We’ve just been told that our HOs son might come & stay for a few days whilst we do a three week sit. We’ve said no. Not allowed in the THS rules, sorry but he can’t come. That is right isn’t it?
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You’re absolutely right @Cuttlefish, no third parties allowed. Direct your owners to the T & Cs.
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That’s right, it’s against the regulations. We have been in a similar situation a couple of times, though, and we maybe saw the other person 1-2 a day and shared a kitchen. It can be nice or awkward, depending on the situation etc.
Strictly speaking yes it is against THS terms and conditions so you are well within your rights to say no. However, as every sit is different it is always best to assess each request on a case-by-case basis.
We once did a 5-week sit when the husband came home for 3 days mid-sit as he had to be in London for meetings. He was out all day and came home late each evening so we had no problem with this
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Absolutely right - we will never accept a housesit if there are lodgers/visitors etc. We had our fingers burnt once and won’t do it again.
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They would be there all day every day….it’s a suggested “break” between work. All my tingles say no and stick to our guns.
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I’d listen to your gut. That would be a hard no for me. Sounds very uncomfortable and is definitely against TH policy.
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Hi,
we are doing a long sit next year and we where asked from the HO if it is ok, when their daughter comes for some days. We have no problems with that. We agreed, that we can as well have some days off to explore the countryside. In our case that is a win win situation because the daughter watches the house and dogs while we are having some days off.
I guess, if you discuss that before the sit there will be an arrangement possible. And yes, it is possible that it does not work out. I still can tell the HO to step in and clarify the situation.
Communication is key in all situations.
Cheers
Kerstin and Frank
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Exactly @KerstinAndFrank The sit starts in less than a week and we’ve just taken an international flight to do it so, not good comms from their side 
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Once, I think it was our 3rd sit (another platform) the following happened: Now keep in mind we both work from home, so interruptions can be annoying. The HO’s son would show up on occasion to come and watch the super sports channels that his parents’ subscribe to…and chat chat chat…The first time we were polite and chatted, but when it happened again, we notified the HO of what was happening and she was mortified. She had no idea and put a stop to it very quickly…cheeky son.
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Hi @Cuttlefish I would be firm with the owner about this, but it would also prompt me to ask if anyone else (although I’d really be meaning the son) has keys/access to the residence. I would want to be sure that I was not faced with any uncomfortable situation.
If I had any sense that my answers would not be respected, I would also ask membership services (before the start of the sit) to email the owners to support your position that no third party is allowed during the sit.
I respect that others here have mentioned accommodations they’ve made, and were happy to make, but that’s not the case in your situation. Please make sure you stand firm. I’ll add the link about third party policy, in case you need to refer to it.
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Thanks @Snowbird we will do all of that! I don’t want to share space when I’m sitting even if it wasn’t against the rules. It was also a bit of “you’ll be fine with that won’t you?” which was a little awkward. We have sat for them before so maybe hoping we’d flex. I’m standing firm 
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This is interesting to know. I’m curious about this then: I applied for a sit a while back and the home owner had found someone but asked if I would be interested in looking after her daughter’s cat and flat. Her housemate would be there, but wasn’t interested in looking after the cat so they needed to find someone else. It was not a situation I was comfortable with, so declined. Can I assume that what they were asking would have gone against THS T+Cs?
@anon80172330 Correct, that would be against TrustedHousesitters’ third party policy.
Thank you for confirming!
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I had a situation where the 17 year old son stayed behind since he got called in to work (so he couldn’t accompany the family on their vacation). I permitted it, but then he had his girlfriend stay overnight … I wasn’t sure if I should tell the Mom or not 
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Wow! That’s really cheeky 
Our HOs have now confirmed we have no “guests” coming during our sit and we are back to the plan 
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Not unless the daughter was a member of THS, which I suspect is highly unlikely since she has a roommate.
No, I don’t believe so. Her parents owned the flat and she lives there while at university. I think it would need to have been advertised by her mother, but not even sure that would be allowed, given the presence of a roommate.
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