It doesn’t matter whether it was one person or as many as 52. If you didn’t get explicit approval from a host to invite anyone over, you shouldn’t be doing that. And even if THS doesn’t enforce that — it seems to often not enforce its own terms — you can review accurately and warn off other hosts.
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This is what the sitter had asked and gotten permission for. It seems to be a lack of communication.
I would not assume that.
Happened to us too. Our second sitter from THS was very irresponsible, we returned to a messy house that stunk of dog urine because she didn’t let the little dogs out often enough, dog feces were found under the bed, several ornamental plants were dead because they weren’t watered enough, and the pool was dirty (all she needed to do was drop the auto vacuum in the water once per week and press a button).
This sitter had multiple 5 star reviews from hosts who apparently felt the same way about not wanting to “hurt” a sitters reputation (with no regard to future hosts).
So we did the same, not feeling the need to do any favors for a host membership base who betrayed us, and risking that we would in fact be the ones viewed as picky and unreasonable, and left a 5 star review but we didn’t contact her to let her know how unhappy we were with her services.
I agree with @Shella_in_the_forum. We can discuss the risks for sitters without ignoring the unacceptable situation @VixenValentina experienced as a HO.
Stop constantly criticizing posts that you interpret with your own emotion and that you report as if you were the forum police.
As a sitter, I’ve experienced very dangerous situations. The more petsitting you do, the more you expose yourself to that risk.
this string has been an eye opening read for sure! I will be changing my ways as a homeowner immediately. Im pretty new still. thanks for the insight.
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I am both creative and vindictive, yet I would not have been able to imagine that someone has ever done this. Kudos!
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I saw the reviews/exchange, and there is a close-up, full-face pic of the sitter. She’s wearing sunglasses but you can still see her clearly.
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Well I am not allowed to wear sunglasses for my passport or driver’s license photo so I imagine that is why the police didn’t consider it a full face picture.
There is also the possibility that the sitter has updated her profile photos since this episode. Especially if she had gotten a heads-up from the OP or THS about her photo.
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Sitter here (also a homeowner, although not listing on THS.)
You should NOT feel self-conscious about asking for ID, or verification of identity of some kind. Understand that some people may not have a drivers license, so perhaps know ahead of time what you’re willing to accept. Maybe even note in your listing that sitters are requested to verify their identity at the time of confirming the sit, to avoid surprises & make it easier for you when you ask. In my opinion, any sitter who doesn’t understand the level of trust a host is being asked to give, is too immature to be doing this.
As a solo sitter, I’m sometimes concerned about the fact I have no way to confirm my hosts are really the owners of the house/apt as well, or are who they say they are. THS doesn’t even require a full-sized personal photo on homeowners’ profiles.
They could really do better on both sides of this issue. I hope it’s in their plans for improvement of the service.
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I also always require a full name and an emergency contact from every sitter. Anyone who would not disclose this very basic information would be a red flag. I think it’s also important to note for those who may not know - THS is not able to background check anyone outside of the US.
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@Shafofo @LongBeachDogLover and others…
I want to be really clear about my perspective. As a practice, I share my name and address at the time that I apply for sits. I am happy to provide ID, and have done so to be insured on cars loaned to me by my hosts.
What I feel prickly about is that as a US based sitter, THS conducts a more intrusive background check into me than they do sitters anywhere else. Several years ago my account was frozen until I gave my social security number to some company to have that done. And to add to that insult, hosts do not undergo any verifications at all.
I am not resistant to homeowners doing due diligence when selecting a sitter. I am opposed to being vetted more rigorously than everyone else.
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The ID verification and criminal background checks are almost certainly imposed by THS insurers. Regardless, for all the investigation of sitters by THS, hosts receive none of that information. No actual name. No home address. Nothing. While hosts don’t undergo THS sponsored checks, once a sitter has the address of a host, sitters can do their own much deeper checks of the hosts. Even without sitters doing their own due diligence, once a sitter is in a home it’s child’s play for a sitter to do a deep dive on hosts.
If there’s a disparity in terms of whether hosts or sitters have superior knowledge, sitters are in the catbird seat. It’s more than bit tedious when sitters whine about inequality over vetting. And that’s before weighing the risks faced by hosts compared to sitters.
Maybe just get over it like hosts do?
I don’t consider it an insult (although I realize you might just be using the phrase there.) I do think all members should have the background check done. Not all hosts are home ‘owners,’ and being a property owner also doesn’t guarantee you don’t have a criminal background.
Other threads have noted that some countries don’t permit these background checks, by law. I don’t know the specifics & can’t confirm. But I simply do not see a reason why US homeowners shouldn’t be subject to the same verification process as sitters, other than the added cost to THS. It’s non-sensical.
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You’re taking a business decision made by people that don’t even know you way too seriously. If nothing else, think of this way, life isn’t fair. Some are born with a silver spoon, others struggle from day one until they take their last breath. Things could be worse than being subject to a more stringent verification process than those who provide the accommodations and entrust you with their most precious possessions.
@OnTheRoadAgain. Feel free to skip over my comments moving forward. My explanation was intended to reassure hosts (IMHO) that it is perfectly fine to want identifying information from the sitters they choose.
(edited by Forum team to meet Community Guidelines)
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Thank you so much for clarifying what is far from obvious from what you actually wrote.
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I thought I would provide an update. Trustedhousesitters finally claims to have moved my complaint to the “resolutions” team. I do not have any confidence that they have fully compiled all of the evidence that I have provided and will do anything given their complete lack of follow through. When they did finally follow up with me, they suggested a call, I replied with suggested times and have not heard a word for days. Just like it took two weeks for me to receive confirmation that they are apparently reviewing the complaint. In the meantime, the sitter can continue to deceive others.
They are trying to encourage other levels of membership but if you read the disclosures, for example on the supposed insurance, you can find that they have way too many outs to make any of these worthwhile.
I think they will edit this part out but if you research, you can find a lot of complaints with regulatory authorities against THS. Given the problems I have encountered, there is definitely room for a worthy competitor.
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Seriously? Paragraph 1 and 3 say it with paragraph 2 distinguishing the other point.
For some reason you don’t like me. I am perfectly fine with that. The edited portion of my post asked you to stop engaging with me. Since you cannot be civil, and I do not need a supervisor, boss or troll in my life. Move on please. (Moderators, you edit my words but allow rudeness and bullying toward others?)
QUOTE:
I want to be really clear about my perspective. As a practice, I share my name and address at the time that I apply for sits. I am happy to provide ID, and have done so to be insured on cars loaned to me by my hosts.
What I feel prickly about is that as a US based sitter, THS conducts a more intrusive background check into me than they do sitters anywhere else. Several years ago my account was frozen until I gave my social security number to some company to have that done. And to add to that insult, hosts do not undergo any verifications at all.
I am not resistant to homeowners doing due diligence when selecting a sitter. I am opposed to being vetted more rigorously than everyone else.
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I don’t know you so how can I like or dislike you? I protested something you wrote. My disagreeing or protesting something you post is not about you, it’s about what you post. Disagreeing is not trolling, bossing or bullying.
I do feel free but probably won’t skip over your’s or anyone else’s complaints about ID verification “fairness”.
If you do not want to read my response to any of your posts, there’s a simple and effective mute feature that hides what specific individuals write. You can put me on mute and I’m fine with that. Google “muting on discourse” and go from there. Or, if you ask, I’ll send you step by step instructions by DM.
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Well then. Consider your tone. Disagreement is fine. Rudeness is not. I am well aware of how to block a user. I recently did so. I consider it a last resort as I prefer respectful discourse. Have a good weekend.
(Edited in line with our Community Rules)