If the forum was here solely to be an information bank - maybe. We could turn it - read what is of interest, scroll on for the rest?
I see the forum as a way to chat and discuss with others. And as we get experience we will also see things a little bit differently, be able to offer other solutions, give other input etc. - and we will perhaps also receive input differently.
In addition the search function doesnāt always give you the right posts. Iāve searched topics myself without finding anything, and when I asked a fellow member could give me a relevant link.
Iām the opposite. I think it is far too few new topics. Oh, well.
Oh no, thats a shame they charged you! a kettle lid broke once and we replaced it the whole thing. We received no gratitude from that HO.
We broke a mosquito screen door and also replaced it. It was tricky getting that door back to the housesit tho !
tbh the only reason I offered to pay was to stop her giving me a bad review. Thereās no way of knowing whether the HO who seems very pleasant will turn out to be the one who is quick to blame. I would be so upset to get a bad review, I donāt know how badly it would affect my chances of future sits but Iām sure it wouldnāt be good, there are so many people out there with 100% 5 stars.
Hey! I know what you mean, but I did search the topic and while I found some similar entries, most had a different focus, and/or were quite old. There is value in having an updated impression of the communities opinions on these subjects, as well as making it easier to find when similar topics are registered under a variety of key words. Also, since people already familiar with similar entries can just skip it, I do not find any issues with it.
Hi! Thank you for your answer. I see your point and it is exactly what my partner thinks. This is also why I did not offer to pay it in the first place, since itās like if a door breaks just due to being opened, or a light bulb breaks just by being turned on, itās not due to misuse, so it would have happened to them as well, therefore no reason for us to pay it just because we happened to be there at the wrong time. For example also a mirror broke while we were there, but this is because it was very windy and the mirror (which we had not touched) was not secured to the wall but just leaning on it. They did not expect us to pay that at least.
Itās a different case when something breaks due to negligence, then I feel responsible to replace or at least share the cost. But I do understand the āyou break it you pay itā logic, so I did not question them on the payment request. If they had been using it with no issue and then we come and it breaks I understand it might feel wrong for them to pay for it themselves.
They were poor hosts anyway, didnāt make space at all in the pantry or closet and were completely unprepared for our arrival after changing the date of arrival just a week prior to the sit, forcing us to pay two nights of accommodation on a weekend in the high season, or try to find a last minute sit that fit with our calendar. Not going back there by any means, even though the cats were among the sweetest and most lovely weāve ever taken care of.
If it is something we can replace, we do. Whether we need to go to a certain store to buy the same one or order online. Now, if we scratch some furniture or damage something expensive, we do our best to āfix or repairā it, but wear and tear happens. We have found most HO are understanding of this.
If we do break something and replace it, we typically will let the HO know in the welcome note that we replaced X, Y, or Z. If it is something that we know the HO doesnāt use much, we might not mention it.
We donāt bother telling HO during their travels if we broke something small. They donāt want to be bothered with this and we donāt like causing extra unneeded stress.
If it is something major (which in two years this has happened once - the lever on the ice maker of older fridge snapped), we waiting until the HO got home, explained the situation, offered money and was declined because it was old and they would handle it.
It is all about how you approach the situation and owning up to your faults.
I broke the toilet brush cleaner at one sit. It was really old, but I felt Iād been partly responsible as it happened when I tried to use it to kill a bug in the bathroom. I had enough time to order a new similar one from Amazon and left a note for the HO about it.
As a HO I am pretty impressed to see some sitters being so considerate. One of our sitters broke a crystal wine glass that was part of a set that has some sentimental value. Itās obviously impossible to replace so I turned down the sitterās offer to buy new ones. However, I got more upset that she had been drinking during the sit more than I am comfortable with. Some people may think a sitter is free to drink as much as they want, but I think itās irresponsible. I let it go as I would never think of making a sitter pay for breaking anything because accidents happen, but I did not feel that she was a ātrusted house sitterā and left it at that.
If you have limits on how much a sitter can drink while in your home you should state them in your listing. Otherwise you really have no ground to stand on as everyone has different ideas of how much is acceptable.
I did a sit for some Brits in France and came 2 days early because it was caring for a large acreage and farm creatures I had no experience with. So, I had multiple meals with the HOs and much wine was consumed by all. The morning they left the HO did a shop run to get snacks for their trip and let me know she left me a āsomeā of the wine I liked at dinner to enjoy during the sit - she left a bottle for every day of the sit. I didnāt even consume a fraction as Iād have been in the ground drinking a daily bottle of wine solo for a couple weeks, but for her it was just natural and she was surprised I drank so little.
So, when you have limits you need to specify them vs assuming others have the same limits.
I also always recommend HOs put away or indicate anything that is irreplaceable for them because, as you say, accidents happen. Then I donāt have to worry about breaking the ikea wine glass vs one from their wedding set.
You suggest I āput limits on how much a sitter can drinkā. Thatās hysterical. I think a responsible adult knows what is reasonable. Thanks for your advice but I think Iāll pass on that one .
I mean, they probably thought what they drank was reasonable or they wouldnāt have had that much. But you thought it was unreasonable to the point of mentioning it here and no longer considering them ātrustedā. So clearly there is a disconnect there.
If youāre going to judge people by a standard that you arenāt willing to communicate, thatās a problem and completely unfair to BOTH of you since people donāt appreciate being judged and you donāt appreciate someone drinking more than you think is appropriate in your home.
How much do you consider reasonable? A drink a day? A 6 pack? A bottle of wine? I know people who would think all of those are reasonable AND people who would think theyāre all unreasonable. Thatās why itās important to be clear.
To me itās the equivalent of HOs who expect sitters to iron their bedding - but donāt bother to tell them that and just rate them badly instead. If youāre unwilling to communicate your standards then youāve no right to judge or complain if people donāt meet them.
You are the one putting limits on how much they can drink. Our friend here is just saying that, since you do have a limit, and itās been crossed by sitters before, both you and your future sitters would benefit from you stating said limit.
H.O. here, if you break something, just be honest about it. Then it will be up to the home owner to decide if they would like it to be replaced or not, depends on many variables. In my experience, I have had sitters having accidents with cluttery, glasses, plantsā¦ and I have never requested any replacements, life happens. However, there was a sitter that broke a bowl and left it broken inside the pantry, I only noticed a couple days after I was back home. I felt really betrayed, not because of the value of the bowl, but because of the lack of honesty (makes me think if something happened with my pets, and they did not tell me).
Iām of the āthings happenā attitude. Perhaps it came from when we owned and managed vacation rental properties. Thereās an accident, like dropping a glass and then thereās having a fight with your partner, complete with throwing the dishes at them. These are entirely different.
When we were on THS as HO we had some house sitters break a single dessert dish. Without saying anything, they ordered a complete set from Amazon to replace them. I NEVER would expect something like that, it is completely unreasonable to think they needed to replace a dish. They had the house, we told them they could use anything in the house and eat anything in the cupboards, use any of the spices. Sometimes no matter how careful someone is, something breaks, and often it is just wear and tear and no fault to be assigned. Now that we are on THS as house sitters, I would hope the same courtesy would be extended to us.
Oh, well.
.