Not directly, it doesn’t, but you did establish two separate sets of sitters: those who pay premium, who might be more responsible and those who don’t, who might not be as responsible.
I am a premium member, so no offense taken but my decision to pay for premium has nothing to do with my reliability and I don’t think it has any impact on HOs. The “added benefit” of premium membership is for the member who has chosen that tier, not for the other party.
I hadn’t given it much thought but you may be right there. THS do list the “premium badge” as a benefit associated with premium, perhaps indicating a higher group who should be able to easily identify others belonging to the same category
It’s nothing to do with being American. It’s also nothing to do with premium membership — or with being paid, as someone else suggested.
These generalizations don’t really feel like they serve anyone very well. We’re individuals, and all different.
My advice is to be choosy with both your sitters and your hosts: read their reviews carefully, be sure to do a phone or video call, make sure you have a great feeling about them, & never ignore your gut instinct.
@MerryPuppins Apparently I need to say this 100 times here so here we go again- I responded this way because the person I was RESPONDING TO had said of the 30+ sits in the USA she’s done ALL of the HO’s didn’t want to see the sitter before the sit began or after the sit was complete and 90% of the sits I have done in the US have not included an overnight stay on either end, AND ALL of the sits I’ve done in Europe, excluding the ones I’ve done in 1 BR apartments, HAVE included an overnight stay the night before the sit was to commence and in some cases the night of their return as well. I AM AMERICAN, I was doing sits in the US before I left more than a year ago and have been doing sits in Europe since I’ve been here for the last year.
@Newpetlover I RESPONDED this way because the person I was RESPONDING TO had said of the 30+ sits in the USA she’s done ALL of the HO’s didn’t want to see the sitter before the sit began or after the sit was complete and 90% of the sits I have done in the US have not included an overnight stay on either end, AND ALL of the sits I’ve done in Europe, excluding the ones I’ve done in 1 BR apartments, HAVE included an overnight stay the night before the sit was to commence and in SOME cases the night of their return. All good now? Great.
Hi @Crosswords_and_puzzles , I AM American and was doing sits in the US before I left there a little more than a year ago, I’ve been doing sits in Europe since leaving the US.
Yes, I read what you wrote. But your experience is just that — your individual experience. I’m also American, also done sits in both the US & in Europe. My experience doesn’t match yours. Nor does it seem to match the experience of others in this thread, which is why you’re getting so much pushback.
Although I appreciate that you have a different viewpoint, repeating it multiple times doesn’t really add anything to the debate.
@Snowbird is a long term and highly respected member of the forum who gives valuable advice including to the OP. She is absolutely the last person who should be accused of thinking of themselves, her advice is always considered and she has no agenda. She is a person of integrity.
@Crosswords_and_puzzles also seems to make sensible thoughtful suggestions and I have not detected any agenda or bias from them.
You are a new premium sitter member with no reviews. Have you actually done any sits through THS? Are you also a host / pet parent?
It does appear that you are the one thinking of yourself and not the OP.
If your intention behind these multiple identical comments is to connect with hosts via the forum to secure sits, I think this will backfire. Listening, taking in information and understanding other people’s perspectives is actually a really important skill for a pet sitter.
A naive and false assumption! Its probably true to say that most sitters on the lower Tiers or on the original (pre- 3 tier) plans are the more experienced sitters - they’ve simply been active longer, whereas many newer sitters will have joined at Premium Level thinking they’ll get more for their money (clever marketing) or to avoid per-sit fees.
We joined in 2018 on the original plan-when everyone paid the same. We have over 130 5* reviews and have never felt the need to Upgrade. Until now Premium offered no benefit to us- we have no interest in airport lounges and have never been in the position where we could have successfully claimed on the insurance, and Premium costs more than twice what we pay now. The ONLY reason we would consider upgrading to Premium now is to avoid the new fees. But I’ll wait till the next Black Friday to see if they offer 50% off before doing so.
As other experienced sitters have already mentioned- Premium level does not in any way equate to Premium Sitter! HOs need to thoroughly check each applicant to find the right sitter for their sit regardless of what membership level either side is on.
@mikomeko I’ve done 70 sits, fairly equally split between the US and Europe. I haven’t found there to be any correlation on handover type by country. My experience has been about 25% night before arrival, stay overnight with hosts, 50% arrival about an hour or so before the HOs leave, and 25% blind handovers with key left in a lockbox. Most of the lockbox handovers where I never met the hosts in person were actually in the UK. I’ve done all three types of handovers in both Europe and the US.
I am 100% DONE with this convo, I’ve explained myself 1000 times already, I shan’t be doing it again or continuing on with this, and I’ve not read your comment either, apologies for that but this has grown tiresome. Please see my other responses, EVERYONE. Thanks and good luck!
@SharonV In line with the recent request from @Jenny I am making an effort to return the focus of this thread to your original entry. I did respond to you earlier (see entry # 44). I note that your original post doesn’t pose any question, or ask for any help/advice/feedback in any way. Excluding the entries that went off-topic, I’m wondering if the responses you’ve received have been helpful and served the purpose you intended. If they have not, please pose your questions and experienced owners and sitters will hopefully address them. If you have had sufficient feedback, you can message @Jenny and ask that she close the post.
@PV592 I strongly disagree with your generalisation that premium membership sitters will be more responsible. I say that as I’m a premium dual member sitter and home owner who selected premium membership as a newbie for the perks that come with that tier as they benefit me, not an owner. If I was on any other membership tier I would still have the same level of responsibility. Many of the comments you are receiving are from long term very experienced responsible sitters who I know are not premium members. I would ask them to be my sitter in a heart beat, actually I have.
I am so sorry you experienced this! How awful. I have become very wary myself and read every single review. Even then, some bad apples pass through. I have found middle age couples to be the most reliable, tidy and trustworthy. I don’t allow children to- mostly bc I’m not set up for it, my dog nor cat is not used to them and I feel it’s a liability.
Hopefully you won’t give up. I have had far more great sitters than not and have made friends with several.
Best wishes to you and hope you’ve made a full recovery - on all fronts!
Sadly, THS has been totally blasé and unsympathetic to any complaints. Even when one couple cancelled AFTER I had checked in for my flight! I could not even leave a warning review “ because the sit had technically not commenced “!
Another woman was absolutely crazy and I had to cancel a 4 week trip and a house sit I was ached for. That was the hardest bc I pride myself on being 100% reliable. It just killed me. Fortunately bc they are in a desirable city they found someone. But, I was furious.
I think the platform is selling itself a bit too much on the “ free vacation” aspect rather than the “ trusted” aspect which entails common consideration, trust, and honor.
All I can say is that you were very unlucky and I am sorry that this happened to you, especially as it was your first THS experience. There are many wonderful sitters out there and I have never had a moment’s problem with this who have sat for me. I hope that your next experience, should you have one, is much better.
