Thanks @Elly-Andy-NOLA for clarifying. I feel so very sorry you were let down by fellow sitters who all had 5* THS reviews.
The review system at present makes it harder to do an honest review or give feedback for fear of retaliation but your fellow HO would appreciate you reviewing that sitter so they do not have similar issues.
Hopefully we’re soon going to see an improved review system. If you haven’t already, do complete the survey on it.
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Owners should not be cancelling for any reason - as with sitters it should only be for extraordinary circumstances.
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Yes it does apply to both sitters and HOs
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Hi @Elly-Andy-NOLA
As far as I know, THS is not aware of cancelled sittings and therefore does not track them , unless the HO or sitter reports it to Membership Services.
Well, they do. One sit cancelled a confirmed sit 3 days after confirming because they decided they would prefer a couple than a solo sitter.
Well written. THS is becoming over-regulated and it would be a shame if it became even more so. Especially seeing as us sitters don’t get paid for sitting.
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Indeed this kind of data would be helpful as my HO recently cancelled a week before I was supposed to sit, which was quite disappointing, but clearly necessary in the circumstances, but if this is a habit, then other sitters should be made aware.
Sorry to hear about your experience @AnitaMaria . Did you inform member services, so that they can keep a record ?
Hi @AnitaMaria , so sorry a negative experience is what brought you to the forum, but welcome!!
Where are you located? Have you been sitting long? Where are you looking to sit?
And… what brought you to THS?
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/how-did-you-learn-about-trusted-housesitters/
If you like, you can add your profile to your forum profile:
How to add your listing or profile to your forum profile
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I wouldn’t be surprised if cancellations increase due to the new system of only allowing 5 applications. I know we’ve been asked to only mention that in a specific dedicated threads but I believe it’s extremely relevant to this discussion. There is now an intense sense of urgency especially on the sitters side when applying and accepting a sit. It could cause people to accept without doing all the best due diligence. As a host it also causes to not always make the most wise choice because you need to cancel one application at least just to see another option. It makes it much more difficult to feel confident about the choices on both sides.
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Yes it would be great to know if owners constant cancel sits. I have a new policy this year, that when regular sitters cancel my sit (or come back earlier than planned leaving me no place to go), I know longer accept any further sits from them. This year already I have had two long-time sits cancel. My new policy is that if they ask me to sit for them again, I am “already booked elsewhere”. Meaning that I would not be returning to their sits. If they try to book me in future, like the long time one for 6 weeks that was booked in the middle of last year, my answer will be “I am already booked then”. I have not ever cancel a sit once booked into it, however, they don’t hesitate to cancel me.
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I’m sorry and disappointed to hear this. As HO we never had this and now as a SITTER I am surprised to hear this, particularly if it’s consistent.
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By “regular sitters” do you mean homeowners who have hosted you previously?
If a HO cancelled a sit on me and then invited me to a later sit, I might be more direct about my reasons for declining. If the cancellation was because of some real emergency, and wasn’t very close to the sit date, I would give then a second chance. Otherwise, I would says “I try to plan my travel carefully and a sit cancellation is very disruptive. I may have declined other sit invitations for that period, or not applied for sits that interested me because I was committed to yours. I am hesitant to sit for a homeowner who has cancelled on me in the past. I am concerned that you might cancel again, so I am declining your invitation.”
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2 out of the 14 sits I confirmed this year cancelled on me. I panicked because I didn’t have backups and had sits before and after. I was able to replace one but not the other and unless I can fill in just the right dates with a different sit, it will be an expense passed onto me. These confirmations are important to keep on both sides. Now I’m gunshy that more Hos will try to cancel
There are no repercussions for sitters who cancel last minute for no good reason. I had a girl from Cleveland booked weeks ago. She had four-5 star reviews. I messaged her a few days before the sit to give her some instructions and she responded the night before the sit and said her boyfriend would be joining her. When I confirmed the sit we discussed that she would be coming alone. I also mention in my listing no couples (I only have a twin bed). I reminded her we specifically discussed only she would be coming and she can’t just spring something like that on the HO last minute. She then said she wanted to cancel the sit. I unconfirmed the sit and contacted customer service, but nothing came of it. Very disappointed in the HO side of things and won’t be using it again.
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I completely understand your frustration but nobody can force a sitter to go to your home. That’s not a realistic expectation of how this works or how life works, really.
For a sitter to cancel at short notice, with such a flimsy excuse is appalling, and the fact that nothing was done about it by TH, is even worse. She will just carry on doing this, knowing that there will be no consequences.
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@desiderata so sorry to hear of your experience with a sitter letting you down at the last minute.
Whilst THS cannot “force” the sitter to honour the sitting there is a code of conduct that members should abide to - which includes not cancelling a sit unless there is an exception reason . THS say that they investigate all cancellations so not sure why you were advised that they couldn’t do anything .
From this information THS should be investigating this last minute cancellation by your sitter - do you know if they are doing this ? Have they asked you for screenshots of your messages when she cancelled ?
If it’s not investigated byTHS member services it will sit on your record as a cancellation by you HO.
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I have a friend that cancelled a sit at the last moment because his wife became ill. They never heard anything from THS about an investigation, there is nothing logged on their account.
@desiderata @Chrissie @Silversitters Thank you for your feedback and comments regarding this.
As it is a public forum we can not go into individual members details. However, I can reassure you all that there is an internal process around this and each issue that is raised is individually investigated and dealt with in line with our terms.
We also have a complaints procedure and an internal system for monitoring behaviour on accounts where issues have been raised with us.
Please see this help deak article for reference:
For more information on any of these processes please feel free to reach out to the Membership Services team at support@trustedhousesitters.com and for individual cases, if you would like further information then please reach back out to the support team or to the agent dealing with your case as they can assist you further.
@Samson If cancellation falls under exceptional circumstances such as illness, or if for example the owners or sitters (depending on the situation) mutually agree to the cancellation then it is likely not reported to THS.
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