Hello, we have literally just joined TH and are yet to book a sit but I am beginning to regret joining after seeing all the discussions about sitters backing out a the last minute. Last night I just lay awake worrying about this and have already considered cancelling plans for a week away because I can’t bear the insecurity of this arrangement… our dogs are precious to us and one is far too anxious to be put in kennels. How on earth can we protect ourselves? Already considering going back to paid sitters and feeling pretty down about the whole thing. Any advice welcome x
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Welcome @Janey
Cancellations do happen but are not the norm or otherwise THS would not work .
Some cancellations happen when hosts have not been upfront about the responsibilities or their pet health’s in their listing . The sitter “backs out” because it wasn’t what they agreed to .
Some of the other cancellations discussed on the platform are not cancellations at all but the host not understanding how the platform works -sitters will apply for sits - that isn’t a confirmed sit until both parties have spoken , confirmed and agreed it - then it’s confirmed appears on your dashboard and neither party should cancel unless they have an extraordinary reason to do so .
We are sitters we have done 30 sits and never cancelled . There are thousands of sitters with an equally good record of reliability. Choose sitters with lots of good reviews . Have a video call to chat with them before deciding on a sitter and confirming the sit . Ensure that it’s an equal exchange and that you are offering a clean welcoming home for the sitter . Agree the arrival and departure times well in advance of the sit . Keep in regular contact with the sitters before the sit .
It’s always recommended that you have a back up plan in case of emergencies - that could happen with a paid sitter too .
If there was an emergency which resulted in a last minute cancellation you may be covered by the sit cancellation plan which would cover the cost of paid sitters .
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No @Janey1 it’s not like that at all, this is just a forum, where people come when there are problems, and it’s not just about sitters, it’s about pet owners too. So that’s all you hear about on here. It gives a totally wrong impression of what TrustedHousesitters is like. Most are like us and never ever back out. We sit as a couple and it would take hospitalisation or death to stop us from sitting.
For a true and honest reflection check out Trustpilot, the reviews are from both owners and sitters and most of the 20000 reviews rate it 5/5, and it’s a brilliant site in our opinion! Every owner always needs a back up plan, even with a paid sitter, because serious ill health can hit at any time, for both sitters and owners.
Also, bear in mind that some of the posts on here in the past, have been from owners who didn’t actually properly confirm their sitters on the TrustedHousesitters site in the first place, and some have mislead their sitters and didn’t make them aware of certain things until after their sitter has arrived, leaving them with an awkward predicament, and breaching the THS rules.
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This is where most people come to vent. It is such a small population on this forum. It’s when I read Nextdoor.com. I think I am living in an area with incompetent plumbers, handyman, gardeners and bad restaurants with lots of dogs who are missing as they escaped the yard. Every area I live in all the posts look the same on Nextdoor. Even the areas voted top 10 places to live in the US.
When you speak to a potential sitter ask them if they have ever canceled a sit and the reason why. If they are flying say to them if we confirm this sit when do they plan on purchasing your tickets. You can even ask them after they purchase to please give you information on airline and arrival date and time. Whatever will make you feel comfortable. It should be a good experience for you, not one of stress.
Many have asked TH to include on the profile cancellations. I would also like to see this on the hosts profile. I don’t want a host who has a history of cancellations. More to lose for the sitter as the host stays at home whereas the sitter has made a lot of arrangements to travel.
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Hello and welcome to forum @Janey1 !
As others have said - keep in mind that forum is where many would come (only) when they have a problem. Many sitters have never cancelled and even if they get ill do all they can to still take care of the pets, even when they would have legitimate been able to cancel. I have never had to cancel a confirmed sit so far, and have taken care of a pet even if I fell ill during sit. Many have.
But ofc life happens. A host also could cancel on the sitter, never mind that the sitter has spent lots of money for tickets to go to the home of the host. That is quite common also. So all members should have a plan B in case of emergency.
An option could ofc also be to sign up for the Premium with insurance, but having a good listing and a good talk, sharing info on departure and arrival early on would get a good probability of a good match and a good sit.
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Let’s be really honest with you.
The way you’re writing this makes you sound extremely anxious, and I think it could be incredibly difficult to meet all your expectations and care for your precious animals the way you want. I’d say it’s not just your dogs that matter to you — everyone looking for a sitter cares about their pets, otherwise they’d leave them home alone with an automatic feeder or put them in kennels.
What are you expecting someone to say to you at this point? Of course, it’s possible that you’ll get cancellations, that you’ll choose the wrong sitter, or that you won’t even get applications because your expectations might be simply too much. If someone is this extremely worried, I’d suggest canceling the membership and paying someone instead — that will make life easier for you.
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Thank you so much @HappyDeb , that is extremely reassuring and I am grateful xx
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As @Fatamorgana said, it’s not too late to cancel your membership. Trusting this system is not for everyone, and not everyone is the right type of host, for various reasons.
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What you don’t realise at the moment @Janey1 is that when you read the right sitters profile, you will feel like you know them already.
Trust your intuition, your gut feeling. It’s not about the number of reviews, it’s about the feel-good feeling you have about someone.
They won’t feel like a stranger when you find your perfect sitter, and you’ll relax straight away. It’s weird, but believe me it happens!
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@Janey1, welcome to THS and THS Forum.
Sorry to hear of your experience. THS does not publish data on number of sit cancellations, in aggregate or by member. But it does happen - by Pet Parents and housesitters. Guess stuff happens in life. Thankfully appears to be rare.
We have experienced two last-minute cancellations by international Pet Parents. Deep breath, pivot plans.
Support @Silversitters great, pragmatic advice. Sit Cancellation Insurance can help, somewhat.
And also @Seniorsitter perspective that THS Forum is a place to learn from outliner experiences, and probably not representative of all housesits.
In case you do not know, there is a section of THS Forum for “Last Minute Sits”.
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Reliability can vary with the sitter, so do due diligence and carefully choose a sitter(s). My current hosts asked about any previous cancellations on my part, for example.
Plus, they have a backup plan, because emergencies can happen even with typically reliable sitters. In their case, they have a paid dog walker who’d step in and stay with their pet, if needed. They also said if I had an emergency that required me to go home (several hours away by car), I could take their dog with me if needed, assuming that was feasible.
Personally, the only time I’ve canceled over 20+ sits is when a host did not reveal dealbreakers till they shared their welcome guide — one dog needed letting out overnight and the other was prone to diarrhea. And that still left them months to find another sitter or make alternative arrangements, because we did our video chat and welcome guide sharing within 24 hours or so of my applying for the sit.
Unless I discover that a host hid dealbreakers from me, it would take incapacitation or death for me to not go through with a sit. Like many sitters, I take commitments seriously.
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Im a sitter and when i do a sit HO’S ask me for my airline tickets confirmation. I have no problem with that because i truly want the Homeowners to know im serious. They like to track the flight as well as i fly to them to check for delays since many pick you up from airport. Before i joined i also had thoughts of what if i pay for my travel and Homeowners back out. Cancelations are there on both parties, but i think you will find this service more beneficial then you think. Like others say read the sitters reviews, whatch out for sitters that have no reviews, I would try new sitters only because I feel they are just starting out and we want to do a good job and earn good reviews so we can get more sits .
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So true. Couldn’t agree more. 
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@HappyDeb you’re like a little ray of positivity! Makes us smile just reading your encouraging messages. #alwaysdoyou 
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It’s the same fear on the sitter’s end. I just confirmed a sit in Canada and I’m flying in from Tokyo the day of to petsit. We paid extra for changeable tickets and my backup plan is to travel throughout Japan or China if the host cancels. 3 hosts have cancelled on us in 2 years. Reliability varies and I’m not going to put people into age groups or part time / full-time sitters being more or less reliable. Flaky people are flaky and reliable people are reliable. But of course emergencies do happen so having a backup plan is good for everyone. I’ve met many hosts who have raved about their continued great experience with this platform so you might want to give it a try. Just look through the reviews.
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Thanks for your message… my only expectations are that a sitter turns up when they have confirmed a sit (aside from something unexpected happening like bereavement or serious illness of course). That’s all. I simply posted for reassurance and advice, which I am receiving now.
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Yes, of course… I can see it’s a two way street and you’re right of course regarding flaky people. I would never cancel and mistreat a sitter unless it was a life and death situation and so I guess I hope we will be treated in the same way. I can see I have probably panicked prematurely and I am sure that I will come across incredible trustworthy sitters if I give this time. Thanks for taking the trouble to write your message to me.
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Thanks for your kind message… Nextdoor, you are so right, good point. You’ve helped to restore my faith! Thanks so much for your kind tips
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And paid sitters don’t cancel?
It’s all about trust. Like most forums, people come here to tell us about their negative experience. Some of us try to make it more positive but it’s hard.
I’ve done well over 130 sits. I have cancelled one. My shoulder socket has been damaged and I cannot deal with dogs that pull a lot when they are on lead now. The sit had multiple dogs and it was me and two grandchildren doing it. I gave the host seven months notice. I had to leave one sit early because of a very close family members death. Now, if my maths is correct that is 1.54% cancellation rate. I have never ever kept note on how many hosts have cancelled on me. Some with very genuine reasons some with lame excuses (their loss).
No one can take your anxiety away. You have choices. Have a go and see how it pans out. Don’t have a go and you’ll never know.
This arrangement only works when both parties take the word trust very seriously. The sitter trusts what they are told. The host trusts that the sitter can and will do what they ask. And both parties have to trust that the sit will go ahead.
It’s a very simple arrangement and it works for 98.46% of the sits. But that’s going with my statistics. I’m sure you could ask any potential sitter the question.
Good luck, whatever you decide.
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