I’m afraid it won’t always be interpreted that way now that it’s written down. When working with private individuals, they have the freedom to apply their own personal morality. I’ve already read reviews where the hosts weren’t happy because the sitter left early.
Looking at some of the new sits which now have sit essentials ie. departure/arrival time entered, it will be even harder for some pet owners to find sitters. I thought it was a bit much when I saw a sit which called for arrival time between 6 and 7am…until I saw one which said 3 to 4am! I guess these demands will help sitters sieve through the sits and avoid wasting their time by applying.
Will it be similar to when a HO changes the date? Will a sitter be notified and need to accept the change in what was confirmed? It’s a real issue if the HO can just change the time that was agreed to and have the new time show in the listing as if it was always that time. I guess we need to take screen shots of listings now.
Sorry I think this will be a relatively useless feature. How many will actually put in a time frame over the “keep your options open”? I think the messaging to HO’s “don’t worry you can always change it” is problematic as it suggests no need to negotiate this with the confirmed sitter. Imagine getting a notification that your sit arrival time has been altered by 6 hours one way or the other whilst you are on route or asleep. I’m not sure this was the most pressing improvement. And HO’s expecting sitters to arrive at 3am need to be told this is unacceptable.
Haha right?? Geeze Louise get it together THS!!
Maybe they are really demonstrating the need for the booking fee!! 
Most likely
Should 3am even be a selectable option in the drop down box?
Mutually beneficial exchange?
Should be there crossed out maybe to make it clear this is not a mutually beneficial arrangement. I have seen some HO’s asking for this and similar apparently.
I applied for a sit and he asked that I arrive at 3 am. I declined and withdrew. But it happens.
Who would think this was an ok thing to ask? It just boggles my mind 
There are all kinds of HOs. I always clean before I leave. And the current sit, she sort of hinted and I said, yes, I clean before I leave. Her expectation. The next sit, in a very large home, where there are weekly cleaners, she said she did not want me to clean, just take care of the dogs. She has a weekly order of salads that are delivered and asked which ones I wanted. Some HOs go over and above and it truly is like staying at a resort. And some are perfectly fine. But not over the top. And some expect you to come at 3 am. And do a spring cleaning for them.
I have found this scenario is happening more as HO rush at the last minute. The expectation appears to be that a sitter should change their plans. I recently arranged my Airbnb to be close to the next sit and confirmed my arrival for noon as agreed in prior messages, only to be told to come at 1.45pm.
I think even with the best communication these new guidelines could give the HO an impression that they are in charge, which is true as they start the fufillment process, but they should stay within the agreements stated, especially as the time gets closer. Travel arrangements for sitters can be complex too.
I agree this change might have adverse consequences. I think it’s good for HOs to give approximate arrival/departure times in the listing, but it’s to be discussed and agreed upon as part of the exchange. I’m concerned that HOs will feel even more comfortable changing the times. If they put a big range, say 12-5pm for arrival, then we agree on a 4pm arrival, they could later say they decided they want the sitter to arrive at 12 since it’s in the listing. If I’ve already made plans to arrive at a certain time, I can’t necessarily arrive 4 hours earlier. I feel this is just another change that will just cause problems. This is supposed to be an exchange of equals, not a HO hiring/booking a sitter. That inherently means that details need to be discussed and agreed upon, not dictated to the sitter.
I’ve seen sits wtih mentions of ridiculous times. If that’s the owner’s expectation, you have two simple choices even before it was on a drop down. You could not apply to the sit. You could apply to the sit and tell the owner upfront in your application that this would not be possible for you because……. and then offer an alternative so that if that worked for the owner, they could contact you.
That’s what the current situation is. The only difference I can see is that if there was an homeowner who was going to drop this bombshell during a chat or after confirmation, it won’t be a problem because the expectations are clear and upfront.
Your last 2 sentences reflect exactly what I have been thinking @systaran . We have all seen those posts from new hosts who have seen recent THS marketing and who talk about using this “service” to “book” or “hire” a sitter. Inevitably an experienced sitter will respond to explain that this is a mutually beneficial exchange and that hosts don’t “book” or “hire” sitters.
Now we have a booking fee, a really poor choice of terminology that will only add to this misconception. Hosts also now being able to specify arrival and departure times reinforces it even further.
I do agree with you @anon9376833 that if a host enters unreasonable arrival or departure times, it simply makes it easier for sitters to identify hosts they would not want to partner with.
If I were booking a tradesman online, I would be unlikely to have the option to select a 3am appointment. It seems that it has not occurred to THS to limit the selectable times for arrival and departure to times that are reasonable and, more importantly, safe.
You’re right. They were in such a hurry to quiet down the booking fee uproar, that they are getting deeper into the mud.
I find this a bit infantilising. I’ve done twenty-one sits and never had any problem with arrival and departure times. The sit’s been confirmed, then I’ve had a chat with the HOs about when they’d like me to rock up and when they expect to be home - and whether they need/want me to stay until that precise time.
I’m starting a sit today and that’s exactly how we’ve done it.
I find these new boxes aren’t just unnecessary, but are visual clutter.
“The image(s) are illustrative of the different stages and not intended to be seen as part of a flow. To avoid any confusion …”.
Oh come on. You made a mistake in the example you gave in your original ‘example post’. And @shafofo very respectfully highlighted it as wrong. So equalling their honesty why don’t you just cough to it? We all make mistakes.
All this slimey ‘part of a flow, to avoid confusion’ is David Brent speak. At a time like this, when THS reputation for community engagement is at an all time low, honesty really is the best policy.
I find them infantilising in a different way - every single sit I’ve looked since this was introduced says ‘to be agreed later’ so what’s the point of this ‘new feature’ which is clearly not enhancing ‘sitter and owner expectations and lead to better communication’ because HOs are just ticking the ‘to be agreed later’ 
I agree, I’ve just done this! We always discuss arrival and leaving times directly with our sitters and agree what suits both parties prior to the sit. Not when I’m trying to find a sitter as unless there are flights/ trains to catch there are usually a range of options suitable for both sides