My repeats have offered to reimburse me. I just don’t feel good about that since my repeats have been amazing to me! I don’t renew until October and I’m not renewing so it’s a moot point for me.
A Premium sitter will not have to pay to accept the sit. If I was a HO I would take that into consideration.
I am low-income, so the free accommodations through THS for the work of caring for pets and houses give me much-needed getaways. I only do road trips, with the farthest sit so far in several years of being a sitter on THS being a 6-hour drive. I don’t fly anywhere due to cost and health issues. My biggest expenses are tolls and gas. Due to dietary restrictions, I rarely eat out or do takeout ever - including on THS sits - so I bring my usual staples in the car - tuna, cheese and crackers, bread, cereal and tea for breakfast, pasta and jars of sauce, milk, and produce.
As upset as I’ve been along with so many others about the added booking fees, the extra $12/sit won’t make or break a trip for me even though yes, it will make it feel slightly more like a paying vacation. It’s the principle that bothers me. If HOs offer to pay my booking fee, I plan to show my appreciation but decline, as I only use THS a few times a year. However, it means the world to me to stay in a REAL home, which I can choose according to location, pets, and -equally important to me - aesthetics. One reason I dislike most hotels and many Airbnbs is their cookie-cutter, depressing decor. When I see homes on THS with all neutral, drab walls and furniture, I scroll on by. A big plus to me is vibrantly painted or wallpapered walls and unique, colorful artwork. Also, I dislike the fad of open living/dining/kitchen, so I look for homes that have at least partially separate rooms for the main areas. For these reasons, along with the wonderful hosts and pets I’ve met, I plan to stay and just suck up the new booking fees.
@Treeandcathugger I love your reasoning behind picking sits partially based on decor. I do that too. We sat in a fabulous Georgian house that had some truly wonderful features. A great stone home in Wales, unusual to us. Such fun to try out someone else’s life for a little while. I always look for interesting Airbnb’s too, and we have stayed in some fabulous ones through them as well.
It’s why THS has worked for so many people who found a match with a HO. The community is pretty diverse, yes there are a few clusters of similar types of sitters but mostly I believe the biggest demographic consists of unique individuals each with their own preferences.
We’re not looking for free accommodation. We’re pet lovers who are looking for mutually respectful Sitter/HomeOwner situation.
Same here. Great points
You sound like a person of integrity.
If you love within a six hour drive of SoCal, we should chat. I do have vibrantly painted walls. I used to struggle too once too when I was young and hated my very budget apartment box with white walls. When I was finally able to afford more, I swore no more white walls, ever 
I could pay for an airbnb and did before I knew about THS and still had our dog. But it works for me to save thousands, spend winter out of the frigid north, be near my kid. And I like the extra exercise by walking the dogs regularly. But I don’t do it because I love dogs, but to save the thousands. I am a widow, been retired for 20 years, still paying for grad school, soon law school, totaling 7 figures. It works for me to save thousands every year. So for me it is financial, despite having money to pay for it.
Ach, we’d be a GREAT match! Unfortunately I live 3,000 miles away from you, in Connecticut. It’s fun to “meet” people with similar aesthetics through THS. And I’m happy for you that you got past the “boring white walls of apartment” life! I’m presently having to consider going back to a boring apt. or condo situation as I age and have more issues with everyday life. But for as long as I can, I’ll cherish my charming but drafty house built in 1900 whose rooms I’ve painted an assortment of beautiful colors.
This makes sense to me, and I also think that chances are a homeowner who offers to pay the fee, will be generous in other ways, such as leaving a gift cert, some food, maybe even a small cash gift instead of a certificate, etc. It would definitely turn me off if a sitter asked me to pay their fee directly, but allowing others, both sitters and homeowners, to step up and show kindness is IMO a feature of the exchange that I hope won’t be destroyed by the corporate side of things.
I’m sure you’ll find a way to get some color wherever you are!
Agree. I also respect that everyone has diverse beliefs on the matter. I just personally don’t have any need to offer my already free 24/7 presence and services for free accommodation. In my situation, I get paid regularly off THS and also stay in gorgeous properties and I am treated very well. I reinvest these savings in arts projects that support many.
So my personal business model isn’t the “desperate sitter needing free accommodation” narrative that many owners use to justify being entitled to free pet care.
You’re not entitled to it according to most laws around the world, but it’s wonderful that many strangers are willing to do a service swap when it suits their own needs.
This doesn’t mean that they are without a home or several homes or that they are in any way below you on any societal or financial scale.
So, we find who matches our personal values and accept that they are different.
I just personally won’t sit for anyone who believes I should pay to pet sit for them. It’s simply not aligned with my personal reality, self-respect or values.
For me, it’s a gift both ways and both parties should act in a way that comes from gratitude and not entitlement.
This platform doesn’t offer free labour or free workers. It’s an exchange between equals. When it falls outside that assumption, it’s not in the original spirit of the platform. Just my personal opinion.
We have recently had a request to sit for a host who we have sat for on many occasions through THS . We agreed to sit with the caviate that that our THS membership is expiring and we’re not renewing it so would they be happy to do this as a private arrangement ?
They replied they were happy with that but also unprompted said that they would also be willing to reimburse us the booking fee if we chose to renew our membership .
Likewise, I’ve had hosts offer, unsolicited by me, to pay my booking fees. But for my part, I won’t be booking any more sits via THS.
My membership doesn’t expire for a long time, between paid membership and referral bonuses, but I won’t continue beyond my last THS sit, this month. That’s because THS keeps worsening the sitter experience with its various changes.
@Lovepets You wrote “I just personally won’t sit for anyone who believes I should pay to pet sit for them.”
This sounds as though you are blaming homeowners for the introduction of these fees.
These ridiculous booking fees are being imposed by Trusted Housesitters, not the homeowners. So it’s THS who thinks us sitters should pay more to sit.
We are HOs as well as sitters.
Homeowners must pay the fee, too! So THS thinks us homeowners should pay more for having a sitter.
Whether we pay the fee as a sitter or as a HO, we are in the same boat. THS is squeezing us both.
Oh absolutely. I don’t blame the homeowners at all. I just won’t participate in the game, especially as there are so many other free platforms now and all are equally effective.
In fact, the best sits I have had in the past year were not from trusted. I do respect other sitters will stay and see the value because perhaps they are needing accommodation and see all the beautiful properties and hoping to create a lifestyle.
For me, I feel by getting a sitter to pay, it changes the exchange into a space of transaction for services and implies that the owner paid a sitter correctly. This implication changes the market value of pet-sitting as a vocation globally, whether intentional or not.
Considering my actual pet sitting rates and the quality of the services I provide, it undermines my dignity to cooperate with that system of thought that devalues my labor.
Or more practically, due to my track record, I can easily find a better offer that doesn’t require that of me. So, naturally, I will choose better terms that value my professional services and time. And my understanding is that many of the most relied upon and long standing trustworthy sitters feel the same, which means the pool of sitters to select from may not be what it was before.
The other pet sorting platforms are not equally effective and none come even remotely close to the membership numbers of THS.
I’ve been sitting for five years now around the world. Only five star reviews. My experience is that most of the best sits I’ve had did not come from the THS platform. That is just my experience. I won’t list the ones I use as most know them well. If you have had a different experience then that’s fine. I accept we are all have had different experiences. Please don’t bait an argument. I’ve seen you do that with other users. Happy to just agree to disagree with you and end the conversation here - respectfully. Enjoy your day.
That may very well be true that in your case you got better quality sits, however for the vast of hosts and sitters, THS will provide the most effective results given that their huge membership base dwarfs their closest competitor.