This one isn’t part way through, it starts in January. If she didn’t turn up I’m a bit stuck!
@systaran, huh learn something new each day - thanks for insight.
@Laurel227, think great if unexpected outcome. After couple cancelled sits and some oddball surprises then we’ve had to breathe and appreciate that sometimes life happens. we dont know the other person’s situation and frankly it’s not our business so we adapt and move forwards. Just like you did 
.
Hope that you secure a great housesitter. If timeline is very close then THS Forum has a “Last Minute Sits” section.
Laurel227 I had an almost identical situation.
About a week before the sit, I went to message the sitter and found that her membership had expired. I asked her about it and she said she didn’t want to renew her membership for just this one sit. I told her I wasn’t comfortable not having any protection with a sitter who wasn’t current on her membership. She insisted she would still do the sit and didn’t understand my reluctance.
I found out that THS won’t “let” this happen. But in her case, she got sneaky and canceled the credit card that was listed for the auto-renew.
I told her that I didn’t want her in my house if she couldn’t be honest. Fortunately, my neighbor was able to come in once a day.
So, to answer your question, if the membership isn’t current, don’t do it.
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I’ve just finished an ‘unauthorised’ sit, where unbeknown to me the home owner’s membership expired part way through a month long sit. I discovered this by chance when I went back to check something on the listing. I was surprised that this could happen within the THS system, but apparently it can.
I’ve had a great time, the home owner is still away and also having a great time. The whole thing has worked in exactly the way that this sort of exchange is meant to work, with both parties open to a repeat sit.
THS can only ever facilitate the matching part of this process - the rest is up to the individuals involved.
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She has been cancelled and I’m having a video chat with prospective sitters on Wednesday morning. Let’s hope that goes well and I can offer them the sit.
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Oh, and by the way, I see that she has renewed her membership.
Your concern appears to be widely shared but I don’t understand why you would seek another sitter if the original sitter commits to complete it the sit.
Does the sitter’s THS reviews suggest they are a good sitter? If you vetted the sitter and decided you trusted them enough to turn over care of hone and pets, what caused you to lose trust that they won’t honor their commitment to complete the sit? I presume she notified you of the need and reason for her not autorenewing and you needing to cancel for her. If so, that’s just good communications. So why a red flag on having a total stranger sit for you who is not an active THS member versus one that is not?
Maybe my more direct question is: what “protections” does THS offer hosts? Fully paid up sitters have been known to cancel sits last minute so that risk hasn’t changed.
Is it the $1M THS insurance policy? If so, read the policy. You must have your own insurance. If not, the THS policy is void. Coverage for contents is $100K but only applies if the sitter accepts responsibility. Personally, I see the THS insurance as more marketing rather than actual homeowner protection.
So I don’t see that you’re losing much if anything sticking with your original sitter.