Has anyone seen this add pop up about getting duo sitter feature verified? I’ve clicked on the link and nothing… maybe they are just working on adding this to the site? It’s for members that are more than one person so they can apply for sits that overlap 2 days with their currently confirmed sits. My family and I would of course love to get this feature going on our profile. I asked the digital assistant, and it said what to do, but when I go there on my profile it doesn’t give me the option. Maybe someone from THS could help me out here?
Thanks all.
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I think it’s something that they have been testing out recently. There appears to be a number of sitters who have signed up to test it out so possibly it’s only going to work for them.
This is the first time that I have heard of that feature being visible though.
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It’s the Beta Group. Me and my husband are joint sitters and are part of it. I don’t think they are accepting any new members now.
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Yes, it is a trial for a limited number of members.
What some members do already to be able to apply for overlapping sits, is to have two memberships/ accounts.
Expect an announcement very soon on how much the ‘new’ feature will cost you.
If there is an extra cost then my theory is correct that it isn’t about the pets at all but about the money. I hope I am proved wrong.
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I suggested some time ago that a dual sitter option could be made available with both sitters being verified giving the ability to contact hosts about overlapping dates .
So I was pleased when the trial was first announced .
However , following the feedback reported on the forum where only one couple secured an overlapping sit ( and that sit wasn’t actually going to overlap as first hosts were returning early ) I am not be persuaded that the way this duo sitter function has been designed that it will be worth switching to .
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As part of the beta group we have been informed we have 1 year free with the feature, so Im guessing everyone else will be paying. We would not pay for it, if given the choice.
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I got this pop up for “Duo sitter” today for verifying the co sitter and overlapping sits. It’s €2.00 per month extra.
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Just as I expected!
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Find this really bloomin irritating. The beta test thing was just a way to get more money off existing members…..#grrrrrrr
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Thanks @Skylos - if the reason for the charge is to cover the cost of verifying the second sitter surely a one off charge would cover it.
I don’t have an issue with overlapping sits as such. Many couples have been doing successfully and responsibly for years (despite the obstacles put in their way by THS).
The irresponsible sitters will still be irresponsible verified or not.
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A quote from November 2023
Cannot allow it to continue unless there is more money to be made
What next? Homeowners to pay more for receiving more than 5 applications.
I know it’s a business but spare me ‘the pets are at the heart of what we do ‘rhetoric.
I expect to be missing for a while. You will find me on the naughty step 
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You can’t charge extra premium membership members. The whole idea of premium membership is that all is included. You can’t just add new features and expect premium members to pay extra. If you do it starts to look like a scam.
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Premium members have already paid a premium price for the service and expect access to new features as part of their existing subscription.
Charging existing premium members for new features could be seen as a betrayal of their loyalty and could lead to members switching to other platforms.
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They can and do @Pawel.
When I joined in 2013 there was one membership fee (no tiers back then).
They took away benefits from basic members and started charging for them via premium membership. It’s all about the money and absolutely no appreciation of loyalty.
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It would be nice but it’s an unreasonable expectation that Premium membership fee will cover any additional new features and is not promised anywhere .
The majority of Premium members ( Solo sitter, couples who don’t do back to back sits ) have no need of the duo sitter feature and so won’t want to add it on . For the few that want it - it’s available for a small additional charge which covers the cost of having the Co sitter verified .
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Unreasonable? Just look at the reaction of other members. Usually Premium is a top tier and includes all the perks. Also this site has quite a few imperfections such as the alert functionality, more precise location of house sit information etc. A survey was sent recently asking if they “improved” these functions would we be happy to pay extra. It would be unreasonable to expect that with every fix of the inferior functionality in order to bring the website to the standard of other similar websites, members would have to pay extra “small additional charges”, especially those that already pay top fee.
Where does it end?
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I am aware of the limitations and well reported frustrations of the THS platform and I have contributed to many of the discussions .
In this post I was specifically talking about Duo sitter feature which this thread is discussing.
My life experiences have taught me that it’s unreasonable to expect that a business will give away things for free - ( Occasionally it does happen )
In this case the additional cost of verification of the second sitter comes at a cost .
Previously for a couple to apply for a sit that overlapped they had to pay for two individual accounts -now for those that would use this feature they can pay a considerably lower fee for the duo sitter option .
Since the majority of couples don’t do overlapping sits and they don’t need to pay any extra. Theres no change or increase in fee for them.
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Agreed. The problem with paying “extra” for improvements, is that many of the improvements are necessary for the site to function. It’s like if you rent a home and there was a leaky roof. You’d expect the landlord to fix the leak in the roof, and not to charge you “extra” for that – especially when you know the landlord owns a bunch of buildings and is making a lot of money as a property owner. THS expects you to either live with the leaky roof or put a bucket under it (a workaround) and is now generously offering to charge you for repairs.
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