We are currently on a sit, it was booked as a 3 night sit but the first night the homeowner stayed as they were leaving early the next morning and wanted to handover with us even though it is a straightforward sit with one cat. this night was considered part of the 3 nights. it was a little awkward but we obliged. that evening though, the home owner mentioned they would be returning the following early evening! We were a little taken a back and advised in that case we would not stay that night. It is a very small home and we feel quite uncomfortable about it. It all seems very odd. Has anyone else had this happen? A friend who uses ths said it was mostly likely as the ho would have struggled get a one night sit so they made it three, even though really, it’s only one. I just wonder if I should mention it in the review so other’s can clarify in the future. I don’t feel the ho being home the evening before and then coming home a day earlier than advised is a true 3 night sit …
Why on earth did he even need a sitter at all? It seems it wasn’t even a full day away? Sorry if this sounds too forward, but do you think he met you and didn’t trust/like you and decided to change his plans?
Of course you can and should mention it. Just state the facts.
Definitely mention it in your review as the home owner changed the agreed parametres of the sit.
Would anyone go out of their way at their own cost for just one night, not us! If they didn’t reveal the full situation when you agreed to the sit then I would definitely mention it your review. But in your scenario I would word it it in a way that helps them to understand that you should have been told the full scenario when it was arranged, because while you have tried to help them, to have travelled all that way for just one night alone is a little deflating.
I’d also knock a point off for mis-communication, and an inaccuracy of listing.
As I read it, 36 maybe 40 hours or so: early morning departure, returning in the evening next day. But sure, a cat could normally handle that.
You should definitely mention this in the review so that the next sitter is not suckered into the same situation. Leave a less than 5 star review so it’s noticed.
Also I suggest for every sit you should always confirm when the HO is leaving and returning before accepting.
That’s crazy! As a HO, we list the dates of arrival and departure in our post to include our departure and arrival times. We do not do blind handovers. We state this in the video call so sitters know exactly the time we are leaving and arriving. We ask sitters where they will be (location wise) before our sit starts. We’ve had nomads state there is a gap in time and we’ve offered the sitter to come early or stay late if need be. It’s all about communication.
This, as HO we do overlaps and include that as part of the dates, call it out in our listing and also reiterate in documentation and on the video chat.
…would highly recommend that for future sits, you just ask explicitly what the expectations are and the exact departure/arrival times of the HOs to avoid this situation moving forward.
I err on the side of assuming nothing and getting explicit responses for the things that I care about/could be deal breakers…we don’t mind overlaps but that one is awfully/awkwardly short, especially for a cat.