Ive stopped the auto renewal.
If the app worked better ie you could actually speak to a human for advice or help I would continue.
Instead they put the price up and when you need advice or help they abdicate any responsibility & direct you to the forum group.
Nah
6 Likes
Ironically being that no one on the forum works for (or is paid by) THS,
so can only offer opinions and advice and often sends the member back to support! #cheapskates
2 Likes
@Cuttlefish not sure anymore if “some” people DO actually work for THS 
Happy New Year mate 
5 Likes
I hear every while indeed about legacy members who somehow have their annual membership fee ‘frozen’ - I’ve been a member for nearly 11 years and never have had my fee frozen at the old level. E.g. at every fee increase, my fee has gone up accordingly as well.
As to what I’ll do: for me the new booking fees would kick in, in October. I will seriously consider whether to cancel my membership after 11 years. As others have said as well, it’s not that I can’t afford say 5 x $10, it’s the principle of how & what is done that I very much disagree with, on top of other unwelcome changes in recent years and how THS has handled them. It really depends (unfortunately) as well on whether alternative petsitting websites are gaining more ground.
If I do stay, I will indeed now also look more for ways to confirm the sit off platform without hitting the ‘confirm’ button. E.g. it’s not as if confirming it officially via THS buys me any protection, insurance, or likewise.
The Trusted Times newsletter today:
“243k successful matches between pet parents and sitters”
Now add roughly $10 x 2 per sit in booking fees (both sitter and pet owner pay), and it means nearly $5 million extra in annual income for THS.
But what do we get in additional services in return for these fees? Of what I’ve read, I have not discovered any yet.
10 Likes
Yeah all those stats. Should take a screenshot shot and compare next year. How many joined? How many left? Ooh I’d love to be a fly on that stat wall .
3 Likes
Right back at you Ozzie legend! 
2026 is the year we shall meet in person 
#newyearswish
5 Likes
@Cuttlefish that sounds like just the best for ‘26! 
4 Likes
Housesittersuk seems to be the biggest UK only site and only £29/year so possibly worth a try. There’s also House Sit Match £89 the lowest tier fee and appears very similar to TH but I can only see 26 sits listed (not sure if that’s the extent or only a preview as a non member). Might be worth asking. It covers UK, Europe, US, Canada.
There are others Rover, pawshake, pet sitting angels, Some of these are paid services. I have no experience of any of these.
3 Likes
I’m a member of the first site you mention. Although cheap it’s not a patch on THS but still worth joining. It has companion sites in Australia, NZ, Canada and America. Also babysitters!! Its website states it has been voted the best house and pet sitting site in the UK 2025 and the most trusted!
4 Likes
I am also looking at Housesitters UK.
As to whether I will renew my membership in May after 16 years will depend on whether I can find a suitable sitting.
I am just looking at the Uk sits at the moment scrutinising each sitting which may interest me. However they are becoming less attractive due to listings including some of the following:
Dogs can only be left for up to 2 hours
Dogs need washing and drying twice a day
Pets sleep on the bed with you
Dogs need to be walked separately due to “issues”
Pets need feeding 3 or 4 times a day including cats
Dogs will eat your leftovers (we don’t have leftovers)
Arrival and departure times at unsocial times
No warm feeling when I read the listings
When we started sitting, there were no complications like this; it seems that many HOs are letting their pets rule their lives.
I have 3 sittings booked for this year, 2 of which are repeats and I feel that this may be sufficient and then time to call it a day. This will be a great shame as we normally carry out around 8 to 10 sittings a year.
17 Likes
I agree , that is what we are seeing . We still have a few months left before our membership ends , so I do take a look at the listings from time to time BUT nothing is attracting my attention .
Some nice homes in lovely locations are being listed but with multiple pets , pets with medical conditions, requiring administering medication at set times, dogs that need walking for a minimum of 2 -3 hours a day , requests for sitters that can handle strong “protective” large dogs or dogs that need to exercised away from people and be muzzled when outside , puppies a few months old not fully trained with requests that the sitter continues with the training , pets that can’t be left alone for more than 2 hours ( including cats ! ) shorts sits ( 1-2 days only) and even gold fish that need feeding 3 times a day
None meeting our criteria for a mutual exchange .
19 Likes
My membership is up in May and I almost certainly won’t renew. I’m actuallly not sure why I renewed last time! I’ve only done 2 THS sits and the last one was almost a year ago. I’m mainly interested in sits in Paris (as I used to live there) and the 5 application limit already made it very difficult for me. It turns out I can easily get Paris sits on Nomador. I’ve been doing that for a while now so I get asked back for repeats or recommended to their friends.
My two THS sits were countryside sits here in Scotland. I live in the city so it was a nice change and both sits were great. But when I look for similar sits, I see the same unreasonable requirements described by @Silversitters and @Itchyfeet, or the owner doesn’t even respond to my application. It’s not worth the effort for a few days or a weekend away, I prefer just to go somewhere in my motorhome.
I might have just continued my basic membership as I did last year, despite not really needing it, but the booking fee just feels like the last straw.
19 Likes
I also cancelled my auto renew. Why would you charge the person who is providing the service an extra fee to provide the service?
11 Likes
I agree, it’s so greedy to charge the HO but to ALSO charge the sitter, who is not being paid and incurs all the costs of travelling to and from the sit etc, is a real p-take.
12 Likes
Because the company found what initially appeared to be a relatively painless way to increase profitability.
2 Likes
That is so strange. I thought all long term members who remain on autopay had their price frozen. We joined in 2017 on a Black Friday deal. (I actually don’t know what our membership is called- I thought ‘Classic’ but ithers are calling it ‘Legacy’). The following year, when we were charged the normal full price, we were told it would never change- as long as we remained continuously on autopay. That has indeed been the case until now- £89 per year since 2018. I’ve had it confirmed from THS that our price will remain the same for the next renewal too. But after that no guarantees.
3 Likes
For some of us it was a really 
deal, as the BF discount is for the remaining months only. For me, it was 2 months. 
What would be the point of an upgrade for Nov and Dec as I had no sits and no want to sit at that time. 
If you had already renewed just before it might be an advantage, there.
4 Likes
Why wouldn’t they just change the model to make the homeowner/pet owner pay? They already have payed exorbitant fees in the past with vets and kennels. It simply makes no sense to this retired boomer entrepreneur that has the perfect profile for most customers, for me to pay to provide you a service. I’ll simply take my money and time and create a new business with social media marketing and direct marketing to the zip codes I wish to work in and move on. Being a Renaissance man of the residential construction market, I can offer a plethora of add on services such as: maintenance, upgrades, security and construction supervision and consulting. This was fun while it lasted.
5 Likes
I have canceled auto-renewal and am on the fence about staying or going at this point. I have been a member since 2017 and have had wonderful experiences with sitters from this platform. Unfortunately, I have to decide by March 21, 2026.
5 Likes
I don’t know why the company chose to do what it has done in regard to the booking fees, nor what it’s intentions may be in the future, other than by what I’ve observed to date. It seems fairly clear from the vague, generic, infrequent responses from THS, that those who make the rules at THS aren’t inclined to change anything despite the backlash from thousands of members. If I was to speculate further, THS figures the profit they will make on the fees will more than offset what they lose in paid memberships.