It wouldn’t have helped to have a spare key with an emergency contact in this case, because the sitter didn’t have her phone so she couldn’t have accessed the emergency contact info.
I don’t think that relying on a friend with a spare key is a good idea. Even if the sitter could contact that friend, who knows how quickly they could get to the house. A spare key in a lockbox, or a keypad entry, is probably the best solution. The number could be something the sitter will easily remember, like the last 4 digits of their phone number.
I give sitters the entry code to my garage as the emergency access. However, I had one couple who got locked out because the husband left the house without a key, and the wife went to bed. He couldn’t wake her to open the front door, and she had locked the door from my kitchen to the garage, so even though he could get into the garage, he couldn’t get into the house. It really is a terrible idea to ever leave the house without a key
I just knocked on the neighbors’ door one time when the back door gate code wasn’t working, because the neighbor was an emergency contact. I had read the welcome guide, which said that.
So it’s actually an oversight by you creating a context where this could go wrong…. I wonder if your frustration is being deflected from yourself to your tenant and sitter. I would take responsibility- show compassion- be grateful your pets were well cared for. Apologise to everyone and move on, you’ll feel happier.
It is interesting that most commenters think that the HO is at fault in this scenario, because they didn’t leave a key with an emergency contact. However, since the sitter left the house without her phone - and presumably she hadn’t memorized a contact’s phone number - it would not have solved the problem. Unlike most other people, I do blame the sitter here. It was an easy mistake to make (I know, I’ve done it myself), but it was still her fault.
Especially for folks who sit alone, this might be useful:
I screen shot every page of a welcome guide and store them in the cloud. If I had no access to a functioning phone, I’d simply call my husband on a borrowed phone and have him go into our joint cloud account and read me whatever I needed. (Someone single could do this with a friend, and you could give them your password in a pinch and change it later.)
That means I always have access to sit info, whether or not I have my phone with me, whether it’s stolen or lost or broken. And even if THS’s platform is malfunctioning and has locked up welcome guide info.
To me, this kind of approach is simple anticipation and problem-solving, especially for folks sitting or otherwise traveling alone. This is also why I let prospective hosts know that I need welcome guides well ahead of our sits – I review the info and see whether anything is missing well before I make travel arrangements. If a host isn’t a good partner with such info, I won’t sit for them.
It sounds like your Tennant made the choice to pay a locksmith which actually is not the sitters responsibility. On occasion folks lock themselves out of the house. We’ve all done it. It is rare but the odds are it is going to happen with enough sitters under your belt so your whole it’s never happened before point is kinda mute once you apply mathematics. I think the real question is why don’t you have an emergency contact with a spare set of keys especially since you have an auto lock door? I’d get rid of that right quick! Maybe she responded that way because she doesn’t have the money and maybe she has shame around that? Either way… I think it’s on you. And if you were gone for 10 days you’ve still saved hundreds of dollars on pet care. As for the damage… contact the locksmith. That’s not ok.
I do this too. I email it myself. It’s pretty easy in an emergency to get the use of internet. Once I’m in my email I have all the welcome guide I need. That being said I have never needed it.
Here’s a tip for anyone who lives/travels/house sits alone. I have my phone on a lanyard and I put it on, cross body, and in my pocket, any time I move: when I go to the bathroom during the night, when I get up from the sofa to make a cuppa, when I go out to the garden etc. If I am having a shower I place it within reach incase I fall, if I’m in the bath it’s on the floor beside the bath. Not 100% foolproof but it gives me a chance of calling for help if I am conscious.
It’s also adds a layer of security if walking around taking photos and means that I don’t have to hold it in my hand all the time. I found that my hand started to ache from holding it when walking around exploring.
I use my phone lanyard mostly when on planes (so I don’t end up dropping it, especially if I fall asleep or go to the toilet) or near water (say while taking photos and avoiding dropping). Otherwise, I’m not keen on having my phone on my body for countless hours.
Yes, I get what you mean, but I reckon my chances of dying of hypothermia, after falling and breaking a hip, are much greater than dying of a cancer caused by phone signals. I don’t have it on me all day, only when I’m moving around, and alone, which isn’t for a huge number of hours per day. I used to be much more wary of it when I was younger, I didn’t even keep it in the bedroom overnight, but as I aged I had to weigh up the risks and opted for this method.
My v simple take : 1) THS is not responsible 2) The sitter made a human and honest mistake which leads me to point 3) The only real issue here is the sitter’s attitude, refusal to take responsibility and juvenile response to your valid issues.
As others have noted, this scenario must be a part of your review because the sitter has shown some behaviours which are questionable in someone watching your home and animals.
I dont think it was anyone’s fault it was an accident. It could’ve happen to any of us who are we to judge. I see a lot of judging in this group and negativity.
I acknowledged that it was an accident, and one that has happened to me. That doesn’t change the fact that it was the sitter’s “fault.” When I stepped in front of a cyclist and broke my hip, it was an accident but still my fault.
I agree that the sitter is at fault AND that’s a very easy mistake to make. Also that the emergency contact with a key wouldn’t have done much good! But I also think that both sitters and homeowners need to be proactive about stuff that is particular to a sit and might cause problems.
I also think with “damages” it’s sometimes a combination and mitigating factors. It sounds like the sitter didn’t take any responsibility and didn’t offer to pay anything, but we only have one side of the story. We don’t know how the homeowner approached the sitter on this.
I’m generally in agreement with those that suggested the sitter should have apologized for their mistake and offered to pay and the homeowner should have apologized for the inconvenience and not accepted payment from them.
Unfortunately this would not be possible in a lot of apartment blocks. On a couple of occasions, my sitters previously managed to lock themselves out but fortunately I have family members with a spare set a short walk away.
