While we are premium members so it doesn’t affect us, I can see it affecting the community at large and the potential for losing loads of members making our options for good sits more limited.
Very, very disappointing ESPECIALLY, as The English Flanneur stated, that SO MANY LONGTIME requests have gone ignored. There are so many other issues that THS just does’t seem interested in improving but now they slap this on? So $12 from the sitter and $12 from the HO’s - a nice $24 per booking for THS - and this is used HOW EXACTLY? “make things go more smoothly” in what way, please?? Then can you imagine the hassle of the sit getting canceled for any number of reasons and fighting to get your money back?
Sheez! Not cool THS, not cool.
SO disappointing!! I used to recommend THS to people but now I don’t think I can.
Does this mean that the repeated requests that listings are thoroughly checked will now actually happen? As the person who started the “slipping through the net” thread more than two years ago it has been beyond frustrating that this still hasn’t been addressed and by the look of the number of recent posts about rogue listings is actually getting worse. I am letting my membership lapse as the ethos of THS is no longer what I signed up to.
Here we go! The company got $100 million investment, so now it’s owned by private equity who are going to squeeze every last dollar out of the membership as it is purely a money-making venture now, not a “community” or a service. The wording is disingenuous too: “Why are we making this update? This booking fee helps us continue to deliver a smooth, consistent experience for every sit, while keeping membership options flexible and accessible.” What is that supposed to mean? Both HO and sitter pay a subscription fee to get exactly that. This is the beginning of “enshittification” process (if you don’t know the term, Google it). Being nickel and dimed for $10 at a time is going to be the end for me.
Lots of people will now do repeat sits without using the platform, or arrange sits between themselves without pressing confirm to save the booking fee. This will result in fewer reviews.
My thoughts as well…what vague language “deliver a smooth, consistent experience” - like what does that MEAN exactly? How will it be different from all my past experiences, pray tell?
How about addressing the many requests we’ve voiced for a while now…can the money be used for more staff to address these other issues that seem to be ignored?
Yep, it is exactly the definition of ‘enshittification’ - increased cost for the same/less quality.
What improvements have THS brought over recent years? The app is still lacking in so many areas - members have constantly suggested improvements, many of which are very very simple to enact. And none of them ever get done. And now we have to pay more.
It’s a constant in late stage capitalism, and it sucks.
I’ve emailed customer services to cancel my membership. This proposed fee is for me the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I’ve got enough repeat sit requests and there are other better platforms. Now to extract all of my data including reviews and references.
I wasn’t able to read the full description of the update on the app, because of course the app doesn’t work well.
I was forced to click on Accept to continue using the app, something that I didn’t want to do.
I want to go back to the yet not accepted Terms.
I just know everything because I was talking w with a friend (and former sitter) and because I came here.
THS already changed the annual fee and it was disappointing. And now they are forcing to go to premium membership to avoid this single fee? You’re out of your mind guys.
THS, this is a very disappointing update. Although I have a premium membership and am not directly affected for now, it is clear that this shift will influence the experience for everyone. I can already see the impact on applications.
As a homeowner, I have completed more than 20 sits with 5-star ratings and have never had any difficulty securing a sitter. Now, for the first time, I have received no applications. At first I reviewed my listing, as I thought there could be a problem with it, but it is now evident why this is happening: both sitters and homeowners are reluctant to take on additional fees.
When I joined THS years ago, the defining strength of the platform was TRUST. A membership fee change is understandable, but this transition toward an Airbnb-style model undermines the original spirit of the community.
This is difficult news to accept, and I will need to seriously consider whether to continue beyond my current membership. A real shame.
Applying a $12 fee per sit, irrespective of length seems ill judged. It will definitely deter people from posting/accepting shorter sits. Say members do 3 sits a year (modest) that’s basically adding a 50% increase to THS coffers. Hardly in line with inflation.
I also agree with other about the marketing jargon “This booking fee helps us continue to deliver a smooth, consistent experience for every sit, while keeping membership options flexible and accessible.” It’s all a bit Alan Partridge isn’t it?
Don’t disrespect our intelligence: this is basically a way to garner more money alongside future membership increases. THS support is generally bot rubbish so lets not pretend it’s a first class service that we’re all keen to contribute more to.
Oh great - after the duo membership now this. My assumption is that many people will start looking for alternatives or as someone else here said, simply make arrangements with the hosts without the official sit. Which of course will pose an security issue at some point. I hope this is not the beginning of the end of TH like it happened with couchsurfing, which is now a shadow of the beautiful thing it once was.
Someone suggested that this will mean those sitters with basic plans will be discarded by owners in favour of those with premium. I hadn’t thought of that, but it could well be another way of ‘encouraging’ people to take up premium memberships across the board.