But we don’t see the welcome guide until after accepting the sit.
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@Wildcolonialgirl - my thought process is to read the listing thoroughly, apply and if the homeowner would like to take things to the next stage I prepare a list of questions.
If we are both happy and decide to go ahead we confirm. I request the WG. Once received I read it through and if I have any further questions I raise them through the THS messaging system so I have a record of the responses.
We are 3/4 through our first year of sitting, and despite receiving all 5* reviews, we only actually enjoyed half the sits for varying reasons.
So we are contemplating not renewing and this condition gives us more reason not to.
As far as i can gather, good experienced sitters are always in demand, presumably as not enough of them. Is it any wonder?
I have friends who are interested in joining as sitters but I can no longer recommend THS sadly.
While I don’t like the T&C language about the vet or the damages, it doesn’t really concern me. Admittedly, I’m not a risk adverse person, at all. But, just as THS’s T&C aren’t reinforceable - beyond kicking one out as a member, I’m certain that If a tree fell on a house I was sitting at and I refused to spend one penny for repairs, there would be no way that the home owners could force me to. Same for vet bills.
I’ve read the entire vet thread and thought a lot about this. As a home owner, I DID have a tree fall on my house last year. Never in a million I years would I have thought the sitter to be financially responsible. What I expected, and he delivered brilliantly, was to be my person on-site. He kept me informed, he dealt with the various people that had to come deal with it. I arranged everything and funded everything. Most home damage is likely to be covered by insurance. It’s ludicrous to expect a sitter to fund it. Which is why, the language in the T&C doesn’t concern me.
As for emergencies for my pets, I ask my sitters to call/contact me BEFORE taking them to the vet. I personally wouldn’t want to leave a blank check for any treatment that one would deem necessary. Although not there, I would want to be consulted for any decision on any tests or treatments to be done. Some would spend huge amounts of money diagnosing and treating their pets. I am not in that group. But, I would NEVER think that the sitter should spend any money at all for that.
Perhaps I’m naive to think that all (certainly most) home/pet owners would have the same perspective as me. But, I think that I do a good job of selection of both home owners and sitters to help ensure that we would be on the same page in this regard.
And, bottom line, no one can force me to spend money for their pets or to repair their home. My only risk is being kicked off of THS should I refuse to do and that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
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@Cleeflang Bravo! You have said what we’ve been thinking all along.
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Exactly my thoughts 
We already have spent lots of money for diagnoses and treatments for the cats and we definitely want to be notified if the sitters take them to the vet. Most of their health issues are known to us and can be treated without all the fancy and horrendously expensive diagnostics.
We do have a debit card for expenses concerning the pets to use by the sitters in case we’re not available. Everything else we talk about beforehand. Most of it during the video chat.
I’m feeling the exact same way as you. My membership is up for renewal in January and I’m seriously considering not renewing this time around. Like you, I’ve managed to keep consistent with 5 star ratings but for quite a few of my sits, I haven’t necessarily really enjoyed that much for various reasons.
I’m actually on one of my absolute favourite sits at the moment which is a regular of mine but not through this website. The loveliest dog, home, area, neighbours, owners etc. It literally ticks ALL of the boxes so I feel unbelievably fortunate.
However, not that long ago, I did a sit on THS where the heavy glass barrier on the side of the bath came loose and starting to topple onto me while I was in the shower. I only just managed to stop it before it fell on top of me. It was very heavy, thick glass. Had that fallen onto me and smashed, it doesn’t even bear thinking about what could’ve happened.
The response from the owner who was out of the country when I contacted her was “ It must’ve come loose while I was cleaning it before I left. Can’t you just lift it up and screw it back in.” We’re talking very thick heavy glass here! When I looked closely, that glass barrier was not securely in place on the bath and was literally an accident waiting to happen.
I was terrified to use the shower after that experience so I joined a local gym and used their facilities for the rest of that sit which was far from ideal. In this case, the response I got from the website led me to feel they were really out of their depth to deal with something like this. To reassure everyone, this HO is no longer on THS.
The amount of stress this incident caused me completely cancelled out any joy I got from the pet or even the area. I found myself asking is the juice really worth the squeeze. When I see clauses like this in the fine print that show such a lack of regard or consideration for us as sitters, I now seriously question whether I wish to stick with this long term.
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in my experience (46 cat sits) not all HOs have set up accounts at their vets. I will check more diligently in future during the application process because often this info will only become apparent in the HO’s Welcome Guide or equivalent document.
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Yes, handling such issues as home damage and pets being taken to a vet are common sense.
I understand spelling it out in writing in advance can be good to avoid confusion and misunderstanding which benefits sitters, pet parents, the property and - most importantly - the pets.
What is not helpful is the Terms & Conditions written as they are dated 8th June 2023 with conflicts and inequities which can only result in confusion, anger and potential liabilities.
I certainly hope THS will change its position and make the appropriate corrections regarding vet care and home damage repairs (and maybe some other things in the T&C but I haven’t done a deep dive into it).
Perhaps a form provided by THS might be helpful - maybe with some choices and check boxes for both parties.
THS used to have a House sitting Agreement you could download and modifiy to suit you but I have been told that is no longer available and has been replaced by the Welcome Guide. However, you might be able to get a copy if you contact support.
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It is irresponsible of THS to include this clause. A HO would want to claim on their home insurance and any work by tradesmen not nominated by the Insurers would usually invalidate the insurance.
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Exactly this!
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Yes agreed and I do think that THS could make it clearer by revising the T&C relating to this for both vet visits and damages.
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I have been in a situation where I would have paid for an arborist to clear fallen tree, but I had a great relationship with the ho and no doubt they would reimburse. In the end I voluntarily cleared the tree myself with their tools and picked up some new skills.
If you are concerned about this then each time you book a sit, state clearly and in writing that you are not in a financial position to cover such costs, and require a family or friend contact who could take care of such bills if required. I don’t think any reasonable ho would expect a sitter to cover large bills out of pocket.
That can be quite dangerous! In Sweden, more people get hurt that way than during the storms.
These risks can be dealt with differently. As an Airbnb host if property damage occurs, I seek payment from the guest. If they do not pay, Airbnb has an insurance policy for these matters and I can submit a claim. I’ve done so once and have been paid.
So THS can and should do things differently in this regard.
As a sitter I’m already footing the bill for expensive flights and rental cars. I’m not interested in covering the cost of someone else’s pet to get vet care or someone else’s home when something breaks.
I sincerely think I will let my membership lapse. What a shame.
What will be left are new sitters who have never taken care of a home, don’t read or understand their obligations under the TOS, and who will be poorly prepared if something happens.
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I have just lost a sitting due to this crazy rule.
I had secured a sitting in USA following a phone call and receipt of the Welcome Guide. I then received an updated WG in which the owners stated that the sitter will pay for damages and vet bills if the owners cannot be contacted. They will reimburse later.
The owners are new to THS and admitted they updated the guide once they had read the T & Cs including these clauses.
We don’t even know if we would see the owners on their last day due to flight timings.
There is no way that I would agree to this and the owners didn’t compromise.
We then agreed they would remove our dates and they will relist.
This is extremely worrying for any future sits but I will only apply to owners with previous sitters from now on
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@Itchyfeet this is a worrying development.
I hope the next applicants read the welcome guide thoroughly!
If they do the HOs may have to unconfirm the sit again !
This clause needs to be addressed - the previous suggestion from THS when they decided to keep the clause was that this needs to be discussed between sitter and homeowners . However evidently this approach doesn’t work if the homeowners simply reply but it’s in the T&Cs you agreed to .
Homeowners expectations need to be managed by THS . These unfair terms- whilst completely unenforceable by either party - give the homeowner unrealistic expectations of what a sitter is responsible for during a sit.
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Hopefully they won’t be able to get anyone to sit for them.
From now on I’ll definitely have a conversation about this with HOs and with my sitters. I will not accept any sit that requires using my money in this way. And, I’ll make my sitters understand that is not my expectation of them.
Nobody can make you pay for things that are not your fault. NOBODY.
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You have already agreed to this and it has been applicable to every sit you have completed through THS. These terms are part of every agreement you have made with every home owner. As is their obligation to repay you within 14 days.