We are getting ready to do our sit in August but not sure about our arrival and departure days. Do homeowners generally list the last day as departure day? Unfortunately the homeowner has not seen my message asking for date confirmation, assume this is because the sit is a long way off, but we would really like to book accommodation before and after the sit as we have a lot of travelling to do but don’t want to get caught out if we are expected to stay a further night.
Nobody except the owner can confirm this for you, unfortunately, so you’ll just need to wait for them to get back to you. Generally, the listed dates are usually the days that you should arrive & depart, but not always - it really depends on what the owners needs and handover/ arrival preferences are and usually this is discussed in a video call prior to sit confirmation. If they don’t get back until late on the listed end date, for example, they might need you to stay an extra night, but this should have been discussed prior to sit confirmation. I would assume that the listed end date is the date you will leave, but always confirm and communicate, never assume.
I’d just wait for them to confirm their handover and arrival times before booking anything if I were you, and next time be sure to discuss arrival and departure times (at least the dates!) before confirming a sit. Hope that helps 
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@Jules27, welcome to THS Forum.
It is not clear whether you have applied for, or accepted, the August housesit.
Prior to confirming sit then we ask about the Pet Parent trip; confirm that their travel plans are booked; request flight information; and openly discuss preferred date/time of arrival & departure.
We find that upfront openness is important and ultimately helps both parties.
We also find that this discovers instances where the Pet Parent has not yet booked their trip and/or where listing dates are illustrative rather than definitive. From experience, we avoid speculative listings … “PP: we intend to book flights at some future date” is a red flag for us.
August is quite a few months away. Suggest that you communicate with Pet Parent. Encourage consider above questions - eg. easier questions of “is trip booked?” may highlight a potential underlying reason for dates not yet being confirmed.
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You have only agreed to the listed dates, to arrive on the first listed date, and leave on the final listed date.
You can wait to hear from them if it suits you, but you are in the driving seat.
If they ask you to stay an extra night and you can, thats fine.
If they ask you to stay an extra night and you can’t, thats their problem, not yours.
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It changes from host to host so you need to check with them TBH. If you’re keen then book a refundable option through booking dot com or something similar whilst they confirm and then you’re not caught out. It might be that having your own buffer accommodation gives you flexibility anyway if they’re on a late flight or it’s a small house etc so never a bad thing. And @Colin is right in that the commitment is the dates on the platform not more or less. Also make sure you have a what’s app number or similar as an alternative comms method as the THS messaging can be clunky and some people don’t have notifications set up. #askthehosttho
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@Jules27
Can you see if your hosts have read your message ? If unread they may not even be aware that there is a message for them in the THS inbox . Give it 72 hours and then ask THS to contact them ( they will have a phone number )
I suggest that you give the hosts your mobile number and ask for theirs so that you can communicate this way ( text, WhatsApp, voice call ) which is often quicker than through the THS inbox -
We check arrival and departure days / times before confirming a sit . We learned to do this after one sit early on when the host came back three days earlier than the end date on THS .
One sit that we had applied for was not leaving until 3 days after the start date on THS and would be returning 2 day earlier than the end date . When we found this out , we withdrew our application . Without the overlapping days (which we didn’t want to do) it reduced a two week sit into a 10 day one
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What works for me:
Apply. Exchange msgs to set a video chat. Do video chat and, among other things, mention that I’ll need their welcome guide well ahead of the sit so I can make sure to take the best care of their pets and home. Also mention that I’ll arrange travel / buy tickets after I get their departure and arrival info in writing. (In writing to avoid miscommunication and other hiccups.) I ask about handoffs as well.
Doing the above, I let them know I’ll book tickets only after I get confirmation of their travel times and our handoff times. And this way, the onus is on them to help set me up for a successful sit, which is in their interest.
Of course, everyone has their own approach. But I picked mine to avoid various unnecessary problems that sitters and hosts create for themselves. I’m now on sit 22 and have never been surprised by departure, return or handoff times.
If no welcome guide well ahead of our sit, I send a friendly nudge. The implication is that I won’t go to a sit without a welcome guide. I always get one. Otherwise, no one can ever force me to do a sit.
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Welcome @Jules27
The best thing to do is to confirm the dates the HO wants you to be there when you have a presit video chat. I do this via whatsapp. I then confirm the dates back to the HO. I book my flights or train travel immediately after accepting the sit. I send the HO my booking confirmation screenshots.
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There’s no one way that people list the dates. We always confirm these in the video chat we have before accepting the sit. It’s up to the HOs to tell you this information.
This has been asked here on the Forum so many times. Presumably you had a video call with the home owners? If so asking them what time they want you to arrive, when they leave and what time they’ll return and when you can leave should be one of your top priority questions. In order to have the video chat you would likely have their mobile number for a WhatsApp video call or email for FaceTime. It’s imperative that you have telephone numbers, and give them yours, so you can more easily communicate as communication through the website doesn’t always work.
As has also been discussed on the forum, sometimes owners will invite you to stay the night before they leave if they’re off early, and/or for you to stay the night they return if they’re getting back late. Particularly important if you’re looking after dogs. I have often stayed with owners and enjoyed many meals and good conversation, but not everyone is comfortable with that. I’ve also had meals ready for owners upon their return, especially if they’ve travelled far.
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My personal experience is that the posting begins before they leave and ends when they arrive home. Keep asking. After all you need to make plans too.
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I’ve learned to ask what time they would like me to arrive AND what time they are leaving. I’ve had a few calls where they didn’t mention an overnight stay with them until I specifically asked when they were leaving (and one that was a surprise when I arrived). Sitters do need to know what the handoff plans are and how much overlap we will have with the hosts so we can plan our time accordingly. Always ask.
The listed dates are the dates that are agreed to. If I confirm a sit, I plan to arrive on the first listed day and leave on the end date. We can discuss and agree to times on those dates. If the HOs want dates outside of the listed dates they need to mention that before confirming. If they want to change the dates later, I will accommodate them if I can, but I may have other obligations.
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Hey @Jules27 , thanks for asking this question. I’m brand new to THS and have my first sit in April. I’ve had a video call but forgot to ask about departure time. Fortunately I was able to reach out via WhatsApp and Tessa confirmed they would arrive home on the final date of the sit but would be happy to have a neighbour drop by if I needed to leave early on that day.
Great to read all the tips in this chat. Learning new things each time I read a response.
Hope your sit goes well for you.
Jodie
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Sadly I didn’t have a video chat before accepting, it all happened so quickly. I’ve learnt a lot from this forum since that. Thank you for your info.
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Thanks Jodie. Hope your sit goes well at least you were smart enough to set up what’s app, still learning here.
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Thanks for updating the forum @Aussie_jodie
As this will be your first sit here are a couple of other tips that might be helpful.
Have you asked them for the welcome guide ?
That will (hopefully ) have their full address . It’s good to read through that asap so that if there are additional responsibilities or anything that you need more information about you can ask now .
Also , make sure that they have an arrangement in place for paying any unexpected emergency vet bills .
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/sitter-has-to-pay-veterinary-expenses-up-front
Be sure to get an emergency contact number ( if there is an emergency and you can’t get hold of them ) and provide them with one also .
Also ensure that both you and your host have back up plans , just in case something happens to either of you ( e.g accident, serious illness or injury ) and either party has to cancel the sit .
Enjoy your first sit .
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It is of great value to discuss this before confirming. I do that, and say I’ll book my tickets according to our agreement. After confirmation I book and let host know my dates/ times.
This way I take control over my travel (ref agreement).
It has happened (strangely enough, in my opinion) that host well after asks to prolong sit. So far I have said my tickets are bought and unrefundable, and host has had someone else pop by until they arrive. Hasn’t been an issue, they just asked if possible and I said afraid not. No big deal for either of us, I think.
I do imagine that I at some point might run into an unreasonable host that might cancel or be angry, but I try to choose reasonable hosts with same communication style as me.
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You also need to know the time of arrival and departure. Some expect you very early or departing late. Date is not enough.
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You can still have a video chat. In fact it may be a good idea to do so- to confirm whether or not you do feel its a good match and at the same time you can clarify arrival and departure details.
In your shoes I would not rush to book flights/accom until you’ve done the above- and are absolutely sure about the sit- unless your bookings are completely refundable. August is still a long way off and a few more days to get a response/have a call etc could make all the difference.
One of the very few sits we did not really enjoy was one where we did not have a video call- the host said she never did- she just went by the reviews. We accepted that at the time as they had a lot of great reviews. Nearer the time when we mentioned we would overnight near by before handover they invited us to stay the night instead. This turned out not to be a relaxing experience. The hosts were rich and had an entitled attitude. We felt uncomfortable. It was definitely an energetic mismatch which, had we had a video call before confirming, we might well have picked up on and withdrawn our application. Now we try always to have a video call!
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It’s always best to ask during the application process. About a month ago, I applied to a beautiful petsit and I woke up to a confirmation from the host’s side. I sent a message with my list of questions and it turned out that the listed dates were correct on when we needed to be there, but he had factored in 2 days that would overlap with the hosts on the front end and 1 day on the back end. No thank you. I had to withdraw my application because I wasn’t interested in that. It’s always best to get arrival and departure info upfront. That would solve a lot of headaches.
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