Hi everyone. I’m new to THS. The house sit I secured for Dec was canceled yesterday and was due to start tomorrow 10 Dec. The house owner informed me that her kid is sick and they can’t travel. She is super sweet and offered to help and even compensate me but I’m not sure what to ask. She us being proactive about trying to find another sit for me via fb. Very sweet of her. I managed to find another house sit starting 20 Dec, but the original house sit was due to start tomorrow 10 Dec. I’m flying tomorrow morning to Amsterdam (location of the sit). Any advice what to do from here would be appreciated. Thanks.
So sorry to hear of your predicament @ayeletfleming, especially as you are new to THS.
Do you have premium membership which includes cancellation insurance?
Ensure the dates are removed from your calendar immediately as this will enable you to apply for any available sits to fill the gap.
Contact member support - initially it will be via a bot but request to speak to a human.
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Ouch!!
@ayeletfleming , a last minute 11th to the 15th has just popped up if you are quick!
Edited to meet posting guidelines - please DM all links
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Thank you so much @Colin
Unfortunatly im no good with cat hair…
I won’t be able to give this cat the cuddles she needs.
Goid thinking though.
Mych appreciated.
Thanks you @Twitcher . Unfortunately, I don’t have premium account. My mustake, i said to the house owner to cavel and remove the listing so i can book a new sit. I should have checked regarding the upgrade before she did that. I also cobracted support via chat and spoke to a human. There is nothing they can do.
The insurance was a last resort as I have read how difficult it is to claim.
What a shame your first experience of THS is a negative one.
I do hope something turns up for you and if you secure another sit in the future it is a great experience.
@ayeletfleming first
DON’T PANIC ( easier said than done I know )
Where you are currently located , Is your next sit on 20th also In Amsterdam? There are lots of sits with dogs not cats for those dates in U.K. so a return flight / train / coach ticket to U.K. for ( England, Scotland & Wales ) a sit will likely save you money compared to 10 days at a hotel or Airbnb plus some enriching experiences…
Sometimes these last minute changes can work out to be great experiences .
For example I see there is a sit listed in Edinburgh so you could follow in @Maggie8K ‘s footsteps and visit that city https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/recommendations-for-glasgow-and-edinburgh
Please let us know how you get on .
@Jenny 
when this happens ( last minute sit cancellation) it would be great to have a section of the forum for a sitter to post their last minute availability- just like the section where homeowners can post their last minute sits .
FWIW @ayeletfleming the sit cancellation guarantee would not have covered you if the Homeowner had already told you about the cancellation when you upgraded to Premium . Even if you had been covered , you would have to pay for the accommodation upfront and then claim it back which can take 2-7 months .
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Great advice from @Silversitters - UK is full of sits needing people! Also look across borders from Holland into Belgium and Germany and use the FlixBus system. Super cheap. If you do stay in Holland then Harlem is a lot cheaper than Amsterdam. Best of luck @ayeletfleming
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Maybe it would be allowed for @ayeletfleming to edit the title of this thread to include “Amsterdam”. With some luck, she might get an offer.
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There are groups on Facebook like Host a Sister where some members will offer a couch or spare bed to women travelers in a jam. You might consider checking that out. They sometimes also recommend affordable shelter.
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As she is new to the forum I think it would have to be done by a moderator such as @Carla or @Jenny .
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The Premier membership should include more than lodging costs for HO canceled sits. It should also cover airfare and car rental costs incurred when a HO cancels a sit last minute. The cost to the sitter when a HO cancels is excessive. And seems to be an increasingly common occurrence. My last sit was canceled last minute less than two weeks in advance.
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@anon42826925 I guess the thinking behind it is that if your alternative accommodation costs are recoverable then you will still be using the flight and hire-car.
In theory. When my last sit was canceled if I had claimed on the insurance for lodging costs two weeks in advance I would have only received about half of what the lodging costs actually were. So I didn’t go to the sit location at all.
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I think they should offer the option of either alternative accommodations in the sit location or reimbursement for flights/trains that have been booked. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to travel to the location if the sit is cancelled. It would be nice if the insurance reimbursed travel expenses so the sitter could either stay where they are or travel to a different location for a replacement sit.
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@systaran be careful what you wish for !!
I agree that “it would be nice “
but the insurance cost to provide that would be very high and would passed on in high membership fees all round. ( For example - It would have to cover the airfare for someone from U.K. flying to Oz or Asia for a sit)
So Premium members would in effect have to pay to cover for homeowners that cancel ( for either a genuine reason or just because they’ve decided not to travel ) . The resulting higher membership fees would not be a good outcome for the majority of members and might even encourage more homeowners to make the decision to cancel a trip last minute without feeling guilty as they know the sitter is covered.
I meant with the same limit which is $1500. So, the sitter could choose to either go ahead and travel and be reimbursed for alternative accommodation OR stay where they are are be reimbursed up to the limit for the transportation they’ve already paid for to get to the cancelled sit. Either way the amount of insurance cover would be the same, but the sitter would have more flexibility in how best to handle the cancelled sit.
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Such a great idea @pietkuip . All my posts are moderated but so hopefully they read this message and will be able to edit the title of this thread for me to include “Amsterdam”.
Thank you!
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Thank you @Silversitters - great advice.
Haha! I must admit… I did panic…
Yes, next house sit is also in Amsterdam and I have another booked for early Jan in The Netherlands already.
I saw earlier a few house sitting options in Germany but I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it.
Thank you so much for the recommendation about FlixBus @Cuttlefish - that makes a massive difference. It actually makes traveling much more affordable.
How exciting!!
I applied now for a sit in Germany between 13-17 December. Fingers crossed that will fill the gap a little. I will look for more options.
Thank you both!