Brilliant idea from @PVGemini 
- maybe host a sister Cyprus FB groups are worth trying too @Mommy if not been suggested yet? #sendinggoodvibes
Did you get any response from HO? Sit not cancelled ,so I am so confused . We are homeless in reality, but “sitting” in app
I’ve asked the team for an update @Mommy - and shared your most recent post with them. Hopefully we can provide an update soon.
Welcome to forum @Mommy !
For THS all members need to have a plan B, as something could always happen. This goes both ways - if you or your child fell ill, the host would have no sitter and you wouldn’t have a responsibility to fix it. These things can happen also during a sit.
Some sitters and hosts would try to accommodate changes also, for instance could the host have chosen to let you stay as you had already arrived to sit. I certainly would do so. I find it rather strange if the host keep you in the obligation by not cancelling and still let you pay for accommodation. That is not right in my mind.
But that is up to each member who pays what in such a circumstance, I would think.
There are several options for cheap accommodation; couchsurfing, host-a-sister and such which could be helpful. Ofc it is probably high season where you are now, which doesn’t help. Get out of the sit and you can have options also on other islands or the mainland.
I’ve travelled with children many years doing home exchanges (through Home Exchange) and never had issues with simultaneous swaps. I had an issue with a non-simultaneous swap, where everything turned «difficult» after they had stayed at our place and they were to host us. But in general it worked well. So far, all my THS sits have worked well, also incl. some with children. But I’m very careful what I apply for. Nevertheless - there’s no guarantees.
I find it rather odd that she is stringing you along, she has another cat also, how can one delay a «business trip» indefinitely? I have a pet and travel for work, I don’t understand how that is possible, really. Why she can’t leave and let the cat come home to you and the other cat.
Get out of this. And please leave a factual and honest review.
@Mommy
Have you tried calling Urgent Support 24/7 Phone line - the number is shown on your dashboard - you can speak to a human and ask them to look at all the previous correspondence.
Since you are unable to apply for sits until this sit is officially cancelled by THS so each additional day in delay is extra hotel expense for you and your family .
This meets the criteria of Urgent and requires prompt action from THS. Since the sit hasn’t happened and the host is still at home with the pets , no pets are being abandoned . Cancelling this sit should be something that THS can do in 5 mins or less.
Hi @Mommy
I just wanted to confirm that you are now free to look for other sits on the platform - we’ve sent you an email to confirm that.
If you want to continue your complaint about the situation, please take a look at the Member Dispute Resolution Process and contact Membership Services, providing any supporting documents as outlined in the article I’ve linked, as the team would need these to escalate your concerns.
Jenny
I don’t understand how this PP who knows you traveled from another country with two kids and one only being 3, doesn’t say to you, stay at my house till you find another sit. Or stay here and help me find my cat. Have you met her in person? Does she have reviews? It’s a sad situation but I don’t believe in traveling to other countries without the means to get yourself accommodations if something like this happens. Especially when traveling with minors.
We haven’t met her in person, but before we flew out, we had several conversations where she said it would absolutely be okay for us to stay at her place if anything changed. She even mentioned that she might return home for a few days during the sit — and that we could stay together for five days or so, and that would also be totally fine.
We also agreed that we’d arrive a few days before her departure so we could gently get to know the cats, learn how to take care of the house, and just connect in person.
But the moment her cat went missing, she stopped inviting us over — even when I suggested it might be the best option instead of us trying to survive elsewhere.
she replied and said she was very afraid that if strangers entered the house, the cat would get scared and definitely wouldn’t come back. That was her explanation.
As a result, we were left out on the street — and this has been going on since July 17th.
Now, the sit has officially been cancelled through TrustedHousesitters, so technically I’m free to look for something else. But the truth is, there are no available sits in Cyprus at the moment, and getting out of here means extra costs — and I’ve already spent far too much.
Right now, the most reasonable option seems to be flying back home.
And I want to be honest — this experience has really shaken me. I’m now quite scared of the whole idea. Knowing that there are no real guarantees, no contracts, no insurance — and that someone can just suddenly leave you outside with your children — it’s frightening.
Even without kids, I’d feel uneasy. But with them — it’s a whole different level of vulnerability.
From what I understand, there are people here trying to build their lives around this app — people without a permanent home who move from sit to sit. And I just want to say:
this is dangerous, guys.
I am very sorry to hear about this. You mention how the experience has shaken you and makes you reluctant to do sits in the future. That is totally understandable but as someone who has been sitting full-time for over a decade, I truly believe that what you have experienced is a very rare instance. I imagine most sits go ahead as planned and are positive experiences.
I would have to disagree that it is ‘dangerous’ to rely on sitting instead of having a permanent residence. Sure there is risk but that is true for everything in life, but there are many ways to mitigate it.
It is rare I have had a sit cancelled and never an international one. But cancellations for any number of reasons are always a possibility and just because it hasn’t happened to me yet doesn’t mean it never will. But again I don’t think it is commonplace.
It is important to understand that THS is strictly a matching platform and us sitters are not any sort of agent of the company, meaning they don’t have any responsibility towards us in the events of cancellations, sits that turn out to be problematic,etc…
They are not directly providing the service of pet and housesitting, but merely a service that allows people offering to perform these tasks to connect with those looking for such people. This is a very important distinction to make for both hosts and sitters.
So yes there really aren’t any guarantees, protections,etc… Now if THS operated under a different model where us sitters were their employees, and they personally facilitated the matches, then yes, there would probably be more support in various respects. But they are not a direct party to these arrangements.
The cancellation plan–which is a feature you won’t find on any other site as far as I know-- is one way they try to offer protections but it isn’t a true insurance policy in any way. Being that they are basically a matching platform and nothing more–even with all the other ‘bells and whistles’–their involvement in these arrangements will be rather limited. There are lots of things they wouldn’t be able to control or do much about.
It is unfortunate you are in an area where sits are not readily available making it easier to find a replacement. It is also unfortunate she did not honor her original agreement to let you stay even if something happened and the trip did not go as planned. I do believe most hosts in this circumstance would definitely let you stay or would probably still take their trip as planned.
If you were planning on continuing to do more sits, don’t let this situation totally turn you off to the whole thing. Also, it could be helpful to reflect on whether you saw any red flags prior to confirming the sit in regards to your communications with her,etc…
Many sitters often find that in hindsight there were things that felt off but they proceeded anyway. In realizing this, it can take the sting out a bit and help them choose sits with more confidence moving forward.
And in the event you could truly, honestly say everything seemed fine, it just seems it was a bit of bad luck and that is unfortunate.
Best of luck and again, sorry this happened.
When you travel overseas to house sit for strangers and without a back up plan, there will be risks .
Some risks can be mitigated by having a back up plan in place this could be upgrading to Premium membership, having the funds for alternative accommodation or for travel home or onto another sit .
It’s definitely much riskier to have no backup plan, to take sits overseas in places with few sits available, to have kids with you vs. sitting as an adult(s) only.
THS is just a platform for potential matches, where sitters and hosts must do their own diligence.
It’s also not reasonable to expect much for membership that costs about one night’s hotel stay (or less) in many cities. Premium coverage is available at added cost, though has limits, as does all such coverage. If THS were to offer more, it also would charge more.
In reality, even with the best THS sits (or with the best sitters), emergencies can happen. It’s part of self-care to have backup plans (and by extension, as part of caring for kids, if you travel with them).
Those of us who sign up and stick with THS of course value what we’re getting. Otherwise, it makes sense to not renew or continue. No service or product will serve everyone.
As it is, THS works best for people who take time to understand how it works (rather than making assumptions) and consider the risks, as well as can afford backup plans. Those who can’t afford alternative plans leave themselves at risk of being stranded or trapped.
I can well imagine this experience has shaken you @Mommy. You were very adventurous in applying for this sit as your first THS sit, and taking your children on it, perhaps thinking what a lovely holiday it would be and only having cats to look after. You were prepared to outlay the money for it but because of your inexperience, had not really thought about the “what ifs” that could happen and the need to have a Plan B or be financially able to support yourself if the sit didn’t work out.
I feel for you and your children being stranded when you should be enjoying a lovely sit in a great location.
I felt that part of my message wasn’t fully understood, so I’d like to explain more clearly why I decided to post on the forum and bring this up.
This app is a paid platform, and that’s an important point. I uploaded all the necessary documents here, including the post. In my view, there’s a gap in the system. It seems too easy for either party to simply cancel a sit — for example, if I had canceled just hours before the host’s departure, or in my case, the host canceled on me.
After reading through the forum, I’ve seen that my case is not unique. There are many similar situations. That’s exactly why I want to draw attention to the fact that this is a paid membership service, and because of that, users expect a certain level of protection and accountability.
There are Facebook groups where you can receive the same kind of house-sitting opportunities without paying a membership fee. So it’s only natural to expect better protection here.
Right now, my family and I were — frankly — left on the street. We had to scramble to come up with a Plan B. Extra stress. Extra expenses. Meanwhile, the homeowner didn’t bear any responsibility or consequences. The sit was just “terminated,” and I wasn’t even given the opportunity to leave an honest review about what happened — to warn others who might face the same thing.
That’s what hurts the most. We were left completely on our own, and the system, which is supposed to support both sides, didn’t help us. After reading more posts, I’ve seen that even premium members have ended up in difficult situations. For example, when a homeowner suddenly comes back early, stays in the house without notice, or other unexpected disruptions — and there is still no clear resolution process.
Right now, the only way to react is by sharing stories here on the forum. There are no formal tools to prevent this from happening again.
All I want is to highlight a real issue. I respect this community and the idea behind the platform. But if we want it to really work, we have to make it safer for everyone involved. Because no one — especially a family with children — should end up in a situation like this.
So that in the future no one ends up in such a situation — you have to agree, it’s a completely different world.
You see, the thing is — this can happen whether you have children or not, whether it’s your first time or your thirtieth.
That’s exactly what shocks and deeply upsets me — there are absolutely no guarantees.
The Home Exchange member on Cyprus also has Tallinn, Estonia on his “bucket list,” so I have reached out to him.
Hopefully he will respond today! There are no guarantees, but you never know…
I completely understand your sense that there was little risk to this sit going sideways, since the owner told you that you can stay there anyway, even when she is there!
Hoping the cat returns, and the sit happens as planned!
You’re absolutely right @Mommy that it can happen to anyone but in your example, sitters on their 30th sit with that amount of experience would have learnt to have a Plan B in place.
As others have said, THS is just a matching service which we all pay to join, just like a dating service. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees for any of us; it is the risk we take belonging to this type of experience.
Most of us know about Facebook groups and other competitors to THS and we know what we’re getting or not, and what we value. To me, it’s obvious what Facebook groups don’t provide vs. THS. You don’t have to agree, of course.
And no one who understands THS thinks it’s risk free, whether for adult sitters or those who sit with kids. You’re now in a jam, because of a lack of a fallback plan. That tends to be the refrain among many sits gone wrong, unfortunately.
And as I mentioned, there’s extra risk in sitting abroad where few sits are available. For instance, if you were in the U.K., there’d be plentiful alternative sits. And if you were sitting without kids, it would be easier to find alternative sits in a place like the U.K.
Yes, if someone is new to THS, they should read up on terms at least. And they can also join the forum. In your case, doing both could’ve definitely helped. Sits and sitters can always fall through. That’s the nature of these exchanges.
Alright, let’s imagine for a moment.
I’ve already understood the idea of this famous “Plan B.” Sure, it’s wise to have a backup. But let’s really think about how it would actually work — say, in Cyprus, where, at this very moment, there isn’t a single active listing for a sit. And even when listings appear, they’re extremely rare.
Or take Reykjavik, Iceland — nearly impossible to find anything there. The same goes for Tallinn, where I live. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland — not much better.
So if a sit falls through in one of these places, where exactly is this magical Plan B supposed to come from? What parallel reality is that?
Yes, I see — there are lots of listings in the UK, Australia, and the US. But let’s be honest — those places are not exactly nearby, especially if you’re already in Europe with children. Even within countries with more listings, they’re often scattered and far apart.
By the way, kudos to the UK community — you guys are doing an amazing job keeping the platform active and alive. It really shows.
But if the conclusion is that it’s only safe to sit in those few well-populated regions, then what’s the point of supporting or growing this global network at all?
Should we just stop traveling, stop participating, stop believing in the idea behind it?
That would be truly sad.
Because I really wanted to support this idea and be part of something bigger. And now I feel like I’m being punished for trusting that everything would be handled with honesty, openness, and human decency.
I think people refer to Plan B more in terms of being able to afford to stay in a hotel or rent an Airbnb just in case a sit goes sideways.
It would be great if another sit could be found, but that is unlikely to happen in areas where there are few sits available anyway.
The owner TOLD the sitter that she could stay there, even with the owner present. We all assess the level of risk we are willing to take, in any given situation. I can see how the sitter felt that the risk was low.
Hi Sarah!
Thank you so much for your care, attention, and support!
I’ve thought through many options and decided to book tickets home.
Tomorrow will mark exactly two weeks of us wandering around Cyprus — lesson learned!
If your friend ever plans to come to Tallinn, he’s welcome to reach out to me.
The world is full of kind people!