Hello! First time THS user and we have a trip scheduled for the first part of December. Here in the U.S. everything is a bit wonky and I am worried that we may have to cancel the trip if the government is still shut down.
Is this something that I should warn the sitter about now? We are currently about 30 days out from the trip. Is this something that we both should agree on and I should get in writing?
I am just not sure how to handle this and being my first time I am a bit nervous about it.
Are you flying? Where is the sitter and how are they traveling to you? You and the sitter should discuss the What ifâs now and your respective Plan Bâs. If you do this through messages youâll âhave it in writingâ but thereâs nothing you can write that will carry any legal weight. You can screenshot your messages if you do it off the platform. But if I were in your place Iâd have a phone conversation as well.
By December, travelers will be notified days ahead of their flights if they need to change flights. The vast majority will be moved to other flights probably on the same day. So delays are possible (though not probable) and should not be a big issue. Also, you should always have a plan B for handling unforeseen problems. This is true whether the government is shutdown or not.
@Tinalouise, welcome to THS Forum.
Thank you for thoughtful question - commendable that you are trying to do the right thing and consider potential impact to housesitter.
Key questions here seem a) what is expected impact to housesitter? b) what is duration of your housesit? c) when do you expect to have clarity on decision to progress/cancel trip?
Impact may vary enormously depending on whether housesitter is local, domestic or international? And if international then if they are already in US or expect to travel to US just for your housesit. Is your housesitter a Premium member of THS? (Sit Cancellation Insurance)
THS Sit Cancellation Insurance applies to sits that are cancelled by Pet Parent in up to 14 days before housesit start date. However this only covers alternative accommodation costs - not travel costs - and frankly terms have several quirks that limit eligibility.
Suggest consider magnitude of impact to housesitter. And consider timeline when you will make decision.
What does this means? What are you going to agree in writing?
Hi @Tinalouise 
Youâre absolutely right to think ahead â what a thoughtful start to your THS journey.
If thereâs even a small chance your plans might change, itâs a good idea to give your sitter a gentle heads-up now. It keeps things open and gives everyone a bit more breathing room.
No need for anything formal â a quick message through THS is perfect to keep everything clear and in one place.
And honestly, try not to worry 
Life happens, and most sitters completely understand. Youâre already handling it with care â thatâs what really counts.
It does depend on many things but I think it is still too early. I do not think controllers can work indefinitely without pay even if they are declared essential as they do have to eat, pay rent etc. but with Thanksgiving coming up I would expect something to be worked out by then. If it isnât, well then it is definitely time to consider a plan b.
Itâs a really good question- I think a video chat with your sitter would be best- itâs complex so no simple answer to cover all the variables on your side and theirs. Also Iâve always believed in an approach in life and work contexts of âbad news earlyâ as it allows all involved to have a voice.
I just had a HO cancel an upcoming sit because she is really worried about possible delays and lack of controllers due to the shutdown. She decided to cancel her trip.
We are flying back on Saturday but as our flight is a direct from a major hub to a major hub, we hope we are not cancelled. If we are we have friends that the sitter can drop our dog off to but at the moment it looks like weâll be ok.
But I understand the concern and was worried a bit myself last week. I would still wait at this point but obviously everyone has to make their own choices.
Iâll be flying back soon too. I fly Dublin to Chicago on the 14th - hopefully it will go as scheduled.
Welcome, Tinalouise.
Starting this discussion now is a great idea. It will allow you and your sitter to bounce, âWhat ifâŚ.â scenarios between yourselves and mutually decide on what is acceptable to the both of you.
Plus neither of you is stressed or in a difficult position travel- or flight- wise which allows you to have a calm interaction.
Fingers crossed for ALL of us that this avoidable debacle ends soon !
Iâm flying back from Cape Verde (not on a sit) to a major hub tomorrow and wonât even look at the news until tomorrow morning.
No point as nothing can be changed and it only adds to the stress. Good luck to all of us !
If your sitter is flying, their ability to get to you might also be impacted, so itâs absolutely the right thing to start a discussion with them.
I have a trip that starts in a week. I am flying internationally so the odds of my flight being cancelled are low - but I am glad that I just happen to have a local-area sitter this time.
If your take is that you are so worried about the flights being cancelled if the shutdown continues and you are thinking of pro-actively cancelling, then you should share that with a sitter who will likely ask you to unconfirm them so they can find something else.
If your take is that this trip is planned and you are going and even if your flight is cancelled, youâll get another one, and you are only not going if everything is grounded (unlikely) and the issues arenât resolved, THEN that would be considered an âextraordinaryâ reason to cancel and the sitter might not be happy about it but stuff happens. While there is a lot of unprecedented stuff happening these days in the US, it seems unlikely that flights would simply be grounded no matter what some people are saying.
Itâs always (IMO) worth it to have some contact with a sitter prior to the sit to make sure everything is still going according to plan, so I would just check in with the sitter to let them know your thinking and do a mutual temperature check.
Where your sitter is coming from may also play into this. A local sitter or someone planning to drive or take a train to you, is going to have less of an issue getting to you.
Sits sometimes wind up being cancelled for reasons that are beyond anyoneâs control.
For what itâs worth, we flew from OâHare to LAX today and it was easy. Half the flight was empty, I think many people are taking the offer to reschedule or cancel with no penalty.
We donât have any travel plans that involve flights for a number of months but I would still wait before bringing it up with the sitter. As mentioned, it may make the sitter panic if you are wavering and want to look for another sit.