Likewise, in over 150 sits have never cancelled one
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Henry - I’m thinking THS platform is not the right fit for you with your ease of canceling mindset. On the other topic you made with a barking Dog situation, you mentioned that your last two sits the reviews given to you by HOs were one star each because you left the sit early due to problems with the Dog resulting in the Sitters returning early from their vacation. The common denominator is you. I think you are the exception rather than the rule.
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@Henry_R, we’d disagree with this statement. And question any objective basis.
We have completed 60+ housesits in 15 countries. We’ve cancelled zero sits. Two Pet Parents cancelled on us, in international locations - ugh. We book travel (often at our considerable expense); we turn up as scheduled; and we enjoy meeting pet parents, caring for pets, and looking after property. We’re increasingly selective but when we confirm sit then we commit.
@Heididavis, not sure if relevant here (as no info in OP) but multiple Pet Parents have talked to us about local vs non-local housesitters. Some Pet Parents, especially those with listings of above-average duration or distant travel destination, have told us that they prefer non-local sitters as such people (like us) have booked and paid for significant travel expense that may not be the case for local sitters. This is unquestionably a generalization, and we make no comment against local sitters, but it has been said to us several times.
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Perhaps only interview sitters who have also paid for Premium Membership? Just a thought and sorry if this has already been mentioned/done.
Agree with this. I don’t like to book myself so far out because it’s hard to know what we are doing! One to 2 months out is plenty and I feel enough time. If you have a good sit that people want, you shouldn’t have a problem getting someone. I’m going against what I normally do and booked a sit for July & Aug and it’s only March! They are local and I know I’ll be able to do them, but for the most part I don’t book out longer than 8 weeks.
2 bad sits is bad luck x 2
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I am probably missing something here because I don’t quite get the logic behind your reasoning. Do you mean in some cases it’s bad luck but the OP’s situation is not bad luck but a risk associated with not paying for a service?
@Heididavis, welcome to the forum. I am sorry you’ve been so unlucky but I do believe it’s not at all normal. I have completed 38 sits and have never cancelled, nor have HOs cancelled on me.
You have received plenty of good advice. I agree that thoroughly checking the sitters profile, reviews received and given and having a good video chat before offering the sit is really helpful. I strongly believe that people who have an equal exchange mindset are less likely to cancel on both sides. If a sitter or HO believes they are doing the other party a favour, it’s more likely that they feel some resentment and may decide they have better things to do. Likewise, if one party has an entitled attitude and starts making unreasonable demands, the other party may feel put off and disengaged.
Wishing you good luck.
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I’ve cancelled sits twice, both months out from the start date. The first time I needed to help out a friend with cancer and the second time was when a date for surgery was offered much earlier than the expected wait time. I contacted the hosts straight away and they were very understanding, they also had ample time to find another sitter. I’ve had more sits cancelled by hosts, because of their ill health. People get ill and things happen.
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I don’t see if a sitter has premium that would make a difference in their character. A sitter canceling for no good reason ( or made up reason) just comes down to character and personal integrity.
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You can absolutely and should expect the same level of commitment as when using a paid service.
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@Henry_R All members agree to these terms when signing up - if you don’t agree this is not the right platform for you .
“a sit must only be cancelled if both you and the other member agree, or if there are any extraordinary circumstances. If this is not the case and you cancel outside of these terms, an investigation may take place that could result in disciplinary action against your membership.”
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I was responding to a post that said I was the common denominator in 2 bad sits and I was just saying that it was 2 unrelated sits with misbehaving animals because of plain bad luck.
You don’t think a dog barking constantly for several nights in a row all night long and depriving me of my sleep isn’t extraordinary circumstances?
However if like me in 2024 and you were facing a big operation would you cancel 3 mths in advance to protect HOs from possible unexpected complications after the op? I cancelled x3 HOs due to the risk I posed. They all got other sitters and thanked me.
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No- it’s dammed annoying though and as discussed ‘at length’ on another thread there were plenty of solutions available.
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Or perhaps not bad luck, rather it was within normal parameters for dog sitting experiences… that require a certain degree of self sufficiency to overcome/endure.
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I tried. Very hard.
Paid sitters who drop in are expensive. Paid sitters who overnight are more expensive still. There aren’t any paid sitters I’ve found that stay in during the day and at night. By extension, sitters who do stay in are more valuable than any paid sitter. We are only interested in those most valuable sitters who additionally view a stay in our home and community as an equitable exchange. Value for value. We also expect a higher level of commitment and reliability from those sitters than we’d ever expect from paid sitters just doing their job. So far, we have not been disappointed in the least.
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Considering the OP has been let down on several occasions, and may not have focused their search on Premium Members, it might help to focus on Premium Members to see if things work out for the better. My post does not say anything bad against non premium members – don’t take it personal.
Sitters on THS with a slew of reviews are pretty well revealed by those reviews. We’ve trusted the reviews for sitters we’ve had and bolstered our confidence with video chats. That’s worked well for us. We usually make arrangements for sitters months ahead of travel. When a sitter accepts an invitation from us, we respond with a message that informs them we’ll get back in touch a month before the sit to check in and verify everything is on track with them. When we do check in, we offer enough that the renewed communications are always well received. So far, so good. But should a sitter express issues or reservations about the sit, it leaves us with a month to sort things out. Of course, we also have a Plan B in mind in the event life happens and the sit gets canceled last minute. FWIW, we actually have 2 Plan Bs. One if the sitter cancels last minute, the other if we have to cancel.
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