I want to share what happened to us recently with a confirmed sit in Amsterdam with the pet owner.
We had fully confirmed this commitment with her, purchased our flights, and organized our entire stay around this agreement. However, just a few hours before our scheduled arrival – when I was already on my way to the airport and my partner Kyle was on a layover in transit to Amsterdam – we received the unexpected news that we could no longer proceed with the pet care due to the cancellation of her flight.
This last-minute cancellation left us in a very difficult situation, with serious financial, logistical, and emotional consequences. We’ve been using the platform for two years and had never experienced anything like this before, which made it especially challenging to handle.
Our expenses added up to €800.87, broken down as follows:
Flight Barcelona – Amsterdam (Melanie): €193.10
Flight Barcelona – Amsterdam (Kyle): €149.99
Taxi to the airport (Kyle, 3 a.m.): €28.80
Return flight Amsterdam – Barcelona (Melanie & Kyle): €243.98
Additional return flight (Kyle): €186.00
Total: €800.87
Beyond the financial side, there was also the emotional toll — we had to deal with last-minute chaos, which caused us a lot of stress and anxiety.
To make matters worse, it’s now been 3 days that we’ve been trying to reach out to the app for support, but we still haven’t received any solution. Their cancellation coverage only reimburses hotels and not other expenses such as flights, leaving us completely uncovered in this case.
I’m sharing this so others are aware that situations like this can happen, and unfortunately, the platform doesn’t provide much help beyond very limited hotel reimbursements.
Yes, all THS sitters (and hosts) should have backup plans. And if they can’t afford sits that cancel, maybe sit only locally, or buy travel insurance or flights with cancellation or refund possibilities.
As a sitter, I’ve had two sits cut short when hosts had legit emergencies. The more expensive of the two amounted to about $2,000 USD in hotel costs and groceries I had bought, but couldn’t take with me. I took such in stride, or I would’ve flown home early.
THS works best for people with resources and/or those who have backup plans. That’s because folks who have limited resources can easily be left stranded (or trapped in bad sits).
You are right. That is a risk. As Maggie8k mentions, all members (sitters and hosts) need to have a backup-plan.
For my use of the platform, I use it for travel. I go to places I want to go. Should a sit lapse, I would have to find other accommodation. For some locations that could be hard, as there aren’t any real alternatives - or as in an example last year where the prices in that area had skyrocketed - probably some event that caused full hotels in a wider area. Usually, however, accommodation would be available provided one has funds. So my flights wouldn’t be «extra» as I’ve planned to go there. The accommodation would be «extra».
As Maggie8k, I think this platform works best if members are able to cover hickups occasionally, or have made some alternative plan. One good thing about Amsterdam is that it is very central transport-wise, and many options, also in a wider area where one could reach several cities and countries within a couple of hours by bus or similar.
Doesn’t help much now, but could widen options should it happen again.
I’m sorry to hear you have had a cancellation, it’s what we all dread and it must be very stressful for you. However, I’m unclear as to your exact situation. Have you stayed in Amsterdam or returned home?
I don’t have Premium membership so I’m not fully informed about how the cancellation insurance works but I have seen people mention that you must stay within 20 miles of your original sit.
If you then either get another sit or stay in a hotel (and get reimbursed for that) then you haven’t actually lost out in regards to the travel costs. It will of course cost you the excess on the insurance.
I hope you can get the advice and support you need from customer services so that you and navigate this situation in the least stressful way possible and with the least financial cost.
Worth remembering that even premium coverage (when it applies), requires the sitter to front the costs of the replacement accommodations. And then there’s the $150 excess / deductible, on top of any overage over the $150 daily coverage. In many places, $150 won’t get you much if anything hotel wise, for example.
So unless the sitter has enough credit and can carry the costs till THS coverage pays out, the sitter can be at risk. THS payout has taken weeks to months, according to various members’ experiences, and it’s not guaranteed that THS will pay out.
Hotels also often put a hold on credit for incidentals, etc. Like I recently stayed at my sixth hotel in less than a month, so if my credit limit weren’t high enough, that could create problems while I’m traveling, because each hotel put a hold on my credit cards for a certain dollar amount.
That is a very unfortunate situation, especially that it happened so last minute. I am sorry that you are experiencing that and I know it must be stressful.
But yes, the coverage they provide is limited to accommodation reimbursement for sits that are cancelled less than 2 weeks before the start date or if a sit is cut short for some reason.
Perhaps at some point they may offer more comprehensive coverage options, though I imagine that could get a bit pricey if they were going to offer something like flight reimbursements as people do have the option to buy refundable fares.
But as for any other type of assistance, their involvement will be limited. They are strictly a platform that connects people offering a service with those seeking it out.
It is not like they are directly facilitating these matches and us sitters are some sort of agent of the company for whom they have certain responsibilities and obligations.
While I do think cancellations are relatively rare-I have never had an international sit cancelled and only a handful of cancellations all these years– there is always the risk of something happening.
If sitters choose to purchase non-refundable airfare, they must accept the possibility they will lose that money. And I say that as someone who never buys refundable tickets so no judgement on that choice.
These are very stressul situations. We had a similar one a few years ago. And I agree, it’s not just about the finances, it’s also the whole hassle of having to make new plans.
However, nowhere does THS say that they will reimburse flight costs, their premium membership clearly states it’s only accommodation costs. They are like a ‘matchmaking platform’, they introduce owners and sitters to each other, but ultimately the responsibility and risks lie with the owners and sitters themselves…
It still sucks of course. I hope you’ll manage to find a replacement sit soon!
It just astounds me that the PP didn’t say, I am so sorry my flight was canceled last minute (literally) but I can host you for a few days till you find other accommodations. Definitely compassion is missing. That being said, it was your choice to cancel your own flights. You could have continued to that location, stayed in a hostel and look for something else. If you don’t even have enough funds to stay in a hostel then I think you are taking a big risk on this platform. Even if you arrived at the PP home and four days into the sit she said she was returning early because of whatever, you still would have to find accommodations somewhere else. THS is not responsible for your life choices.
The home owner refused to provide us with the flight cancellation email or any proof, and told us she wouldn’t be traveling for at least a week. Which is very unusual for a flight cancellation too.
We wouldn’t have minded covering one or two nights of accommodation ourselves, but instead the owner decided to fully cancel the sit and left us responsible for all the costs, while we were already on our way, we didn’t had any response from the app to know how to proceed so we decided to come back home, buying a new flight back for Kyle.
If this has happened only once in 2 years- yep it’s annoying but you’ve had I presume lots of nice sits and accommodation in various locations to balance it out maybe? Having your own contingency fund is essential when sitting internationally I think.
Travel insurance won’t cover this and the THS Premium offer pays out for you to stay in a local hotel (although summer season hotel costs would I suspect exceed the daily rate). You’d also have an option to apply to other sits at that location.
Our approach is to not rely on a sit (do a basic risk assessment with mitigations) and if it’s cancelled have plan B. We’ve got a 2 week sit at Xmas in an expensive location, we’ve already decided that if it was cancelled last minute we’d simply stay at home…or stay for maybe 2 nights then come home to use the outward bound flights. Look it’ll cost us but that’s the risk.
Sorry to hear about the cancellation, that sucks! We had the same as we taxi-ed onto the runway at Zurich. Ouch! Too late now but another time you could look for other sits in other parts of Holland, or catch a Flix Bus and head across the border as maybe cheaper, or put a last minute post onto local FB house sitting groups. We went for the Flix bus option and headed to Germany. Still out of pocket but kept the adventure going. Do you have any travel insurance? #hopeitsaoneoff
The sit we are talking about was for almost three weeks, not just a couple of days that we could have easily managed in another way. Beyond the financial loss and the mental stress, the pet owner’s excuse was highly questionable and completely disregarded the fact that we acted in good faith.
We rearranged our work and personal projects in order to honor this commitment, as we have always done while following the platform’s rules, to provide proper pet care. We didn’t organize our lives and travel plans just to end up staying in a hostel or hotel for three weeks.
Thank you for your message and for sharing your opinion. I understand your point, but in this specific situation there was no fairness or appreciation for our effort, and in the end we are simply expected to accept a loss of €800 as if it were nothing.
Totally get that, we lost flights to and from Palma & Stuttgart on a different entirely flaky cancellation (& both for the same HO who is now off the platform) for a combined 7 week sit!! So much like your situation now but even more money. We just had to bite the bullet. We changed to the premium membership after that & it paid out on our fourth (out of 54 sits so hey) cancelled international sit. I understand your frustration but the options are only stay or go home, THS will not take responsibility for the host’s actions. If you think it’s justified you could report her for “non exceptional” circumstances when cancelling a confirmed sit. #keepyourchinup
What were you expecting THS to do? Annual membership is at or less than what one typical one night’s stay would be in many cities. How much more would you be willing to pay so you’re covered? Did you consider buying travel insurance? That covers some risks, at a cost. You realize that THS doesn’t employ anyone among hosts or sitters, nor can it force the host to go through with a sit?
It’s unfortunate that this happened. It’s part of the risk of housesitting. Are your flights changeable? Can you get a credit? Personally, I never buy refundable tickets, I’m currently looking at tickets from Chicago to Edinburgh and the refundable option is literally double the price ($600 for nonrefundable, $1200 for refundable), it’s really not worth it for the slight chance something might happen that I can’t go.
I did have an international sit cancelled 4 days before the start date. I had already flown there and had another sit after so I just got a hotel. Fortunately, I had the premium insurance. I paid out $2000 for hotels and was eventually reimbursed $1500. So, the cancellation still cost me $500. But, it was in the Swiss Alps and we had a wonderful time there. If I’m buying a flight somewhere for a sit, I always plan that I would go anyway even if the sit was cancelled.
Unfortunately, there really isn’t anything THS can do. It’s great that we have the premium option for at least partial hotel coverage. But for them to offer additional coverage, I think it would get pricey and I doubt many would opt for a higher priced membership option. As with everything we do in life, we weigh the pros and cons and determine the risk level we are comfortable with.
Have you considered reporting the hosts? Her refusal to show you the cancelled flight email is suspicious. I know this won’t help you, but it might stop it happening to other sitters.
I think I understand that you’re here to vent and also warn others, which is kind. This is a crappy situation. It’s a shame THS didn’t respond sooner and explain your options (which are limited but do exist). Did you call Urgent Support or just send a message? Unfortunately now that you’ve gone back home they can’t do much to help, but I would suggest filing a Member Dispute since the HO had such a flimsy excuse for cancelling and you won’t get to review her. Bad owners and sitters need to be cited or banned. It’s depressing how some people treat others these days. Hard lesson learned.
I am so sorry this happened to you. Would it not have made sense to continue to Amsterdam and stay in alternative accommodation, as covered by the cancellation insurance?
I am glad that you posted your experience to highlight the need for backup plans to both homeowners and sitters. If someone cannot afford accommodation in their target city, they should not go. Some sitters afford this by using the cancelation insurance; others afford it by having a family member or hotel as a backup option. (And if homeowners cannot afford a paid sitter, or secure a family member, to fill in for their selected sitter - they should not go on their trip either. Stuff happens.)
But as for flights - the cancelation of those was your choice, and thus the loss is your responsibility. While I carry trip insurance that covers things like flights and baggage, I doubt any insurance company would have covered the flights given that the flight cancelation was a personal choice and not something out of your control.