Hello @Dogwood and a very warm welcome to the Community Forum and I am sorry to hear of the issues you have had. As you say these were confirmed sits I am assuming then that they were confirmed solely on exchanging messages on the website and that you did not have a telephone or video call prior to confirming your sitters?
I have attached a thread that you should find helpful with regards to video calls prior to confirming. My hubby and I are sitters and we always have a WhatsApp video call before confirming a sit, we have had homeowners send an acceptance without any interaction but we always say we would prefer a video call if possible first prior to confirming so both parties can ensure we are all a good fit and it also gives both parties an opportunity to ask any questions that they might have.
I would also suggest if you could link your TrustedHousesitters profile on to your Forum profile on here by following the attached link, should you wish. This will then enable others on here to offer you helpful advice and feedback and will also give your listing extra exposure.
If you are unsure how to do this, or if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask, we are all more than happy to help.
Also due to your listing being less than a week away, I would also recommend that you add your listing on to the last minute sits section on here and if you wish, you can also give permission to @Angela_L who can then promote your listing on other social media channels.