Thanks for the explanation. I’d rather do that than let the dog die though.
Not sure that was @andrealovesanimals point.
I think we got at least 10 notifications of possible tornados. I’ve heard of some people getting 20! It’s counterproductive at that point because people just ignore the warnings after a while.
I have favourited your listing. We usually try to get away in winter for a longer trip (up to 3 months) and at least one shorter holiday during the year. We are just back from a two week road trip to Vancouver and have no further plans at this time but I will contact you when we do plan to travel.
Their review is not poor. They thank you…
As a owner I want to welcome and meet my sitter(s). I’m curious. Who are they, what do they did.. meeting is more interesting than a profile. Human relationship face to face is valuable.
On my return too ( trains or flights can be delayed)
It is the deal
Why don’t you like to meet owners?
Strange…
I agree with you it’s a part of the exchange process I normally enjoy. Only once did I prefer to leave before the Home Owners returned. That should have made them think… I wonder if it did?
The owners just considered everything from the part in the exchange that I would be bringing to the sit. I left a simple gift. They left a mean spirited review, confirming my intuition about the poor vibes I had received from the encounter. I will not be repeating. Sad but true. I hope they learned something. I certainly did.
Not meeting owners at the front or back end has NEVER been my decision, I serve the HOMEOWNERS REQUEST. Not everyone is returning from an airline flight - all have different circumstances and reasons for a sitter in their situation - and sometimes - quite honestly - I don’t know what that is and its not my business either. On Vancouver island, where I live, a lot of homeowners need to leave the island and go to the mainland for dentist/doctor, a sports tournament in another city or emergencies that come up. In one situation, where HO needed to catch an early morning ferry, they asked me to arrive the night before and we had dinner together. Twice, I sat for HO on a vineyard in the Okanagan Valley, and they asked that I arrive a day in advance and stay until the morning after their return.
The review she’s left for them leaves no evidence that she felt put out or disrespected, it’s a positively glowing review!
"You have already paid for your stay in the house; it is yours by right.. " is a very bold statement and approach, I must say! I’ve been house and pet sitting, both paid and exchange, since the 90’s and still don’t have that approach to it all. Cat sits are ridiculously easy, low maintenance sits, so having a little extra maintenance on top of that, even if it’s a flooded basement and some mop up afterward, shouldn’t feel devastating, and it sounds like it was a pretty fierce storm system. If “it is yours by right” then you are expecting to take on all of the responsibilities of that home during the HO’s absence, it becomes your home and you need to be prepared to shoulder everything that comes with home ownership. I’m not even a homeowner but have been doing this for so long that unless there are major, major issues that are a result of outright neglect I just roll with the punches. I’m not paying their mortgage or homeowner’s insurance or utilities or rubbish removal and any other costs that come with home ownership, nor is their home my ultimate responsibility, it merely is during my time in it!
I always make sure I arrive to a sit a few hours before their departure, or the night before if they are departing early morning and I’m in a guest room. And more often than not I am there when they arrive home so we can do the handover and a debrief. With cats, though, it’s a little different, I’ve done at least one where the HO and I never crossed physical paths and we were both just grand with that.
With all due respect, you sound to me like someone from the 90s who doesn’t know their rights or the going rates. I’m from a big city, and staying at a client’s home with their cat for nearly a full 24-hour period—including sleeping there—costs around $150. If it’s not a full day—just a quick visit to feed the cat without cleaning up waste—it’s $50. You are free to undervalue your own services as much as you like, but I have no intention of undervaluing mine.
THS is not a site for paid sits. It’s all about the exchange.
Well, I was absolutely right in what I wrote! If I’m coming over to pet-sit for free, you have to factor in the value and rating of the services I provide—it’s a fair exchange, and for the duration of the sit, the house is essentially “rented” by the sitter! I have an acquaintance who works as a home organizer in Beverly Hills—you might ask, “What is that?” It’s not cleaning; it’s about arranging things—like putting pillows in their proper places—while someone else handles the actual cleaning. She gets paid $100 an hour for that organizing work. Now, add that into the cost of a “free” sit—which also involves watering plants, collecting the mail, and so on.
I have no idea what you’re on about with this home organizer thing, since you are not your friend & no one on THS is looking for overpriced, elite-level home organizers to do paid work for them.
More to the point — if you’re able to secure paid petsitting gigs for $150/night, you should go for it. However, THS is not that, and you should probably work on reconciling yourself to that fact if you want to avoid being disappointed, or disappointing others.
Regardless of how highly you value your services, it’s a waste of time if you’re targeting the wrong market.
There is no need to explain what this site is about to me. It’s an exchange of free caretaking services for free accommodation! I do this purely for the sake of travel; I’ve never lacked paid assignments! I know of homeowners in Palm Beach who simply don’t see the point of free services and prefer to pay a professional—providing them with housing and a car. But if I want to visit beautiful, remote, and secluded places, this site offers a way to provide my services in exchange for free accommodation.
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Since you’re so consistently critical of what’s on offer while most of the rest of us seem to be doing just fine with this model, it seems like at some point it would make sense for you to re-evaluate who it is that’s mistaken.
(Post edited by the Forum team in line with the Community Guidelines).
Yeah I understand it just fine too. Works for me. I know my value. You seem to assume nobody other than you knows their value. Do you ever sit outside the USA?