Hi everyone, We wanted to take a moment to address the topic of cancellations which has been discussed a number of times across the forum.
We understand your concerns, when cancellation discussions come to the conversation it can feel like they’re multiplying much faster than “normal” but in the grand scheme of things, namely more sits happening than ever before, they are not on the rise.
Cancellations without good reason should always be reported to Membership Services. Cancellations where the sit has been confirmed through the website with both parties having officially agreed and accepted the arrangement.
Unnecessary cancellation reports are taken seriously. They are investigated by the Membership Services Complaints Team and members who break the Code of Conduct risk being suspended, even losing their membership.
We also know that some cancellations are unavoidable in those situations our support team is on hand to help, just reach out to the Membership Services Team and the forum community will help in anyway they can, we have had success sharing last minute sits, whether a cancellation or for other reasons.
The forum can be a magnet for sharing these stories and while each one is a concern and we are not minimizing that in anyway, in the shadows of these lie thousands of sit successes happening each and every day across the globe, there’s an abundance of positivity happening across our community that doesn’t always get the acknowledgment it deserves.
Edit: On a different note:
@Twitcher@anon47943759 member’s voices are heard via the Forum, Individual team members monitor this community daily and the Forum team have regular meetings across the wider business taking member’s feedback, concerns and successes back for regular discussion.
@Angela_L I have acknowledged in previous posts that I have been fortunate that all my sits have gone ahead and I have had great experiences visiting new areas and meeting lovely pets and homeowners. I have also said that the vast majority of sits go ahead without a hitch. These comments are rarely acknowledged but as soon as there is a whiff of dissatisfaction or negativity I get a response. I was simply expressing how I feel at the moment and why I am not taking on as many sits as I used to.
Great news for new sitters as more opportunities for them to get started.
Agree @Twitcher you have always said that, thank you. The post was a general comment to address concerns about cancellations.
I included the tagged comment to acknowledge your concerns and to let you know we do take members feedback directly to the team, perhaps I should have made it a separate post,
No problem, the thread was going off topic anyway. Perhaps someone could move my comments to ‘where have all the experienced sitters gone’. It may make more sense there
Yes. My last two sitters have cancelled. Last time we couldn’t find a replacement in time.
I know it was mentioned to contact Member Services to let them know, but there should really be an option to mark on a cancelled sit, that it was cancelled by the sitter. That way people can see if the sitter has a track record of cancelling before accepting their application.
It’s very frustrating.
Ugh! I’m so sorry that happened to you. It is so frustrating. I’ve been using this site for 4 years and it seems like post-pandemic, with everyone going remote, too many people are using this site more as a way to get free housing in a cool location rather than for its original intent. And when they find some place “better” they have no qualms about cancelling. I have started to focus on trying to find sitters who have a long(er) track record with the site. The newbies seem to be the ones cancelling all the time. The sitters who have been on here for a while are much more reliable.
Here’s hoping member services can do something about the problem.
Thanks for sharing.
A HO just invited me for three months out of the blue, for what many folks would consider a dream sit. Regardless, I declined, so I can keep my commitments to two other sits this year that would conflict timing wise.
I mention this, FWIW, because some of us honor our commitments even if better sits come along. And I just joined in February.
Missing the dream sit also is a bummer, because I don’t plan to pursue much more for 2023, because I want to do some non-sitting travel, plus spend the holidays at home.
It is really disheartening. The site is really a fantastic idea and resource for pet owners to find sitters, but I really think there needs to be a better way to identify the unreliable ones.
As new THS sitters in 2023 and proud of our reliability record we agree with you @colleeninNYC and @ZiggyCat that there should be a way of identifying sitters who have cancelled without a good reason so that homeowners can take this into consideration when making their choice . This has been discussed and suggested on a previous thread also .
There seems to be a disinclination by THS to make public the number of sits a sitter has cancelled . An alternative would be that a sitter who does not cancel earns a badge of reliability so that a homeowner could use this to identify which sitters they would prefer to use .
This should apply to homeowners too as there are many homeowners who cancel and curtail trips without there being an emergency . This causes a lot of inconvenience for their sitters . As discussed here :Home Owner curtails sit by coming back several days early
And the number may not be very interesting. There is a difference between cancelling with apologies half a year in advance and cancelling in response to a message by the HO a few days before the sit.
Sometimes one reason to cancel may affect many confirmed sits.
It would also be difficult for THS to check the reason that was given.
Sorry to hear that. I’m a sitter and would never cancel unless there’s a very important reason. So far I’ve had to do it once because I was moving house. I did give two months notice.
@colleeninNYC I would also appreciate a way to find responsible HOs who commit to the confirmed sits. This is our first year petsitting and out of 16 confirmed sits, 2 have cancelled and 2 changed the dates. To me this site isn’t just for HO’s to find petsitters. The reliability should be on both sides. I was able to find a suitable replacement for 1 of the sits that a HO cancelled but the other is costing me over $1,000 for my family of 5 because I was never able to replace the entire original dates. One of the other changed dates which only changed by 1 day on the front and 1 days on the back end will cost me about $500. Both HOs and Petsitters should take the confirmed sits seriously.
@IHeartAnimals
I’m closing in on 2 years of sitting. I’ve had two where the date was changed by one day and I was able to work around it. But I am going to be more careful and ask before accepting the sit if the dates are accurate or possible to change. One offered a car but then they needed it after all but I was able to use public transportation. One HO sold their house.! So I am going to tighten up on the questions I ask and confirm date and the things we agreed on. I want to be flexible when I can but not if it changes what I planned to spend.
I’ve found date changes to be extremely common. Of 18 sits in the past year, 7 had date changes and one cancelled. Of the 7 date changes, 4 led to me having to pay for hotels. It did not seem to even occur to any of those four HOs that their deciding to leave a day or two later or come back a day or two earlier resulted in direct expenses for me.
I know a lot of people are saying sitter cancellations are frequent and it shouldn’t be marketed as free accommodations, but the same goes for homeowners. THS also shouldn’t be marketed as free pet care. This should be an equal exchange with both sides being respectful of the other.
@systaran out of our six THS sits so far this year - one date change (only by a day)and two curtailed sits (each cut short by several days).
On the flip side, two different homeowners have adjusted the dates of the sit to fit in with us .
One sit generously invited us to arrive two days early as they knew we had a gap between sits ( and their pet wasn’t even there ) . We certainly didn’t expect that but really appreciated it .
A repeat sit coming up soon , the homeowner adjusted the dates of the sit by a day at each end to fit in with our availability. This sit definitely feels like a mutual exchange .
Yes, I believe sitters cancelling is definitely on the rise. I have been contacted quite a few times this year from desperate owners who have had sitters cancel on them One had sitters lined up twice and both sets cancelled on them. Helped one couple out with only a few days notice. A sit I may not have done, as not too far away, but luckily for them they picked a weekend that I would have been home.
This is very unfortunate. Things have definitely changed since COVID as far as THS is involved. I think it would be fabulous to see life as free stays with no obligation. But this isn’t real life. And if a sitter cancels (without a verifiable emergency) there should be severe penalties from THS.
But as an owner I also feel this should go both ways. We all expect responsibility and honoring your word. IMO this should be a given.
How does one monitor why a sitter cancels? Short on a visit to a person’s home (ridiculous yes) or asking for proof of cancellation (ridiculous yes) there is no way possible for this to be monitored, that’s life, and human beings, unfortunately!
I have never cancelled and always stand by my commitment even if that “dream sit” comes a knocking.
