I strongly disagree. And all sitters are vulnerable to cancellations, not just nomads. In this exchange both sides benefit, but both are also equally vulnerable.
Isn’t this the same for the host , they have a place to live so they can just stay home ? However, I don’t think most hosts would consider not being able to go on their planned vacation a “mild inconvenience”.
A cancellation can potentially have the same negative impact for both hosts and sitters . Lost money spent on flights / loss of a longed for vacation / with possibly no other opportunity to reschedule time off from their job
Also, not all sitters use house sitting for a vacation . Theyvmay need to be in an specific city for a medical treatment (IVF) or to to help a family member for an important life event ( move a child into Uni, birth of a grandchild ,Arendt a funeral or an important work meeting/ conference* ) * all of which are recent examples from
the forum.
Cancellations as a result of an emergency can happen to any of us - so both sitters and hosts need a back up plan.
Often the choice , for both sitter and host , when faced with a last minute cancellation is to either cancel plans or find alternative cover / accommodation . For both parties the solution for a last minute cancellation might be a service that you have to pay for . Both parties should factor this cost in when committing to a sit/ sitter .
@Silversitters - thanks for explaining; my imagined sitter’s perspective might be just a bit to naive; I have many questions, so I might write a longer post some time soon.
@systaran - I respect your opinion, and I really dread any cancellation that’s not been discussed and resolved amicably.
That said, please don’t ignore the part where I want reimbursements to be made. To me, it’s important to take responsibility of your actions, so whoever cancels should help the other one to find a replacement (sit/sitter), or reimburse. Yes, this goes both ways, now coming to think of it.
@elmi4711 please stick around and continue to contribute on the forum .
It is informative for sitters to get a host’s perspective and adds to the balance . Hosts are under represented on the forum.
A friend/member of THS has just had an HO cancel on her, 6 days out of a sit in an exclusive part of Italy. Ouch!! And the reason. “My holiday plans have changed so I’m staying home now”. That’s not an emergency on any count but what can you do? The sitter has taken long distance international flights for it which the HO knows. One example @elmi4711 of an HO being totally fine whereas the sitter is stuck in an expensive country in their biggest holiday month with very limited options. Your views are very welcome (we need more HOs on here) but you can see that in this instance, it’s the sitter that is well & truly stuck!! The HO just pressed the cancel button too 
Not even a message of why until asked. #nowthatsnotcricket
@Cuttlefish remember where I marked that I believe the cancellation process must be moderated?
Please don’t believe all homeowner’s are the same - there is no home owners’ association here. There are good people and bad apples, as everywhere in the world, even with sitters…
That said, it is completely unacceptable to “just cancel” on a sitter, and I’m not even taking in account the short timespan.
But what can be done now (on account of the sitter)?
Firstly, the sitter needs to make clear to them that they’ve shelled out a lot of money and should be compensated. While I don’t think HOs who pull this kind of stunt will even respond, no less compensate the sitter, it’s an important step in communication.
Secondly, this must be taken up with THS.
(edited in line with Community Guidelines, as members can only share a link to their own listing, for the purposes of a last minute sit)
100% @elmi4711 Thanks for responding. She is fortunately a very experienced and well travelled individual so will find a solution and a plan b but yes, you’re right on all counts. #shesonthecase
I’m a homeowner and a sitter on THS. When I plan to travel to a house sit, I usually have a sitter stay at my house. If my HO cancelled on me as a sitter, I wouldn’t have a place to live - unless I also cancelled on my sitter.
A real no-show of the sitter after the HO left would of course be incredibly disastrous.
But a last-moment cancellation - the HO should be prepared for that, financially and otherwise with a plan B. They should be aware that THS is not a company that can send a replacement sitter when someone falls ill.
Like I am hesitant to travel to far-away sits where I would be in difficulty when an HO cancelled (or where I would want to escape from).
@Silversitters Thanks for your kind words, and I plan to (although my plans only go well 50% of the time). It is important for a HO to get more perspective, although if I may say so myself it seems I’ve been doing well so far.
A lot that’s being discussed in this subforum especially could be avoided if people used basic decency and common sense, and remember that they are (a) involved in a contract and (b) dealing with people.
I feel really bad when I read about the awful experiences sitters make with their HOs or HOs with their sitters; I know there’s always two sides, and we generally only get half of the story, and nobody will paint themselves as the culprit.
I’m trying to do the right thing and make sitters feel at home. But I also vibe-screen my sitters, I’m not letting anybody stay with my cats I don’t trust. Priority one is their well-being. You need to burn the house down to save them? Do it.
I also always feel a bit awkward because my homes have never been (and will never be) spick and span, or perfect in any way. So I don’t know if my home is comfortable to sitters and I always feel so bad about not having a catalog home. All that I encountered though gave me the feeling they felt super comfy and right at home, so that might just be me.
Anyway, enough rambling, you’ll hopefully read more from me.
I truly agree with you. Last year I had summer trouble with a HO returning few days earlier than agreed on and the ‘assistance’ I got from THS wasn’t great. They did believe the emergency story. It was just a story. 
. I ended up leaving the house and paying for 3 nights and got my first and only bad review most likely because I told the HO nicely that this is not ok.
If this emergency can be stressed this much is on the back of the sitters and this is the imbalance. Let’s hope this comment will be published as not all comments are accepted. This I did learn too during that experience I mentioned earlier.
I agree with most of what you say. I have done close to 30 housesits. Some unexpexted things happen occasionally, like a cat who tends to poop on the floor occasionally, dogs that are very hard to walk, and a home not as clean as i think it should be. We have always managed to make the best of it and still have a possitive experiance.
@AnnaM Thanks for your comment. I think one of the things that help me most is that the experiences are always temporary, even a longer term sit. And when those little hiccups pop up, it is just a good opportunity to practice acceptance of the moment. And if there is something to be learned moving forward as far as the ‘selection’ process, it can be incorporated.
I can’t look into the communication you had with the HO - did you talk this out, as “bro, I’m not due to fly home until wednesday, so I need a place to live until then”.
If I as a HO return early, I ask my sitter whether it’s ok. If not, I would take a hotel.
Elmi4711… Are you serious? To ask me if I did talk this out?
Marian - I’m trying to understand, and you didn’t write whether you did or communication was impossible or you ran into a wall with it.
But yeah, I suppose communication wouldn’t have been too nice or useful, the way you describe how it all played out.
Didn’t want to tread on your toes!
I think that’s an excellent suggestion.
just realized i responded to august 2024. So never mind.
i agree with everything you said in #5. although the packages part doesn’t bother me at all. i just bring the package in when i’m home. if i’m not home then i get it when i come home. i’ve never had a package stolen and i only do sits in big cities. i just don’t let it stress me out. i always return to the house if i were to leave the site for whatever reason, so i know the package will inevitably arrive. i’m the type of person who is used to checking the mail everyday, so it doesn’t usually bother me. plus it’s a good excuse to get out of the house and get a bit of exercise even on days where i want to be a couch potato
Hello everyone!
This old discussion has picked up a few new replies, but I think it’s unlikely OP will respond, as they’ve not visited us for a while.
I’m going to close this thread to new replies, but you’re very much welcome to start a new topic if you’d like to discuss something similar! 
Thanks, everyone!
Jenny