Hi!
New to the forum. About 16 months with THS, and 20ish sits down.
I’m experiencing something new, and wanted to ask how common this was. The sit I’m on currently is a homestead situation, so I’m caring for a lot of animals. They hadn’t told me during any of our pre-sit conversations, but informed me on the first night, that their home:
-has a rodent infestation in a sensitive area (Hantavirus)
-includes an active Airbnb that they needed my support to manage
-has a plumbing issue to the point that upon arrival, the affected area has rotted wood
I don’t know how to proceed with this sit’s review, or talking with the homeowners about this breech of trust. These homeowners, whether knowingly or unknowingly, have/are risking my health, via their pest issue, etc. I’m frustrated by the sit, but I’m not going to leave the animals without care. I’ve never had to leave a negative review, and I don’t quite know how to start now. This sit has truly felt more like free labor, than enjoying the company of animals.
Now, in order to combat the vetting issue, I’m having to ask homeowners if they have pest problems and what they’re doing to combat them. I don’t like it. Honestly, I’m considering leaving THS completely and moving into paid sits only. I welcome any thoughts, or ideas on how to process, move past this sit, and vet sits to support and serve my best interests.
Stick with facts in your review, like the above. In your place, I wouldn’t discuss the above with hosts unless you want them to do something about the issues now or you plan to leave early. That’s because they sound like entitled jerks / users and it’s likely that they’ll resent being called out and potentially write you a bad review. To me, that’s worth risking only if you want to leave early or want them to do something about the issues while you’re still there.
Personally, I wouldn’t stay — if they were there to surprise you with all of that info, I would’ve quit the sit before they’d left. That way, they could either stay with their animals or figure out alternative care.
It’s your choice but since the hosts have not disclosed information and broken THS terms you are entitled to leave , giving the hosts 24 hours notice so that they can make alternative arrangements for care of the pets. The hosts can afford a vacation and are receiving income from the AirBnB so they can afford to pay for a paid sitter or they can return home to look after their pets and business. It’s a problem the hosts have caused , they need to fix it.
Regardless if you decide to stay ( and you are under no obligation to do so ) raise a member dispute with THS so that these hosts are removed from THS and no other sitter has to experience this.
These are the terms that have been broken
“ Pet parents must make sure that sitters are welcomed into a clean, comfortable, and secure home.”
5.2.7. ensure that the details of your Home Listing are accurate and up to date;
5.2.8. ensure that the details in your Welcome Guide are accurate and up to date in advance of the start of the Sit
“Please note that sitters are not expected to complete any tasks that are considered ‘work’. This may include helping a pet parent maintain any business they have…”
I would leave that sit after giving THS and the owners 24 hours to find someone to care for the animals. There is no need to “stick it out” in those deplorable conditions.
As to my review it would likely be all 1s or 2s due to lack of communciation, cleanliness, hospitality, and accuracy of listing.
No way I’d stick around with a rodent infestation, hantavirus or not.
Please report to urgent support as suggested. I also believe you should cancel sit on multiple grounds. You are important too. Good luck, don’t quit THS, help get rid of this kind of HOs. Everyone is in your corner. This also sounds very similar to another post I read?
@bloomflow, it seems hard to imagine any situation other than deliberate misrepresentation by Pet Parent.
First, look after yourself. Your health, safety and well-being is far more important than any housesit.
Second, contact THS Member Services. Use the phone, chat or email (support@trustedhousesitters.com).
Third, advise Pet Parent that you’re leaving.
Fourth, walk away. Life’s too short. Pet Parent has voided the housesit through misrepresentation.
Fifth, draft a brief, honest and objective review. Be ready to respond to Pet Parent review. Could be ugly but unavoidable.
Finally, move forwards positively. 20 housesits in 16 months suggests that you’re enjoying housesitting. Keep smiling.
This is absolutely ghastly, disgusting and dishonest of the owners. Please take the advice given by @Silversitters and leave. The owners should not be on THS. Let us know what you do
What a tough and disheartening experience. Thank you for sharing it with such clarity and thoughtfulness. It’s understandable that you feel shaken and unsure how to move forward. This situation is absolutely a breach of trust, and your health and well-being should never be compromised in a sit. Your review should serve future sitters and reflect your integrity. You don’t need to be aggressive, but you also don’t need to sugarcoat the truth. Your instinct to vet more rigorously is 100% valid.
Deeply and sincerely, thank you all for your responses.
I’ve already decided that I’ll be staying to the last day, to do what I can for the animals, and keep my word on their care.
I really appreciate the confirmation that cancellation is reasonable and possible for this sit, but mentally I’m not there. I’m keeping my faith that I’ll have the strength and resources for future sits to cancel if things aren’t right.
I did have a premium membership, but with the new year of membership, because I hadn’t used it last year, I canceled the premium part, so I have no recourse to be reimbursed for the time that I would be staying elsewhere. I am working remote, but not very financially liquid currently.
I’ve reached out to the support line, and they sent me the formal complaint link, and I’ve sent them some pictures of some of the issues. I’m drafting a ready-review to by copy-pasted upon completion of the sit, and I’m making way to inform the hosts, and end contact as amicably as possible before filing the complaint.
Thank you all for your solutions, and detailed answers! They truly help me to feel seen, and supported.
Don’t quit. I had a horrible sit and I gave an honest review. Most of my sits have been wonderful so I didn’t let that one bad experience put me off. I stayed for the animals but if it happened again I don’t know if I would.
These hosts doesn’t sound like very nice people putting you in this position.
It is really outrageous, for me particularly on the ongoing hantavirus situation (re. the death of Gene Hackmans wife recently) which has a high mortality rate, and as it effects breathing one can be vulnerable if one has a level of allergy/ asthma etc I’d presume. It is really irresponsible to put people at that risk without letting them know ahead.
I would definitely give notice and leave, my health is not even for sale, let alone an unjust exchange.
I see that you consider staying. Take precautions and be careful as one breaths in the virus, avoid sweeping or other dust-generating activities. Be also aware that symptoms can occur two months after, so take care of your health.
The added information that you gave is definitely more than appreciated. I wish I’d known all of this before I was vacuuming and sweeping in their home.
It’s really not ideal at all, and at this point, I’m not sure how to rectify it for myself personally, or how to proceed in a way that honors me fully. I am grateful for the solutions that others have given, but what is their use, if I can’t put them to use?
These people may get kicked off the platform. Whatever their consequence is, fine. I wouldn’t want any other sitter to have this experience. But at this point, what can I really do to ensure my health, if I’ve already established that I have no where to go in this area and no real recourse?
Should I be wearing a mask all over their property? Do I make an urgent care appt to test for the virus after my final day?
In my mind, this is the real reason that I’m considering leaving THS. There is major risk associated with the fact that some pet/homeowners that do not consider how someone coming in can be affected by their way of life, whatever seems normal for them.
I really don’t think you can blame THS. You have been given good advice here but decided to stay at the sit. As others have said you were well within your rights to leave immediately you arrived (before the owners left) when you discovered the state of the home. If the owners had already left then you could have given them 24 hours notice and got in touch immediately with THS to open a member dispute.
You asked here for advice but haven’t taken it, seemingly.
As for your health I suggest you immediately go to hospital outpatients and explain the situation citing the recent virus at Gene Hackman’s home as @Garfield brought up
Unfortunately it sounds like the sitter’s options are limited due to their financial position. As many experienced sitters have stated before, always have a Plan B or you could become trapped in a very difficult/unsafe situation.
If you have nowhere to go, quitting THS won’t solve that. To me, those things aren’t related. Various sitters use THS and have fallback plans and/or have homes.
You mentioned honoring yourself — self-care is part of that, not exposing yourself to unnecessary risks is part of that.
It sounds like you took unnecessary risks and are now trapped, which is terrible, but you can take whatever precautions you decide are reasonable for the rest of the sit and make plans going forward that limit your risks. Chalk it up to learning that you can’t necessarily count on hosts.
Of course, you can quit THS if you like, but that sounds like a knee-jerk reaction or an unrealistic expectation that every host will be great or even decent. THS can’t promise that. No such platform can.
I understand your decision, however if you choose to give 24 hours notice that you are leaving , inform THS immediately, they will officially end the sit , which means that you can start applying for alternative sits straightaway .
I am speaking from experience, when a 3 week sit was curtailed on Day 5 when the owner had an accident . We contacted THS , they officially cancelled the sit . We then applied for and were accepted for another sit which worked out well for us and the next hosts .
@bloomflow
You may feel that you don’t have any options right now , but there are still some things in your control .
You misunderstand me. In what I said, I in no way blamed THS.
If anything, I’d hoped that what I’d said in both replies is that I’m responsible for the sits that I choose, and I’m frustrated by the fact that as I try to vet hosts, I’m not always getting sits that align with my best results, despite my best efforts.
I also am trying to convey that most hosts that I’ve dealt with absolutely mean well, but there are times that their sense of normalcy with the way that they life/the care of their animals is not shared, and again, I don’t know which questions to ask to vet for that, in advance. I was there a day in advance of their departure, so upon discovering the ‘state of the home’, they were there.
I didn’t know how to broach the topic. It’s embarrassing to not always have the capacity to communicate all that I’m feeling, but the words and capacity are not always there. I’d been here a week before I thought to ask the forum for guidance…
