thats so helpful really thank you! she confirmed us before but canceled again…
I am finding it is getting more common where they want you to come the day before. I don’t know why they just don’t start the sit date a day earlier. Question: I found the listing, but didn’t see any reviews. Where did you find reviews?
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Yikes… Hope member services can step in and help!
In the future, make sure you read up on all the THS T&C’s & guidelines if you haven’t already - this way you will straight away spot where a HO has broken policy and if there are any red flags. Hope that helps!
its a good idea but again we just dont have a good feeling with her after she showed her true face…
Understandable
Missing reviews of a HO can only be seen on the app
THS works best for folks with resources and fallback plans. Otherwise, you can easily end up stranded or trapped, whether there’s a cancellation, a sit cut short, a pet dying, etc., or say a host has left uninhabitable living conditions, aggressive pets, etc.
Even premium membership insurance coverage covers only certain terms, has a deductible and is collected only after a claim period, which can take considerable time. So you have to pay out of pocket meanwhile.
If someone can’t afford a fallback plan, it’s best to not accept sits far away. Sitting locally or not at all is best in that case. Otherwise, you take the unnecessary risks.
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You can only see them in the app
only pb with gorgeous Madeira is that I’m not sure how frequent sits come up there, opening on the same date, or around these dates. It’s also a very expensive island, hotel wise, and well…it’s an island, so can’t really do any cheap bus trips, or train trips to the nearest country, like in mainland Europe. Also if they caught their flight on the 10th, and couldn’t sit until the return date (which is super far), they’d have to book a plane ticket last minute and they’re also pricey.
As @Orcca said, the trust element has been broken, so it’s not a good way to start a month + sit, unfortunately.
I hope you find a solution quick, as it’s not an easy situation to be in.
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yes totally agree! it’s a 1 star mistake, but if I was the HO, I’d try to contact membership services to revert it…especially if the sitter had taken good care of my kitties and home. That poor sitter only has 1 review and it’s this one: when applying for sits, the person is showing a 1 star review on her profile, and that’s so unfair (the HO would have to open her application to understand why the 1 star, and then maybe then, realize it must have been a mistake, judging by the 5* categories.
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@Orcca If you didn’t say no, she must have presumed you were ok with going early. She may now feel messed about with trying to find another sitter quickly. But if you are still on good terms, the below is a good solution.
Perfect idea from @Voyager , that’s the beauty with sitting as a couple. One of you can go early. The flight may be expensive to change though. It wouldn’t be worth the hassle for a smaller duration of time, but it’s two whole months. You could quickly check flights and pop her an email before she has time to agree with anyone else. Because let’s face it, there won’t be many sitters on Madeira so they would need to arrange flights anyway, and last minute flights to Madeira won’t be cheap.
Or another alternative is to forget all about her and try to pick up a sit in Portugal. Then take your flight on the 10th to Madeira and then go from Madeira to Portugal.
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It sounds like the relationship is past repairing.
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Yeah, I did a quick search - there’s currently none near Madeira, but there is 1 in Portugal that starts on the 13th Sept (it’s only for 3 days though). @orcca, there are also always stacks of sits available in the UK, and some in France too. You can always check the ‘last minute sit’ category on the forum for sits in Europe (usually will be for the UK) until you figure out a longer-term solution. There is also Nomador (heaps of sits in France), Mindmyhouse and HousesittersUK to check for the time being as well.
Depending where you’re coming from, surely the plane has to transfer somewhere in mainland Europe first before heading to Madeira? If so, could you skip the transfer at the airport and book a new flight to (e.g: U.K) where there’s stacks of sits? It would probably be cheaper than booking a flight from Madeira - there are always cheap budget airlines (Ryanair, Vueling, easyJet, Wizzair) flights from Madrid or Lisbon direct to London. I don’t know, just a thought - hope that helps!
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When was this discussion?
Was the request by owner to arrive on 9th before or after you confirmed the sit ?
Before or after you had booked your tickets ?
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Keep in mind that if you do this and you’ve booked a return flight on a single ticket, skipping a leg will almost certainly cancel the remaining leg(s) so you would not have a flight home.
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Understood - I mean the flight there, not return - the return would just have to be cancelled, unless a separate flight is booked to Madeira for the return. I don’t know, just thinking out loud, I hope you manage to sort something out @Orcca!
You can, it would just likely result in the rest of your trip being cancelled. Depending on how the flights are arranged, this may or may not be an issue. Like if OP just has a flight from the Island back to mainland Europe, that’s not a huge deal. But if it’s all the way back to their home country (don’t think that’s been mentioned), it could be a big problem. They could also look into costs to change the flight instead.
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FWIW, some airlines declare that if you break the flights you’ve purchased and use only specific legs, they can charge you additionally. That’s aimed at not enabling passengers to game things for lower prices.
Mentioning that, because it sounds like OP might already be tight on money.
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Darn, that sucks, thanks for that @Maggie8K, didn’t know! Hmm… You could also try Workaway I guess - they might have some gigs in Madeira? Or couchsurfing? (If you’re into that).
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I’m so sorry this has happened to you. Very unreasonable on the part of the HO. There must be a solution though.
Okay, deep breath…
The HO is making it very difficult for herself. She is travelling in a few days and it is unlikely that the sitters who applied previously would be able to arrange a flight at such short notice. They may also have made other plans or not be able to afford flights. So, she will struggle there. Despite the clear lack of courtesy and communication from the HO, would you still like to do this sit? If so, you could reach out to her with a very reasonable message saying that you have made arrangements and would still very much like to proceed with the sit. You will do your best to accommodate her plans and get back to her as soon as possible. Unfortunately, often there is a degree of ‘sucking up’ to the HO in order for things to go smoothly. Since she is clearly unreasonable, you will have to compensate for that.
Alternatively, if you do not want to proceed with that sit (which would be completely understandable), member services will be able to assist and make arrangements for you. I would go for a walk with your partner, get some fresh air and discuss what you both feel is the best (and easiest) option at this stage. My heart goes out to you. Please keep us updated and best of luck x
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