Was that a sit that was local for you? If not, I don’t think visitors is any big deal. If local, huge deal.
@OnTheRoadAgain It wasn’t local, but I had family that lived nearby. It was close to where I grew up, but it’s been 30 years since I lived in the area.
@Aelin Which country or region are you in? Maybe someone here will be close by and able to help out (for example, take over the dog sit until you have found a better sitter)? I would be happy to do something like that if you were near me.
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It is irrelevant whether we think the homeowner should or shouldn’t allow visitors or choose a local sitter.
The fact is they advertised the sit requesting a solo sitter and no visitors allowed. If the sitter didn’t agree she shouldn’t have confirmed the sit.
The dogs are not allowed outside unsupervised and the cameras were disclosed, so no room for ambiguity.
There are always two sides to any story. I would be interested to know if the sitter had any previous reviews.
The sitter should have accepted only if she agreed to the terms.
If a listing sounds unreasonable don’t apply.
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Because everyone is local, there’d have been the option for you visiting family as much as they visiting you. That’s also the case with friends and partners of local sitters. So why would a sitter have their unvetted friends or partners visiting rather than vice versa? Especially considering that the OP does not require the sitter to be in the home 24/7. There are some innocent reasons and some definitely not so innocent reasons. My sole experience was with the not so innocent reasons and the OP’s understandable anxiety has little to do with innocent explanations.
Communication is key. I would never abuse an owner’s hospitality. But I do very much appreciate when they say I’m welcome to have people over. My son is a great help on walks when there are multiple dogs or very strong dogs. I think if you say no to local sitters you may be missing out. I’m sure there are fantastic sitters in your area
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This is nonsense as they won’t enforce anything anyway. THS don’t have bunch of people who go around and remove sitters from home. If you want the sitter out then tell the sitter you want them out instead of looking for THS to do it for you. They leave and you get to pay a Rover sitter to come in or board your dogs.
Hi, I’m sorry you are in this position. My advice, for what it’s worth, is as follows. First be certain about what you would like to happen here. I know you would ideally like your original terms abided by, and that is reasonable. However, it has already been proven that this is not going to happen. The choices seem to be, either terminate the sit and find alternative care, is this possible? The other choice is to allow the boyfriend, provided she gives her word to never leave your dogs outside unattended again and provides you daily updates as well. If you decide to try to salvage the sit, I would also ask for a video call with the boyfriend. I hope you’re able to find a suitable solution. Good luck
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Most sensible solution. Yes, have a video with the boyfriend, make sure the dogs are always supervised and put a period on it and enjoy the rest of your trip.
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I’m traveling for work. When I’m away I’m working like 14 hour days so it’s been not fun to deal with.
But you can’t have it both ways. You want regular and full comms from your sitter but you’re “too busy” working 14 hour days. They don’t work for you, this is a mutual exchange so you need to work out a balanced way to communicate about the house and pets. It isn’t a “service” as you call it, the sitter pays the same membership fees you do. Honestly, best thing to do is have a frank and honest conversation with your sitter and if you can’t reach a compromise then out they go and in comes a paid sitter that you can give set rules. #differentfolksdifferentstrokes
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@Aelin I understand it must be stressful and challenging to deal with this whilst working away.
You’ve received lots of helpful suggestions from forum members on your options to resolve this .
You can review the suggestions and pick the solution that works best for you and your dogs . Please report back to the forum about how it works out .
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Maybe in future make it clear no uninvited guests your home your rules. I have had house owner asking me to invite a friend on a long sit as I am a solo sitter.other times I might ask if I think they might be ok with a friend to join me.but if they say no I absolutely understand and it’s not a deal breaker for me as I’m happy enough on my own.
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That requirement is clear. It’s one of the THS T&Cs.
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I think @Aelin was referring to the effort involved in dealing with THS and/or vetting boyfriend. The lack of comms is something @Aelin complains about so I doubt that is what his 14 hour days comment is looking at.
The sitter is not even behaving like a sitter so I don’t think your concerns about the host thinking the sitter works for them is anywhere close to on point.
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What a difficult sitter
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Exactly! Why so many people are picking on the OP is beyond my understanding.
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Okey dokey, maybe I misread the detail. Ultimately, it’s time to get a new sitter, this is not working out at all! #uttermismatch
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What I’m saying is working 14 hour days, having to worry about this and being the only person to communicate is frustrating. I only get updates if I ask.
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I did. We agreed on this weeks prior and she pulled a bait and switch 6 days before the sit began