I’m feeling really frustrated and unsure about what to do in a situation that’s been evolving rapidly, and I could use some advice or even just some empathy from those who might have been through something similar.
I agreed to a housesitting arrangement a while back, and everything seemed to be set in stone. We confirmed the dates, and I was all ready to go. However, just before the sit was supposed to start, the homeowner informed me that the dates had changed. Understandably, I needed to double-check accommodation before confirming the new dates. A week later, she tells me the dates are back to normal, and I confirmed once more.
Fast forward to the halfway point of the sit, and suddenly I receive a message saying she’s planning to come three days earlier than initially agreed upon. I reached out to support to adjust the sit accordingly, only to be met with resistance from the homeowner who had already made plans. I reluctantly agreed to keep the sit as originally planned. Especially since there are 14 days until the sit ends.
Now, I’m faced with another curveball. She messages me today, indicating that she might arrive either tomorrow or Sunday, due to bad weather prompting a visit to her aunt’s place, which was her original plan. But here’s the kicker: she’s not sure if she’ll be coming back tmr or sunday or a later date and just wants me to stand by while she figures out her flights.
I’m at a loss for what to do. I live in a different province, so it’s not feasible for me to just up and move back, especially since I’ve already scheduled another sit immediately following this one. Should I cancel that sit and head home, potentially leaving the homeowners in a bind? Or should I wait it out and risk being without accommodation for an extended period?
I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I could really use some guidance or even just some understanding from those who have dealt with unpredictable homeowners or last-minute changes before. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
That sounds very stressful. If the HO and you agreed to particular dates and it was all confirmed on the website then you should have accomodation for those dates that could either mean they stay somewhere else and you finish your sit, the HO pays for some alternative accomodation for you or, and I think this is against the T&Cs but happens often enough anyway, you stay in the same house as the HO if there is space and it’s comfortable to do so. If I was you and I didn’t have an escape plan I’d message her back asking her to confirm what the arrangements will be until the date your sit ends and you depart. If you are worried you could also reach out to THS support and see what assistance they can provide. Just as Frankie the chatbot for a human and go from there.
For the future, this kind of thing is a red flag and you may want to reconsider sitting for an owner that changes their plans multiple times before the sit even starts. It’s unfortunately too often a sign of things to come.
Definitely don’t cancel the next sit as those HOs.shouldn’t suffer because this one is flaky.
I would request a firm return date from the current HO and advise that I wouldn’t tolerate any more changes
We have had this happen a few times, thankfully I have my Car and it was only an hour’s drive home so we just went with the flow.
Would you be happy to stay even if the HO comes back today until Sunday when you were due to leave? If not, can support help out with what would happen? the HO pay for somewhere for you stay? etc
Is there a sit close by that you could go to? I have had to do this, it was a 2hr drive, however it was heading in the general direction of where we were going to be travelling to next, it was very fortunate we left the sit early in the morning, drove to the next sit that started that day. (The Universe was looking after us with that one) It was the hight of UK Summer and there was no local hotels etc that had rooms, Airbnb’s wanted us to pay for min of 5 nights stay.
Hopefully support can advise of what the next steps, wishing you all the best and safe travels.
@rumi sorry this is happening to you . A similar thing happened to us last year and it was very stressful. Although it is against the T&Cs we reached out to member services who are limited in the help they can give , if I am honest . They can’t stop the Homeowner from coming home early so you are on your own to make arrangements.
This is what I learned if you are a Premium member you are covered by the sit cancellation guarantee if the homeowner comes back early ( curtails their trip ) but you would need to involve member services immediately for a successful claim. You find your own alternative accommodation, pay upfront and claim it back ( minus $100 ) Sit Cancellation Terms - sitter | TrustedHousesitters.com
If you are a Premium member start looking for alternative accommodation within 20 miles of the sit that you are on ( hotel, air bnb )
You could then tell the homeowner “as you have informed me that you are curtailing this sit by returning home early on x . I will be moving to alternative accommodation on x please make arrangements for care of your pets in the event that you are delayed any further . I have informed THS member services so that I can re-claim my out of pocket expenses from the Sit cancellation guarantee. “
You could offer the owner a few options:
They can return on the date originally agreed. You will remain in the home as agreed until the end date. If they wish to cancel their trip early they can put themselves up in a hotel as you have occupancy of the property until the agreed end date.
They can return early and pay for a hotel of your choosing for the days remaining of the original agreed dates.
They can unilaterally terminate the sit now and arrange alternative cover as you will leave.
I guess it depends on how accommodating you would like to be for someone who seems to want to treat you as an unpaid servant there for whatever she desires.
If you don’t wish to push back then you will be doing whatever she decides as she will just arrive at the door and expect you to leave.
THS member services should be helping you with this and explaining to the owner what their commitment entails and not sitting idly by.
Hi @rumi
Wow this sounds terrible. I’ve had similar issues with ho cutting their holiday short and arriving back with little notice. Now I’d not tolerate such. Reiterate it’s against the t&c’s of THS to have a third party in the property during the agreed sit dates and that includes the HO.
I’d reach out THS support to advise of your situation. Unfortunately unless you have the top level membership or possibly travel insurance you may have to decide to stay in this uncomfortable sit until your sit ends or cover the cost of cutting the sit short yourself upon the HO’s return.
I’ve talked to support and they’ve now changed the sit end date to sunday, I do have premium I’m just afraid of paying for an airbnb and then her changing her mind. But more importantly I don’t think I would be ok with leaving her pet alone.
I’ve messaged her yesterday to let me know when her final return date now is, and I’m on stand by while she gets back to me. I am a type A planner so this situation is very anxiety inducing because I can’t make plans until she confirms she has care for him and decides when she’s actually coming back because so far I have no idea if it’ll be today, sunday, the original date or 3 days earlier then that. That is the most frustrating part. I definitely agree that I should’ve noted the red flag, I just felt bad after agreeing to a sit to go back on my word but note to self for next time.
You’re not the one going back on your word. You made an agreement and you stuck to it but the other party is now the one crashing around like a walrus and expecting you to keep everything in place around them. This is important - you are not the bad party here and you do not owe them more of your time and money and mental health. There are people in this world who take advantage of other’s good nature and there desire to help - this sounds like one of those people. Everything will be ‘out of their control’ and you will bend over backwards to help them but it’s not out of their control it’s chaos entirely of their own making. They can alter their plans without making you homeless or messing you around and they simply choose not to as they expect you to accommodate them as people always have.
That you have premium is great news. The sit is cancelled early ending Sunday. That’s it. Go find yourself a nice AirBnB or hotel and relax. They will either be back Sunday or they will find an alternative whether it is a friend or relative or neighbour or paid service to deal with it. But I will lay odds if you flinch and suggest you can change your plans (again) to accommodate their chaos they will suck you back in.
That’s the part I’m afraid of now. She finally confirmed she was coming on sunday. And I booked an airbnb. I told her how unfair the situation was and to please consider her dates rather then the constant yoyo-ing from pre sit agreement to during the sit for any future sits. Now I’m afraid she will leave me an unfair review, because I called her out on her indecisiveness. But oh well all my other reviews are 5* and I’m just ready to not be anxious about this situation. Thanks all for your advice I really did appreciate being able to vent my anxiety here.
@rumi make sure to inform member services straightaway that homeowner is curtailing the trip so that you can re-claim your Airbnb expenses .
Keep screenshots of the messages when she says she will be back early . If you don’t inform them within 24 hours of the homeowner telling you - you won’t be able to claim the money back .
Was it not an option to confirm with the HO that they would put you up till the originally agreed end dates? And that means either providing accommodation at their house, or if that would not be a great idea, then you’d stay till whichever date they’d come back (giving them flexibility BUT) & agree with them that from the day of their return till the agreed end dates on THS, it’d be their responsibility to pay you an AirBnB.
E.g. I think I would have left the end dates as is, and made the HO responsible for providing me suitable accommodation in return for their request to keep the dates as is and be flexible
I’m working on my PhD thesis and use sits as an opportunity to spend time with animals and write my manuscripts. And the room i’ve been staying in during my sit consists of a bed and no windows or a desk, so i’ve been using her office during my stay.
I imagine when she’s back I will be restricted to my room. So it didnt make sense for me to stay when I do have a premium account . Plus I don’t think i would’ve been comfortable. I was there a few hours before the sit started and I understand travel is hectic but was left very uncomfortable by the chaos as she was preparing to leave. So to answer your question I didn’t ask to share her home with her for the next 14 days because it would’ve been uncomfortable for me and just continued my anxiety further. I understand that’s also because i’m privileged enough to have a cancellation policy that would reimburse me. I imagine someone who isn’t might have asked her and moved forward based on her decision.
I think that’s not ok from THS, but it’s better for THS because in this way they don’t have to pay anything. Now it looks like the sit would have been until Sunday from the beginning on.
If the HO comes days earlier THS should pay for an Airbnb - absolutely!
I think the reason they did that was because ideally they would prefer if I found an alternative sit for that time period. Which provides me with accommodation and saves both of us from paying for an Airbnb. I don’t think it’s a cop-out not to pay reimbursement on accommodation. Or at least I hope not
I sincerely hope not for you, as they may argue that you requested the change in sit dates & thus the sit has ended and that’s where the responsibility ends.
I can’t imagine what kind of run-around and drama Rumi would get if she decided to hold the HO responsible for her accommodations. I think cutting your losses and getting out is best!