@Jlt59 have read whole thread and everyone has been empathetic with your situation.
At the same time the replies are realistic because we know that it’s not possible to force the owner not to cancel the trip to or to reimburse you for flights- they may choose to do so which would be nice but not something you can expect or rely on .
The great advice you have been given by supportive members is some practical suggestions about what you could choose to do now to make the best out of this situation.
If the sit had already started and owner came back early because of illness or another extraordinary circumstance (which has happened to us twice on sits) you would be in the same situation or worse .
Knowing ahead of time before you leave U.K. gives you options - loose the money on the ticket and stay in U.K. or make some changes to your plan and go ahead with the trip.
Please keep in mind that it works both ways. If you had something come up and had to cancel, would it be fair for the host to ask you to pay for their pets care, or their airfare if they had to cancel it because you could not come? It’s really not about decency. When all of us sign up, both hosts and sitters, we know that ultimately, there is always a chance of cancellation by either party and that it’s up to us to have an alternative plan or accept the loss.
Sorry struggling to see the humour in this. Europe is a big place … This site is meant to be about affordability, not losing money. Thanks for your responses but I’m not finding them helpful.
Petsitting via THS is a hobby that costs money. Maybe Rover etc would be more suitable for you: it makes a little bit of money. And advantage/disadvantage is that no real travel is involved.
Thanks. This website is marketed toward affordability but I can now see it’s not. It’s for people who can spend a lot of money amending plans, changing work dates, etc. My error.
Personally, if I was you, i would just look for UK sits, then if the HO cancels, you actually save a bit of money on travelling costs, that may suit better.
I have been on the site for 11 years and I don’t apply for international sits because I would find it too expensive and stressful.
Many sitters do it very successfully and they are the ones that can give the best advice. I will back off here and wish you the best with whatever you decide to do.
Indeed, THS marketing creates some false expectations. That article about living in a mansion with a pool taking care of just a turtle is not typical. Sometimes people that were down on their luck and lost their home get seduced because of that kind of marketing to pay the membership fee. And then they find out that it is not a solution.
It works for people that are homeless by choice, that sold their house so that they have a sizeable buffer, and with an income (pension, remote work, etc).
@Jlt59 There are hundreds of sits listed in U.K. for August - so if the thought of rearranging your plans to use your flight ticket is too much hassle , which I can understand- you could still get a fantastic sit in U.K.
There are more sits than sitters available for U.K. so being accepted for a sit for your available dates should be straightforward.
I do understand (from our own experience ) that changing and adapting your plans is not easy- We had to do this twice when owners came back early curtailing their trip and it was stressful to have to do this at the last minute.
However you still have a month before your trip so it’s doable. If you want to.