yes the husband says the neighbor can make the intro and he will leave a key hidden outside the house it is just that the wife really wanted to have a personal intro. i will do things much differently going forward. i just hope this one goes ok. doesn’t seem like a good start 
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thanks for the reply. yes i was trying not to do hotels, but do back to back sits. maybe that doesn’t always work out in the real world
Thank you for the clarification. Your thought process makes a lot of sense, but unfortunately, most people tend to think mostly about themselves, and not take into consideration how their actions affect others.
Can you do a video chat (maybe a Facetime call) with the wife, and you can even meet the dog?
Back to back to back Sits are difficult to coordinate without any interruptions. Generally, and there are exceptions, people tend to leave early in the day, and they tend to return home later in the day. It is just how travel tends to work.
Even when we have ended one Sit on the SAME day that we started a new Sit, we had to be at the new Sit at 9 am, but the other people were not getting home until 7 pm, so we had 2 dogs for the day (each Sit involved one dog). It’s always a big adventure!
Things tend to work out, and you are able to communicate well, so things will get better! Just a bumpy start.
I think that is the explanation - you are only travelling within the state. I have sitters that have had a four hour flight and a one hour bus to get to me. So many possibilities for a delay or worse, so I won’t leave until I know the sitter is comfortably settled.
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I am on the same page as Marj. Most of my sitters travel by plane and usually I do, too, so there is no other way to do it than overlapping. These itineraries never match on the same day. However, it’s clearly stated in my listing, so nobody ever seemed surprised.
Also in my case I have bunnies and often accept sitters that have little or no experience looking after them. So they get a thorough in person introduction and I then often offer to invite them for their first meal. I don’t think it has ever been declined.
For me THS is not only about pet care, but also meeting different sitters and hearing their life stories, even if it’s only for that one evening. I feel that most of my sitters feel the same, and I had many great conversations over a meal before traveling.
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I ALWAYS talk about the dates with the homeowner, and if they’d like us to come a day early (or not). I prefer to stay in the area and just come to the house the day of departure. Currently doing a sit (and also the one before this one) where the HO left too early so we got the keys the day before and just arrived when it suited us.
I’ve also once arrived a day early and slept in the house with the HO still there, but that’s an exception and depends on the person/house if I’d accept that.
But in general, my advice: Always discuss arrival and departure date/time with the HO before you even accept the sit. Not sure why you want these obvious details to be sorted out later
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We often stay the day before and the night of the return in a nearby hotel. We then do all the intro stuff the day before and go off to our hotel arriving back at the sit the next morning. Staying the last night means that if the HO’s are delayed we are still around. Makes it less stressful for both parties.
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An actual HO departure date and time and return date and time would be very helpful.
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Agreed. I especially enjoy coming the day before if I’m sitting for dogs, as I can walk through the evening routine, go for a walk, etc. with the HO before their departure.
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I’m a HO in the U.K. I have never - and would never - have a sitter to stay that didn’t come at least the night before.
My dog, cat and house need this in-person introduction and so do I.
I always make that clear in my video calls and sitters are always invited to stay longer on our return if they’d like to, but we expect an in-person handover.
It never occurred to me that HOs and sitters would want to do it any other way, so this has been useful information.
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Well, surprise! Weirdo over here has been “overlapped” anywhere from 1 night to as much as 5/6 days before and after.
This has always been by HO invitation only and agreed upon only if I feel comfortable. I really tune into the vibe and how well our conversations have gone prior.
The longer periods have been with repeat sits. It works really well in establishing relationships and invites back, really nice day trips to wonderful places not in the travel guides 
. Some of my greatest moments have been with really wonderful people who never treat me like hired help but a trusted friend.
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I’ve never had issues with overlapping. Have even been invited to stay beyond the sit.
Everyone is different, of course. Personality wise and life experience wise.
Plus, many of us have had dorm mates and/or roommates when young (and maybe some sitters still do). In many of those cases, we started off as strangers as well and lived together for extended periods. Many people do such and manage fine.
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Yea. That is the benefit of this forum… to know that there so much variation in the way we live our lives. In 100% of my sits I have not had an overlap and in 80% of my sits I never even met the HO. All of my sits have been wonderful experiences. Isn’t that something 
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It’s not a problem that there is an overlap. The problem is that it has not been disclosed. As a sitter I would like to know who I am spending my night with before I confirm the sit. I have now added this to yet another thing that needs to be verified before confirming.
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Right. I mentioned on this thread or one of many others that I always ask at the outset. That’s because even ones who declare don’t do it with specificity normally, like what time they’re leaving the house. And you need to check anyway because logistics might have changed since they posted and they forgot to update.
Some folks might have security concerns, BTW, because not all handoffs are in person. So they might not want to address till they’re talking directly to a sitter. And some might be flexible.
Often times we are able to meet in person with the Owner, tour the home, and meet the pets before the actual Sit. It might even be a few months in advance, or a week or two before the actual dates.
We can do this since we have been spending lots of time in the San Francisco area, where we do lots of Sitting, and we also enjoy meeting the Owners and pets (in person) ahead of time.
Sometimes we are invited over for brunch, lunch, or happy hour. Life enriching experiences!
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