No she is not nice!
She did not tell you about the dog’s health problems. And she is stingy. And sneaky.
She pretends to be nice.
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@Stellaluna so now you have highlighted another important area where you were mislead. You definitely should mention the dog issues and drop a star on pet behaviour. The host can be lovely but if you are not prepared properly for the sit then they do you a disservice.
In your written description you could try the ‘sandwich’ approach- positive comment- negative- end on a positive note.
The host will have to change things to avoid negative commentary in future.
Re- the Welcome Guide. Its always helpful to ask for this immediately after confirming so if any descrepancies pop up (e.g the request for utility payment) they can be dealt with in advance. Many hosts don’t do a WG online & just leave notes on arrival. That’s all OK- but the problems arise when new info is discovered only on arrival!
It’s a good reminder to request a WG or equivilant well in advance.
The blind review system definitely does give more room for honesty. Future sitters will thank you, and the host might become more aware.
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Seems as if HO forget that increase in rates by their service providers (electricity, gas etc) are contributors to an increase in their bills not necessarily the sitter “over using” the utilities (2) if they have old drafty homes that do not heat well or retain heat. If HOs are so concerned with high utility bills as a result of having a sitter they should just pay to have their pets boarded to avoid worrying about high electric and gas bills seems like a simple and less complex solution than soliciting money from sitters to pay their bills. Perhaps the money they pay for THS membership could be used to pay for boarding services - see problem solved.
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THS need to up their game; we pay a fee. Sitters shouldn’t be subjected to subpar living conditions and discomfort, only to have to report it afterward. Does this seem like a fair arrangement to anyone?
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I am a home owner and my electric bill usually runs $130/month in the winter along with gas $75. I just ask the sitter to be willing to pay anything over $250. My home is comfy and the costs of the hot tub etc are already covered. Along with the housekeeper. But if a door is left open with the heat going full blast, I don’t want to be slammed with a huge bill either. In the summer I am fully solar powered - so it really isn’t an issue. Oddly this winter the usage of electricity tripled - and I have no idea why! Since I am not home - this crazy bill will likely remain a mystery.
Was it the usage of fuel in volume/calorific value or in unit cost though? How many KWs were you billed for was it similar?
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It was the actually usage. Not cost. It was triple the amount from the year before, for the same month. I asked the sitter. No answer but the following month was quite a bit less (just double the usual usage) and the third month was back to the normal usage for that month. So obviously she was doing something that really sucked the power supply.
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Thank you for saying this. It is an “exchange.” We don’t take sits if the “exchange” doesn’t work for us. But, maybe a couple has twice as much time to care for animals than a single person.
We had sitters complain about doing our yard work a few hours a week (we have no pets). It was part of the expectation’s outlined. If they didn’t do yardwork, then why would they be staying here? Just free lodging?
We’ve asked for electricity “above our usual bill, and happy to share that,” because it could easily go up to $500/month if our housesitters wanted to leave the water running or AC on 24/7! (We don’t use it at all - and we have the highest electricity rates in the country.)
Finally, regarding providing vehicles. Both of our vehicles are over 20 years old. And, we had a sitter once that crashed the tailgate and refused to take responsibility. Another destroyed the transmission that cost over $4000 to repair. Thus, we learned our lesson. Housesitters need to provide their own vehicle. (A few housesitters have just purchased a cheap vehicle, then resell it before they leave.)
But, it’s still a much better deal than paying $200/night rent in Hawaii, or $4000/month for an Air BNB, like next door.
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You don’t have pets so that is a little different than the norm on this site. But even having someone drive to your house to water plants daily. We can’t get anyone to drive to our house to do anything simple.
You could deduct as many stars as you wanted.
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Sitters should never have to pay for anything, aside from the expensive transportation needed to get to the house, and get back home.
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Right that’s true.
True. But what bothers me, as someone who recently joined, is that most of their policies weren’t clear before I paid.
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Don’t let it out you off, there are HO who are looking for first class pet care, rather than first class cleaning. That’s the HO I look out for 
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Homeowners CAN ask sitters to pay for utilities just as sitters CAN ask homeowners to buy them a new car.
Nothing wrong with asking… but, good luck with that. 
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Hi @pietkuip,
I just started today so I am listening to long-time members like you that see a trend. So here is my message for pet-sitters facing this conundrum.
I’m guessing the cost of owning and operating a house has increased so I would say that any negotiations around utilities, primarily energy usage, would need to be based on full disclosure of the home-owners last 3 monthly bills at best, in order to level the playing field including the weather trends for the time of stay. The energy company can provide the trends if it is not already on the the bill as it is with PG&E here in Northern California.
Also, since the house sitters are not home-owner partners, that this negotiation would only include the cost of fuel (gas, oil, electricity) minus any external expenses such as pool/spa energy, gardening, farming, etc. and not include taxes or fees, etc. all of which are associated with home-ownership.
Also never pay for water because the land around a home along with other services such a fire-protection is a water cost associated only with homeownership and never with renters.
After reading the policy it’s totally acceptable for HO’s to charge within this platform. But this is a technology platform protection policy and in my view as a homeowner, should not be viewed as an option for homeowners. I don’t charge for Air bnb guests … who have by-the-way, have taken care of my pet as part of my house rules.
My goodness, but in this platform I would never charge a free pet sitter for heating and cooling no matter the time of year and here is why:
"If the pet was left alone with automatic feeding and cleaning and no cuddles, would I leave them in a cold/hot dark house? Surely the utilities (energy services only) would be needed to pay for the automatic service and maybe an AI pop up to reassure the pet.
Furthermore, if the homeowner doesn’t care about the care-giver’s warmth or comfort, how can they expect the care-giver to care about their pet?
Homeowners … don’t put house sitters in a financial position to negotiate an energy bill, especially if they have never owned a home. It’s just not an equal playing field and in my opinion, extractive, and at worst, abusive.
I hope you can see my perspective as positive.
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Does anyone know about the legalities of charging someone to live in your home, with regards to whether you might accidentally be creating a tenancy agreement? A bit of googling reveals that in doing so, homeowners could inadvertantly be setting themselves up for problems should their sitter then decide they’d like to stay on at that rate. Probably an unlikely scenario, but perhaps another good reason to keep things as the ‘cash-free exchange’ that we all signed up for when joining THS.
Quote:
“If someone moves into a property and begins paying rent, then you will likely create an unwritten tenancy agreement. This is done when an offer is made to let the property, the offer is accepted, and then a payment is made (e.g. rent). Just because the agreement is not written down, that does not mean that it doesn’t exist. At the point of creating an oral agreement, your friend will receive a range of rights and protections. For example, if you wish for them to leave the property, but they’d rather stay, paying mate’s rates rent, then you will have to begin a long eviction process in order to get them out. In general, you won’t be able to enter the property without their permission and you will be legally required to make repairs.”
The extract above is taken from here:
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All this depends on the jurisdiction you are in. Not charging does not necessarily make a difference. An agreement does not necessarily make a difference. In many places it would take a long eviction process anyway.
I have read that this is a great problem in Spain. The legal system was clogged with cases of squatters. And that owners pay “heavy guys” to get occupants out of their properties.
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When you are leasing an apartment and set it up as an Air BnB, you are likely violating your lease because it is a form of sub-letting. So this seems the same logic. Once you charge for a stay, no matter how long, you are creating a lease. And, here in California, an unscrupulous lease holder can presume squatters rights too. Then you will have to evict. I have had squatters. It’s very real and its not fun.
Air BnB guests are never squatters because its a community that follows the rules of the app and all communications and agreements for payment are built in.
Trusted House Sitters platform is organized for trading a stay for pet care. There is no money exchanged here. So I’d call an attorney first before using THS before writing and signing an off-site agreement or creating a verbal agreement for paying for the stay. Surely the attorney costs more than the cost of heating and cooling for your tenant.
Setting your system for 68 (cool) and 72 (warm) has consistently worked for me and my guests. I’d get a verbal agreement about that.
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Thanks for the info @PPP-Cuddler
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