Absolutely not. It’s always an equal exchange with mutual respect. We’re treated as guests with benefits.
Absolutely agree @Home. I was simply asking @TheEnglishFlaneur a question.
@Home, great question.
I see that you’ve received super advice.
Simple comment that we’ve faced this situation multiple times. For us, a ‘dream repeat sit’ has led to our being open-minded but off-books loses THS limited insurance coverage.
Extending your point, we’ve also faced quite a few instances when Pet Parents not on THS have asked us to housesit. Say friends of THS Pet Parents; adhoc referrals; friends of ours, etc. Our approach is similar. Recently completed a three month housesit in lovely property that was a referral (non-THS) - involved some contract risk (no cancellation insurance, no T&C, no reviews) but we had toured property; there were no pets; and pragmatically determined to proceed. Notable that THS Sit Cancellation Insurance has a modest monetary policy maximum limits coverage to approximately first ten days of a longer duration housesit.
We don’t see the world in black-white. For a ‘dream repeat sit’, or what we’d call “feature housesits” (opportunity has some form of highly attractive attribute) then we will consider flexible tactics towards a win-win-win outcome for Pet Parent, ourselves and any pet(s). Risk vs reward applies in many parts of life.
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Agree with risk vs. reward and calibration for our individual priorities.
That runs the gamut. Sitting is a lifestyle for some folks, for example, so they value it much more and might take greater risks because of that, especially when longer sits are involved.
In my case, sitting is only icing for when I telecommute and I usually do two weeks or less. Simple sits. Otherwise, I pay for vacations or sabbaticals without responsibilities / obligations. If it came down to it, I’d give up sitting pretty easily. I’ve already scaled back this year.
There are sitters who care even less — like you’ll see among profiles that many folks sit only sporadically. Their risk vs. reward circumstances will differ as well.
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We still sit for our very first HO, who hasn’t been a member for about 10 years. We go because we love the house, location and the pets, and we know she’s very reliable and would never let us down, or us her . THS benefits are in my opinion, pretty minimal and I have only ever had the basic membership anyway. Not too bothered about not getting a review, as we’ve already got plenty. We go purely for enjoyment.
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