And don’t forget to communicate these types of things through the app, not text or WhatsApp, for better record-keeping. I had a fellow sitter who was communicating with homeowners over a serious problem on WhatsApp. Right before launching a dispute against him, they deleted all the WhatsApp correspondence, probably after downloading it. My friend was caught by surprise and did not have a chance to save the messages.
So, another tip: if you’re communicating outside of the app and foresee an issue, make sure to download conversations or keep screenshots to protect yourself from false accusations."
Lilywize - That’s an excellent point.
We generally communicate via WhatsApp because it’s a much faster way to communicate than going via THS.
But you’re right, either side can delete it at any point.
Of course it’s possible to do screen shots of WhatsApp conversations (and the one time we needed THS to get involved, thankfully we HAD taken screen shots of the WA conversation) it’s unfortunately a reality that someone who isn’t playing fair would also be likely to delete the proof of that.
Maggie8K - Agree 100% on dealing directly as a Sitter or a HO for the reasons you list.
As HO we had sitters make requests after a long sit was agreed to: (1) could they come a night early and later (2) could they stay two nights afterwards. At the time we have a big, spread-out house so it wasn’t a big deal to us, ended up being a big win-win for all.
Flip side as sitters have had three instances where HO cut a sit short.
The first was due to extreme weather, and we had no problem adjusting (it only meant us carrying on with our tourism abroad one night sooner than originally planned and was fine with us!)
The second time was early in our membership & we didn’t recognize several red flags. The worst: the HO made repeated changes in dates after the sit was agreed to and also after it started. Ultimately asking us to leave two days early for the convenience of an out-of-town adult child to use the house. We hadn’t been with the system long and didn’t want to rock the boat, booked a hotel for the two nights. Since that was pre blind-reviews no surprise neither side left a review.
The only time we’ve requested THS involvement was the third time: an extreme situation when the HO cancelled the sit after two nights but didn’t change the dates. We were forced to book last minute hotel nights during the crunch of holiday (ka-ching!). Using screenshots of the conversation with the HO, THS did recognize the issue and fixed our calendar so ater two nights hotel lucked into a sit that was much nicer and helped out a HO who had been left in the lurch by their Sitter! While it was stressful, THS’s intervention made a huge positive difference to everyone involved.
That last one was reason we upped our account to Premium.
We haven’t used any of the benefits thus far, but like the peace of mind.
I agree with Garfield.
After reading her note, I sense that the HO is one of those people who push for more & more from people as long as they can.
I had a renter like that. First they asked to move in 5 days early. Later we discovered that was because they were skipping out on their previous rental.
EVERY single month a new outrageous demand.
Ultimately we learned that most of their credentials were “cooked”, one was on disability, not earning the income claimed, and the other got fired a few months into the rental. They stopped paying rent, we had use legal means to get them out & ended up $7K in the hole.
I can only say this Sitter should document these increasing demands, involve THS, and as Garfield says, explain clearly you cannot accommodate the unexpected extra demands.
If this HO does this out of habit, they’re tricking people into a situation they KNOW will not appeal to many and unless they get push back will keep making unfair demands. Cleaning cobwebs? Wow. THEY should have done that before asking someone to stay in their home, care for their pets & keep things safe for them.
My dog sleeps with me and I expect him to be able to sleep on the bed with the sitter also. So far, that has happened. And I love the extra warm body in the winter!
However, it would be helpful to have a sitter put that ‘deal breaker’ in their description because I’d move right on by.
Of course, a sitter can have their requirements, and I think yours is perfectly reasonable (well, maybe not because my pets have always been able to sleep with me, but that’s just me), but it would save us both time to know your requirement in this regard in advance.
It was also be helpful if dog owners made that really clear in their listing along with how long the pets can be left unattended. That would save us applying. @MC81
It’s tricky to put that in our sitter profile @MC81 in that a small Yorkshire terrier in a super king bed (from experience) is no problem and much like a cat, but a 45kg German Shepherd who likes a bed cuddle (also from experience) then no thank you We appreciate`it when HOs put details on where the dog sleeps and then we can decide. We’ve also done plenty of sits where the HO will flex and say “put a bed on the floor for them” or “shut the door and they’ll be fine” so it’s not a one size fits all after 40+ sits. #dowhateverworksforyou
I recently saw a rhodesian ridgeback, I believe, with bed requirement. Forget it.
As a dog owner for decades I can’t understand why a dog in the bed is a «requirement». It is perfectly fine to allow it oneself and say that «this is what we do». But why can’t the dog sleep elsewhere with a sitter? Will it bark and tear the house down?( Then one should start some training). I see it as a service and care for the dog to make sure it will be fine also with altered living situation. I say that as having had a relative in hospital after a broken ankle (walking the dog…) and the dog needing other housing for weeks. The dog was fine as it wasn’t dependent on everything being just a special way.
But by all means. Write it in the profile. I’ll move on.
I am sitter that specifies I do not sleep with the pets.
I say this in my profile as it is a deal breaker.
If I see a listing which states that the pets sleep with the sitter I do not apply.
I may be an oddball but I love sleeping with the pets. My friend took a pic of me napping at her house once. It was me in a king bed and I was basically clinging to the edge with a pittie by my head, a pittie by my feet, and a cane Corso stretched out back to back with me and the whole rest of the bed empty it was hilarious.
I disagree with this. Whilst photos do give a good indication, it’s not always possible to predict how clean a home actually is or how the faciities are maintained. We’ve experienced a couple of sits where the photos depicted clean and tidy homes yet the reality was considerably different. It’s why we now state in our profile that we appreciate clean homes, and hopefully any hosts reading that will recognise we’re probably not a good match if they’re not being completely honest about what they’re presenting in their listing.
It’s not failsafe, but it’s a worthwhile tactic to mention deal breakers, I think.
agree! below are 2 photos from the sit I recently had to leave a bad review for. you can’t see that kind of thing in a photo. especially when THS degrades photos when adding them so they’re not always clear and crisp. and you definitely can’t smell smells.
We appreciate`it when HOs put details on where the dog sleeps and then we can decide. We’ve also done plenty of sits where the HO will flex and say “put a bed on the floor for them” or “shut the door and they’ll be fine” so it’s not a one size fits all after 40+ sits. 
Forget it.
My friend took a pic of me napping at her house once. It was me in a king bed and I was basically clinging to the edge with a pittie by my head, a pittie by my feet, and a cane Corso stretched out back to back with me and the whole rest of the bed empty 
