You can be guaranteed that the THS legal team didn’t introduce this fee and call it a booking fee without getting top notch legal counsel and confirmation that they could do it and name it a ”booking fee”. They would know exactly what their legal rights are I feel.
Personally, I think booking fees changes the dynamic. It’s a shift away from a mutual exchange and feels more transactional. I’m not comfortable with someone paying a fee to book me for a sit. It’s as if they’ve chosen a THS sitter and are paying THS a fee specifically to book me. It makes it seem as if THS is my employer. There are already substantial issues with new HOs not understanding the exchange nature of THS, likely due to the marketing for free pet care. I really believe that booking fees will make it worse.
I’m a premium member anyway. If I decide to stay, I won’t be paying booking fees, but non-premium HOs would be paying a fee to book me. I’m not ok with this.
Sadly, THS got it wrong with travel to the USA and the letter they told users to share with immigration. A couple of people got deported as doing volunteer work that might take a job away from an American breaches their working visa requirements.
According to my CHAT GPT that analysed the T & Cs and looked at the potential issues with the booking fee, it flagged the above as potentially and significantly problematic for THS. To be clear, I’m not stating this is true. I’m opening this up for discussion as they have historically misinterpreted the law.
Late to the party - I haven’t had any email. Where can I find this information? TIA
That letter should NEVER be used. It can literally ruin someone’s life.
Friends visit friends.
Insert mega facepalm giphy here.
You know we care for you and the forum team, however we feel that you, you, heard us. However, ths the corporation gives as much attention to the issue as folks do before they swat an ant.
One fee might seem like a one off thing but, where does it stop? Why can’t people pay a one time increase and have no other fees-unless the point is to not raise prices and rely on fees? It seems like eventually fees will be handed out like candy in the long run aaaand subscription prices will also increase. It kinda shows that while you hear us, Corporate Untrusted Nonsitters do not.
Folks are also mad because the infrastructure seems to go towards ad spend to get new members instead of rolling better UX for existing (and new) members …. Oooh & let’s not forget the changing TOS that leave both sitters and H.O’s pockets faced out when it comes to THS’s role in the matchmaking process and the responsibilities ensued (that they kinda shook off and said, welp- we locked you out- you had to accept- meh, a little violation of good ol consumer law but who gives a 
’s 
, you clicked “accept.”)
Meanwhile the site can’t even get a basic, basiccccc report button we have allllllllll been asking for, for yeaaaaars but the fees were ready to go and the site settings changed to lock everyone out til forced to agree with TOS (just to access the account) with unprecedented quickness.
So you heard us and for that, thank you. You need a raise.
Corporate THS needs to listen but the thing is that they have you doing the listening for them and that doesn’t work.
I wouldn’t be so sure. Their legal advice regarding US immigration was wrong, in my view as an immigration lawyer for 25 years. From what I remember, the letter was written by a lawyer with far less experience.
@Lassie i do understand, but was that advice and suggested letters written before Mayfair came onboard, who I would think would be a lot more careful about such things. Just a thought.
@marsbar there is another mega thread with 1000+ comments on this forum and also hundreds of reviews on Trust Pilot & Reddit. Here is a link to THS’s own blog about the booking fees that curiously has been buried so far down their list of topics that you know it has to be there to find it!
@Jenny have I missed it somehow, I note there is nothing mentioned about this month’s hottest topic, the new booking fees, in the December 2025 forum round up published 16 Dec 2025 on THS website. Why was it omitted?
Thank you. I am shocked that a sitter has to pay this fee. So £18 per sit total - what is it paying for? The “in box” messages??? The welcome guide I write myself as the one on their site is so clumsy.
Indeed, one simple thing everyone can do in addition to commenting here (because we already know that our comments here are most likely going to be ignored) is to ‘vote with your feet’ by:
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Lodging a complaint directly with THS: go to Frankie the chatbot, and ask to speak with a human. Submit your complaint. The more direct complaints, the more chance someone who needs to hear this, may hear it.
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Sharing your concerns about the direction THS is going via a trusted external review site, such as Trustpilot. Same as previous
Note also the word ALTRUISTIC on this review site, as part of THS’s own description of its service: “TrustedHousesitters is the altruistic way to find a house and pet sitter when you’re next going away.”
They were certainly not careful about making sure that users could actually read the terms and conditions before being forced to accept them. Any attorney worth their salt would be able to argue that “acceptance” - wasn’t - if the person couldn’t read them, which has been amply documented on this and other sites.
If Mayfair really were shepherding this entire process professionally, they would have had robust change management processes in place, including customer research, focus groups, and a communications plan to roll out the changes to the community in a way that would increase membership growth and satisfaction rather than crash it. Since that does not appear to the case, I would make no assumptions about their investment in legal expertise either.
I really think it is super unfair the sitters have to pay the fee. If anyone should pay it should be the HO. They are getting a really good and free deal when we look after their pets for nothing. I cannot afford any more on top of the membership fee. 5 years in and over 50 5 star reviews.
But there are actually, several places to go. If even 10% of THS users were to decamp to one of the smaller rivals, that company would be highly competitive to THS.
According to posts in this thread and the previous one, there’s a significant number of members who have done this, including myself. I wish you were right but I am afraid they are just ignoring our protests and probably think this will die out. In the meantime, they are trying to distract people with these sudden so called improvements.
If only more.people gave that gift! 
Now tutt tutt @Brightlight, I’m trying to be positive