The platform does have some of your suggestions.
The premium membership gives you a possibility to get either pet care or housing reimbursed if a sit falls through on short notice. As with any insurance it is super important to follow the steps to be reimbursed
Tried & tested process for premium insurance claim
A member can get a warning and be kicked off the platform. To be able to do this, it must be filed a «member dispute» (those words must be used for a THS investigation to be started). If she has gotten a warning before, for instance, your dispute might get her kicked off. But a claim is not enough, a member must ofc document their accusations in some ways.
Listings can also be reported if they are in breach of terms. I’ve done so several times. For instance aggressive animals, third parties on the property, using THS for business purposes.
Again - I think you very unfairly was put in a horrible situation, and your host had said she would house you anyway originally and she should have done so. I think many members would have felt an obligation to help out and done it regardless. If not for the full period as it was very long, at least until you got things sorted. I don’t think that was ok at all. If it was my sitters I wouldn’t have done that.
But the terms of THS is that both you and any other member can pull out and be free of your commitment. I think this is also important for a voluntary trade, and that really doesn’t do much difference. Because how can you force someone to sit for you or house you if they don’t want to?
As this topic goes on, I wonder also why «a single cat lady» chose a family. Single cat ladies often choose single ladies. As I have brought my children to sits for families with children, when I think of it. Maybe that could be kind of a «key» going forward. Choosing likeminded hosts. Regardless - the host is the no. 1 factor for things going south or going well.
But in your case it seems you had reason to believe that several options were covered, and the host didn’t follow up on her own words. That must have been really horrible for you, and especially as a newbie with kids.