In The House Sitting world, such as in life, there are no guarantees. A sitter might cancel; if you couldn’t travel anymore, even close to the date, you’d probably cancel too.
In your case, though, time is on your side. If you found and confirmed a sitter soon, and they ended up cancelling in a few weeks’ time, you still have plenty of time to find a replacement.
Another important thing is to have a Plan B: a friend, an acquaintance or a paid sitter who could step up if something were to go awry a few days before travel.
Welcoming a stranger to your house to take care of your pet is indeed a leap of faith.
With a 2 week sit for April 2026, you’ll definitely find a good sitter on THS unless:
your profile is lousy or empty OR
your home is a dump OR
the location is in a swamp, notoriously dangerous neighborhood or EPA toxic waste site OR
your demands on sitters rivals Cinderella’s stepmother OR
your pets are quadriplegic, incontinent, aggressive and/or hyperactive.
Otherwise, you’re golden. But it’s going to cost you the $129 plus the effort of putting together a good profile and Welcome Guide to prove this to yourself.
Your worry about booking travel before finding a sitter is a bit backwards. We’ve booked all of our travel well in advance without a thought or concern about finding a great THS sitter because finding a sitter has been the easy part and taken less than 2 weeks every time. Sure, applications have recently slowed down (along with the rest of the economy) but slower has meant it’s recently taken 2 or 3 days to see good applications rather than the 2 or 3 hours of a few years ago. But with 6+ months until your travels, the only way you’ll not find a sitter you’re comfortable with (assuming none of the above) is if you don’t make the effort.
My concern is more if they cancel close to the time of our trip. If I had a friend etc who could do it I wouldn’t be looking to find a sitter so there is no plan b
That is a concern with any pet/housesitting arrangement. Paid sitters, family, neighbors and THS sitters included. Last minute cancelations by THS sitters happen but are pretty rare.
If you can’t arrange a Plan B I do not recommend THS . It probably isn’t a suitable solution for you . With THS you will need to have a Plan B incase an emergency arises with the THS sitter . THS won’t provide a replacement sitter, so you would either need to cancel the trip or have a Plan B .
Some pet sitting agencies (for which you pay a charge ) will provide a replacement sitter if the booked sitter had to cancel , so maybe that would be a more suitable solution for you.
It’s the same for sitter’s on THS we also need to have a Plan B .We have had two hosts curtail our stay because they got sick/ had a serious accident whilst on holiday .
When we joined THS 2 years ago, my husband was all for it and I was very skeptical. One thing I learned is post your sit far in advance. That way you have plenty of time to find the right sitter. We usually traveL 2-3 weeks at a time and have no problem finding great sitters. I have a 3 week trip next month that I posted last April. The first person who applied, same day I posted, I confirmed them as the sitter.
Book your trip and you’ll have no problem finding great sitters.
Completely agree with @Silversitters that everyone has to have a plan b on THS. If you don’t you’ll simply add to your own stress @Suecoo66. Life happens and so do emergencies, not often but occasionally. We’ve had hosts cancel on us 4 times internationally, it cost us money but we had a plan b (& c). We’ve never cancelled on a host in over 50 sits. Choose someone who’s very experienced, maybe ask for a couple (as then if one had to leave for an emergency one could stay with the pets) is another option for you to think about. Only you can decide risk vs. cost. #decisionsdecisions
It sounds like you live in a world of “what ifs” This is a platform where faith has to be involved. Anything can happen to anyone at any time. Your pet can die, you can get sick, the sitter can cancel last minute, you can cancel last minute. I just call it life. When I agree to sit I never think about any of these things. I get excited for the new adventure. 99% of the time it works out. When it doesn’t I have a plan b which is nothing more than problem solving. Hopefully us adults all have that in us. If the sitter cancels last minute you don’t have to cancel your trip. It may cost you money hiring a paid sitter but if that is your only plan b then just have peace with that and enjoy your trip.
Why don’t you just join and start the work on your profile. You’ll want good photos of your pets and your home. You’ll answer questions like “does you pet need meds” etc. Fill in details about your home and the sit. (is there a pool, a dishwasher, etc.)
No money exchanges hands, sitters from THS consider it an even exchange. Some do work on Rover occasionally, but most of the THS sitters want to travel, not make money for hanging with pets. Some do work from home and you can highlight a good work space, wifi etc.
I’ve had 14 THS sitters come to my home and have not had ANY last minute cancellations. If you’re near the beach (as I am) you’ll likely get lots of applicaitons. The website only accepts up to 4 applications and you’ll read them and you might find some unsuitable or something about them rubs you the wrong way – you can politely decline their application and re-open the space for additional sitters to apply.
While I haven’t “loved” all of my sitters (more for personality reasons, not pet care) I have always come home to a reasonably clean home and well-cared-for pets.
I try to post my trips at least a month in advance. For longer sits, I try to post further in advance to allow some who might want to travel to my area to research plane tickets, etc. I have found that my favorite sitters have traveled to do the sit, many who work from home.
Other than haveing a video call with the prospective sitter(s) make sure to read their reviews. I’m lucky to get lots of applications, so I immediately turn down anybody who has no or very few reviews. Reviews reveal a lot.
The beginning of your application gives an opportunity for an introduction of yourself. You can share a little bit about yourself and your home and your pets. I often put brief “updates” at the beginning of my profile introduction. For example, if I’m planning a trip, I’ll say “I will soon be posting for a ten night stay for some time in January. I will activate a listing when dates are set” …. so if someone sees my listing and would like to come here and they know they have availablity in January, they can make my profile “a favorite” and they’ll get a notification when I activate a listing for a sitter.
I think you’re balking a lot more than necessary. It’s not that expensive to join and the value I’ve received has easily justified my application. It’s about animal lovers helping other animal lovers. My overall experience has been very, very good.
Yes we do. At first we just did a phone call. One of our early sitters showed up and couldn’t walk straight and looked like she needed a cane. I was worried because I have a high energy dog who needs 2x a day walks. It turned out fine. On a sit right after that one, the sitter was the one who said they only did video calls and I was so glad they said this. We enjoy them more than just a phone call. We’ve gotten a lot better at selecting the right sitter for us, too. It is always nice to put a face with a voice.
THS sitters must not request payment. It’s much appreciated when hosts leave a token of appreciation, such as a bottle of wine, local produce, thank-you card or similar, but it’s not expected and certainly must not be requested.
Some sitters will confirm sits months in advance, if they’re in desirable locations, if the home appears well presented, clean and uncluttered, and if the pet responsibilities are reasonable. I think the sit period is important, with longer sits attracting more applicants. Listing a 2-day sit for next April is not likely to be especially enticing.
You don’t need to request references on THS, just read previous reviews.
Things do happen in life, and sometimes it’s necessary for either hosts or sitters to cancel. On THS, this should only be done in extraordinary circumstances, and only a host can actually cancel a sit (although no sitter can be made to attend a sit).
Never heard of anyone on the THS forum claiming they cannot list sits months in advance.
All that said, we are sitters and will not confirm any sit unless firm plans have been made by the host (this is stated in our profile ‘deal breakers’). I realise you want to ensure you have sitter cover before you book your holiday, but it’s necessary to state firm dates when listing on THS so that sitters can arrange their own calendars. Please be aware that sitters cannot apply for, or do overlapping sits (unless they are a couple, both verified, and willing to do an overlap of up to 48 hours - and this involves seeking the agreement of pet parents on both impacted sits) so, even if your plans change by just one day, it may mean sitters cannot honour the confirmed sit.