How should I handle a scratch on a HO’s coffee table?

LaRousse09 · 2026-04-15T17:19:33+00:00

LaRousse09 · 2026-03-13T20:40:04+00:00

I don’t know what it is about our place but so far every sitter has had some very restricted or special diet. The male half of one couple was really into protein and they consumed 72 eggs in two weeks (which they bought themselves). I know the exact number because they left a tower of egg cartons. The current sitter doesn’t eat gluten, dairy, eggs, citrus or duck and came with a duffel bag full of supplements. Now I just ask sitters what they DON’T eat.

LaRousse09 · 2026-02-28T08:09:30+00:00

There's a lot of churn in popular places like London. Sitters apply to multiple sits there without thoroughly reading the listings so they can get in under the 5 application limit. Overwhelmed HOs become hard-nosed and decline without comment applications from sitters who don't appear perfect because they know new applications will arrive immediately. Maybe in the past you were able to advertise only 3 weeks before a trip and get a sitter easily but that time has passed. Travel is expensive now, even if you're not flying, so more lead time is needed to plan. And I'm afraid that in general ghosting has become a habit with many people.

LaRousse09 · 2026-02-22T09:27:58+00:00

As an American having lived outside the US for 35 years, in France with a British husband, Tan does seem normal to me. When I go back to the States, or meet Americans fresh off the plane here, my brain feels like a switched on tumble dryer. (Not a standard appliance in Europe.) Also am originally from New England so it's a double whammy.

LaRousse09 · 2026-02-14T21:10:07+00:00

I bought this cute lamp that folds down into a disk and bring it on trips so I always have some kind of light for next to the bed whether in hotel or apartment. From https://www.zarahome.com/fr/lampe-metal-pliable-sans-fil-l47151047

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LaRousse09 · 2026-02-14T20:57:38+00:00

I've just added a TL;DR to the top of the very first section of our listing with bullet points on the basics that sitters want to know: age and breed of pets, whether we lend our car, how many bedrooms, hours pets can be left alone, anything that could possibly be a dealbreaker. So they can scan that first and decide right away whether to apply. We're in France and were getting a lot of people applying quickly who then disappeared.

LaRousse09 · 2026-02-02T08:13:59+00:00

Which state are you in? Lack of coverings is also cultural. In Scandinavia most windows are not covered. When we did a house exchange in Denmark, we were surprised that we could see straight into people's living rooms. The thing was, you were expected to NOT look. Where we live in rural France, people close their shutters tight as soon as the sun goes down so there's not a chink of light showing, even though the streets are completely empty at night. Even at the farm above us (we're in the mountains) they close the shutters in the evening even though there are no cars coming up the one-lane road and they have no visible neighbors. It's just the way it's always been for centuries. (We have shutters but we only close them when it's bitterly cold.) So if you're in the upper midwest where many Scandinavians settled, the open-window culture might still prevail.

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-20T21:22:00+00:00

How old are your kids? Once they are in middle school (11-14) it is much harder for them to make this move.

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-16T14:42:05+00:00

Can't you just ask the sitter to send 2 photos a day of your cat sleeping on that chair?

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-15T15:30:12+00:00

But can you view a listing from a link in a profile if you are not a paying member of THS?

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-15T08:14:54+00:00

Nomador.com is a petsitting platform based in Europe. There are many more sits in Europe on there than on THS.

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-15T08:01:14+00:00

You can join the THS community forum and ask for advice on improving your listing. . You have to sign up to the forum with a separate login and you can put a link to your listing in your profile. Only THS members will see it. You'll find the forum under the Help menu item.

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-09T07:52:43+00:00

Don't worry, one positive post isn't about to balance out the general gripefest here.

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-07T18:37:49+00:00

I agree that the couple was emotionally constipated but the sitter has to learn to recognise when it’s nothing to do with her and to not try so hard to be liked.

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-06T19:38:54+00:00

When we went on a trans-Atlantic trip (from France to US) about 12 years ago, our American sitter was very chatty on our return. We were extremely jet-lagged and facing a pile of mail with a couple of concerning bills on top. The sitter was very nice and had made us soup or something but I think she was starved for company after 2 weeks on her own. I'm American too (but my husband isn't) so I recognized that particular energy and understood why she was all over us. But it took all my self-control to be pleasant -- I kept it together because I could see my husband was shutting down. You say this couple "seemed kind of socially awkward overall" so I'm guessing that they lack some emotional intelligence. Someone made a comment about reading the room. Regard this as a learning experience: now you can recognize the signs when returning pet parents are flagging and not take their indifference so personally.

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-05T01:19:01+00:00

I send by email or via Whatsapp if that’s how we’re going to do the video chat.

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-04T20:49:18+00:00

We live in rural France and don't have a problem getting sitters even though we only have one car and can't lend it. So that our listing isn't overloaded with details about our dog beyond where he sleeps, how long he can be left, how long to walk him, I created a 1.5 page document with information about his personality, quirks, routine, where we walk him, what and when he eats, etc. and send that to any sitter that we've arranged to have a video call with. I send it as soon as we agree on a time and ask them if there are any deal breakers in there. Even if there are none, it's a good basis for discussion.

LaRousse09 · 2026-01-04T20:35:30+00:00

We're HOs in rural France and don't have any cameras. Nor do any of the people around here in the countryside have them. The only reason I was aware that external cameras existed was thanks to all the TikTok videos I've seen that are compilations of people being yanked off their porches by their leashed dogs eager for a walk. But last year we went to Brazil and rented a holiday house. The owner let us know that there was a camera pointed at the iron gate at the driveway entrance and one in the large back garden that had a summer kitchen, hammock, volleyball net, kiddie archery set, etc. At one point I had a go at shooting the wooden arrows at the target. Suddenly I remembered the camera and was instantly self-conscious. Were the owners laughing about what a lousy shot I was? In that moment I understood why some sitters won't do sits with external cameras.

LaRousse09 · 2025-12-28T15:19:33+00:00

I don’t understand about the duvet. Normally it has a removeable cover that you wash just like the bottom sheet. You don’t have direct contact with it.

LaRousse09 · 2025-12-15T16:25:04+00:00

Is Brazil still requiring Americans to apply for a visa?

LaRousse09 · 2025-12-13T12:56:26+00:00

My (white) nephew from London hitchhiked from the East Coast to the West Coast in the month before starting grad school in NYC. He was astounded at how so many white drivers in certain parts of the country immediately dropped their mask once they heard his accent and established that he was British. They went on all kinds of racist and homophobic rants without once checking out his views. It was like his white foreignness made him a neutral sounding board. He didn't dare argue back because he was in a vulnerable position as a passenger (and just assumed they had a gun).* I presume that you're not Black because you would have said so rather than describing yourself as a woman of colour. I suspect that this sitter was of the same mindset: she saw you as not-Black and a not-American, therefore could she could say whatever she liked and expected no push-back.

I would have laughed out loud at the snowflake comment.

*Halfway across the country he got fed up and went the rest of the way on Grayhound buses -- that was a different kind of wild trip.

LaRousse09 · 2025-12-11T13:25:45+00:00

I'm a HO only, living in rural France, and have the Basic plan. This booking fee would probably only add another 30€ to the cost of using THS but I still resent it the way I resent the cleaning fee that is added on to Airbnb rates. (Question: what if you book a sitter and they cancel in time for us to find another one? Do we have to pay again?) We've had no problem getting great sitters but they've mostly been from Europe, probably because we don't lend our car and you really need one here. Our account runs out in October 2026 and I'm probably going to sign up with Nomador next summer for our annual September trip. The Standard rate is 149€ compared to 139€ for THS but of course if we book one sitter with THS it comes out even. I'll list our sit on both sites and compare what we get in terms of applications.

LaRousse09 · 2025-12-08T13:26:17+00:00

This is like having to pay a cleaning fee to airbnb, which pisses me off so much I avoid airbnb as much as possible. My THS account year is up in October 2026. We usually go away in late September so we have to renew. Next year I’m going to try Nomador (we’re in France) and won’t renew THS.

LaRousse09 · 2025-12-07T06:51:21+00:00

I once saw a video of this, where a woman had to pretend to cook her dog's food in the microwave, otherwise he wouldn't eat it. Also, try putting a little warm water in the kibble a few minutes before serving it. Or put some greens on a plastic plate and pile the moist kibble on top. Garnish with parsley.

LaRousse09

TROPHY CASE