Exactly. It doesn’t have to be extraordinary circumstances. Let’s be real. Life happens and you are not getting paid!
If there is a decent amount of time before the sit (over a month) that is more than enough time for the owner to find a replacement.
This commitment thing has been a cause for bullying in this forum, but life happens and you are allowed to change your mind as a free person not being paid so long as you provide decent lead time to find a replacement AND the home owner agrees.
Some people aren’t full time retirees and need to go to a job that comes up or another commitment. It’s not necessarily nefarious when people wish to cancel.
I just don’t think this is what the rules state at all. It’s a distortion of the agreement terms. If the owners agree to the cancellation (as stated) what is the problem here? I also disagree that it’s too late. Most sits have new sitters applying immediately. I think it’s important to not make sweeping statements as there are so many life circumstances where this is happening and has happened to me and it worked out great. Just my opinion though. I know entire platforms that operate on a more fluid basis and a month is plenty of time. I see a lot of people get bullied here for choosing to earn money so they can live and that’s super entitled and unfair. If you’re wealthy enough not to care - fine. But not everyone can operate that way.
So what happens if the HO only got 1 or 2 applicants? Canceling a month beforehand may not be enough time.
Again, if you are not willing to follow through with a commitment because something “better” comes up, don’t be a pet sitter.
I am not going to respond to the childish bullying that starts with this topic. I am literally one of the most trusted pet sitters on this platform. But hey, who cares about facts when you have an axe to grind, right?
As I said, life is FLUID. It is not a crime to ask an owner if they agree to a mutual cancellation. It happens on this and other platforms all the time and like a cat… people land on their feet. In fact, it can result in a better outcome for both parties. If you believe that life is rigid and can’t change… I feel sorry for you. That would bore me. I have been cancelled on and then immediately found a better sit I didn’t anticipate. The cancellation served me.
If you can’t be kind and you want to bully people instead of having a polite discussion, maybe don’t contribute to this forum where you agreed not to do that. The irony that this discussion is about the actual documented and quoted guidelines that allows mutually agreed cancellations.
I can understand what you’re saying, but what if the HO doesn’t agree to the cancellation? Should the sitter go through with the sit or cancel anyway?
Also, I’m not sure HOs or sitters who are looking to cancel are actually reaching out first to get permission. If you are someone who ensures the other party is totally ok with canceling, then that’s great. I don’t think anyone has issues with that.
You’re right. It’s as if it should read that the HO has been advised of the cancellation.
Everyone is giving you great advice. You’re new, so perhaps you don’t realize this is not like booking a vacation rental. People count on your to be there, not because you found something better. You cannot apply if you’re booked already somewhere else. So there’s that.
I have to cancel a sit a month in advance, as I’ve found out in a short sit recently there, that the dog has aggression issues, and separation anxiety so bad that it cannot be left alone for even 20 minutes. That would be an ‘extraordinary circumstance,’ or a major illness, etc. It should really bother a sitter to have to cancel, and it should be debated in your mind for a while. Again, it’s not like canceling a hotel room, people count on you when planning their trips.
That’s happened to me several times as a sitter. It just happened to me last week, with one week’s notice. It’s the nature of life that plans don’t always stick.