So my host canceled with less than 72 hours notice because I didn’t respond to their question for the bus station to pick me up from for less than 48 hours. (It was buried amongst other messages about the welcome guide). We had confirmed the date and time. I just missed the station question. The HO only asked for the info again this morning at 11:16, then canceled the sit at 2:14 (less than 3 hours later)because I failed to answer. I’m moving sits tomorrow and am busy cleaning and packing and just happened to check THS for other messages. Apparently this is a valid cancellation because I was “unresponsive”. I think their plans changed and they were looking for a reason to get out of it. I now have non-refundable tickets from Glascow to Belfast to Dublin and 2 nites in an Air BNB in Ireland between that sit and my current one. Apparently there’s nothing THS can do and I’m probably not eligible for compensation. This is the second cancellation in 2 months! I’m beyond ! I hope angry and frustrated and panicked! There’s no repercussions for them either. I hope nobody else sits for these people. They knew I was planning on coming from Scotland and had tickets and all.
I know how frustrating that is we had the same going to Ireland in June with three days notice. We managed to get two last night sits in England instead as we sit full-time. You don’t mention if you sit full-time or have access to a car. Have you checked out any last minute sits for the same dates both in Ireland and UK?
Is this correct:
About 48 hours and no response to their first msg. Then nearly three hours and no response to their followup msg.
And that’s happening three days before their sit?
Did your other cancellation also involve unanswered msgs?
I would say that if I was expecting a sitter and they gave me radio silence for two days just before sit, i would be really worried and start planning to use my plan B for a sitter. I can see your point of view if you hadn’t seen the message, of course, and that was very unfortunate, but one would assume the host also felt in a tight spot.
Yeah, not responding for 48 hours and then missing the follow up, I’d be concerned as a HO too and in a panic to find a last minute replacement. I can see both sides, but didn’t you also think it was odd that you’d not talked about transportation given how close it was to the sit? Did you not have another method of contact besides THS that might have been easier to keep track of?
I’d start looking for sits locally vs relocating if that would make more financial sense. There are a lot more sits available in the UK than in Ireland.
I am sorry to hear that. I think a lot of hosts understandably have concerns about last minute cancellations and when people don’t reply relatively quickly (not hearing for almost 2 days is kind of long in this context I think) it really rustles it up.
They could be people who are bigger worriers by nature, or perhaps they have had issues with past sitters disappearing or cancelling last minute.
This is a good example of why communicating off the app is usually the better idea once a sit is confirmed. We almost always move to Whatsapp/texting for any subsequent contact. Did they have alternate contact information for you? If not, that is very important information to exchange once confirmed.
And in cases where one party may feel better keeping all communication there, sitters should let hosts know there could be potential issues with proper notifications, and not seeing all the messages in the thread, so please be sure to reach out to another contact method if you send one and haven’t heard back within X time, especially something important or time sensitive.
When there are multiple messages being exchanged in a shorter period of time, it could be easy for one to get lost in the mix and left unseen, and that is unfortunate that happened.
It is understandable to be upset about that, especially when you have laid out various costs related to doing that sit. But it seems a lot of the upset is coming from the assumption they are being dishonest with you and had other motivations for cancelling the sit. For you all you know you could be right, but you have no way of knowing that for sure, and reminding yourself of that might take the sting out a little.
There are lots of sits in the UK and hopefully you can find something that will minimize any extra costs you may have to lay out. Sorry about all that.
I’m a host and I have to say I would have worried about no response; however I also have to say, that at this stage before a sit, I’d be using WhatsApp or text to communicate direct and not via THS as I find I don’t necessarily get alerts to say I have a message. I always exchange email and phone numbers as soon as a sit is agreed and then communicate direct as this seems to work so much better.
Yes, better to get details squared away sooner, if possible. Saves last-minute scrambling, because everyone is busy.
My hosts and I usually have a channel or thread going on WhatsApp, text or such — some form of communications that’s contained and won’t get buried. We typically start it a week or so before our sit begins, if not sooner. That way, we know all parties are in sync.
Both sides are accountable for being responsive and thoughtful, not leaving each other hanging.
Before we video chat, ahead of mutually accepting a sit, we already trade phone numbers and email addresses as well.
We missed a couple of THS messages when we first started so we now come off the THS messaging board immediately after the first reply and ask our home hosts only to contact us via Whatsapp
@Lizz I understand how disappointed you must be .
I have empathy for both parties in this situation - hosts were worried you would be a no show as they hadn’t had a reply for two days and then no reply to their follow up message .
Have you tried reaching out to the hosts , apologising and explaining what happened- maybe they will still be willing to go ahead with the sit ?
We have had hosts miss messages on the THS platform. Fortunately , we had already exchanged phone numbers so we had an alternative way to contact them . This is something we insist on .
For future sits you can insist on exchanging phone numbers as soon as sit is confirmed (or earlier ) .
It’s always good to be prepared with a Plan B in case sit is cancelled ( like host has an accident or is unwell ) .
I hope you find another sit or are able to extend your stay at the AirBnB . Enjoy Ireland .
largo: Agree 100%. While communicating via THS is important because it documents the arrangements formally, we always use WhatsApp for details: faster, more convenient. We had one HO who was nervous about our arrival because we were coming from another country. But they didn’t use WhatsApp so we E-mailed newsy updates over the course of two weeks leading up to the sit: (1) arrived in country. (2) arrived at our first tourism destination (3) arrived at 2nd tourism destination (4) have train tix & will arrive at your home around 11 AM tomorrow (5) Will be there in an hour!
I kind of do the same from the Host point of view in that when we’ve agreed to host a sit for some months in advance I keep in contact by sending the odd picture of the cats or the view etc. It just makes me feel happier to know we have an open line of communication and neither of us has forgotten the other!
I’m doing a long-term sit with first time HOs starting in a few weeks and I could tell they were nervous so I’ve been in touch more than normal in the @ 6 weeks since we organized it. Just asking random questions and sending updates about my movements so they’d feel reassured. we moved immediately to WhatsApp and did a group with the 3 of us (2 of them and me) and it’s worked well.
@Lizz Were the messages sent through the app? It’s very easy to overlook new messages in the app. Has THS supported the HO in that reasoning for canceling? Cause that is undeniably not an “extraordinary” situation (but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did).
Had you given them your phone number? Then they could have contacted you with a voice call.
It is often kind of automatic when there has been a video chat via Whatsapp. I usually put my phone number in my signature in applications.
great idea 