Absolutely yes to this. I wish they would do exactly the same for HOs too @Val - apparently Nomador do it so it can’t be that hard 
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I see that this might initially seem unfair or unbalanced but imagine the consequences of sitters being able to cancel.
You’re right @Saltrams - it would be potential carnage!
Absolutely @Cuttlefish!
Just a click box option for Sitter Request should do the trick. Maybe a “mutual agreement” option such as for all the sits we had cancelled because of 
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THS should not allow a sitter to cancel a sit and then apply for and/or schedule another sit that overlaps on any of the days that were canceled.
Make it not possible to do this.
If the sitter canceled because of a problem with the HO they can report it to support and be cleared to apply for a sit on the same dates that were canceled.
When someone does need to cancel, on either side, it should be like the application requesting to sit . You apply to cancel and it shows who requested.
Sometimes stopping bad practices means not allowing it in the first place.
THS doesn’t seems to want to troubleshoot some things like this and instead leaves it to members to work out these frustrating issues.
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@Val I agree with you on this - I don’t think it’s a difficult thing to change .
My understanding is that THS do not want to change the current system .
@jenniferML7 Overlapping Sits should be allowed, and here is a good example. My husband and I, who are both very responsible, accept a 3 week Sit. Then, we also apply for a 4 week Sit in the same town. 2 nights overlap. We accept the second Sit.
Both Owners are aware of the situation and are ok with it. For 2 nights, my husband and I are in separate homes. No big deal. I usually spend most of my free time cleaning on the last day or two anyway. As long as we can do the job solo in each home, it is really a win, win.
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Thank you! That is really helpful! This confirms that all three of my cancellations were because the sitters opted to do a different sit. I am trying to get them reported to member services because that is simply unacceptable. That is not in the spirit of THS, in my opinion.
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Totally agree!! Everyone on both sides should be able to see how often sitters and owners cancel. It puts people in a real predicament. I’ve had sitters apply that would have been flying across the country to sit for me. Can you imagine if an owner canceled on a sitter that already had a flight booked??
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No, there wasn’t. For all 3, they canceled before we had a chance to talk on the phone or share a welcome guide. We had messaged back and forth a bunch before I confirmed them and for two of them, we had set up a time to talk but they canceled before we had a chance to do so.
If nothing else THS should be tracking sitters that cancel and then book a different sit! This should be reported to owners. I totally get that people have things going on in their lives that could cause them to cancel. However, if they cancel and then accept a different sit, that is inexcusable!!
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With all respect, but I think I am beginning to understand why this is happening to you. My guess is that sitters are finding the process too complicated or too slow.
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Three cancellations is definitely not the norm and it is certainly unacceptable for a sitter to cancel without a valid reason. Were these confirmed sits? It seem unusual that you would confirm and they would accept prior to the call. I typically don’t accept a sit until after a call. If they just withdrew their application, that’s not a cancellation.
–Edit
Just saw the part about you having to cancel. Yes, sits can only be cancelled in the system by hosts. So, if these were all confirmed sits you would have had to cancel all three.
I suggest not confirming until after a call and also getting the call scheduled within a couple days. I recently withdrew an application because it was just taking too long to get a call scheduled and I decided to move on despite it looking like a great sit.
It might not be accurate to use the sitter’s calendar to determine that they have taken an alternate sit. THS systems are not known to be especially robust and sophisticated. When a sit is cancelled it may not update that calendar data and you’re left looking at the blocked dates from a sit that was cancelled. Maybe someone knows for sure?
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Too complicated? What on earth is complicated about what I said? In both cases, we had a time set up to talk (after confirmation) but the sitter canceled before the call happened. For those who think you should set up a call before confirming a sit, that’s a difference of opinion. Honestly, talking to the person on the phone is less important in my decision to confirm them than the reviews they have. People know what to say and how to act during a call or even in messaging, same as in job interviews. So for me, if they have multiple good reviews, then I confirm them. And some people aren’t great communicators so if they have good reviews I don’t care that much how they communicate with me in a call.
Additionally, I have had 5 successful sits through THS in the past and none of them found my process “complicated” or slow.
@jenniferML7 As an experienced sitter I would strongly suggest you have a video call (or at least a phonecall) first- to see if it is a good energetic fit BEFORE confirming. We have very occasionally confirmed a sit before (or without) a call but only if it is a short notice convenient gap fill. Usually on a very short sit its been fine.
We have, on a couple of occasions, cancelled an application after a call when realising it was not an energetic match or something just felt ‘off’. Its rare that we get to that stage & cancel but it does happen… Once or twice we’ve confirmed a sit before a call/direct meeting at handover and regretted it and the experience was not as good as it could have been, and even once it totally backfired on us.
Our policy now is to ALWAYS have a call or video call before confirming- even if just to hear the others voice and make it feel more real. And often there are questions that need to be answered before confirming e.g exact arrival/leaving times or bed size, or how long the dog can be left etc…
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I agree with @Lokstar, @jenniferML7 - I think it’s important to have good rapport with your sitters and there’s no way to know that without jumping on a call with them first. As a HO this is important to me, because good communication is important. If that’s lacking, it’s difficult to know if we will both feel happy about our agreed arrangement and also text/email can sometimes be easily misconstrued.
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This is getting slightly confusing. Are you saying that they did not confirm after you confirmed which you class as them cancelling
or are you saying both you and the sitter had previously confirmed the sit, then the sitter cancelled their confirmation at a later date?
That certainly makes sense. But how about a sitter who accepts one sit, then another, and then decides to cancel one. Or, heck, maybe they cancel both and accept a different sit altogether. A sitter wouldn’t be motivated to cancel the first sit right away, thereby allowing the owner to find someone else, if they are still making up their mind about which one to do and there’s no repercussions for canceling. IDK, it just feels weird to me to allow them to have two booked for the same dates.
You are entitled to do things the way that works for you as am I. That’s not even the point of the post. The point of the post is that 3 sitters confirmed the sit and then canceled, leaving me with just weeks to find a replacement.