I have seen empty reviews on a HO listing with the sit not even appearing on the sitter’s profile. These may mean the sit was canceled. Some listings have several of these which makes me wonder if the HO canceled all of those sitters.
I think THS at the very least should allow these empty reviews to state that they were cancelations with the option of stating who canceled and the reason for the cancelation.
It’s a tiny percentage of people that let others down. Just stay in regular contact with your sitter and trust your gut. Am sure all will be well 
@Catin88 @Lokstar @Twitcher - the sum total of the repercussions to the HO’s two casual, uninformed, international cancellations is “the member has been given constructive feedback. They have been told this shouldn’t repeat. We have now closed the matter.” What an absolute waste of my time & energy in even reporting it……
@Cuttlefish Sadly THS seems to support hosts more than sitters. This has been noted in various threads… And it has been our experience too when having to complain to THS. One host we reported has had 2 sitters since us (for long sits) neither of whom (like us) left feedback or received reviews so I fear nothing changed there… Its down to us to do very thorough research before accepting sits. Fortunately the bad experiences are in the minority.
I’m sorry you had to experience this & I hope you managed to replace those cancelled sits.
Shocking - what is the point of a having a Code of Conduct?
@Cuttlefish Wow, I’m so sorry to hear that. So basically they just received “a talking to”. That’s horrible. Don’t feel that it’s a waste of time and energy. At least you started a paper trail. Unfortunately, we don’t know if THS is on the 2 strikes and you are out or 3, 4, 5, 6 strikes, but at least you started the trail…
I think we should look towards their social media pages to air these grievances. Does THS corporate even look at this community forum for feedback to make corrective changes?
Sidenote: I just received a message from my late Jan sitter that she has to cancel my sit. She says that she has an emergency situation that involves her grandfather and chemotherapy. I told her that I appreciated her early notice and that I’m sorry to hear about her grandpa. I let her know that my prayers are with him, her, and the rest of the family.
See, this is a situation I can completely understand with a cancellation of course. I put the listing back up a few minutes after receiving notice.
Thanks for the vote of confidence & the positivity! We had another cancellation as the HO suddenly had to have emergency back surgery. 
a bona fide reason & we were completely fine with that. (& will sit for them again).
One thing I would like to add from the sitters perspective. I recently canceled a sit, far in advance, once I received the house guide. There were problems with the pets that were not addressed in the interview that I didnt want to work with, ie, be careful how you approach and touch the dog but he will bark if you dont lift on and off the bed. In this case, I would want a way to explain why I canceled.
Totally hear you that the owner wasn’t being transparent. I would agree with that because I don’t believe in bamboozling/“the bait and switch”
In my case, everything that you see on my profile is the case on my welcome guide and when I have the video chat before confirming the sit. I’m totally upfront about my rescue dog’s needs from the beginning. No need to waste the sitter’s time or mine.
Also, the way TH works - the owner has to always unconfirm the sit, even if the sitter decides to cancel. I don’t like that. If the sitter decides to cancel, they should be the ones to unconfirm the sit so it shows on their end.
I totally agree about the change in “community” feel, which is why I don’t find sitters on this site anymore.
Last year I had a sitter lined up. While talking, she was complaining about the host for her upcoming sit, told me that she canceled, then blocked the owner’s phone # to avoid arguing.
I said that was a messed up thing to do, so then she did the exact same thing to me! And she has over a dozen reviews, all 5-stars, no way for anyone to know.
Not to sound like an old grumpy grandpa, but that’s the way the world is going, it’s not just this site. Internet communication is very detached, and there’s little sense of connection, much less a sense of obligation.
Using a website like this is definitely needed to get people in touch with each other, but after that it’s up to everyone to take the time and put in the effort to bring it to real life.
I agree that as a HO and as a sitter we should be able to see if people have a track record of post confirmation cancellations and if they drop communication before things are settled. Of course extreme emergencies happen but my sense is that there are people who commit when really what they are doing is holding a space then going to the highest bidder.
That scenario can actually no longer happen. If a sitter commits formally to a sit their dates become blocked and they cannot apply elsewhere. In the past unscrupulous sitters were able to chop & change when they got a better offer.
If you mean they stall on making a firm decision- whilst holding out for a better offer- there is nothing wrong with that. If they are not 100% certain its better not to confirm…
Some sitters may be using several sites for housesitting. Maybe sites where they would get paid. The measures on THS cannot stop that kind of running sits in parallel, or late cancellations.
Good to know that sitters can’t shop and change.
The last sit I selected for myself, and the ultimate sitter I got for my house, were so refreshing as all parties were excellent and quick at communicating which makes it much less stressful.
Unfortunately, you are a rarity.
This may or may not be related but I’ll mention it. As a sitter I’ve stopped booking sits months in advance because it’s hard to find sits to fill the gap between sits, sometimes more desirable sits are posted and I’m unable to apply because I’ve already committed to another sit, I find that sometimes I’ve lost interest or regret confirming the sit when it’s closer to the start date of the sit. I don’t cancel because of these reasons because I want to protect my reputation on the platform but I now consider these factors when applying for sits. I’m no longer in a rush to apply for sits in fear of missing out because something better always comes along.
@kimshady I couldn’t agree more and I now do as you do. Something better, or as good, does always come along, I learnt that a long time ago 
I totally agree with you and have read most of your subsequent comments and agree with them as well. I hope THS truly regards what you say.
Bravo! You’ve written a lot of concerns many of us have.
You’re right: if you have a No Show Sitter - there should be a way to have sit closed out BUT you can still post a flag about the behaviour.
We have done two last-minute sits for HO whose sitter went AWOL.
In both cases the Sitter disappeared from communiation within 2 weeks of the start date.
I have NO CLUE why anyone would do that unless it is because they KNOW that the way THS works, your only option is to have THS Customer Service remove the sit and have you start fresh, and thus no review appears, zero impact on the sitter’s rating.
A definite hole in the system.