven’t enabled comments yet, and I’m working up the courage to be in front of the camera more. 
I do find the booking fees hard to justify, especially combined with the frustration of homeowners not being fully committed and cancelling.
This will probably be our last trip using Trusted Housesitters.
We are both sitters and HOs. One huge difference we noticed is that the advertising is definitely affecting how people apply and think of sits. Folks are thinking less pets more vacay.
While having fun in an area is definitely wonderful. The whole free vacay theeeeen pets put the focus on the wrong things and it shows. Oh & the feee thing… ths is bleeding members on both sides with great reviews. Poor biz practice.
Puhleasee THS, BRING BACK BETTER COPYWRITERS (& SHAREHOLDERS) WHO UNDERSTAND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THS! @admins
They could’ve just raised the subscription for everyone for one small amount once.
I’m sure a 15-20 buck increase every couple of years would not be an issue but fees for every sit makes folks feel taken advantage of. It’s one thing if it were paid as a deposit that would be refunded on the first day of the sit and not a fee but ths keeps the fee but they’re already charging for a membership?
It’s double dipping.
I’ll be leaving once I’ve completed the sits already booked.
10 years and over 90 sits with 5 * reviews.
I don’t like the direction THS is going in, Too much like Airbnb, and as for the additional fees I’m not seeing an additional service from them.
I will look for an alternative site and if any of my previous home owners want me to sit again I will happily do so.
You pay for Netflix and still get ads. You pay for amazon prime and still need to pay for specific movies.
Welcome to the world of *(also spelled * describes the gradual deterioration of online products and services, where vendors initially offer high-quality offerings to attract users, then degrade the experience to serve business customers, and finally lower standards for everyone to maximize shareholder profit.“”)
Everything is going up in price, everything is getting worse. The only way to fix it, is to make it yourself or stop using it.
I don’t even think the booking fee is the issue. I think it’s the fact they put it out and didn’t give a roadmap of how it will improve the platform. It’s a price that is a price gouge, because no one knows how it benefits them. If they had a breakdown, 70% of the booking fee goes to advertising, 20% towards support, 10% towards updating the platform. I think people would be like… for sure. it’s just it’s not very transparent
(Mod note: a term was removed here as it contained a swear word. The OP was referring to the concept of platform decay, where services gradually degrade quality to maximise profit.)
currently on my 63rd sit of 64, then I am out of here. Countdown is on, and in final weeks now.
The new advert is a low, even by THS standards.
Such a shame so many experienced sitters are leaving. They take with them a wealth of knowledge.
where are they leaving to?
The sitters I know personally are either leaving THS altogether, others are joining different sites and some are just doing repeat sits off site.
All the personal contacts I have made over the years are very experienced sitters with multiple five star reviews built up over many years. They stuck with THS through the Covid years when no-one could travel. They have seen many changes to the T&Cs which devalue their membership (and had to accept the changes without being able to read them). Just a few of the many reasons they are feeling disheartened but I will leave it there.
There are still fantastic matches happening on THS and some amazing opportunities. I just think they are more difficult to find these days.
For me it’s off site repeat sits
No longer need a money grabbing middleman to get sits
Also private paid sits, word of mouth
Fair enough, it makes sense. It was very disheartening seeing the booking fee come out, but since then, it really hasn’t affected me as much as I thought it would.
But I completely agree, it feels like as a house sitter and owner, you are paying more for less, which kinda sucks. If there is ever a platform that could be a direct competitor to THS I think many people would jump ship right away.
I am currently on a repeat sit but this time arranged privately. Ironically, it is in a mansion overlooking the sea! Just the kind of property THS would use for advertising and that I rarely actually stay in. The hosts have left THS and asked me back directly to look after their calm older lurcher.
At the moment, I think the corporate strategy of THS is to get more memberships and figure out other ways like booking fees to make money per sit. It is NOT to improve anything. I’m not jumping ship right away because I have a long time to go on my membership and can still find enough great sitters and great sits. But I have no plans to give the company another dime and can imagine joining one or more of the established competitors in the future. Because THS isn’t focussing on improvement or even the “trust” part, I think it likely the competitors will grow.
@HouseSittersGuide read this thread ttps://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/other-house-sit-sites/44132