Cancelled sit after arrival

I had my worst experience with TrustedHousesitters today. I had set up a sit and during the conversation with the pet parent I asked if it would be okay if I arrived a day early for the sit. They agreed.

I drove an hour to the sit and got there and spent about an hour going over the pet care instructions. Then it became clear they expected me to not to stay the night. So apparently a misunderstanding? I was very clear about coming a day early. I did not say I was just visiting nor did the pet parent request that I come ahead of time to met the pets. I would not drive 2 hours roundtrip at rush hour just to met and cover over pet care!

So initially they let me stay and I brought in my stuff. I was sitting in the guest bedroom when I was told they were cancelling the sit because they were uncomfortable with me spending the night there!

Here I am a single woman staying in a foreign house with a couple I don’t know and they are uncomfortable with me?!! Anyway, I departed and spent another hour in rush hour traffic and am paying for a last minute expensive hotel.

One lesson learned, document everything in writing. We had spoken by phone and I do not have any proof of what was said. I am feeling very let down and upset about this.

The only upside was I didn’t like the neighborhood at all where the sit was. I was a bit worried about my safety there.

Kelly

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Even if it was documented how would that make them feel less comfortable? And would you be happy staying somewhere you were obviously not welcome in. Yes, please document all conversations and agreements and try to make them clear and concise with no room for misunderstanding. I also make sure that important stuff is on THS messages so it can be verified easily if disputes happen
We were asked to arrive a day early for a sit once. It happens often so we didn’t think much of it. We arrived, had a walk through then the family sat down for dinner. No place set for us! Luckily I had some frozen pizzas with us so I just stuck them in the oven. It was a very awkward sit after that. Now I ask.

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How very awkward. I guess if you haven’t clarified that you ask to spend the night at their place it could be a misunderstanding. Many sitters try to avoid spending the night while the host is there, so based on their previous experience I see that that could happen.

Although annoying it could also be regarded as you getting out of it in time. Not being comfortable with the sitter one has chosen doesn’t bode well, but ofc I can see their viewpoint also if this came as a big surprise to them.

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Sounds like miscommunication on both sides. It’s a bad result and now you’re both stuck scrambling, but hopefully everything will work out well.

For dog sits I generally prefer to arrive the night before and when talking to the HO about it, I specify something like “I generally find it’s best that I arrive the day before and spend the night so the dog has time with me while you’re there to learn that I’m trusted and I have time to go on a walk with you and experience the feeding routines. But, if you think your dog will be comfortable with it, I’m happy to arrive the day you leave.” But I make it clear that I intend to spend the night.

I’ve started, when doing reviews for HOs who post here, trying to mention that if they’re having someone come a day early they need to expect to provide a private space for the sitter to sleep as well as both dinner and breakfast for the sitter because there seems to be a lack of clarity on these points so I think it’s good to call it out when I’m not the sitter in question so there is no feeling of ‘wow! how entitled of them!’

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Did you ask them to subsequently change the sit dates on THS?

It sounds as if there were misunderstandings on both sides, but it’s a bit odd that they showed no flexibility once the expectations became apparent. Was it a small property, where the hosts perhaps felt a bit awkward about sharing their limited space? Did you perceive any sense of unease during the hour spent discussing the pet’s routines? What was the duration of the sit?

We always confirm the agreed times of our arrival and departure, prior to confirming a sit. We do this in writing, so there can’t be any misunderstandings. If requested to arrive the day before a pet parent’s departure, we always request amendment of the sit dates on THS, just so that we’re all clear on what’s been agreed.

You’ve obviously had an upsetting experience @KellyK , but you can use it in a positive way by amending the way you approach and agree future sits. There are no guarantees in housesitting, but we can all learn ways to minimise risk of things going wrong next time.

Good luck, going forwards.

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Hi @KellyK
That’s terrible. Sorry for your experience. Maybe in the future do as I do and confirm when they’d like you to arrive for the sit and depart. Often HO’s post the dates they are travelling and not the dates they need you.

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Seems freakish for hosts to cancel like that, even had there been a misunderstanding. You’ve probably dodged a bullet, though at a cost, unfortunately.

In my applications, I usually include some version of this:

For consideration: I usually fly in a day ahead of a sit and overlap with my hosts for the night, if that works for you. That’s in case of travel delays and so I can get a solid handoff on your home- and pet-care routines. If that doesn’t work, we can discuss alternatives.

BTW, if your sit date actually kicked in, please review the hosts and include what happened factually so other sitters can make informed decisions about whether to pursue sits with them in the future.

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It sounds as if they have cut off their nose to spite their face - where will they get pet care from at this late notice? How odd!

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Yes, I think you dodged a bullet with that one. What strange and outrageous behaviour.

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How strange. As you are staying in their house for a period of time, it seems to me obvious that asking to come a day early is an extension of that. It wouldn’t occur to me that they might think you didn’t expect to stay that night. It sounds like you were coming from somewhere reasonably local so maybe they thought you live locally and that you were just being generous with your time. Still seems strange that they were uncomfortable once the misunderstanding was clear.

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Did you contact THS Support? And what was their response? Do you have the additional coverage? On a simple human level, find it stunning people would behave this way.

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What’s really odd is, that if you’re trusting someone to stay in your absence and look after your home & pets, why would it make you feel strange (especially as OP is a single female sitter), to accommodate them for a single night right before the sit staying in your guest room? No spare room then yes, tricky; or a couple to stay then maybe too much for a single host etc. Sounds like there was something more going on their end TBH and agree you probably dodged a bullet! #happynewsits

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That’s what I thought.

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What a horrible experience! It is unconscionable to cancel a sit when tthe sit has basically started. So sorry. I agree that asking the HO to change the date on TH can keep this from happening to you again.
I very much like my sitters to arrive the day before I am departing – most especially when I have a super early flight. It also seems a hospitable thing to offer sitters coming from far away or overseas a place to stay when they get to town. That’s pretty much my standard, unless I am departing late in the day and will still have several hours to acquaint the sitters with the house, routine and the dogs.
It sounds like you aren’t even able to leave a review stating all this on their profile.
Well, welcome to the community. Hopefully the worst is behind you.

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Wow, the pizza situation is really weird. Definitely awkward. I was dreading staying there once I saw their neighborhood! But the pets were delightful and the inside of the house was nice so I was going to make the best of it because I would feel bad about leaving them hanging like they did me!
I did send a message on THS confirming my arrival and departure date. I noticed the TS policy from premium member cancellations stipulates that you have to find a hotel within 20 miles of the sit. There place was in an awful area. I decided to move on to a nice place at my expense more than 20 miles away.

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Thanks for the tip. I am going to do what you do in the future. We discussed everything on the phone and I asked if I could arrive a day early because they needed me by 9:30am the next day. And I was told ok. I followed with TS message stating my arrival date and departure. However, now I know to clarify even further saying that I will be sleeping their the first night…I wouldn’t think this would be necessary if I gave my arrival and departure but apparently some people need you to spell everything out for them?!!

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I did sent a TS message to confirm my arrival and departure date. I thought that was enough. From now on I will insist they amend the dates in TS. Kelly

I wish there were some way to leave a review for what happened. However, since they deleted the listing and I arrived a day early (as agreed), I am unable to do so. I am following the great advice provided by others here to get everything in detailed writing on TS and to match the dates in TS. Kelly

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Indeed. I agree. Their neighborhood was a dodgy.

I was coming from another pet sit that I just finished. I had never been to their city before - I am not a local. They knew this as I told them on the phone my plans. I found it quite bizarre. The house was basically empty of belongings too as they are converting it into an AirBnB. They had an empty guest room. It was really strange.