May I politely ask why this “improvement” has been introduced into an already overloaded check list?
I understand that a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse staying during the sit may raise suspicions of some prior planning. But a friend dropping by for coffee or even spending a night or two?
All, without exception, of the very few guests I had during my 80+ sits visited me on the spur of the moment. Nothing was ever discussed, let alone planned, before the sit confirmation. Consequently, there was no reason to ‘clear’ anybody beforehand, as there was no one to clear.
I base all the do’s and don’ts on common sense and, above all, mutual trust. If I choose to invite someone for a cup of coffee, I don’t expect the host to freak out; I expect them to be chill about it, trusting that I know what I am doing.
During the sit, I appreciate a ‘my home is your home’ attitude, especially during longer sits, and I keep away from hosts who mistrust or micromanage. Thus far, not a single host has ever raised any concern about me being in any way disrespectful of their home. But… I almost exclusively sit for expats, for the very reason discussed here.
The icing on the cake was the action of my recent host. On the morning of his departure, he said to me, ‘I just changed the bedding on my bed, should you have any visitors.’ And we hadn’t even discussed the topic of visitors.
Your query demonstrates the seriousness of the issue and the cavalier attitude of some sitters.
THS T&Cs are crystal clear that guests of sitters be explicitly approved by hosts. Those T&Cs set expectations that both parties rely on and reasonably expect to be adhered to. Yet you suggest they should not apply if you think they should not apply because yada yada?
If you were a guest staying in the home with a family member or friend, you consider it peachy to have friends drop in for coffee without checking with your family member or friend first? If you, as most sitters seem to want, wish to be treated as a guest in my home, you should expect to act like a guest. This is true whether or not your host is physically present on the property.
A night or 2 without prior host knowledge or consent? Seriously? Let me put it this way. I have NEVER allowed an unidentified stranger into my home while I was at home. I have had a few unidentified strangers enter my home without my permission on 2 occasions while I was absent. Fireworks ensued.
SMH
[quote=“OnTheRoadAgain, post:63, topic:73905”]
THS T&Cs are crystal clear
Right, THS T&Cs are crystal clear on many things
Not comparable. Then I´ll be drinking coffee with a family member or friend.
Who said that? I am in daily contact with hosts. It goes without saying, I´d let them know the minute I know
Some are ambiguous. Some are not. The guest policy is not ambiguous anymore than the third-party policy protecting sitters is ambiguous.
Most the problems posted on this forum are a result of either not reading the T&Cs or one party ignoring them.
So you have no spur-of-the-moment friends when you’re staying with a family member or friend? Or you just turn them away? Either way, it’s completely comparable.
You would let them know as a fait accompli or to arrange consent? If the latter, we’re back to fireworks. 
I think in that case a simple “no guests allowed” mention would be more than enough.
I have seen it before. The same as some put “solo female only” or “mature couples” or whatever other preferences they have. But to have all the HOs fill this…
Communication is key. And we should not try to cut down on it with adding check boxes. At least not badly implemented ones. As for the arrival and departure time. For me it would be more useful to know when the HOs actually need to leave.
But this is just my opnion.
I had HOs explicitly stating “no guests” the first time I was there. But once they knew me and the trust was established, they proactively offered, “oh but you know, you can have people over”, without me even asking.
@OnTheRoadAgain Yes I would very much like to have basic info about the bed I would be sleeping in whilst caring for your home and pets. Its a very small thing to ask for the measurements in cm. This is very helpful info and many sitters have requested it. Whether I’m paying for a hotel room or doing a sit I always want to know about the bed. My sleep/rest time is very important to me. If I was a solo traveller/sitter all bed sizes would work for me but I travel with my husband and we are both tall so bed size is important for our comfort.
And centimetres (cm) are very universally understood. But King/Queen/Double sizes etc are variable between countries.
I personally am quite flexible with beds, but I think what you are asking for is necessary and important.
In hotels, as you have been argued against, you can expect a certain standard. You can also ask for refund if that expectation was not met. Even the cheapest hostel dorms I have stayed in have not put me on a creaky sofa bed, especially not after showing me a picture of the lavish master bedroom.
Hotels have the standard, they have perfected a “general bed” over the centuries. But hosts can have any bed from all the millions of beds that are available to consumers. Though I think hosts would have hard time describing their beds, as there aren’t much standards. Size is easy to tell (with measurements!), but for example softness etc can be much more unclear. Not to mention all the dirty yellow pillows I have slept on - maybe there should be a star rating to “sleeping arrangement”, though we would obviously lie there too. I have left reviews with “the bed was exceptionally comfortable”, but is that really a help? Some other sitter might have very different needs.
Yep, metric is the standard in many places. The US was supposed to go metric in 1975 but the population put up too much resistance. I think the idea of renaming the Quarter Pounder was too upsetting.
Exactly. Its pretty universal. The UK, like the US, went metric in the early 70s too but many people still measure height & weight the imperial way. I, like most (older) Brits, use and understand both systems.
Ah, but the US ultimately backed out and did not go metric.
Morning everyone,
I hope you’re having a great day.
Whilst we won’t reply to every post, I wanted to confirm that this discussion is being followed and your feedback is being received.
EDIT: If anyone does need an answer, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our member service teams via email support@trustedhousesitters.com
This has been fed back. 
Hi Crookie,
Thanks for sharing. In this post, Silversitters shared that deleting the app and reinstalling resolved things, are you able to give this a try?
Thank you @Mark_B. And enjoy your day too.
@Marion to my mind, this is something to be discussed between the sitter and owner either in advance or as it arises, having a check box is overkill. Every circumstance is different and it depends on the relationship between the sitter and owner. I work on the assumption that no guests are allowed although a couple of my regular sits tell me it is fine to have people to stay because they know and trust me. The human interaction between sitter and owner at “interview” stage and afterwards is far better than countless checkboxes.
@systaran my thoughts exactly!!! 
@Mark_B uninstalling & reinstalling the app worked. I can see the new fields now. Thanks
Gee I miss the days where you saw a sit listed, you applied and took it from there. You either got the sit or you didn’t. Next! Applications without number limits were easy, listing was easy, and you just worked things out with the HO like sensible adults. Why has everything become so complicated? And all the constant bickering over changes! No wonder fees are increasing with all the fluff being added every five minutes. We’ll soon need a degree just to write a listing or send an application! Sheesh!
Thanks. I will indeed take back my use of “vitriol,” which, based on a look at the dictionary after your comment, may have itself seemed too harsh. Thanks truly for straightening me out there, and apologies to anyone I insulted and/or misunderstood.
If August’s comment represents their “cavalier” attitude, would it be fair to say your final comment represents an “uptight” attitude? What would Willie say?
@RichardNYC If you need to socialize during a sit, it’s simple to meet your friends/family at a local restaurant or pub. No need to bring people back to the HO’s home, where you’re sitting pets that might find additional strangers even more stressful. More people in the home mean more noise, new and strange voices spoken at various volumes, and their heavy footfalls. Try to envision this from a pet’s point of view. (Although, I’m sure there are plenty of pets that wouldn’t be phased by guests. So, there’s that.
)
Bottom line, whether it’s sitters providing their own food and alcohol or abiding by a “no guests” rule, it is the homeowner’s home and pets. As a sitter, we want the HO to know, unequivocally, that they can trust us to abide by their requests.