Update: Thank you, everyone, for your help and support! We spoke to HOs and THS and the sit is now cancelled. We’re still trying to find another sit in London ASAP.
I need to vent a bit and seek advice. We’re full time pet sitters and just arrived at a new place. We’ve done more than 40 house sit so far, and we’ve never felt so unwelcome. The house is full of “don’t use” post-its, 17 specifically, including the dishwasher and dryer. There is no sofa, just an armchair that is off limits, full of stuff, and an added bonus of bird spikes, and the same thing in the main shower (no bird spikes this time). This is on top of more little things and we weren’t previously notified of any of these. What would you do? It’s a month-sit but I’m thinking of cancelling in the next few days, however as a full time pet sitters we don’t really have any place to go and the app doesn´t allow me to contact other HOs until this sit has been cancelled.
Sounds awful and incredibly inhospitable. You could check out local petsitter Facebook groups to see if you can pick up an alternate sit that way. Likewise there are couchsurfing Facebook groups, but that’s less than ideal. Research paid accommodation in the area and see if any of them will work within your budget and other requirements. It’s unfortunate, but your wellbeing and sanity is more important.
Also, contact membership services and kick off a member dispute.
This is terrible and not within the ethos of THS. It sounds as though these HO want a one way street. I’d try to write an objective as possible message requesting to cancel the sit and arrange a date to leave. It sounds as though it will be difficult to feel relaxed and at home, and a month is a long time to feel uneasy!
I once found plenty of post-its during a sit - not ones that said ‘don’t use,’ but rather labels what’s in each place. While they were meant to help me find things and were absolutely not unfriendly, it still felt kind of awkward.
What to do? How about informing the hosts that the standard of the provided accommodation doesn’t meet the minimum requirements, especially for a month-long sit, and either they address it or look for alternative pet care arrangements as you’d need to vacate.
Are any of the do-not-use amenities listed as amenities in the listing? Or in the pictures?
One thing I might do is message the homeowner and say, as I cannot sit on the sofa or chair, where would you like me to sit? I was given to believe that a living area was available to me during the MONTH long sit.
Ditto with anything else in the kitchen or bathrooms. "The listing mentioned a dishwasher but you have instructed me not to use… shall I leave my dirty dishes for you? (Okay, don’t say the snarky part.)
If you do stay, please describe this situation factually in your review and give this Pet Parent 1 star for hospitality and 1 star for not matching the listing description.
Personally I might leave if I felt I could find a back up after a couple of days in a hotel. Please let us know how this plays out. Good luck.
It sounds horrible. But, I would definitely try to discuss your concerns with the HO before cancelling. Explain why this is an intolerable situation for you and unlike any of the 40 sits you’ve done before. As bad as it sounds, it’s possible they may not have the best understanding of how these things work and need some empathy guidance. If they are reasonable people and care about their animals (and you), they will fix the situation. But give them that opportunity, or else they and their animals may be in dire straights.
Also, the bird spikes were probably meant for the pets, not you, and they may not have thought about how it would feel to you to see them on the only armchair. They may assume you would remove them if you want to sit on it.
That’s a bit of a stretch of an interpretation given the post-its, but if we roll with that assumption it’s still inhospitable and weird, and indicates non-disclosed training problems with the dogs.
Was there a post-it saying to not sit on the chair? Maybe they assumed everything would be used unless there was a post-it. My point is not that the HO behaved well, but that it’s best to not make assumptions about inhospitable intent and to discuss problems to see if they can be fixed before cancelling. THS is a global service, and there can be vastly different cultural and individual expectations around hospitality.
The problem on THS is that there are HOs that don’t see any reason to be generous and hospitable. That treat sitters like “help” that should be grateful for the accommodation in the basement or in the chambre de bonne etc. Without blankets, without heating.
@OaklandHillbilly I like your thinking about the bird spikes on the couch and tend to agree with you on that. That seems logical. However, when coupled with all the other ‘do not use’ notes, it becomes a different story. Maybe I can convince myself that I’m not to use the dishwasher because it might be broken. (Why not say this then?). But that’s only one sticky note explained.
Then there’s still 16 others. No. This is definitely not on.
Exactly! I month is too long to feel uneasy. I´m feeling like I’m only here to feed the cats but I can´t spend time with them because there’s not a comfortable place to sit.
Thanks, Botvot! My point is that rather than trying to convince ourselves of anything, we talk with each other when things do not meet expectations and seem unworkable to see if mutual understanding and accommodation can be reached, rather than cancelling and putting animals and plans at risk. I know a lot of people are conflict-adverse and prefer to avoid difficult conversations, but I think the outcome is usually positive when people reach out with good intent, whereas the downsides of just cancelling are pretty dire for both sides.
I’m just here to say that I didn’t even know what bird spikes were until reading this. It made me think that the homeowner had birds and “spikes” was another term for “droppings” because the birds were free flying in the house and leaving their droppings (ew)! I’ve seen the spikes on roofs but didn’t know they had a name other than “things that keep birds from landing.” So, I’ve learned something, but I have to say that I have never heard of anyone using them inside their house to keep animals off of furniture (I’m assuming it was for the pet and not the sitter!). I’m American – is that a European thing that people use bird spikes inside the house? I would be deathly afraid of someone getting hurt with those things around.
I’m a Brit and also didn’t know what bird spikes were or ever heard of anyone using them (or something similar) inside a house #curiouserandcuriouserthoughtalice
So, I’ve learned something, but I have to say that I have never heard of anyone using them inside their house to keep animals off of furniture (I’m assuming it was for the pet and not the sitter!). I’m American – is that a European thing that people use bird spikes inside the house? I would be deathly afraid of someone getting hurt with those things around.