It took hours to prepare our listing, hours and hours to prepare our welcome pack, and don’t get me started on readying the house in fear of getting a below-5 rating on cleanliness. And we have a clean, uncluttered house. Definitely NOT trouble-free!!!
Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had good experiences with both the sitters we’ve had so far, but it is a lot of work.
ohhh this sounds fun! 
I remember having to upload a driver’s license or passport while signing up. While doing so, info popped up stating that someone or something would be authenticating my paperwork. Isn’t that a form of verification of identity? I am a sitter.
Same here. This rural stone house is over 200 years old. We finally put a disclaimer in the listing about dust and spiders because even though we do clean before a sitter comes, it’s not going to stay dust-free for long and the spider webs appear seemingly overnight. We state this so that people with arachnophobia and/or dust allergies don’t apply.
Only sitters in the US, and only sitters in the US overall - not the hosts.
Sometimes I feel it can be put too much emphasis on a «clean» record. It is great that a person is not convicted, but they could have gotten away with it or have a good lawyer. Some criminals walk around as pillars of society for decades. So I feel the vetting and the trust-part is important nevertheless.
Didn’t mean to stir worry - most people are nice people!! 
Hello everyone!
Just popping on to say that I’ve passed over the feedback about this to the team 
Jenny
I agree, and I believe that the “unlimited sitters” thing isn’t exactly accurate either, as some areas seem to have a ton of sits that go unfilled. The UK for instance is highly saturated, and I often see posts from Americans who have not received responses.
As a relatively new sitter, I first heard of THS through several travel accounts I follow (youtube and facebook) who were discussing it (presuming there was some promotion agreement for some of that at least), as well as the ads in travel settings. At first look, the emphasis for sitters is that it’s free vacation accommodation and a cute critter to snuggle in your downtime. And similar to the “unlimited sitters” claim for hosts, I assumed sitters would have easy access to sits all over Europe. (Possible, but not easy, especially as one of those people who isn’t a full timer, but has limited annual leave to align with my sitting.) I’m still here and love the possibilities that THS offers, but it’s more work on all sides than the advertising suggests. Of course as others have said, that’s true of most things we are enticed to purchase!
Personally I love the idea of a fair exchange, and I think there would be fewer misunderstandings on both sides if the ads were clearer about that.
I definitely prefer your version. It’s straightforward comes across as “comfortable” which is what both sides HO and TH want in a great sit.
Agree, so glad we have this place to discuss
I hadn’t read the small print, but knowing that only US based sitters undergo the official Criminal Background checks make me want to more of my own checking. At least I can put in my profile as having a clean record with no arrests is important to me, as I have a law enforcement background. I guess also that each sitter or HO could if they wished have their own Criminal History background check done by the local, state or federal agency that does it for many other occupations, travel and reasons. Valid passport also holds up to some scrutiny.
If you do all that I’d love to sit for you! I’m finding fewer owners making that effort yet it costs the sitter a lot in transport getting to/from the sit, taking dogs out in your car, buying new groceries each sit, etc.
Yes, when you join THS as a sitter, there is a background check to confirm who you are.
Only in the States
I don’t Know about your membership but our identification was completely verified by a third-party, We had to upload our drivers license etc.
I think that by “unlimited sitters” it means that you can list your sit as many times a year as you’d like. To my knowledge, that’s true
Cant say im a fan off camera’s, or id be comfortable hosts watching my every move, so i wouldnt take on a sit with a camera.
I send plenty of pictures of outings etc, and the pictures clearly show the dog is happy, and i give alot of love to the dogs i sit.
Was this the persons first sit?, and how did you vet her yourself during the application period?Did she have reviews etc.
I understand your frustration, but I think as a first time host, you maybe should have met the person in advance etc, and vetted them better.
At some point, an HO will sue them, saying this was a false promise. That HO will be an American. Then they will change this ad.
I would like to see one of those sitter ads. Where does THS advertise anyway?
google ads and facebook ads are the ones I see pop up continuously
I see them all the time when I’m watching stuff online I think it’s Netflix and YouTube, I must pay more attention.