I would dispute that honest feedback is valued by THS, it never has been in the past, and this latest action goes to prove how little the platform cares about it’s members. I am under no illusion that our thoughts are passed on to anyone who makes any of these operational decisions.
It’s yet to be explained exactly how this price gouging will ‘deliver a smooth, consistent experience for every sit’.
If THS requires the kind of revenue this ‘big update’ is going to generate to ‘sustain the service’ then the mismanagement of this platform is far worse than we members have been imagining it is.
Premium membership is not a good fit for me. It costs almost two and a half times my regular subscription and has no benefits that I would utilise - except for the one THS just invented (ie waiving the booking fee).
Since the introduction of the ‘5 application limit’ this platform has been on a steep downward spiral. If it’s real improvements you want to make then roll back the ill-advised changes. Put the membership fees up if you must (by a reasonable amount), but give us something for it instead of insulting us with propaganda.
As a final note, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that you implemented this money grab right after your ‘black Friday sale’ ended. Some of your long term members whose care of homes and pets are the backbone of your platform might just appreciate the offer of a discount on membership upgrade as a gesture of goodwill. Those that haven’t cancelled their renewals that is…
Mayfair is concerned about Mayfair, not the users of TH. They do not care what you think and they don’t care about TH as a company, only as an investment. Private equity is about maximizing the perceived value of TH in the short term (to that 100M they decided it could be worth) by increasing prices and cutting costs, so that they can re-sell it and maximize their own return on investment in about five years. That’s what private equity does. They’re analogous to most house flippers.
The problem with booking fees is I don’t know how many sits I will be doing. If I end up doing 8 sit with standard membership, it would be better for me to have premium. But I don’t know how many sits I will be doing. That’s the problem with booking fees.
If THS can’t stay in business and run a good company with it’s currently income from members it needs to raise membership price not add booking fees.
Members should not have to estimate how many sits they will be doing to decide on the tier that fits their budget.
And all this wording of “passport “ and “boarding pass” is ridiculous. Talk to us like we are adults.
But is there any consideration of a change? Companies can and do pay attention to their customers - a big example is Delta Airlines that last year rolled out a significant ‘enhancent’ to the frequent flyer program that lots of folks complained about.
About a week later they acknowledged that maybe the new terms went to far and backed off on many of them.
Hmm. I wasn’t familiar with them at all before this discussion.
“Perceived” value is interesting. I get it… but if the public perception turns negative because of an unpopular policy, does that hurt the actual value and resale potential of their investment?
If I buy a house to flip and I make some poor decisions on the reno work, and word gets around town that I’m cutting corners to cut costs, doing some cosmetic work on a house with underlying structural faults and planning to re-sell the shined-up place at an inflated price, I might expect to not have much luck as people get the impression it’s a bad investment.
This forum, social media, they’re all small echo chambers. It’s not really a public perception. TH has something like 250,000 users. I would argue, but can’t confirm of course, that most don’t really care about this change, and that some of the few who have cancelled auto renew or threated to leave, will end up renewing / not leaving once it hits home that there is, sadly, nowhere equal to go. Think of all who threatened to quit after the five-app limit or the overlapping sits changes. It didn’t happen.
Like it or not, TH is still the main and best player for now in the international housesitting game. We can threaten to leave, but apart from a handful of country-specific sites that do work well in a few countries, there’s nowhere else to go! TH knows this. Mayfair knows this. Botching the price increase announcement likely won’t hurt their bottom line like it would if there were actual competitors. So it won’t hurt the market value.
There is a difference between “hearing” feedback and “listening to feedback”. You didn’t listen and you have no intention of listening. (THS that is, not Jenny or Mark).
Agreed. This was all known and calculated by the investors when they made the decision to purchase. Specifically, booking fees were almost certainly part of the plan from day 1; it’s the obvious model after AirBnB, Rover, etc showed it could be done, and there’s no way the number crunchers didn’t know where the projected increase in revenue was going to come from before they wrote the check.
Next will come the add-on Junk Fees ala the airlines (‘bolt-on fees,’ anyone?) I anticipate that most development from here on out will prioritize ‘features’ that can be further monetized.
Honestly, I’m not even mad anymore; just clear-eyed, & incredibly disappointed. I’ve been singing the praises of this platform for the past year. While I’ll keep using it until someone else starts catching up, it won’t be with that same song in my heart going forward.
At least the Forums are well run, & I appreciate that. Sorry you guys have to deal with this. It should be your executive team on the front lines, if they had a lick of sense.
@Jenny, spotted your response on a related thread.
THS team may wish to consider letting current members to renew/extend their membership before 7 January 2026 for one (or more?) years. This may defer booking fee impact for some members that have voiced frustration with post-black-friday timing of booking fee announcement. THS Finance nerds may even smile at the cashflow. Just a thought.
Yes I’m new but understanding how this platform operates and basic human nature isn’t rocket science, at least not for me.
Members are hurt and feel insulted and believe that by banding together in big groups and bullying the new management the unwanted fees and other policy changes will be retracted. It should be clear by now they are mistaken.
Members can either choose to stay and deal with the fee by upgrading memberships or discussing it with the other party if they can’t afford to pay it.
The ongoing complaints that THS is no longer the community it once was and is now a business are a pointless exercise in futility and it would be more beneficial for each member to consider what the best next steps will be to deal with the situation as it is currently.
Accept it or find an alternate platform and good luck with that one because there’s clearly a large gap between THS and the second best choice.
Even with the fees and the changes in policy THS is still a great deal for those that choose to utilize it. The key word being “choose”. No one is being forced to stay.
THS: We hear your frustration! The community is the heart of Trusted Housesitters!
Also THS: We refuse to make any changes to this policy because we already ran the numbers and will still make more money after you leave and that’s literally all we care about.
That’s a great idea. Then they have the choice on whether to proceed or not, I am in a dilemma because I have sits booked for 2026 and I don’t intend to pay for them. This means I’ll probably have to cancel the sits which I don’t want to do.
Does your membership need to be renewed before the sits? Because if it doesn’t & they’re already confirmed, I don’t think the booking fee applies. Or perhaps you can renew for just through the dates of the sits, & avoid letting the pet owners down and cancelling your trip, if the booking fees won’t be triggered.
Yes, £9 a sit is greedy, especially if only a one night sit. But I feel this will just be the start and this £9 if allowed to go ahead, will eventually be £100 etc.. It will gradually keep rising each year. Maybe time to jump ship?
