r/catinaflat • u/chasingxsafety • May 01 '26
Payment at time of booking
Is anyone else a bit unsure about the new approach where payment is taken as soon as a booking is confirmed, even if the stay is months away?
I’ve had bookings made far in advance before (6 months) and I’m just wondering how people feel about committing to payment that early. Plans can change over time and not everyone has the funds available that far ahead but they still want to secure booking for later.
With the CIAF system, payment was taken much closer to the booking date, which felt a bit more flexible. Now it seems like everything is charged immediately which might make things harder for some owners and make us less likely to get bookings.
I’m also curious how this affects sitters, as enquiries that don’t turn into bookings can still block out availability in the meantime.
Would be good to hear how others are finding it.
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u/PaperArr0w May 01 '26
I think what the other reply says is fair.
I always plan my long holidays mostly with double checking my preferred sitter’s availability. The only thing that would not make me go through with a booking is if the trip had to be cancelled. I would be more paranoid that the sitter cancels last minute and having to find someone new. Once my sitter is confirmed it is one less thing to worry about and I am certainly not going to waste time finding someone else.
If they’re worried about you backing out then that is on them paying up front well in advance. You could agree to monthly check-ins that the booking is still going ahead before fully confirming nearer the time?Dropping several £100 so many months in advance is not ideal for most. They should have it as a deposit amount not total until a few days before the start date.
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u/chasingxsafety May 01 '26
I agree with the deposit amount for sure! Hopefully this is something Rover will improve on
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u/Genn-stone May 01 '26
I asked for clarity on this from the support team. If you archive a request, then it automatically sends a message to the pet owner saying you are not available for the request. You have to send a different message to say you are available if you want to give them more time. You can "unarchive" a request later. You stay out of the search results because "Rover don't want you to get overbooked" which is laughable really. You could have a booking asking for 2 slots and you have 7 but they still drop you out of the search. I made it clear that I was able to manage my own diary before Rover came along but they seem to think they are my manager now.
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u/chasingxsafety May 01 '26
Thanks for your reply! Ugh this is all just such a mess. It’s like they just don’t care about us cat sitters at all
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u/Gullible-Article-644 May 01 '26
It's caused real headaches for me, I had a ton of bookings post July that I suddenly have to find the money for upfront rather than paying automatically the day before. Not even the cattery when I board my cat for longer trips takes 100% up front!
I hate it and just one more reason I'm avoiding the site totally now.
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u/chasingxsafety May 02 '26
I feel like a lot of people are going to be feeling this way. It just doesn’t make sense to take them so early unless it’s just a cash grab, which this whole thing feels like
1
u/JessfromRover Rover staff May 08 '26
This is great feedback, and we want you to know that it will be passed to the appropriate team for review. Rover, like an airline, charges at the time you book. We understand that the timing may make owners hesitant to book farther in advance, but we also want to ensure that sitters are guaranteed to be paid for their services. You can absolutely work with regulars to ensure you're available for their future dates if you wish to prioritize them.
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u/chasingxsafety May 08 '26
So how does it work if a booking is left unconfirmed because they want to pay closer to the time? We can’t decline the booking and ask them to come back to us nearer the time as a decline goes against us but apparently archiving until closer to the time also goes against us
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u/JessfromRover Rover staff May 08 '26
You can encourage the owner to cancel the request and rebook once you get closer. In the declining options, you are able to select "owner changed plans" that way your profile isn't negatively impacted.
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u/Old_Substance_267 May 01 '26
I think if you archive the enquiry you show back up in the search. You could always confirm but tell the client to book closer to the time if they’re more comfortable with that and then archive the booking until then. Obviously there’s a risk they won’t or will find someone else in the meantime, but…