We chose house sitters that came as a couple and interviewed well over video and had 10 five star reviews. We have discovered that they lied to us about something we consider pretty significant and we are not sure what to do. They were coming from another city, 5 hours away by bus. We invited them to stay the night before, had a dinner together, a pleasant walk, and overall a very nice time. They said they had nowhere to go at the end of the stay for 2 days until their next sit started, so I invited them to stay even after we returned. On the walk one asked should they decide to rent a car and take a tour out of town, would it be okay to take the dog with them? We said yes. 4 days into our stay and it’s a long weekend and we see our ring doorbell video (which we told them about in writing and verbally) that two friends have arrived by car (presumably from the city 5 hours away where they were previously staying) with lots of luggage. They never asked us if another couple could come and stay in the house. If they had asked us we would have said no. In retrospect, we are also remembering that conversation about renting a car and realizing, no, they never intended to rent a car, they were using their friends’ car. So clearly, they knew in advance that they were going to deceive us. We wouldn’t have agreed to have our dog go on a car trip squeezed in the back with two new strangers, that would be very successful for her. We are really upset by their deception. We don’t know what to do now though because we feel like we have no control over the situation. We would prefer to just end the house sit and pay for dog sitting because the trust is gone. But we have no ability to make them leave from so far away. We could tell them we don’t give permission for their friends to stay and ask them to find somewhere else. But again, what means do we have to enforce this? I worry that once they realize they have no chance of getting a good review from us, they will become our worst nightmare. Experienced pet parents, what would you do? Pet sitters, I would also appreciate your perspective!
Play it cool, let them finish the sit, as they’ve got 10 5 star reviews they’re probably not going to do anything contrary to what other hosts have experienced and they don’t want to mess up their 5 star ratings; and as you said you don’t have much of a choice anyway.
After the sit is over, thank them for a wonderful job and then hit them with 1 star across the board explaining the deception and throwing anything else in there that you can possibly think of.
The car arrived with lots of luggage. How do you know these friends aren’t “en pasant “ and want to take your sitters out for a few hours ? Totally allowed. Was the luggage unloaded on your house? Did the strangers definitely enter? Are they replacing your sitters? Lots of questions! Do you have a family member/ friend/ neighbours who could pop along to get an understanding of what’s going on?
I understand your concerns totally. But to procede you do need proof of wrong doing.
Have you got someone to step in and take over the pet and house care at short notice?
How far away are you from your home?
This has totally ruined the trust for sure! Hoping it’s not as bad as it looks, people’s plans do change but as a sitter I would have included such lovely, hospitable home owners in my plans.
This would ruin anyone’s time away. Very sorry this has happened to you!
They arrived late at night, 11:00 p.m. and brought the suitcases in. We are 20 hours away by plane. The whole sit is just under 2 weeks. I don’t have anyone on the ground who I could ask to be an enforcer.
I agree with @Matt_J then. What a nightmare! But with that track record of 10 5 stars I think your pets should be ok.
With blind reviews now it’s clear they did things well on previous sits so maybe it will end better than you fear.
Maybe someone sitting nearby your sit could stroll along or a home owner?
You don’t know anyone in the area who is a THS member?
I’m clutching at straws.. your local vicar ? You don’t give any indication of location. Is it UK?
Giving this more thought. If you’re not happy with taking no action, another strategy would be to simply ask them what’s up with the visitors, it wasn’t discussed prior and you picked up on the ring camera. Do it in a nonconfrontational, friendly sort of way, and see what they’ve got to say about it. This has the potential to go south unless you can really play it carefully and not get mad about it but if you feel some action needs to be taken that might be the way to go.
Hi @Modahab
I’m so sorry to hear about this.
Do you feel comfortable reaching out to the sitters directly? Have you contacted Membership Services yet? I’d be happy to put you in touch with Membership Services if that would be helpful.
Jenny
Sure Jenny. Thank you. But I’m not sure what they can do. I would want them to ask me before reaching out to the sitters
This has happened to many others before unfortunately, judging by forum postings. Blind reviews are making it less common, I would hope!
They are sure to have good ideas about how to procede also it’s wise to alert a third party so you can confirm you flagged the problem up asap.
What level of membership do you have? That could make a difference I think about fallout help.
I have premium.
Does your house have an alarm? You can contact police and say you are worried about your security as you’re away and they can call to check the situation. Certainly this is the case in Uk.
If no alarm just say you are worried about the temporary cover of your pets that are Home alone if the sitter isn’t ok. ( pretend you haven’t had recent contact by WhatsApp and you’re abroad!)
@Modahab I sent you a DM, just a quick note about getting you some help.
Please keep us updated on how things are going.
Thanks a lot Jenny, I received it!
I like this option a lot, I just don’t know if I can hold out, pretending I don’t know.
Hi @Modahab 
As sitters, we’d see a big difference between friends popping in for a visit and having additional people staying overnight without the host’s agreement.
If the friends did stay, I think you’re absolutely entitled to ask the sitters about it. I’d keep the message calm and factual, though, rather than leading with an accusation. Explain that you saw the visitors arrive with luggage, that overnight guests hadn’t been discussed, and ask what the arrangement was.
Given how far away you are and how uncomfortable you’re feeling, I’d also contact THS Membership Services now and ask what support they can offer before deciding whether to end the sit.
I wouldn’t assume the worst about the care of your dog based on this alone, but I also wouldn’t ignore something that has undermined your trust. You can address the specific concern without having to decide yet whether the whole sit has gone wrong.
I would text them and say, Hi, I saw from our ring that luggage was brought into our house by people we don’t know. I hope the luggage was brought in to make more room in the car for the trip we discussed. We don’t allow overnight guests. Please confirm that there will be no unauthorized guests staying overnight. Enjoy your trip and please give my boy a big hug for me.
Sitters you barely know inviting complete strangers into your home unannounced is unfortunately too common. It’s a major violation of a host’s trust by perpetrators who don’t care about or can’t see the violation. It’s also a violation of THS’s T&Cs. If it happens when friends or family are not available to step in, there is nothing a host can do about the situation short of ending their trip and returning home ASAP. Ending a trip early with all the associated anxiety, stress, drama and expense would be a giant step to mitigate the nearly infinitesimal risk that your sitters and their friends will do actual harm to your home or pets. The chance of that happening is very nearly 0.
Having been in your situation, I focused on the fact that there was little I could do during our travels and would deal with it after returning home. “Strangers in my house” became just another of the glitches that can and do happen while traveling. Granted, it was an exceptionally annoying glitch but not annoying or threatening enough to derail long-planned travel.
I think your home will be fine. I hope you can enjoy your travels in spite of these sitters.
I’m sorry you’re having to deal with this, especially while so far away from home.
One thing I’d be curious about is what your listing says under the new THS guest policy. THS initially defaulted listings to “Guests allowed,” with a small asterisk stating that advance approval is required. I think that was poorly implemented and could easily create confusion.
Regardless of what the listing says, I would expect the sitters to check with you before inviting anyone over. Since you saw the visitors arriving on your camera, I’d suggest simply reaching out and saying something like, “We noticed a couple of people arriving with luggage on our security camera and just wanted to check if they’re staying at the house.” That gives the sitters an opportunity to explain without immediately accusing them of anything.
Hopefully there’s a reasonable explanation and you can enjoy the rest of your trip without further worry.
@Oceancat is right, the guest policy part never used to exist until very recently, so perhaps they missed the asterisks part, and maybe thought it was okay to do so if someone ticks the box.
When I first read your post, I thought they had taken the suitcases out of the car to make room in their car for your sitters and your dog, but then I read your responses to others, and it does not sound like that at all. They are terrible for not asking permission.
You get to rate them for the below:
Organised - they failed, they didn’t ask or forgot to ask you about extra guests
Self-Sufficient - are the extra guests there to help out… who knows, you can only guess, because they didn’t mention them.
Reliable - they get a big fat zero, they did not ask your permission about the guests, it is unexcuseable, it’s your home, they have no right.
However, you need a sitter in the meantime, so just keep it friendly (you can be totally factful with your review later), and just say “I’m a little confused by the outdoor camera, have you had guests?” and then continue talking about other stuff, for example gush about your pet or something, or talk about how cute your pet looks in the image they sent, that sort of thing.
That way, you don’t mention overnight, you don’t mention suitcases, and don’t respond to whatever they say about the guests.
At least you may feel a little more comfortable with the whole situation, instead of worrying like crazy at the unknown while you are away. For example, they may say my family visited, they love dogs… which at least will give you a little peace of mind. But it’s still terrible of them, don’t get wrong.
Hi, thanks for your reply. My welcome guide clearly said that they must check with me before guests are invited over. The guests arrived last night and are still there because we can see the car outside.