Bonjour fellow Sitters…
Just a curiosity if other Sitters are experiencing inaccurate listings from Hosts? If an amenity is listed, we expect to find it available when we accept the appointment and then arrive. We’re disappointed that recently despite seemingly good communication at interview (yes, we call that pre ‘Sit’ offer ‘chat’, an interview as we’re quizzing as much as being quizzed), we’ve found ‘things’ not available or we’re told once there, not to use. On a recent engagement, we found the following all listed as feature amenities but we actually didn’t have them available; functioning heated swimming pool, barbecue, outdoor eating area, heating (firebox, fireplace and the central heating), auto chicken feeders, speciality cooker, microwave oven, public transport, kitchen/ bathroom consumables, internal cameras not turned off, toilet trained pet, free use of car especially as dogs could never ever (!) be left at home by themselves… (didn’t get told that pre arrival which made outings difficult as we had a hire car with a no carry animals allowed policy). There were other issues but I think the Amenities information must be a list that Hosts think looks more appealing if multiple boxes are ticked irregardless of availablity. So, anyone else???
R.
Hope you put all this in the review and downgraded the owners!
That is crazy! I would report this owner to THS. Too many things to “just let it go.”
No Heating?
No Car?
Internal cameras?
Bait and switch. I would have left right away if the hosts were still there. Or if they had left, I would’ve given 24 hours’ written notice to THS and the hosts so they could find alternative care and then I would’ve left.
Creeps don’t deserve any voluntary sitters.
And no, I haven’t encountered any hosts like these. I screen to avoid jerks and always have a backup plan, so I won’t be tricked and trapped into crummy sits.
Were those things there but you weren’t allowed to use them, or were they a complete fiction? Real bait and switch.
It seems really bizarre. I wonder if they’ve moved and not changed their profile?
Obviously you can score them down on description and hospitality and mention in the review.
Had you discussed in advance how long the dogs could be left?
No, I have not had these issues. I REALLY hope you did the right thing and left an honest review. If you didn’t, the next sitter will suffer the same fate.
I’ve been unlucky enough to have a couple back-to-back inaccurate sits =(
In one, the photos of the office were completely different/outdated than what I arrived to. Instead of the social media worthy photos, it was being used as a storage unit instead. Non-functional with several used mattresses stacked against walls, mattress toppers and body sized pillows crammed into every corner, and piles of clothes everywhere. The host claimed the washing machine had broken the night before but the clothes were all dry and appeared to have been there awhile. It was a small city apartment in Los Angeles, so there was limited space, and I didn’t have anywhere functional to work or unwind from the cats, as she didn’t want the bedroom door closed (and the female cat was fearful of the other). The host also provided multi-media instructions (including a prerecorded video!), but mentioned nowhere that her male cat was aggressive and scratched/damaged things, including my brand new luggage (I posted about this on the forum). I left an honest review docking 1-2 stars in each category and mentioning the listing was not as pictured and the male cat’s behavior. She just replied to my review today and totally lied about everything. She said she “did have some clothes hanging in the office as (she) didn’t have anywhere else to put them. These were on a rack at the side of the room.” About the male cat, who bit and scratched hard at the other cat’s neck and eyes, and who the cat was visibly afraid of, she said “(male cat) has many fans and while he can be rowdy he is also a sweetheart.” On a previous text she said “scratching was unusual” despite me discovering a chair pockmarked with 100’s of scratches and other severely scratched areas in multiple parts of the apartment. Thankfully I took lots of photos, which I forwarded to her TH inbox and reported to support as an inaccurate listing.
The second was a larger property with six cats, all promoted as younger and healthy. We had a lengthy Zoom interview where I asked lots of questions about the cats (i.e. behavior, health, interactions between the other cats) but the hosts did not mention that one of the cats had major health issues, had not been eating, was vomiting, frail looking, etc. until I arrived in person. He looked like he was on his last leg and luckily lived through my week-long sit. They also failed to mention that at least 2-3 of the cats did spite peeing and pooping, and that one cat had to be cordoned off from the rest anytime I wasn’t inside the main house, and literally barricaded in at night. Oh, and their washing machine also broke “just the night before,” sighs.
Thankfully I’m on a great longer sit now, with a handsome Bengal mix male and a sweet mini dachshund, and this will be my last for awhile. But sometimes no matter how much you interview and probe, some of these hosts are out to get over! UGH!!! Please sitters be honest in your reviews, take photos and cover your behind, and report to support.
I wholeheartedly agree that this is the only way to improve the situation for other sitters is to do as you suggest and report the few owners who break the terms ( inaccurate listings, third parties , pets who attack other pets etc )
Did you know that support will not take any action unless you raise a “member dispute”? If you call it complaint or report , then no action is taken . The only way to trigger the process of THS taking any action (investigating whether the listing is accurate or terms have been breached )is to raise a member dispute.
Anyone wanting to learn more about this can read the paragraph Complaining about a member or a house sitting experience in this article
Dear Sitter… we’re still here at this Sit! We’re passionate, but not over the top, pet lovers and so believe if we’d left, the locked up gorgeous big dog and the 5 cats in a laundry area, would have just been thrown a bag of kibble by the gardener to last the fortnight! Not sure about the 20+ chickens (the Post implied 3, with feeders, but the feeders don’t exist) and as for the two small indoor lap dogs, ???
Dear UKSITTER… Thank you…
We’ve completed 60+ worldwide House sitting appointments so are very savvy with getting all information… or so we thought!!
To clarify…this Host was detailing the appointment as if posting a Real Estate ad. Yes, the listing had amenities that would have been super…if we’d been allowed to use them! It also had amenities/features that just didn’t exist and extra responsibilities that were never discussed pre confirmation of the Sit!
You’re always so helpful with THS policies and know them inside out, where most of us (presumably, well me anyway) have just scraped the surface! Do you, by any chance, have a legal background?
No , I don’t, 
it has been said before that I have an eye for details …
I have also spent a considerable amount of time searching the THS platform trying to find out information in relation to our own sit that went pear shaped ! 
If that information can also help someone else I try to help ( and save them time) by pointing them in the right direction.
I feel I don’t need to read all the info because you’ll come up with the answers. Lazy, I know….
I feel some of these hosts are helped by sitters with good hearts. One really should at handover say that «this was not as agreed» turn around and leave. I realize it can be hard to do after a long travel. 
But if they say this amenity is not to be used, then get up the listing and ask why it is listed and how they would suggest one «wash clothes» otherwise. If they then don’t pull up an easy and free solution, back out. I feel that these hosts are let off the hook too easy. Sometimes not even reviewed honestly, luring another sitter in to an awful sit.
Sigh. 
Dear Sitter…
Thank you for your comments.
Leave after arriving late in the day?
No… we’d driven 6 nearly 7 hours, no local accommodation as small village/ countryside, had ‘promised’ to drive Hosts to the rail for overseas trip AND would never desert the pets especially in these circumstances!!
BUT…be assured there will be a true and honest review. I will also be explaining personally to our Hosts the reasons as they are very new to Hosting via THSitters rather than a paid Agency.
Now the point is, do THS scrutineers review all postings? Of course they have to accept that Hosts are supplying true and correct information so that’s very difficult!
We’ve had a few listings where owners have been really nice, and most things have been relatively accurate, so if on the whole the listing is mostly fine, then we don’t mention it.
Btw, on the whole we have had some fantastic sits. The two we did in London, another in Madrid I just finished, Fuerteventura, and one in Berlin stand out. The owners were really exceptional and tried to make us as comfortable as possible which we couldn’t have asked more of. We have done almost 20 in total. Unfortunately one in Lisbon even though the owner was really nice, she was also stressed because she needed someone to take care of an 18 yo cat that had serious kidney issues (nowhere mentioned on the listing) and needed to take 3 different pills and some liquid medication in the morning and afternoon that she hated taking, and it had to be shoved down her throat as she’d spit them up otherwise and you’d have to try again. Her claws were not clipped so she’d scratch and bite you unintentionally (I damaged two tshirts this way) which bled and left scars for a couple of weeks – the owner remarkably showed us her own scratches all down her back and shoulder the morning we met! I ended up just using a towel to cover my shoulders and later just held her two front legs together so she couldn’t use them. We had to take her to the vet as she wasn’t eating which the owner also failed to mention. The vet was great and gave her an appetite booster and said the owner had had the same issue of getting her to eat (again not mentioned in the listing).
I had 6 different flavours open at one point and tried several ways to get her to eat. She also needed to sleep with us at night and we had to escort her to the litter as she wouldn’t walk past the other two cats her bullied her a little. All the cats were really sweet and we tried our best, but it was really stressful.
We also had some minor issues like the key not fitting in the door so it was a bit hit and miss if we could get in and the windows and door to the balcony flooding when it rained a couple of times but we consider this a minor thing that was manageable and can happen.
We really want to trust the owners as per the TrustedHousesitters brand, but it really put us off and we added a disclaimer asking for any owner that needed their dogs or cats to have medications or if they had behavioural issues, to be explicit so we would know whether to apply or not.
Yes, often sitters who stay and complain after the fact are essentially enabling creepy hosts who’ve lied or misled sitters. And it seems like few of them file member disputes or write honest reviews. They’re bad for the ecosystem as well, because they embolden terrible hosts to trick and trap other sitters.
Sitting includes rough and smooth, so sitters and hosts shouldn’t expect perfection and complain indiscriminately. But hosts who outright lie about the livability of their homes, the health of their pets and such are crossing boundaries of basic decent hosting behavior, especially when their pets bite, attack and such.
Whats the use of telling THS anything. They take a week to get back to you. I recently was up for renewal and they canceled me before i even had a chance to pay. It took a week before i could get my account back where i had access to sits. I dont trust them anymore.
You’re referring to a non-urgent issue, which I’d expect a company to prioritize accordingly. Auto-renewal can help avoid what you described.
Personally, I wouldn’t broad brush and, if something were urgent, I’d use the urgent contact info.
Of course, your choice to trust them or not. And if you wouldn’t bother reporting serious issues with hosts, like their tricking you into terrible or risky sits, then I guess you’re taking your chances and will have to lump it. Of course, you could just quit THS.