Hi guys,
I’m getting a bit anxious now.
Our sit with the prospective pet owner has been confirmed on both sides for over eight weeks but they are not responding to any of my messages. The sit is due on Friday and I don’t have a welcome guide, address, anything.
Since I’m travelling with young children I’m really nervous on how to proceed from here. Anyone been in this situation and can offer any advice?
Many thanks
Get in touch with membership services and have them contact the host for you. support@trustedhousesitters.com
Thanks a lot. Will do
Be sure to have different ways of communicating with the other party for any sit.
WhatsApp, telephone, e-mail etc.
Useful in many circumstances, also if no mobile connection, sim card doesn’t work in some countries (or the host has bought an e-sim in another country and has switched off normal phone plan due to costs) etc.
Hope it works out, must be super stressful.
It truly is, especially since we’re already in the country and our return flights are booked for the end of the month.
I’m afraid if I cancel the sit I’m not eligible for any compensation but the closer we get the less likely to find another sit. In particular because lots of people are looking for singles or couples rather than families.
I wasn’t too worried at the beginning because I know they are busy people but it’s getting more nerve wrecking day by day
They’ve messaged them, asking to reply.
Fingers crossed it’ll work out in the end
No need to panic just yet if you are using the THS app to message. These things normally turn out to be them not seeing the messages. They’ve used the app, got the sit organised and then don’t touch the app again so don’t see any new messages.
Yes it should send a notification to their email but this often gets lost in spam or just buried, especially if you sent it across time zones late in the middle of their night.
It should also show a notification on their phone but not everyone uses the app on their phone, the notifications are often disabled or just disable themselves.
Most people switch to WhatsApp or similar so you can see delivery and read status. Telephone calls are an ancient curiosity these days too but surprisingly effective.
We sit as a family too. Next time during the application process, ask if they are able to send the welcome guide way ahead of the sit start date so that you can review early and have a chance to ask questions. Also, when I book international sits, I say something like, “in the US if a host cancels a sit I have a few backup plans like staying with family or using my RV. If I accept your pet sit, I will have no backup plans. Do you foresee yourself canceling this trip or changing the dates?” I purposely say this so that they think twice before thinking it’s okay to cancel. And don’t worry, I know that even if I say this, they can cancel and I’m always prepared to have alternatives.
If you don’t have premium join now. Even if you don’t need to submit a claim for compensation on a canceled said the nurse that line is worth it. I would be upfront put your expectations and right into the house along the lines of how it’s five days out in my expectations are that you’ll fill this in within 24 hours and provide multiple means of ways that I can reach you. You’re not a mind reader you don’t know what’s going on and early miscommunication will reflect in their reviews so they should be on it
I had this happen once before too—yes you can contact TH and they will try contacting the HO, though it’s up to you if it’s already too late to wait for that process. Five days is a lot, to at least not get a “I’m very busy but yes everything is set and I’ll call you tomorrow!” sort of response.
If you have availability to wait a few more days, try the TH contact route and also send direct contact to the HO one more time, making it clear you need to hear back something before EoD.
TH will try to nudge you to wait and wait, but it’s actually up to you how much more time you can offer.
When this happened to me in London, I also cancelled the sit after not hearing back in 3-4 days. I didn’t want to get stranded in one of the most expensive cities in the world. And you shouldn’t either 
Thank you all for your help and kind suggestions.
My messages have indeed ended up in the Spam Folder and with the help of TH support I was able to get ahold of the HO and everything is still on according to plan.
I’ve been house and pet sitting for over five years now but this was a first. I will definitely help me how to proceed in the future.
Thanks again
Thanks for popping back to share an update with us @Travellingfamily 
I’m glad everything’s turned out ok!