But hosts are the ones that need the help. If they want to travel, they need to pay for a sitter or boarding.
Do sitters have to be there?
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But there is no exchange! Staying at the host’s and pets hone is a requirement of the job . Sitters simply are volunteers who offer a free service.
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Sitters get a free place to stay. Have you checked hotel and AirBnb costs lately?
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Yes. That’s a new feature. Hosts can choose any time from half an hour interval, in a 24 hour clock, which means they have 48 options for expected arrival and departure time for the sitter. There are plenty of ridiculous examples in the listings, some of them shown on this forum.
I have seen something like arrival from 5 to 5:30 am and departure from 22 to 22:30 pm.
You may want to check this thread
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I (and the vast majority of people on this forum, both sitters and hosts) see THS just the other way round:
This is not a job, it’s a voluntary mutual exchange
Although it’s true that some sitters may occasionally do a sit just in order to help a host, what most of us do most of the time is exchange house and pet care for accommodation. There’s also the big bonus of pets’ company and social and multicultural experience. But one of the requirements of THS T&Cs is that there has to be at least one night’s stay offered in the listing. There are other options for people who
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Why would you accept a sit if you didn’t actually want to stay there? No one is ‘requiring’ you to do anything. If you don’t want to stay there, don’t accept the sit? It seems simple enough…
If you simply want to volunteer just do so near your own home. Then you aren’t 'required’ to stay anywhere.
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I do see it as a job. There’s accountability, responsibility, a review that’s pending.. bad reviews cost pet sitters’ lives! I take the mantle on very seriously. I don’t cancel if I can help it - this is not a cheap Airbnb for me. Lives are often at stake and livelihoods.
If I don’t think I can deliver I don’t accept the sit and pass.
If something “ better” comes up I don’t cancel either.
Let’s not pretend there are no power differentials between sitters and Home Owners.
I’ve had some experiences that I would class in retrospect as bullying, deceitful, and very economical in factual content in a welcome guide ( some have had no guide at all) so yes it can be a tightrope experience..
I’ve had some fantastic sits and locations too but this is for people who are risk takers and enjoy a gamble. Exchanges aren’t always fair.
That’s why when I get sent a ThS questionnaire -How did we do? The jury is still out on that one!
Tight ropers appreciate a strong safety net when needed.
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I am with you there. Just expressing solidarity. I am not willing to be driven over by the bus that disagrees with this. There isn’t even nuance to that conversation, which makes it impossible to get anywhere. But thanks for voicing this, I feel gaslighted here, and while I understand why hosts want to believe that it is “exchange”, it is tiring.
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I completely agree with you in every single point you mention but I still stand by my statement:
- The fact that I don’t see it as a job doesn’t mean this exchange doesn’t come with responsibilities for both parties.
- The fact that I don’t cancel sits doesn’t make them a job. I don’t even cancel a meal or a coffee with friends, something we all do for pleasure and nobody would think of it as a job.
I am not pretending anything at all, just stating my honest opinion on this matter. I didn’t mention “power differentials” and I am not interested in a generalization of this issue. As many other things in life, the more we give up our own power, the more power the other party gains.
I take sitting on a case by case basis and try to make it a fair exchange for both parties, starting by not applying for sits that I am not interested in.
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Totally accept your view expressed here and respect it. I wasn’t trying to shoot anyone down.
I mistakenly addressed this view back to you and I apologise if it offended. I think it clearly did. Don’t know how to unlink you here but this is my view out of the blue. My sentence lets not pretend.. was not aimed at what you said at all.. it’s never fair as Home Owners and Sitters are viewed and treated as different species in my limited experience. I’ve had to bite my tongue on several occasions. My power lies in not going back for more and learning from experiences good and bad.
It’s how I’m feeling about things as I finish a more exhausting free sit with no review, not THS, under challenging circumstances that are no one’s fault but I do find as I age I need more recovery time and gaps between the appointments. I still relish the “work” and the experiences it brings.
The gold I discover involves a bit of dross. It’s part and parcel of how things evolve, I expect.
I think when I finally decide to step away permanently I will be able to look back on lots of satisfied pets and “ customers” and golden moments.
I sometimes have to remind myself I can say “no! “
Winnie is telling me to stop writing now and come and play. Great advice! Carry On Petsitting!
Maybe as I’m retired and I’m financially independent if it gets to feeling “like a job “ in the worst sense, then the more that feeling arises the less I will be willing to play the field of sitting opportunities. Maybe I take myself too seriously at times? But doing my best is what I try to achieve.
The lovely feedback I’ve had from these sitters is very reassuring too. Game on! No regrets here.
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Who said I wanted ir didn’t want to stay anywhere ? This is not about me!
Staying at the host’s home is a requirement of the job, isn’t it?
(Post edited by the Forum team to comply with the Community Rules).
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Thanks for not being afraid to voice it too
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I don’t have a problem. I’m just pointing out no one is holding a gun to your head and conscripting you to pet sit. If you don’t want to do this free ‘job’ as you call it, then don’t do it. LOL.
You are free to travel and stay where you like, it’s called paid lodging.
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Not at all. No need to apologize. I enjoy a good discussion and sharing different points of view in a respectful way.
We completely agree on the care we provide and how seriously we take our commitment we just use a different word to describe it.
I avoid “job” because the first, more extended meaning of the word is:
“work for which you receive regular payment” and it can lead to equating homeowner= employer, sitter=employee and so on…
The word job also has the meaning of task or responsibility but I prefer to avoid ambiguity. I prefer the word responsibility but just as a part of a voluntary exchange, in which both parties have responsibilities and benefits. When I agree to do a sit, I know it comes with responsibilities and I accept to fulfill them but the reason I choose to sit it’s because it comes with a lot of joy for me too. I really enjoy getting to know lots of different pets, cuddling with them and having new experiences.
Living with pets has lots of benefits for health so I save the money on therapy and meds. If I want to specifically be somewhere, then I save money on accommodation, too. If I get to share meals and chats with hosts and neighbours, as I often do, then the social and cultural experience is priceless for me.
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Yes to all of this which is why I will be upset as I have to accept changes in my circumstances and abilities to deliver. The joy is still strong and most of all with the animals but I learn more about myself too and what I seek in life to feel useful and appreciated. It’s a complex equation but so fulfilling when it balances out.
Thank you for taking time and showing patience with me too. It’s great sharing views on this forum with like minded “ addicts” lol.
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@Highfive and @Newpetlover my two cents , quality over quantity. It’s my view that if you are sitting full time you may choose to take a less than optimal sit to fill a gap. If you have the luxury to choose to say no, (as I think you both do?) the odds are likely higher of getting better sits. Of course being able to walk away if it is not as described is also within your power.
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You’re right. I am not a full time sitter. I also think that if people rely on sitting as their primary or only source of accommodation, they are more likely to take risky sits, just as homeowners who rely only on free sitters to look after their pets and live in remote, non popular areas may settle for less than optimal sitters.
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I do think that’s important. I can see how the sitters that have to fill gaps may end up with issues, unless they can go home or get paid lodging in between the choice sits.
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To get back to the original question, as long as my renewal hasn’t expired and as long as the other, new platform I already joined, doesn’t have a serious number of sitters, I will stay. But I am afraid that the experienced sitters who sit nonstop will avoid shorter sits, because of the extra fees, I very much hope for the new platform to grow. Then I will leave THS.
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What is the new platform you have joined?
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