The sit I am doing over Christmas, 2-3 hours drive away from me, the start date has changed 3 times, but it was not the fault of the Home Owner, it was Easyjet mucking about with date of their outbound international flight.
Luckily the owners have been very apologetic about it, even though it is not their fault, and as a solo sitter with no other commitments in late December, it has not caused me any inconvenience at all, much to their relief.
Fingers crossed no more changes between now and 21st December,
Your Websters definition actually specifies the engagement for “a fixed sum”, meaning money. As no money passes between owner and sitter, there is no hiring, just a mutual exchange of goods and services @Bobalou2016.
@Bobalou2016 the word hire implies an employer/employee relationship which is not what THS is. It’s a mutual exchange of equals. Both sitters and hosts are looking for something (pet care or accommodations) and both have something to offer.
The majority of sitters have their own home where they can do all these things .
They choose to house and pet sit to visit a location- not for a place to eat, sleep or shower.
I guess something the sitter/s could do is email/text the HO with a simple journal of what they did when they were there, in what condition the home was found, etc.