I agree with your perspective for sure and I don’t think it is an unpopular viewpoint at all.
My husband and I are fully nomadic and have been so for over a decade. We have healthy savings and income sources so in the event of cancellations, gaps,etc…we have the funds to support ourselves. Having had financial problems in the past, I can sympathize with people who are struggling in that way for sure.
Fortunately, cancellations have been very rare and we have always been able to find replacement sits no problem. We have never had an international sit cancelled. There have been less than a handful of times a sit had to end early. In all but one instance, it was not more than a day or two.
And for the longer one–which was due to a family emergency–we just decided to go visit with some family and then we booked some sits in that area afterwards.
There is a big difference between people who choose to take advantage of the financial benefits of sitting–and probably live a higher quality of life in many respects at a lower cost than they could normally–and people who are truly financially dependent on it.
Generally speaking–and based on my 11 years of experience– I do think cancellations are relatively rare and most sits go ahead exactly as planned. But there are countless things that could crop up that require a host to cancel, and people who are in really precarious financial circumstances really need to give this some thought especially if the cancellation happens very close to the start of the sit.
Of course some people may get the cancellation coverage but there are limits to how much it pays out, stipulations for where the accommodation needs to be,etc…and it may or may not be very helpful in a particular circumstance. That the money needs to be paid upfront and reimbursed may also limit its usefulness for people who are tight on money.
If someone is in an area where there are lots of sits, but couldn’t line up the dates perfectly, do you have money for even just a few days of a hotel?
If you are planning on traveling to an area where there aren’t a lot of sits would you be able to cover the whole cost of your original stay? This is also important to consider if you plan on booking back to back sits in a particular region.
If you didn’t have the money to support your stay for sit X, would you still be able to do sits Y or would you need to leave the area and cancel on the host?
If in an area where there aren’t as many sits, are you able to afford to get to an area where there are lots of them?
The terms and conditions that state a host shouldn’t cancel a sit unless there is serious reason to do so is nice and all. But in reality, there are lots of reasons a host may need to cancel a trip that aren’t dire emergencies–a big work project comes up and it isn’t the best time to go away now, change in finances and a expensive vacation isn’t the best move right now,etc… And in some cases, they may not have a particularly good reason but they can ultimately do whatever they want and no one can make them travel.
So this idea that hosts will take a trip that no longer really suits them for one reason or another strictly because the sitter may be depending on that sit to house them for that period is not realistic.
It is important to remember that people are inviting sitters into their house because they are performing a specific service for them–this is what THS is about, not providing housing for people in need of it.
As for travel costs, if sitters choose to buy non-refundable airfare and other sorts of tickets–or that is the only option for a particular fare– that is their choice and they have to accept the risk that comes with that.
And that is coming from someone who has never bought a refundable plane ticket in her life.
While a host offering to reimburse a sitter is very kind, they are in no way obligated to do that, and should be seen as something that would be a very pleasant surprise rather than something for which you have a strong expectation.
Again, I think cancellations are pretty rare but they can happen. This means that people who have serious financial issues should really take this possibility into account when selecting where they go. They should probably discuss the host’s plans in more detail before confirming–while there are no guarantees, it can help assess whether a particular trip may have a higher or lower likelihood of cancellation or significant date changes.
). If so, it could short term seem a good idea to «live rent free». But that is short term. And as long as you are healthy. If something happens - health, income, - or change of circumstances you have no control over - you risk to be without healthcare/ care/ income or to be in a situation to be deported with no country that wants to take you in with lack of (valid) residency. It could well happen and more or less «over night» as recent events have shown.