I have just started 2 week sit and arrived at the house this afternoon. In the description of the sit itself the homeowner discloses that “at times I have a roommate.” I should have asked the homeowner about this long before accepting but I simply didn’t think of it at the time.
I arrived to find that there is someone else in the house right now who will be leaving permanently in 3 days. The homeowner did not mention this to me beforehand and I didn’t immediately mention to the her that I was very uncomfortable with this.
I understand it’s against THS policy entirely to have someone else in the house but to be honest, I feel kind of responsible for not asking her about her “roommate” as mentioned in the description of the sit.
I have no idea what the protocol is for this because
I don’t love this situation but
I will be alone with the pets in three days for the remainder of the sit
Would love any and all advice on this issue. Thank you for reading!
It sounds like the HO wasn’t aware of the rule that no one else can be living in the house while the sitter is there, and you chose not to inform them of such when you accepted the sit. If I were you, I would take this as a very valuable learning experience, own the fact I chose the sit anyway even though it contained conditions that were not okay with me, and suck it up for those three days. For me personally, that seems like the easiest course of action for a number of reasons, and I’m all about making things easier for myself.
The HO should have let you known the person would be there for those few days, but perhaps didn’t think to mention it, since in the listing they were upfront about the fact someone may be in the home at least part of your stay.
Sorry that you are having to endure a third party.
We don’t have a crystal ball, but I would set expectations NOW around the roommate moving out in 3 days. They will not be allowed to return. They cannot spend a week “moving out,” going back and forth to their new home, gathering items in multiple trips over multiple days. The moving out has to occur in ONE day.
Yet another time when this has “slipped through the net”. These things really should be picked up by THS and/or a drop down menu appear before the sit can be posted asking hosts to tick to confirm they won’t have a third party, won’t have a camera etc.
While the OP recognises she could have done more to find out exactly what was meant by the “roommate” comment it shouldn’t be up to members to be monitoring the site for sits that don’t meet the THS criteria.
Hi there thanks for your response. I did actually message the HO about the policy, and you are correct that she was not aware. It isn’t actually the responsibility of the sitter to make the HO aware of their responsibilities as the HO and it’s unfortunate that I had to do that.
I am enduring the sit with the third party present at the moment, but if it turns out they will not be leaving by tomorrow I will be asking the HO to find another person to take over the sit.
You are right it shouldn’t be the sitter’s responsibility and there should be a way to make sure people are aware of this and other terms before posting their listing. But you did take the sit knowing someone else might be there and taking ownership of that–which it sounds like you are doing based on what you said in your original post–is important because it will make the unwanted situation easier to deal with. As someone who has been doing this a long time, the best advice I can give to people is be selective about the sits you take and really consider what your day to day experience will be like–don’t compromise on things that may be important to you, or put yourself in situations that contain elements you know ahead of time will be a problem. It’s not worth it no matter how desirable a location may be, how well a sit works for your schedule,etc…
Best of luck and hope the rest of the sit goes well!
I have just been informed by the HO that their tenant is not leaving until the 29th, so now I am asking her to find an alternate arrangement because this is absolutely not okay with me.
@catsp123 since there is someone there - if you leave you are not abandoning the pets . If you are a Premium member you may be covered by the sit guarantee ( in which case you can claim for the costs of alternative accommodation)
The third party doesn’t have any involvement in the care of the pets, so I would awful just leaving. But I do really appreciate this response either way, and I have confirmed with the HO her friend is taking over the sit.