Thank you for some clarity. I’ll do that.
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We were in a situation as sitters summer 2024 where I had to cancel a run of 4 confirmed sits in a row. This was due to urgent surgery where I didn’t know if I’d be recovered sufficiently to undertake the sits. As the surgery outcome was uncertain-I made the difficult decision to cancel as early as possible to give the owners the maximum opportunity to find alternative sitters which they all did (2-3 mths notice). Sometimes in life all you can do is your best. We’ve completed 3 successful sits since then.
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The only sit I canceled as a sitter was when a host didn’t disclose dealbreakers till they sent their welcome guide — a dog that needed letting out overnight and another prone to diarrhea.
The sit was months away and I canceled within 10 - 15 minutes of accepting it. Luckily, I read the WG right away and spared myself a bad sit.
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You bring up an interesting point about seeing the WG so quickly. I’m both a sitter and a HO. I tend to send the WG 1-2 weeks prior to the sit as there aren’t any surprises in it. Perhaps the difference is, in the video chat I always ask about the pet’s daily routine/behavior, etc. I’ll have to ponder this a little.
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The thing is, something that might be a surprise to someone else isn’t necessarily obvious. Hosts might take certain things for granted, because they happen to live that way. Or maybe a sitter is from abroad and is unfamiliar with how things work. And so on.
Or maybe something in a WG prompts clarity on a possible mismatch. If so, probably the sooner the better for host, pets and sitter. That way, host and sitter stand a better chance of figuring solutions or alternatives.
Of course, a host might not want to share a security code or wifi password or such early. Those types of info can always wait till later.
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“she might not be able to come - in four months!”
That’s the problem with ‘gravely ill’
My husband was hospitalised in December, he couldn’t move, cause unknown, recovery unknown.
We cancelled a sit for late January, because we ‘might’ not have been able to go.
He’s now okay, more or less. We couldn’t know that in advance.
If the sitter had waited to see how it goes, they may then have had to cancel with much shorter notice.
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I understand that. My late husband was “gravely ill” months before he died. I guess i had been taken back, a little, because I did have applicants that are no longer available and I get fearful about finding someone for Tucson when it’s HOT. And last summer, my sitter did spring it on me, a month before I wis leaving, that she would have to leave mid-sit for a week, after confirming four months prior. I was not remotely harsh or anything when I write her telling her I would have to unconfirm and that I would hope she could come in the future,.
Also - I did express empathy. I do hope it works out. And glad you’re husband is okay
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@ShulasMom As sitters, we discuss the Welcome Guide during the video chat and politely request that we receive it within 48 hours of confirming the sit.
We will gently prompt them one time if two days go by, and nothing.
After that, we’ll explain again that we must see the WG in order to go ahead with the sit.
The WG has to include (among many things) their address and cell numbers, emergency contact numbers, sitters’ responsibilities, and a detailed description of pets’ health and routines.
In our experience, getting a detailed and honest WG within a few days of confirming is as important as any other aspect of accepting a sit.
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I have a detailed WG both online and in print at my house. I’ve noticed though, that not everyone is so thorough. Some people put the bare minimum in the WG so it may not always be that helpful. Hmm TH doesn’t require people to have a WG but they do suggest it. Maybe if they made the WG process easier (I’ve walked a lot of people through how to enter stuff in the tiny boxes) and included a required element, that would help.
What I’ve experienced as a sitter over two years is that the people with the most prompt and robust welcome guides are hosts who reply promptly anyway.
It was easy to see a pattern and I realized: People who have their act together tend to be that way consistently. Like those same people will write reviews promptly, no nudging.
I just had a host like that, for instance. Replied almost immediately after I applied and set up a video chat promptly. Then quickly shared their WG after we agreed on the sit.
All of our communications were clear, prompt and friendly, before and during the sit. And after, including writing me a review quickly and sending me fun updates about their pets.
Likewise, the hosts of my next sit are like that — I’ll be repeat sitting for them.
I haven’t sat for years and years like some folks, but it was easy to figure out how to find good hosts, from my POV.
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I haven’t totally seen that correlation in my experience but it certainly makes sense that there could be one.
I certainly appreciate when people are prompt, efficient and when they have a sufficient WG and that’s how I am, so there’s that.
Yup, I’m sure it’s not 100 percent the case, but I’ve benefited from the pattern. And of course, you’ve still got to do other due diligence.
Like there was a host who was prompt in replying, doing a video chat, offering me the sit and then sending a welcome guide. Only it turned out they’d withheld dealbreakers and I was lucky to immediately read their WG — one dog had to be let out overnight and another was prone to diarrhea. Right away, I told them I was canceling. Dodged a bullet!
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Agree 100%. We typically make our WG available a couple of weeks before the sit, but are happy to provide it earlier. I spent hours on the Guide and always ask for feedback from Sitters regarding whether we missed anything. Great idea to request it early. We’re always happy to provide it.
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Exactly our point. HOs who set a pattern of clear communication and honest details up front… likely the sit will hold no surprises. In two years, that’s what we’ve found.
Agree 100%. Part of that form, which both sides would agree to, Won’t be stating that the cancellation had been initiated by the owner or by the sitter.
I would also want to know how much lead Time had been given, and to what extent the owner, or in the case of a no, no cancellation, the sitter, had been disadvantaged.
Often, it does not pose a problem. But if you are looking for a sitter for four months, and they cancel three weeks out, that can be a huge issue. Ditto for an owner, who cancels a sit, especially a long-term one. I would want that noted. At some point, I would like that data made public.
THS won’t do it. They won’t even share how many cancellations there are in total as a percentage of sits, or how many sitters vs. owners there are in their 200k membership, or how many active sits or sitters are in play, or even how many people have applied for a particular sit. Even listings that don’t meet the minimum standards they set for themselves have been described as both “a few” and “too many to cope with” this last week alone. An entirely contradictory organisation and less than honest on many counts right now. #dontholdyourbreath
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Life happens, at all times! I would LOVE for there to be a means of easy cancellation for sitters, just as easy as it is for homeowners. I had a HO cancel on me the week before the sit, due to a “family emergency” (they were to go on a motorcycle trip for a few days and the weather was going to be rubbish so who knows if that was truth!) and I had to scramble to sort my plans out. I have a premium membership but didn’t know that there is a $150 USD deductible for accommodations claims, AND their sit was in a not that desirable or safe city (for the most part) but luckily I ended up landing a sit that fit perfectly in that timeframe. THS doesn’t care one bit about sitters being inconvenienced so having some file of sorts on how often a sitter has cancelled seems to add insult to our experience here. We don’t even have the luxury of cancelling a sit with any sense of ease, as HO’s do.
The bigger THS gets, the worse they get.
I sure would. We’re new but booked a sitter who contacted us and confirmed for a trip almost 3 months down the road. She just now said basically she’s tired and can’t do it. Even though it’s 20 days away from our departure. I know we can look again but we went almost 3 full months with the comfort of having her confirmed and now we are franticly looking again. SHE CONTACTED US!
Anyway, we asked her to unconfirm, and she said we have to do that. We contacted support and they said sure enough we have to unconfirm her and then it says: We’re sorry your plans have changed, and you have to cancel.
SO basically we as the people impacted by another person not keeping their word look as if we changed our minds.
I take commitment very seriously and want to know the exact thing you’re mentioning in this post.
HOW OFTEN HAS SHE DONE THIS???
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Yes. There are these stupid messages we get. Sitters can’t cancel but we can withdraw an application. If we do, we get this message saying “sorry you were declined” or something similar and then they give you advice on how to improve your chances of getting a sit. It doesn’t make sense.
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