With hosts who return early, change dates without consideration, etc., please write honest reviews so other sitters can make informed decisions and skip them.
Personally, this hasn’t been a problem with any sits I’ve done — 18 so far. My hosts have never surprised me with their return. They’ve stuck to the return times we agreed on, including letting me know when they’d arrived via plane or train and how long it would then take them to arrive by ride share, taxi or such. Even those driving or flying their private plane have told me specifically when they’d return.
In two emergencies — one host had a major accident and needed to return home for follow-up surgery and another set of hosts had to return early to say goodbye to their elderly dog, who had had catastrophic seizures and needed to be put down — those hosts told me to the hour when they’d be back once they’d arranged travel changes.
If at all unsure, I send a msg a day or two ahead, along the lines of, “Please let me know what time you’ll be back, so that (pet’s name) and I will be prepared to welcome you home. I’m sure (he/she) will be thrilled to see you!” That’s always worked, because presumably they’re all rational and considerate hosts.
Personally, I screen carefully from the outset and look for warning signals from reviewing listings onward in a search for such hosts. To me, the others don’t deserve any sitters.
yeah, I’d have been THRILLED to have left earlier if I’d known. They were all, ‘we came back early so you could get on the road earlier if you wanted’ and I was just like ‘well, I have planned to a schedule and still have all the things to do, so that’s not going to happen.’
This was the dirty sit I left a bad review for, so really, then coming home early was the least of the issues. lol
When a date or time has been agreed, being early is as rude and high-handed as being late (unless there’s a very good reason and as much notice as possible has been given). The worst of situations like this is that we are the ones wrong-footed and left feeling embarrassed and caught-out, when it’s the HOs who are behaving badly. We’re just keeping to the agreement.
As a homeowner, I want to share my experience with sitters who also don’t finalize their plans (flights) and respond to requests for video calls in a timely fashion. I’m with the poster here about being responsive to each other and respecting the ability to plan on both sides. But this isn’t just a homeowner issue. In one case, because I declined the application after not hearing back about a video call for more than 28 hours past the suggested time (and wanting to open up for other applications given the limit of 5), the sitter was angry and said my sit wasn’t a match anyway. I had to chase another sitter for their flight bookings over a month after confirmation. Perhaps it would be good for THS to ask both sides how definite they are about their plans on the dates in question and make that transparent that to both sides. It might cause both sides to think about this as they post the sit and as they apply.
@MitsouNYC re-flight bookings some sitters may not book a flight instantly if they are expecting prices to drop e g if confirming a sit far in advance. In our case we don’t plan so far ahead so we would always book flights as soon as possible after confirming a sit. Usually we’ll have done our research and earmarked a flight but would not actually book it before confirming. We too like to be reassured hosts have their travel plans confirmed before we commit to a sit so we are not subjected to later changes that could be costly or inconvenient for us. And that has never (yet!) happened.
The most important thing is to build enough trust in each other that you can rely on the other to stick to their word and to their commitment.
I agree with @Cuttlefish -forget involving THS - travel planning is between you and the sitter.
I see your point here, but could the same flight timing optimization apply to the homeowner then? Both sides could be timing the booking for cost. I think you’re right that trust has to build but the poster has made it sound like it is only a homeowner issue when it is also a sitter issue.
I’ve had a couple of instances where sitters have wanted to arrive earlier due to flight cost and if I can accommodate I definitely do that. Arriving later is surely not an option. So homeowners changing the sit by a day or two could be for the same exact reason.
Whoever has the most flexibility in their schedule wins at the end of the day.
Of course it applies to both sides but the original poster is just sharing an experience with specific HOs who did not respond in a timely manner and did not clearly disclose the situation until after the interview.
There’s also a difference between HOs and sitters here, HOs need to post specific dates on the platform when they publish a listing. If they add a comment about dates being flexible, it will filter out sitters who don’t have that flexibility and save everyone’s time.
@MitsouNYC I understand where you are coming from but I don’t think it is the same for sitter and host. The point is that the HO is the one who posts dates because they want to take a trip and need a sitter, therefore, imho, it is the HO who needs to be the first to offer confirmed flight details. The sitter is relying on that information to make plans. If you, as a host, want to optimize flight prices then it is better not to post your dates till you are absolutely sure of them!
This thread is enlightening- as a sitter when I see “ flexible dates “ have assumed that the host is always saying this to indicate that they can be flexible with the dates around the sitter’s availability. My ( wrong ) assumption has been based on the many listings that I’ve seen that say “dates flexible … we can leave/return a day or two earlier if that works for the sitter but must leave on / return by xx date at the latest “
I have now learned from this thread that when a host says “dates are flexible” they maybe actually be intending to communicate that the sitter will need to be flexible around the host , because the dates aren’t fixed or confirmed
Either way, what is important is that the host clearly communicates
in the listing what they mean by flexible - either our dates aren’t fixed yet and are we are likely to change them or we can be flexible with dates around sitter’s availability .
Whilst I might apply for a listing where the dates were flexible, so that I could discuss with the host , I would be reluctant to officially confirm the sit on the platform until the dates are firmly set .
Totally understand that. In fact as HO my dates are always fixed when I post. However, Im just offering view point that it’s not because people are necessarily flaky or unreliable. Both sides can have their reasons, and as other responders have said, we need to gauge that on both sides. Wish THS would help with this systematically, though. It would add a lot of value to the platform, together with transparency on how much people change/cancel/withdraw applications or sits. Might be as easy as being able to add text to a particular sit…so that the HO can describe circumstances particular to those dates, and be prompted by some suggestions.
I find this a bit like a hostage situation. So if one had booked tickets Re the confirmation then it is on you that they change their mind. I know that can happen also in an emergency etc., but it is the disregard for the other side that bothers me.
Not at all. I still had the original sit. They gave me the option of doing a second week (since they did not know if I had my full summer scheduled yet) and if I was booked for the following week, they would put a new listing for THAT week, but mine was already confirmed and set in stone. As it turned out, I DID want the second week. They communicated quickly with me and included me in their decision
I knew my first sit, and my last sit, but theirs was in the middle.
Not sure if I have already replied to this, so do forgive me if I have. As a HO who lists TWICE in my Listing that I will only look at couples for the sit here, I find it very frustrating when solo sitters apply - which has just happened, twice! It has nothing to do with worrying about a sitter being lonely but entirely to do with this being quite an unusual sit in a 200 year old plus house with no central heating and that it is quite hard work, even for two people, to keep two (or three) fires going. It’s also extremely remote being a mile from our house to the gate and a further five miles to the nearest village, so it is very isolated and neighbours don’t just ‘pop in’. My concern is two fold in that of course I want anyone who sits here to enjoy ‘going back in time’ and all that this place has to offer but I am also concerned for their welfare. If someone was sitting here solo and had a fall, as the mobile signal can be a bit ‘hit and miss’ (due to very thick walls in the house, inner courtyard and outer courtyard) they would find it very difficult to raise the alarm.
Sitters do have to credit HOs with a bit of cop on - while a Sitter might think they can manage solo, they have to trust that an HO knows the place and the pitfalls and is requesting couples for good reason, not whim.
As a solo sitter, I have applied for sits that specify couples when there is no discernible reason why 2 people are needed
and
This isn’t to say that there aren’t sits where it really should be a couple. There absolutely are and, of course, I don’t apply for those. But it’s usually pretty clear by the listing if it’s likely going to be too difficult for one person to manage on their own.
and
So if you’re only looking for couples but still getting singles, it may be worth explicitly saying why you require a couple if you’re not already doing so. That may cut it down a bit.
If you are explaining WHY you need a couple vs a single and singles are still reaching out, then they aren’t who you’d want anyway because they’re clearly not reading your listing. If you just say you want a couple with no explanation why, then I gave advice regarding that above.
Something like, “It takes a couple to manage this 200-year-old house,” or something like that ought to do the trick. If any solo sitter applies in that case, they’re a blockhead and you can ignore them.
Yes, that’s true - they aren’t reading it (or they see the photos and really want to come here - I get that too, which is lovely) but then I’ve had a couple apply, then ask if they can bring another couple with them because they’re all travelling together and it “would be so much fun”… you do get all types!
