Great, thank you for this.
This is a common practice, and is known as ‘enshittification’
Enshitification is prevalent on social media but I wasn’t expecting it here.
This is a really bad idea!!! Why should I pay a booking fee??? Booking sitters is what THS is there for! I pay an annual member for BOOKING sitters. This fee is ridiculous! How about introducing more services instead of a booking fee? The annual plans are getting more and more expensive with poorer service! I won’t renew my membership. There are other platforms that are cheaper and offer more service! Good bye!
I agree. I will most likely continue with the two repeat sits that I already have away from the platform and leave THS.
Well, I’m cancelling my membership, that’s for sure.
How do you justify this? Especially compared to your competitors? ESPECIALLY as you don’t listen to your users when they repeatedly ask for changes, like removing the 5 applications limit or adding additional features. What is it that you actually offer that’s so much better to justify this?
This is pure greed. Why should people pay extra for an already poor service?
Introducing a booking fee and also confirming that the Premium memberships will be exempt from booking fees, clearly is a promotion of the Premium membership.
I just thoroughly read the updated terms and shall never get that time back. What I really, really wanted was the info re refunding the booking fee if sit cancelled. So to save some of you the time …
Further to my earlier post about submitting a DSAR to THS to retrieve all personal data including references and pet owners reviews. THS does have a form but it’s not necessary to use it, a DSAR request can be made by email, or even verbally.
I’m taking my data with me.
Profit over service - all part of the same theme.
I’ve just cancelled the auto-renewal of my membership. I initially pressed ‘pause’ and then when I realised that doing would lead to my membership being auto-renewed at the end of the three month pause I cancelled the auto-renewal. I then got an offer of 20% off. I still carried on to cancel auto-renewal. I’m not a mug.
It feels like more than a promotion…
Numbers of sits/sitters. They think they have us over a barrel.
@anon52083843, THS has no credible competition and network effects seem substantial. THS has every incentive to maximize revenues (e.g. booking fee, duositter) and minimize costs (e.g. limited platform development). Why innovate when there’s no need? Shame but that’s reality. We’ve been members of two other platforms and they were a waste of time.
Putting it plainly really crappy idea from THS. It costs sitters already enough travel to sits to look after other peoples pets andnow we’ll have to pay extra to actually do the sit while we are doing all the work . Bad move THS This sort of money making tactics will keep losing you members
It is a good opportunity for a competitor to increase their presence in the market.
Very good point @Wildcolonialgirl. Not making things easier, but harder, and more expensive - again.
Please share info on other sites you’ve found good…
I think “Promotion” is putting it mildly. To me, it feels like bullying.
What happens if the sitter is not premium and the owner is? Who pays then? Is it an even split? How will the $ be taken? I don’t leave my CC info on file. Why don’t you just up the yearly fee a bit? If you sit a lot, this adds up. House sitters will be even more picky.