We are 2 years a Premium Member of THS and have done 28 Sits and from tomorrow on we will enjoy 3 Sits in the UK.
I really donāt understand all tbe fuzz concerning the fees.
Just become a Premium Member (120ā¬ extra) and the issue is solved.
The experience of - all over the world - taking care of and loving all kind of animals, meeting various people, learning more about other cultures and habits, enjoying nature or cities,ā¦ is for us PRICELESS and we are very, very GRATEFUL for this.
Be mindful, positive and be aware how lucky we are to be able to enjoy THS.
Many people all over the world are not in our position.
As a Premium Member you are unaffected by the booking fees.
For me personally, becoming Premium represents a 124% price hike, for which I will receive no tangible benefit. 2 lounge passes are pretty much useless when there are 3 of us! In 50+ sits we have never had a situation where the cancellation insurance would have been beneficial.
The experience is indeed fantastic - but not exclusive to THS.
The fuzz I think is less about the fee than the type of fee, every sit vs just flat out price increase and the corporate gobbledygook that it was rolled out with which promises a smoother experience when nobody really believes THS will provide that. People are cranky about paying more for nothing and the waffle that came with it.
Sometimes/often itās not about the money and more about trust in a relationship thatās been injured. Perhaps if you can understand that itās a red flag to many when an organisation requires its paid up members to sign T&Cs (without any consultation) in order to access their profiles/sits. Itās a red flag to charge per sit. Itās a red flag to treat members in a presumptive manner. Now as you know we as sitters/HOs have a lot of experience with red flags in trust based relationships and I believe that is where the āfuzzā is located.
āJust become a Premium Member (120ā¬ extra) and the issue is solved.ā
In blithely making this suggestion , you make many assumptions about membersā financial status. āJustā because you can afford this, doesnāt mean that it is so easy for others.
It is not about gratefulness, experiences, learning, etc. which Iām pretty sure all of us (or at least most of us) already practise and/or appreciate.
Your apparent finacial ease is not necessarily the norm.
I think you mean āfussā although I do agree there can be a lot of fuzz petsitting
Youāre making a lot of assumptions based entirely on your own experience and values. I donāt want to sit all over the world. I sit in specific locations which have relatively few sits posted. So Iāve already been adversely affected by the ā5 application blockā rule as sits are often āreviewingā as soon as I see them.
Itās not cost effective for me to upgrade to Premium given the low number of sit I do and Iām not interested in lounge passes or dubious āinsuranceā.
Everyone has the right to their own views without judgement.
I think you havenāt taken into account many of us are long term members of THS, I joined in 2013 and then there were not many sits or sitters. You could actually speak to a person and it was fun to be part of as it steadily grew. What has happened has left us sad and disappointed. I have always recommended it but I find I can no longer do this. Yes I could become a premium member but itās not all about the money, although for some people on a budget it will be a big part. There has been a steady decline in help, constant problems with the APP and service is poor. The convenient glitch by having to accept T&Cs without reading them came at the same time as this ill thought out announcement of the new fees. They havenāt thought through how much it will affect members or explained what the fee, which will be a considerable sum is to be used for. To tell us to think of it as a boarding pass is just an insult. My renewal is February, I have loads of 5 star reviews and I am booked up a year ahead. But enough is enough, I canāt cancel my subscription because I have sits booked but this will sadly be my last year, so do understand why we are making a FUSS.
This is the heart of the matter. Some members are insulted because a large impersonal company makes an unfavorable decision that will cost them a bit more money.
Rather than simply making a rational decision- stay or go based on whether itās still a good value, people are taking it personally.
It would be like saying youāre hurt because Amazon decided to tack on a surcharge to every order that is placed, and you were an Amazon customer from the days Jeff Bezos was selling books out of his garage.
Itās not about you. Itās business and is all about a company generating revenue for its shareholders. Nothing more.
The only asset THS has are its paying members, there is no other source of income and in the financial year ending December 31st 2024 income was >Ā£25 million. Rather than keeping members onside THS has upset many with the way the new sit fees have been introduced. Yes, itās a business, but donāt pee on the only assets.
True, but unlikely the case with THS. A small percentage of 250k members complaining loudly does not represent the broader membership base, many of whom I suspect may not even notice the change in fee structure, and those who do, may grumble slightly and pay up.
As you know, at Trusted Housesitters we have lots of members across the globe, with different perspectives - our forum is a great place to seek those alternate viewpoints and connect with members.
For some, a premium membership may not be the right choice.
Itās fantastic to see that youāve had such an amazing experience with Trusted Housesitters and our fantastic community of members - long may that continue!
Because youāre a newbie host you donāt understand that long term members have been disappointed and disgruntled with the lack of improvements, the kludginess of the website and app, the introduction of new features that werenāt requested and seem to make things worse, rather than better. The sit fees are for some the straw that broke the camelās back. I donāt think the number of members youāve quoted can be correct. Income from memberships in 2024 was Ā£25 million. If all members were sitters on the basic plan Ā£99 then there would be approximately 250,000 (Ā£25 million = Ā£100 x 250,000 members). We donāt know how many sitters and how many hosts there are, and which plan they are on. That information isnāt in the annual financial report and is probably confidential.
The fuss largely seems to be that people had it sprung on them without warning and feel they should have had some say (and that say should have been a NO).
If you look at it outside of all the drama and the false claims, by both members and THS, itās an increase in what they charge, with a shift to a model that charges more for the more frequent users of the service. Now normally a fee that aligns with those getting the most benefit paying the most cost would be a good thing but there are some within the ranks of sitters and homeowners that see themselves as the glue that holds the whole enterprise together. That without them being the best darn sitters out there, or the most generous homeowners with the best behaved and most lovable animals, or the longest patrons from the very birth of THS, the whole business just wouldnāt be what it is or that it may not even exist. So they took it personally. While a whole other bunch just simply donāt want to pay more.
It was all probably made worse by one thing, and that was that for the first time THS decided people should be made to acknowledge that they had read the terms and condition and that they agreed with them. For the first time in the 7 years since some terms were introduced people actually noticed what they had agreed to when they signed up and they were shook. Absolutely shook to their core. Plus a technical hitch making it slightly tricky for some people to actually read the terms gave them something else to complain about.
Cue some rabble rousing, < removed > and some us against them, with a dash of misinformation thrown in, and everyone gets to have a jolly good time running around with the pitchforks and torches until theyāre all tuckered out and go home and have a good nights sleep.
I understand the disappointment. I donāt get why disgruntled long term members stick around and continue to complain when itās clear that nothing is going to change in their favor.
Iām sticking around because my subscription doesnāt expire for quite some time. I make my feelings known publicly because thatās my right. Iām taking my experience and goodwill somewhere else, where there are more like minded people. I joined for fun, the vampire investors have sucked the joy out of my membership.
And, so what? I want to post my thoughts on the introduction of the sit fees and Iāll continue to do so. if you donāt like my posts please scroll on by.
(Post edited by the Forum team to comply with the Community Rules).
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