I have searched the forum and haven’t been able to find a comprehensive answer to my question so posting here.
We are HO’s and have upgraded to Premium Membership. What would happen if a sitter cancelled outside of the 2 week sit cancellation policy (for example if they cancelled at 4 weeks notice) but then nobody further applied for the dates readvertised and we were left in the lurch? Just wanting to be informed in case that scenario does ever crop up (fingers crossed it doesn’t!)
The chances of that happening are so slim that I would not lose any sleep thinking about it.
However, in the highly unlikely event that it should it happen, the same would apply that would happen if you had to cancel your sitter outside the 2-week period - the bottom line is that it would be your (or the sitters if you cancelled on them ) problem to sort out.
THS would do their best to help by boosting your listing and promoting it on its other social media platforms but they cannot be expected to guarantee a solution for every possible eventuality
It is always a good idea to have a Plan B at the back of your mind in case of extreme emergency situations.
Hello @iamplankton - if a sitter (or owner) cancels outside of the two weeks then you re-advertise and/or look for another sit. THS will help you boost it on socials as @Colin says but it is unlikely especially if you choose a sitter you have a good connection with and your gut says yes. We’ve never cancelled in two years of full time sitting (but have been cancelled on by owners before we had the insurance) and long may that continue. 99% of sitters pride themselves on their commitment.
Hi @iamplankton
Should this unfortunate situation happen, with the premium membership, you will still need to make alternative arrangements. If the cancellation is within the 14 days, and you cannot find a last minute sitter, and have to either get in a paid sitter or kennel the pets, the cost of this can be submitted to membership services, under the insurance policy.
As @Colin and @Cuttlefish mention, If you have any cancellation, I would always suggest that you contact membership services immediately. They can help boost your listing and hopefully you will find another sitter. We also have a last minute sit section here on the forum (7 days before) and we will also help boost your listing on social media.
There are many sitters that do look at last minute sits, so hopefully you will find a replacement sitter quickly. It is however, always important to have a Plan B, regardless though.
Thanks all. I was just wondering more from a ‘we have sitters at the moment confirmed but if they dropped out with a few weeks to go, where we would stand if we then couldn’t find anyone else’ scenario
@iamplankton
Yes, in this scenario all the comments above apply - if you really couldn’t find anyone else then, hard as it sounds, the very last resort would be that you would have to stay at home or take your pets with you.
Thanks, that wouldn’t be possible where flights etc are booked and paid for but we do at least have petsitters in the area who charge if push came to shove. We can’t use kennels due to the amount of animals we have and the nature of the one dog who is very timid but luckily we never have to
And unfortunately this has now happened! We have had our sitter cancel outside of the 2 week period and desperately searching for a new sitter. I’ve contacted well over 100 people with invites and messages without success so far. We have given ourselves a deadline of 8th September to secure a new sitter as that will still give us time to amend our flights (at cost) but would be cheaper to postpone the holiday than pay externally for a sitter as we have so many animals.
If anyone sees this and has any tips and suggestions, I’d be really grateful? Thank you
Hello @iamplankton - well that’s a pain in the proverbial for you, sorry to what they’ve cancelled! I understand that if you remove, adjust and repost the sit it will go back up to the top of the listing. Not an expert but I think @Silversitters & maybe @richten1 might be able to give you tips from memory. It’s worth posting your sit on your local FB community group at the same time and seeing if there’s a South Wales pet sitting group you could join/post on. As an aside, if it’s not for extraordinary reasons, please report the sitter to support to prevent it happening to another HO. My grandpa was born in Pontypridd and played for the bowls club there so sending lots of family luck for finding someone fast & fab 
@iamplankton , so sorry to hear about the cancellation! Your descriptions are very good and you have nice reviews from past sitters.
I would recommend that you remove all clutter/objects from horizontal surfaces and have all blankets on furniture folded neatly, then retake your pictures. You have a lot of pets so that in itself will limit the applicant pool. Presenting a neat home will make it more appealing. Fingers crossed that you find someone good.
Thank you - this is something actually that I have been meaning to do so I will get on to that tomorrow!
Thank you - have already made member services aware as it was a really iffy reason and we may not have been the first people that the sitter had done this to and we may not be the last.
Will have a look at your other suggestions!