News From TrustedHousesitters CEO, Mathew Prior (Oct 2021)

Yes, but your opinion was directed at me in particular. It was an opinion that had very little relevance with a request to support a claim with facts.

@long1016 I’m sorry to pick on your reply again – but it’s not right to compare the pricing of TrustedHousesitters with the cost of a kennel; they are two entirely different things. Just because TrustedHousesitters is cheaper than a kennel, it does not follow that TrustedHousesitters is therefore reasonably priced. If you compare TrustedHousesitters to similar websites, the membership fees are outrageous.

If I could believe that the high fees were necessary for the upkeep of the site then I may not have such complaint about them. What exactly does TrustedHousesitters offer to its members that it would be unable to offer if the fees were half the price that they currently are?

@Mathew-CEO You say that basic membership is only £10 higher than it was many years ago – but that is not entirely true because “basic” membership is something that has only just been introduced. The price I paid many years ago offered more than just basic access to the site.

This leads me onto something that has troubled me since the tiered membership was first introduced: while premium and standard memberships come with “dedicated customer support,” basic membership appears to offer no support whatsoever. Can anybody clarify what this means? Do basic members have access to any customer support should they need it? If so, how does it differ from the “dedicated” support that premium and standard members receive?

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This thread was started with a letter from Mathew. A forum and a thread are not the same thing…in my opinion.

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A Discussion Forum gives you an opportunity to participate in virtual conversations at any time and any location. Threaded discussions refer to online postings on a specific topic . … This group of messages with the initial message and responses is called a ‘thread’.

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Could we please keep this conversation relevant to the topic which is Mathew’s letter to the community and his response to member’s comments.

Thank you

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Very sorry Angela, yet again… I simply asked for facts to support one of his claims. I have still not received any. I do not understand why this would cause such consternation with yourself or members.

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The pictures of doors etc are my “fault”, nothing to do with pushing this thread out of the way. :slight_smile:

Gosh, my initial response to the email was positive - really happy to know that THS has had an influx of cash after what has been a very trying two years. I was really worried that a travel-based website such as this may have gone under with COVID so I see the investment as a positive.

For us, THS has been an excellent investment, even at the highest level. Free accommodations for the yearly cost of 1-2 nights hotel. The puppy cuddles are a bonus!

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@Robb - THS is part of a surge of worldwide sites that have ‘trust’ and ‘sharing’ as the backbone of their existence. Trusted housesitters even have it in the title of their company so could not be clearer in their beliefs.
For the last 13 years, I have been a host for Airbnb, another big company with the same ethos. I have happily invited literally thousands of strangers into my home - it has been a fantastic experience and I have nothing but fantastic, positive memories from those years.
I have now joined THS as the next step in this sharing, trusting community. I am offering my services as a home sitter and carer of pets in exchange for free accommodation. I have hundreds of past reviews of my character to offer homeowners. I have no interest in filling in forms, agreements or police screenings.
I, along with hundreds of thousands of other people hold the belief that most people in the world are kind, honest and trustworthy and this is why Trusted housesitters and other companies of the same ilk are so successful. It is true that there will always be the occasional bad apple that will cause a problem but these are so rare that, for me, the risk is so negligible, that it is worth taking.
I can absolutely see and understand that these companies based on trust are not for everybody - indeed I have friends and family that still think I am mad allowing strangers into my home with only a profile and past reviews to go on - looking at a couple of past posts by yourself I think maybe it is just not for you and think you will be more comfortable going with the more traditional formats of paying for your house sitting needs with companies that offer all the police checks, credit checks, identity checks and general background checks that you obviously need to give you peace of mind you require.

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Personally, I only joined THS in May so am still relatively new. I am, however, a full-time traveller/sitter and have been delighted with the company. I have had no difficulty getting sits and think the membership fee is extremely good value both for sitters and home hosts alike.

My only reservation would be that I have read many times on the forum that the customer service has been difficult to get through to but hopefully, the promise is that new members of staff are now installed to improve this.

The news of the investment can only be good - it’s always good to see a business doing well and I have no objection at all that the company is trying to become more profitable - they would be mad if they didn’t!

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Once again, I do not think it is correct to compare the price of THS membership to the price of using a kennel or staying in a hotel. They are entirely different things and are not comparable.

As I have already said, I would not complain about the membership fees if TrustedHousesitters was more transparent about why they needed to be so high. If the figures quoted by @Itchyfeet are correct, THS must be making HUGE profits. I don’t disapprove of that – but for a company that is entirely dependent on the goodwill of its members, I think they are walking a very fine line. They currently benefit very much from a lack of any serious competition. Although there are other house and pet sitting sites, most of them are not actively seeking expansion and are not run for profit.

It would not be difficult for a business minded person with the right skills and contacts to create an alternative to TrustedHousesitters that bettered it in every department. It will happen eventually, and maybe sooner rather than later if THS are looking to focus on California where there are plenty of people with very deep pockets looking for their next money making venture. If TrustedHousesitters choose to continually pursue expansion ahead of honing what they already have, it will likely lead to their downfall.

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I may as well put in my two cents.

Being on a limited budget, I was nervous when I joined 4 years ago. I was hoping that I wasn’t just throwing my money down the drain. With what I’ve experienced at different homes, in different places, with wonderful animals, along with the money I’ve saved in housing, the cost of membership has been some of the best money I’ve ever spent. Sure I wish it was cheaper, but it’s been a wonderful investment for me.

TH is not going to please every single member all time. That’s impossible. Me? I’m just very grateful for the opportunities and the lifestyle I now have because of TH, and I’m willing to put up with the aspects that are less than perfect for me.

Anybody who doesn’t agree with me, that’s totally fine. But I won’t respond to any negative or argumentative comments.

Have a nice day, everybody!

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Congratulations and very well done Mr. @Mathew-CEO, in acquiring the support and investment necessary to expand your company. I wanted to take a moment to personally acknowledge and thank you and all at TrustedHousesitters for all that you do.
I have only been a member since 2018 but your company enabled me to do some absolutely wonderful things. Aside from the ability to travel to 9 different countries, I have met some extraordinary people that have impacted my life greatly, many I am still friends with and speak to regularly.
When I retired from healthcare, I was in a flux of “what do I do now?” I wasn’t ready to sit and rollover. I found great comfort in being able to care for animals and they seemed to enjoy comforting me as well. I was thrilled to learn that I could use my nursing skills to administer medications and tend to pets that had special needs. I love my new life after my work life. I have even completed curriculum to complete my PhD while sitting. Why not?
What you have here is truly a wonderful thing and I wish you and all at TrustedHouseitters continued success. I don’t foresee anything else ahead.
Thank you.

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Well said, Amparo!

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@Amparo - Here, here. I could not agree more

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I agree as well! THS is definitely the best housesitting site that I have used (I’ve tried 5) over the last 6 years. It’s also the only site I recommend to anyone who asks. I find the service to be wonderful and I’ve always had fast, good response to any enquiry I made. Unfortunately there are always people who wouldn’t be happy no matter what is going on, while others just want to argue for argument sake.

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@Amparo I don’t understand the relevance your analogy. Would you still pay Starbucks if the only thing they provided was information about where to find coffee?

@MonicaS Of course THS is the only house sitting site that you recommend – but that’s likely because they have the largest community of users, not because they offer a better service.

I am certainly not arguing for the sake of argument (if I’m correct in assuming your comment was aimed at me.) I love house sitting and TrustedHousesitters is a wonderful resource – but that doesn’t mean I will stick my head in sand to the fact that somebody is getting extremely rich off the back of the good nature of the house sitting community.

Personally, I have never had any cause to contact customer service at all, but given the MANY reports of people being unable to get any response from them, just ask yourself where your fees are actually going. Tens of thousands of members, each paying at least £100 each per year – and the only obvious outgoing expense that THS has are the server costs. What happens to the rest of our membership fees? I have read no anecdotal evidence of anybody ever having successfully claimed on any of the insurance policies.

I really don’t want to appear to be bashing TrustedHousesitters. I can’t stress enough how keen I am for the site to enjoy continued success. I welcome their expansion providing it is not to the detriment of existing members. I am simply asking some reasonable and straight-forward questions about why the fees need to be so high and I am not being offered any answers. This is a community of kind and caring people and it deserves some transparency.

It’s a little late to say you’re not bashing them. But anyways, do you question your bank on their high fees? They make obscene profits, yet we use their service because it benefits us. The basic answer is, if a person doesn’t like how a service is run, don’t use it. And YES I do recommend THS because it is the best service out there.

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@MonicaS My bank doesn’t charge me any fees. What have I said that makes you feel that I am bashing THS? How is THS better than the other services you have tried if not because there is a larger community?

@anon36831737 Where are you getting your information from? How do you know the 43 employees are full time workers? How do you know they are employed in the UK and not in a country that pays lower wages. How do you know that their salaries are anywhere near £40k a year. Those are VERY big assumptions to make.

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