They were indeed and quite a relief as they confirmed my initial interpretation.
@Maggie8K you hit the nail on the head with this 🫶🏼
No you just subscribe to a matching service - there’s no guarantee anyone will want to sit for you.
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I provide coffee, tea, olive oil, spices.
My vehicle would never be provided. I had one applicant that asked. That is out of 23 sits I have had since 8/2023.
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I’ve asked about the use of a car for several of my sits. Not everyone is open to it but there’s no harm in asking. I explain I’m travelling internationally, will supply them details of my international license and in the past I’ve paid extra on their insurance if that was necessary.
I also always leave one of my cars for a sitter to use (if they don’t have one) as there is no public transportation in my town. In turn they must provide me a copy of their license and proof they have their own travel insurance if they’re not Australian. Car insurance is by the vehicle in my state, not the driver, but personal injury will have to be covered by the travellers insurance if they aren’t eligible for our medicare.
As for food, sharing a meal the night a sitter arrives is always a favourite of mine, it is such a wholesome way to make new connections and feel at ease leaving my pets and home with my new guests. Likewise when I sit and meet my hosts.
Sitters have access to all they can eat, basically, in my home and only once did someone have a good crack at it. This sitter told me she was a raw vegan and would supply her own food. BUT she ate more than any other sitter to date and it wasn’t raw vegan hahaha 
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As for sitting, I’ve had places that were strictly “Don’t Touch Our Food” and others that were more welcoming “Please Help Yourself to Anything”.
People communicate in different styles, because of culture or education, but if we take a step back and try to read communications in a neutral voice, is asking if a car is available and food preferences such a bad thing? It’s not expected, I know that, but I dont see the problem in asking. Saying NO is also okay. It’s just communication at the end of the day and we’re all learning how to be good hosts and good sitters. @CavvieQueen What makes you feel welcoming and comfortable might differ to me but through communication people can always find common ground and match up with like minded people.
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Wow! My husband and I have been pet sitting for two years. We would NEVER expect home owners to provide transport and/or food. Although they all offer for us to eat and use what is in their cupboards and fridge, if we eat or use, we always replace. Always! No one wants to come home to an empty cupboard.
Stand your ground! Be explicit with your expectation and go for a higher quality sitter. Trust me, we are out there!
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I live in a small village of 50 houses with no facilities and only two buses daily to our nearest town which is a twenty minute drive away. It is all but impossible to manage without a car so our listing does say that we can provide use of a car provided that our insurance company accepts them as a driver.
On the subject of food, we always offer to ensure that basic supplies are available which often surprises sitters who do not expect this. For us, making a sitter feel at home is an important thing and a simple courtesy.
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Just asking a question doesn’t necessarily mean that one expect anything. It can be just a question. If one tell someone they are vegan doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to empty your cupboard. Asking a question doesn’t necessarily mean one is a less good petsitter.
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I wouldnt just decline these sitters requesting this but I would refer them back to the trusted housesitters website to read up on the exchange of pet sitting so they hopefully dont continue to do this to other pet parents. THEN I’d decline them!
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Hi and welcome. I’m both a petsitter and a homeowner on this site. As a single woman traveling alone, I take transportation into consideration when I apply for a sit. If it’s a more rural area and lacks local transportation, if no car is listed to use, I go on to another post.
Just make sure that in your actual profile (not just the checklist) that you state that no car is available. That will eliminate a lot of that discussion.
If someone asks anyway, just politely say “As I stated in my listing, no car is available.” I’ve had that happen with a couple that sat for me twice, with their car. On the third visit they wanted to fly and asked to use mine. I said it wasn’t available and though they were nice people and great with my dog, we mutually agreed that there wouldn’t be a third sit. It all worked out.
One thing I do as a homeowner and truly appreciate as a sitter, is to clean the refrigerator and make sure there is space for the sitter’s groceries. I’m flexible about all the food stuff after that. I invite them to eat what they find in my house and just ask that I have some coffee and milk on my return. I have sat where people made me lunch or dinner (Fresh Halibut dinner in Anchorage, Alaska on my first sit, was a favorite) and I’ve sat where they don’t it’s all about respect and upfront communication. Flexibility is the key.
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Hello, and welcome to THS and our Forum.
My husband and I are not only Pet/House Sitters but also use this site to procure Sitters for US when we travel, which can be up to four times per year. When we interview potential Sitters, we make it known to them that they will be provided a vehicle with a full tank of fuel, all foods for the duration of the Sit, airport pick-up & drop-off (should they require it), and anything needed to help them with the care of not only our pets but also the security of our home. As far as we’re concerned, Sitters are providing a “free”, PRE-QUALIFIED service that we’d otherwise be forced to pay BIG money for! When WE Sit for others, we “would enjoy” the same level of consideration. Luckily, we don’t have any “Special Dietary Needs”, … HaHa.
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As a pet parent, you have no obilgations other than being truthful about your home and animals, discussing (and removing where appropriate) camera presence/use, honesty in what you require and offer and consistency in communication. As long as you are clear, honest and responsible about the above anything else (car, groceries, etc.) is optional and completely up to you.
Along the same lines, sitters can ask for anything they like. You have every right to accept/provide or decline. Please do not feel strong-armed by potential sitters who make demands which are not acceptable.
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Hi @caviequeen………you will find the odd entitled applicant out there, I think you might have just been unlucky this time. For us as sitters we have no expectations of our homeowners other than a clean, functional and truthfully represented sit. We have always been prepared to be fully independent, however pretty well all of our homeowners have been very gracious in offering first night stays and dinner with them to get to know one another a bit better, and other lovely welcoming gestures. As homeowners, we offer the same courtesy to our sitters. We will also leave bread, milk, tea bags, coffee etc, and offer things like spices and condiments to be used freely, in other words things that people travelling don’t really need to be lugging around. We don’t offer a car or further board, but provide clean linens, a comfortable bed and wardrobe/storage space and leave the house clean and tidy for them, as we feel these things are a must. We have had one applicant say that if we didn’t provide a car, then it was a deal breaker for them. We responded politely that a car was not on offer as per the sit advertisement and gave them opportunity to withdraw. What is on offer should be clearly stated in the listing, and sometimes people tend to skim over the details. Good luck with your future listings, there are some awesome house and pet sitters out there😊.
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I plan on a welcome pack. Since they’re doing this for free I feel its only right. I don’t want them to have to head right to the store as soon as they arrive. I had petsitters in my home before and I usually bought food for them before we left. But everyone is different. Do what you feel is best.
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What a lovely way to start a sit. 
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Something to remember even when a listing notes that a car is available, if you’re counting on that as a sitter, best to check. That’s because sometimes hosts end up taking their car even though they normally make their car available to sitters.
I mention that, because I was offered use of a car and thanked my most recent host, but noted that I hadn’t mentioned it in my review, because maybe they didn’t want to extend that to every sitter. (They hadn’t mentioned it in their listing and made me the offer when we video chatted, which some hosts prefer to do.) And my host agreed, because sometimes the car would go with them on trips.
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I think a welcome pack is great. We’ve been staying in a lot of Airbnbs lately. Sometimes our travel days are long and i really appreciate the hosts that leave snacks and bottled water for us.
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