Both the sitter and I had previously confirmed the sit and then a week or so later, before we had a chance to talk on the phone (though a call was scheduled) the sitter messaged me saying they had to cancel.
@jenniferML7 My suspicion in your case is that Sitters confirmed with You, and then another Sit became available which was deemed âbetter.â By âbetter,â it could be longer, easier, location, communication, nicer home, car included, hot tub, pool. You get the idea! So the Sitter would apply for it, speak with the Owner, accept the Sit, and then ask you to cancel.
Sitters and Owners should never cancel a Sit unless there is some dire issue. It goes both ways. I am only a Sitter, and Owners have cancelled on me, too. It does not feel good.
2 Likes
As HO, I was just trying to provide helpful tips for future applicant confirmations, because it doesnât sound like itâs going too well.
Iâve only had 2 cancellation after confirming them since Iâve signed up to THS (out of 6 sitters) in the past couple of years. First time they cancelled because I was new and confirmed her without a meet & greet video call, and she wasnât thrilled with my welcome guide. The second time it happened, she had a death in her family (totally understandable).
Three cancellations back to back just seems strange to me.
1 Like
thanks, but as I said in another comment, Iâve had 5 successful sits in the past (3 of whom gave 5 star reviews, 2 did not do reviews but one of those Iâm still friends with so Iâm guessing she was OK with her stay). So, Iâm not going to attribute these 3 cancelations to my process.
Thank you! That is exactly what my suspicion is! And I agree that it definitely goes both ways. I would never cancel on a sitter unless it was one of those âextraordinaryâ situations.
You confirmed sitters before talking to them? Actually that would be a red flag for me. If all you did was chat online, before a video conference?
Did you confirm them, and they did not accept the confirmation? Or did you both confirm and do all the steps to confirm it ? This seems very strange and Iâm having a hard time understanding.
It is a nerve wrecking position to be in. Sorry youâve had to deal with this. Hope you find someone reliable, who sticks to their word!
I also echo what others have suggested about notifying member services about your confirmed cancellations without a good reason.
Yes, I confirmed them and they accepted the sit (or âagreedâ to it, in THS parlance). Itâs good to know that other people think that itâs a red flag that I confirmed them before a phone/video call but they did accept it without the call so obviously they were OK with it. None of them indicated that they would prefer to have a call before accepting the sit. As Iâve said in other comments, this is what Iâve done with all 5 sitters Iâve had in the past and all 5 worked out great.
@jenniferML7 , I know you havenât done it this way in the past, but I still suggest that you arrange a video call or at least a phone call right away with any sitter whose application looks like a good fit before sending them a confirmation. I, personally, will not accept a sit unless I have spoken with a HO first and I wouldnât dream of canceling a sit unless it were the most dire of circumstances. There may be things you learn about them in a call that will dissuade you from choosing them and sitters may have questions they need answered before they want to commit. At the very least it will help you establish a rapport with them and people who feel a connection are less likely to disappoint.
6 Likes
Worth considering that supply and demand have evolved on THS over the past several years. That means what mightâve worked for you or others might not work as well now.
Experienced sitters who stick by their commitments have given you feedback here thatâs been pretty consistent. Your choice of course what path you take.
Three cancellations for one sit is rare, even among todayâs HOs. And given that you have limited time to find another sitter, it wonât help with your immediate needs if THS eventually does something about sitters and HOs who cancel a lot. Youâd be better served by figuring out how to find a good sitter ASAP, it sounds like.
3 Likes
Thatâs happened to us three times @jenniferML7 - the HO cancelling after confirming four international flights for back to back sits in two different countries. This should also go against their owner profile 
We also never take sits without a video call pre confirmation.
@MissChef oddly enough half of my 16 sits were confirmed with just my application. The first time it happened I thought it was weird that the PP didnât even need to talk to me first. But then it kept happening and then I realized before I accepted I wanted to chat with them. That even happened 3 times before I had reviews. Thankfully they have all worked out so far and have been good sits but going forward, I will put in my application that I want to chat first
@Maggie8K and Mars: OK, got it. Iâm doing it wrong (in your opinion). Does that excuse someone from accepting a sit and then cancelling it? If the lack of a call was any part of their motivation for canceling, how about they communicate to me that they would prefer a call before they accept the sit? They should not have accepted the sit if they had any reservations about a lack of a phone call!
1 Like
I agree that they shouldnât have accepted the sits and canceled without good reason. To me, thatâs selfish, jerkish behavior. But how does my thinking that help you, knowing that there are such people in the world? If you want sympathies for that, yes, you have mine. But I think everyone here is trying to help you more constructively, because you actually need a sitter whoâll stick. And you need one in pretty short order.
Meanwhile, many of us have advocated for THS to do more about weeding out bad sitters and HOs.
4 Likes
As someone who detests the video chat @jenniferML7, I really like your process! That said, I acknowledge the benefits, perhaps even the essential need for in-person communication prior to both parties confirming.
The world of IM, social media and remote communication is causing so many problems that didnât exist before we all just talked to each other 
Regards from Saltrams aka 
Thanks for that feedback. Itâs good to know Iâm not the only one who does it that way. And good for you for your willingness to communicate your needs as no one on THS is a mind reader. I appreciate when people just state their needs.
Hereâs the thing, I wasnât looking for sympathy or a critique of my process. I was commenting about the fact that both sitters and HOs can cancel with seemingly no repercussions. THS needs to figure out a way to track this and make it available to both sitters and HOs. It cannot be that hard. They just need to be willing to do it. This last experience of mine has left me leery of using THS in the future, regardless of when I have a phone call with sitters. If you think having a phone call and establishing rapport with a complete stranger is going to prevent someone from canceling on you if something better comes along, There are good and bad people in the world and the bad ones will cancel on you if there are no repercussions.
Edited to meet posting guidelines
1 Like
@jenniferML7 donât give up on THS, Iâve sat for homeowners who have used this system for many years and they stated theyâve only had great experiences. Maybe your bad luck is over and only good sitters will come your way. I confirmed 18 sits this year and 2 homeowners cancelled on me early on and I got really discouraged and wondered about the lack of reliability of homeowners. But now that Iâm on my 14th sit, there are homeowners who stick to the confirmed sits and I know there are sitters who would never cancel just for something better
1 Like
Are these sitters coming from other locations (not local)? If so, asking for confirmation of flight details might be one way to further a sense of confidence that they are committed.
Most airlines have an option when you pay for a flight to send an email to select recipients. This would come direct from the airline.
2 Likes
Maybe THS could have âcancelled sitsâ as a part of profile information for everyone on the site and include the reason for the cancellation. It would be a motivation to not cancel for both those sitting and for those booking sitters.
1 Like