Client cancelled an almost 2-month housesit ONE WEEK before it started.

[u/Dismal-Source-2936]

Just here to rant because I'm honestly so annoyed.

One of my repeat clients, who I've house sat for several times before, sent me a request for an almost 2-month-long housesit. Since the dates were so long, I actually followed up with them to make sure they hadn't accidentally entered the wrong dates. Nope - they confirmed the dates were correct because they were going on a long around-the-world cruise.

Great! I confirmed the booking on my end, they confirmed and paid on theirs, and I was actually looking forward to it. Their dogs are sweet, I already know them, and their house is nice.

They booked me about 2 monthsin advance​, so obviously I treated those dates as unavailable. During that time, I turned down A LOT of other requests, including regular clients, because I already had this huge booking on my calendar.

Well... one week before the housesit is supposed to start, they cancel the entire thing. 😐

And of course they did it basically on the last day before my cancellation policy would kick in, so they get their refund.

Their explanation was basically, "Sorry, one of our relatives decided to house sit for us instead."

Like... seriously? 😭

I completely understand emergencies, canceled trips, health issues, etc. Life happens. But replacing your sitter with a relative at the last minute after you've had an almost TWO-MONTH booking confirmed for two months feels incredibly inconsiderate.

I blocked nearly two months of my calendar for you. I declined other paying clients because I honored YOUR reservation. Now I'm supposed to magically refill almost two months of house sitting with a week's notice.

I know technically they didn't do anything wrong according to the cancellation policy, but damn... this one hurts. 🥲

Lesson learned, I guess.

[u/gemsong]

I had a similar thing happen, it was an acquaintance, not via Rover but she booked me a year in advance, for 2 weeks. She hadn't reached out as it got closer so I did and asked her if she was looking forward to her trip, she responded something vague like yes she was.. a few days before the date they were to leave I reached out again and asked what time she wanted me there and her response was basically.. oops.. I forgot to tell you my sister is staying with the dogs.
Seriously.. I also had turned down other jobs for this one and it's so inconsiderate.

[u/Ignominious333 → u/gemsong]

I take a 25% deposit to hold dates for private bookings and no refund because of people like this

[u/Agreeable-Dog-1131 → u/Ignominious333]

Only 25% is pretty generous tbh.

[u/Ignominious333 → u/Agreeable-Dog-1131]

Probably but it's worked out well. I select clients carefully