Hi and sorry for the delay in replying.
The only ‘guidance’ is that exact dates are required, there’s no leeway, which is a shame for both sides IMHO.
biscuit: as with all groups there are all types in THS.
Considerate and otherwise.
We have only had one cancellation and it was a doozy. We had spent quite a bit of money travelling to the location, during holidays, where hotels are expensive. So, it meant we were out of pocket a lot of $$$.
That is what made us become Premium.
Members should be aware: Premium doesn’t completely cover a Sitter’s expenses when a HO cancels.
Say a sit is in a location that costs a couple $500 to reach & where hotels cost USD$200/night. The sit is supposed to be 11 nights long, and the HO is cancelled.
THS will reimburse up to USD$150/night.
I BELIEVE these are the terms:
(a) sitter can prove HO cancelled the sit (b) sitter cannot find an alternative sit (c) sitter gets a hotel within 20 miles of the sit (d) sitter pays the initial $150 of hotel costs. (e) THS reimburses a max of $1,500 (f) THS takes up to two months to reimburse after proof of A-D is provided.
$500 travel expenses + $2,200 hotel expenses - $2,700. Not counting additional costs in meals, etc because they aren’t in a home where they can prepare food.
The sitter is initially out of pocket $2,700 but with Premium they get $1,500 from THS for 10 nights of the 11 @ $150/night.
We have never used any of the Premium advantages thus far but think THS Premium is well worth the extra cost for peace of mind.
Thus far, we have not had any indication HO are less considerate of Premium Sitters.
That said, when we apply for a sit, we often spell out how we read the dates.
For example, Post reads: November 22-November 30th.
We will say in our Application that we understand they need someone who can be there from Friday afternoon Nov 22nd until Saturday afternoon Nov 30th.
We HAVE had several HO then realize that their dates don’t quite work with their travel plans. Some have just confused the dates. Some realize that they leave very early in the morning & will return very late at night.
Making the dates clear in the Application process is useful to both sides!
We’ve noticed experienced HO spell out their travel plans so someone who cannot be there early enough before their departure or stay late enough on their return date is forewarned. And some note flexibility to host the sitter night before/night after.
We also indicate if WE have flexibility, such as “If you have an early morning start on the 23rd, would you want us to arrive the evening of Friday the 22nd? Or if you are returning very late on the 30th, would you want us to spend that night as well?”
Obviously that doesn’t work for all homes or for all HO/Sitters.
But given how many travel issues have been happening over the past few years many HO now want a “cushion” on dates.
If they do? Ask them to amend their Sit Dates before both sides lock in.
Maggie8K I thought that BUT we accepted a long sit that required a flight.
When we arrived we found out why the departure date was a bit vague.
The HO had two horrible Sitter experiences: one arrived, stayed a few days, disappeared (and their airfare had been paid for!) The other was hosting parties in the house nonstop.
The HO wanted to meet us and feel comfortable before booking flights.
We had a wonderful time - but we knew we had the finances & flexibility to go find a vacation rental if it had been “odd.”
@ASASG Good to hear that things worked out for you folks. Sounds like we prioritize differently.
I want clarity for sit timing, because I telecommute. I can afford to quit a sit if it turns out to have ugly surprise dealbreakers, but would rather avoid that, because moving and other unexpected changes might mess up my scheduled mtgs, work hours and such. (Of course, if there’s an emergency, life happens, and that would be true even if I stayed at home.)
I never vacation via THS. For that, I take time off from work and pay my own way entirely, for maximum flexibility, with any responsibilities.
All sorts of happy matches are possible via THS. The key things are for both parties to operate in good faith, including communicating timing and needs clearly.
No one wants ugly inconveniences. Like the host you mentioned didn’t appreciate unpleasant surprises and shouldn’t spring them on sitters, either. I say that generally, not necessarily because they did.
Bigger picture, if someone has been burned before, they should just be upfront about that and see whether the other party can accommodate, within reason.
Like I ended up sitting for a host who’d been burned by two sitters and she asked me to show proof of flights before we confirmed. I said how about we confirm and then I quickly buy tickets and share that info with you? So we did that and had a great sit.
We do a lot of our sits abroad as breaks in long trips and we too have “confirmed+bought tix+provided proof.”
Ultimately there is no 100% fool proof anything.
We all, HO/Sitters need to understand that things can go awry: what is important is intent. We had a HO whose cat died days before the sit: he gave us the option - come or cancel. That was a reasonable thing to do.
I sat an elderly, sickly dog who had catastrophic seizures and had to be put down. Her family returned early so we could say goodbye together. We coordinated and cut the sit short. They even offered to pay for my hotel, but I declined.
It was heartbreaking, of course. But we dealt with the emergency in a collaborative way. They even wrote me a strong review, saying that they couldn’t have asked for a kinder sitter for her and that I’d done everything they would’ve done in an emergency.
Anyone rational wouldn’t expect perfection or guarantees for any sit. Life happens. That’s different from anyone not acting in good faith.
We also accepted a palative care sit - it is heartbreaking.
In our case the dog was just very old and the family had to go to a reunion.
He breathed his last but by my side. I don’t think he suffered, just passed away in his time. As you say, life happens & it is all about good faith.
Losing a pet during a sit is the worst. I lost an elderly cat mid-way through a 2 month sit. The HO knew there was a chance he wouldn’t make it to the end as he was at least 15 and had lived on the streets for a while before she took him in. But about 2 weeks into the sit I came downstairs to a litter box full of blood. Turns out he had advanced cancer and there was nothing that could be done but make him comfortable. We spent the next 2 weeks having tons of cuddles and treat with his family coming to say goodbye. His last day I just knew in my gut it was the end so I called the HOs son and he came with his wife and we all went to the emergency vet. He died en-route. He was such a sweet cuddle boy. He would wake up SO early and want breakfast that I started putting it into the nightstand drawer because I was afraid I would kill myself going down the stairs at 4 am to feed him. Instead I could just put the bowl on the floor. 
He’d wake me every morning by inching closer and closer until we were nose to nose and if I still didn’t move he’d start patting my face gently to get me going. Sweet Bennie. I ended up finishing the sit after he was gone since she didn’t want her home empty for a month, but it was lonely without him.
Thank you for your reply 
That seems very reasonable, especially in the context of international agreements. If everything is disclosed in the listing, I don’t see a problem
Thank you @ASASG It’s good to hear from someone who has switched to Premium and therefore now has the badge displayed. I understand that these are the terms of the insurance, but if you ever find yourself needing to use that service, you’ll likely find that reality doesn’t quite match up — unfortunately.
I agree; it seems that many listings include a “cushion,” and with local ones, I always prefer to meet in person. I’d take that any day over Zoom or WhatsApp, especially when it comes to guaranteeing dates.
I had a similar experience with an international housesit; The HO was new to the concept but had already purchased their tickets for overseas travel. They included four days in total of “cushion” time to the listing without disclosing it to me.
The HO returned as planned but with Covid - at that time there were still two days left of the housesit.
I’m not clear on why it’s preferable to meet in person — is it so you feel more confident somehow about the sit?
I did a local sit for the first time recently, because I moved back to a city after a few years and wanted to reacquaint myself with different neighborhoods, especially because that sit was in a high-rise at city center. It was blocks from loads of amenities.
We just Zoomed and later did a 15-minute handoff, because it was an apartment and two Siberian cats with everything automated — litter contraption, water fountain, feeder and robo-vacuum. All went swimmingly with the sweet cats and the place was spotless and beautiful, as described. We had no trouble with timing. They left and returned as agreed on. The hosts happily offered me five more sits after returning, though I wasn’t available.
My next sit is also local, because I’m having my new-to-me house remodeled and want to get away from the noise and mess. It’s about 30 mins away and we just Zoomed as well. We plan an in-person handoff right before the hosts leave. It’s a high-end house with one older dog. Previous sitters described him as well-behaved and loving, the hosts as communicative and kind, and the house as a dream, and clean as well.
biscuit - I’m curious about why you say that the Premium insurance for a canceled sit doesn’t match expectation? What about my scenario did you think wasn’t right? I’ve read other members discribe using the insurance that way so I thought I had it figured out if we ever need it.
Same here – I work while I travel, and like with any other type of accommodation, I need clear check-in and check-out times.
I try not to support Airbnb too much, as I’m not fond of what the service has turned into, especially in popular capital cities.
I usually opt for a mix of house sits and hotels, with house sits being preferable due to much more stable internet, amenities like washingmashine, coffee machine, fridge, and of course, the wonderful pets (traveling can be lonely without them - I prefer pets over people ;).
However, I’ve come to realize that house sits can be too unpredictable when I have important in-person meetings at a destination, so in those cases, I always book something more reliable.
Sounds like THS should update the date UI so it’s more along the lines of We need sitters to arrive {Morning | Mid-Day | Evening | Any time} on x date and depart {Morning | Mid-Day | Evening | Any time} on y date. Then sitters can have an idea for planning and there will still be hiccoughs but it might help a bit as it seems to be a common enough point of confusion.
I don’t usually have in-person work mtgs when I do sits, because they’re not in relevant cities for that. But when I have, it’s not been an issue.
I recently tried to coordinate another such a sit, but the hosts didn’t reply promptly, so I withdrew. They later asked whether I’d sit anyway, because their sitter had canceled, but I’d already made other plans at company expense.
I prefer hotels to Airbnb, because when I pay, I find them much more consistent and better located.
I’ve not find timing to be an issue with hosts. I just ask for their departure and return times so I can make travel plans.
They’ve told me specifically, and that’s been the case whether they’ve flown commercial, taken a train after a flight, driven or even flown their own plane.
When flying or taking a train, they’ve told me when they’ve arrived and how soon it will take by private car or ride share before they get home.
I’ve done 18 sits and have never been surprised by a host’s return. That included the hosts who cut short their trip to say goodbye to their dying dog. As soon as they rescheduled their flights, they told me to the hour when they’d return. Another host had a major accident and cut short their vacation to get follow-up surgery in their home city, but even then they let me know to the hour when they’d return.
I’ve also generally not had timing issues except one early return when the HO came back 3 hours earlier than they told me they would. BUT, there have been several posts recently about timing being an issue on both sides of the equation. So, if it’s becoming a big enough issue that multiple people are complaining about it, it’s worth considering a fix even if it’s not an issue that impacts everyone.
I doubt the hosts or sitters who are problematic with timing would abide by any “fix” and there’s nothing THS will do consequence wise if so. The rest of us will probably coordinate as usual. Personally, I wouldn’t trust what was originally listed without checking whether plans had changed since posting.
I can imagine some folks running into issues because plans changed and someone forgets to update.
Fair enough. There are seemingly no consequences for bad behavior for HOs and minimal consequences for bad behavior of sitters so it’s probably pointless.