Yes @Mokina. We could accommodate the change (positive covid test) so we discussed and sorted with them openly but made sure they understood it impacted us too. This is a barter system not an employee/employer arrangement. If you can’t do it then you can’t do it. If you can but there’s a cost implication then it’s totally fair to say “I can help you in this instance but you will need to cover the additional travel costs it will cause me”. If that’s a no then they have to find an alternative solution and it’s not your fault. Your signed dates are exactly that. Best of luck 
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Thank you for getting back to me Cuttlefish.
I am glad to hear that you managed to accommodate the change.
In my case I have been given a very generic reason.
The alternative date would be one month before the scheduled arrival. There would be a month of costs to cover.
Beside I cannot change the travel tickets and I have several arrangements including some medical appointments that I cannot postpone.
One month is a lot.
That’s completely unacceptable (of them) to change the dates of a confirmed sit, @Mokina. Have both they and you confirmed it?
Changing the dates of a confirmed sit by a month is effectively cancelling the original dates and proposing a new sit. The owners must have a “good” reason to cancel as per the T&Cs:
5.1.15. only cancel a Sit (or complete a Sit early) if there are extraordinary circumstances and you will immediately notify the Owner or Sitter (as applicable) of this;
I would point this out to them.
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As @Ketch says that’s effectively a cancellation so the sit is off. We had the same in Spain and lost some flights over it and the money. Ask THS to intervene for you and see what can be resolved….unfortunately they didn’t help us and the HO wasted both our time and money. 
99% of both sitters & HOs are entirely honourable & reliable but there will always be the odd exception.
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Hi @Ketch
For the moment I have just received a message in the Inbox where I am asked if I can do the new dates.
I replied, I can see the message has been read, there’s been no answer yet.
Beside, I was expecting that the PP had planned the travel before entering dates for a sitting.
Thank you for quoting the article.
I am now waiting for a response. I am in touch with Support team as well, but apparently it is up to me clarifying the matter with the PP before asking the Support team to step in for a possible investigation.
Admin Notice: Edited to remove specific details.
I appreciate your real life story, so I can be clear, and concise with HO of my willingness to offer wiggle room, expanding my availability or not. There is so much to learn here. Your story helps a lot.
Thank you, Isitusit!
~ Claire +(Tarkina, Assistance/Sacred Service Dog)
Thank you for sharing your experience, so I can be aware that this happens.
Your clarity is brilliant. Can you not simply say, “No.”? No, I suppose you really, really can’t say “No.” OK, so then the HO can pay for your 1-night accommodation, as that is ONLY right. As I see it.
You sound like you are being very careful to care for their needs, and your own, and they are not being as considerate if they think you can just cancel your plans, your work, your creative service, and be left holding a bag of “shock, problems, inconveniences, expenses and frustration” to sort.
I like hearing the truth of how people behave, before I have to rally my most honest and caring responses to such behavior myself.
Thank you, MissChef.
Healthy boundaries are a thing,
Aloha, Claire
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Hi @Mokina,
What’s the latest? FYI, I always try to exchange contact info with a PP as soon as I can. That’s why I include my email and cell in my profile. And I just gave it again in my first message to an invited sit.
I can understand Support saying you should try to clarify with the PPs first. But every member should reply within 72 hours:
And premium members have sit cancellation insurance:
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Hi Geoff,
Thank you for your message.
As per my understanding, the insurance covers only in the event of a sitting cancelled within 14 days.
Hi @Mokina. Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn’t read all the terms, but thanks to your help I see it says:
“Unexpectedly” means a cancellation that occurs less than 14 days before the agreed sit start date or during the sit, but before the agreed end date.
That definition of “unexpectedly” is … unexpected. But now we know!
Anyway, I hope things work out for you with this sit. If not this one, then the next! It reminds me of the autobiography my uncle wrote: “Rabbit on a Bumpy Road.” He’s still hopping!
I have just begun with Trusted Housesitters, and for my first two sits, the HO did not post that they wanted me the night before, but did mention it in initial conversations. It was a little awkward, but it worked out, and I just assumed that this must be how people did it. (Now I see that this could get a little dicey regarding insurance if I am there before the official start date). Then for my next one, I had planned on staying the night before because of this precedent but learned that the owner wanted me to come meet the pet the night before but that I was to stay somewhere else, so I had to scramble for an Airbnb. I think that the best policy is for the HO to post every single day that that they want to see the petsitter and plan to provide accommodation if that person is out of town and needs to be there early. The sitter should always confirm this in advance and maybe ask for the HO to change the dates if they do not align to their true expectations.
I was sure I had replied to this topic with an update, but apparently I didn’t.
I just wanted to say that everything went fine in the end.
The PP kept the dates as previously arranged and I did the sitting accordingly.
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Hi all,
I have been recently invited for a long sitting (4 weeks) with no definite dates yet as the PP still has to book the travel tickets.
The sitting is going to be during Summer high season. The return date of my travel ticket is a few days before the potential last day of the sitting, however it is a flexible ticket. Before applying for the sitting I checked availability for changing the return date and this was possible.
Now, one week after being officially invited to the sitting, I haven’t heard from the PP yet. Do you think it is reasonable to start asking now if travel tickets have been purchased and if I could have the definite dates for the sitting?
I don’t want to put the PP under pressure. The PP mentioned during our talk that family they want to visit abroad are busy due to work and wants to wait for them before arranging flights. However, I am concerned that:
- If I keep waiting, I might not find availability for travelling back after the end of the sitting;
- I need to book an accommodation for a few nights between the previous and this sitting and I have no dates for that;
- Last but not least, in case this sitting doesn’t go ahead for any reason, I keep being booked and according to new THS rules, I cannot apply for another sitting in the meantime. Bear in mind, this is a long sitting with a potential risk that, if I don’t find alternative sittings on time, I might have to spend a lot of money in paying for an accommodation and this is high season.
Has this scenario ever occurred to anybody? Do you have any advice?
Thank you all.
The HO is misbehaving. They should not invite sitters and tie them up like this when they don’t have their dates.
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@pietkuip I totally agree with you.
However, I must say that the PP is new to THS, this is the very first sitting and is not a very young person. I try to be flexible and compassionate, although I must protect myself as well.
I would apply to other listings, listings that you want. This HO can publish their dates after they have sorted out when they will be travelling.
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It makes sense what you are saying @pietkuip however I am already booked with the sitting.
In order to do so, I should ask the PP to cancel my application.
The positive side is that since accepting the invitation, I keep looking at other postings during the same time and nothing has shown up so far. I haven’t missed anything for the moment. However, a new post can come out at any moment.
In the meantime, I messaged the PP and they came back saying that will talk with family this weekend and will get back to me.
Hopefully, by the end of the weekend this will be sorted. In alternative I’ll have to find a solution.
@Mokina I find this HO behavior to be extremely rude. You were kind to agree to some flexibility in the dates, but for them to leave you waiting this long for final dates is unacceptable. I have two sits this summer that didn’t have final dates when we talked because they wanted to make sure they had a sitter before booking their flights. I agreed to a few days flexibility and both got back to me with their flight info within 48 hours. To me, if an HO is not ready to finalize their travel dates, then they are not ready to book a sitter. It’s inconsiderate for them to block out your time and then expect you to wait this long.
If they said they would get back to you this weekend, I would hold them to that. At that point you will have waited a week and a half. If they don’t get you the final dates then, I would either give them a deadline of no more than 2 days or cancel the sit then. I would be concerned that the sit isn’t going to happen since they can’t seem to connect with their friends to finalize the plans. But even if they get their dates sorted, I see their lack of consideration for you to be a big red flag.
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I appreciate your message @systaran It helps in giving more light on where I am standing at.
I have just understood that the lady could possibly not have access to the website and her niece is helping her out. However, as already said, I can be flexible and patient until a certain extent.
Unfortunately, I am not able to cancel the sit, only the PP can do that. I’ll follow your suggestion in terms of deadline, it makes sense.
I am going to start sending an email to Support, so that if there are any complications hopefully they’ll be able to help straight away.
I guess they can cancel a sitting on behalf of the PP if the PP for any reason wouldn’t do it?