@temba I hope not too. We’re being over regulated as it is. Paying extra for these silly changes for the sake of changes is really annoying.
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Thank you for your response. I won’t drag this on further and instead will just wait and see if these polls result in any improvements. 
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Or perhaps Caretakers…?
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I’ve been using sitter-guests.
Caretakers sounds worky and not as much fun. Yes, I am taking care of pets and a home, but I do that as a guest when visiting family. Good guests are helpful.
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Caretaker by definition is someone employed to take of a building or animals .
THS is about mutual exchange not employer / employee
IMHO Host & Guest or Host & sitter better reflects the mutual exchange concept.
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Caretaker makes me think about a creepy old guy with a hat, standing outside a decrepit old mansion with the door open, inviting you inside and offering to take your luggage to your room on the third floor because the only way to get up there is a very old and creaky staircase.
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same. When they went from Pet Owner to Pet Parent I felt the same way.
And of course there’s the fact that not all sits are with animals.
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Ok Ok…I retract “Caretakers.” Put a stake in it…I surrender. 
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What percentage of THS members are on the forum ? I thought it was pretty small.
Will this survey question go out to all members?
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The forum numbers show that of approximately 250,000 THS members there are about 23000 registered forum members.
Posting activity of recent members can be checked for whatever time frame you select, be it a week, a month, whatever.
Most either post a thread to ask a question and get their answers and then leave, or post a few times and go quiet. Other regulars leave THS after a while and move on. There was a blip of recent activity from those who logged in to announce they’re leaving THS because of the booking fees.
Then there are lurkers, who read but do not contribute. it’s generally assumed that 90% of forum users are lurkers, Many forum users or lurkers may not even be currently active THS members.
Only a few dozen members have at least 1 reply in the last week. About 140 in the past month but that figure may be inflated due to the “booking fee” effect.
So a reasonable estimate of forum members/viewers would be something less than 1000 from a membership base of 250,000 = .04% (less than half a percent).
Definitely “Host” for all the reasons mentioned, plus it is short and simple.
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“So a reasonable estimate of forum members”
I didn’t ask for a reasonable estimate or analysis of how users engage on the forum.
I tagged Mark for a reply to my entire comment
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Nevermind
…
You’re right that there are a minority of members on the forum, though everyone has the opportunity to join - at the time of typing, we have ~23K forum members.
No, I do not believe this question will be asked of every member.
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Host please!
I am not the parent of any pet I have neither feathers nor fur nor scales!
I’m the sort of the owner of cats but they own me………..also I think that all our sitters thus far have been ‘owners’ as well if referring to housing.
Host reminds everyone or should do, that this is what it’s about. Sitters come to your home and the onus is on you to make them comfortable as you would a friend. They are there to enjoy your space, your animals and the area you live in while you enjoy your time away assured that your pets are relaxed at in their home and your house is occupied and cared for while you are away. It is or should be an equal gain. Having said that, I am the host and the onus is on me to be hospitable!
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“However, as we have repeatedly seen over the years, when TrustedHousesitters decides on a change, regardless of how undesirable it seems to the majority of forum”
Sounds like my local City council 
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If pet owners are to be called Hosts then sitters are Guests, this creates a far better relationship tone.
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I don’t think that there are 250,000 members currently. Here’s the math, income from membership sales was £25 million in 2024, the last year that financial data is publicly available. If every member, whether a host or sitter had basic membership then the numbers work. But, premium membership is £250 for hosts and £200 for sitters, which blows a hole in the numbers. I suspect the true figure to be <200000>150000, even allowing for members who are on referral freebies. Either way the exact number is probably confidential.
UPDATE I used Google’s Gemini bot how many members THS has, here’s the answer “TrustedHousesitters does not release real-time ticker data for its membership, but as of early 2026, the platform is widely reported to have over 200,000 paying members. “
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I originally chose owner but I’m changing my vote to host too for this reason. I don’t own any pets. Anything to get away from the cringey “pet parent” label.
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