What’s annoying is when you do agree an arrival time & you’ve had to start your journey at “silly o clock” only to find them still packing & actually leave three hours later!! Inconsiderate but seemingly acceptable but imagine if we turned up late !!
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@Ftour3553 I think that if a host needs the sitter very early (meaning sitter setting off at “silly o’clock”) they should invite them the night before- if possible. We, as sitters, frequently overlap with hosts and it makes for a much more comfortable and smooth handover. Personally we never agree to awkward arrival or departure times. We always try to find a compromise. E.g Late leaving is a no go when we ourselves have to find our own accomodation, it only works when going to a new sit with a pre-sit overlap night. We prefer to leave in the morning whenever possible. If the HO is arriving late and we have to get to another sit earlier in the day we will always make sure some Interim arrangement is made for the pets to cover the gap. Otherwise we do not take the sit.
If this was a well paid assignment I’m sure I’d be much more flexible on timings! But it is not. So we alwaya look for what feels like a fair exchange.
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4 posts were split to a new topic: Feature request: Required Amenities
I applied for a sit yesterday which detailed the arrival and departure times which suited me perfectly. The sit was confirmed and now I can’t see those times on the confirmed sit, only the dates. Should I now screenshot the advert showing the times agreed at application? I have emailed support to see if I am missing something and they are somewhere on the confirmed dashboard. Any ideas?
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Hi @Stmarys
I am in the same position as you - a sitting was confirmed yesterday and I have not had time to write my notes up yet. I know I said in my response that those times suit me perfectly but now I can’t remember what times they were.
This just adds to the silliness of this new feature - it doesn’t work!!!
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Hi @Stmarys,
Thanks for sharing.
Are you using the app or web?
Arrival and departure times are visible on the app, though they aren’t currently visible on the web version (after the sit is confirmed).
I mean it is good to see the arrival and departure times: some hosts do write 00-05 am and 9-11 pm. Like really? Did they used to get sitters with those expectations? Or are they just trying their luck now?
Trying their luck, the same as the dog can’t be left alone for more than 2 hours
I have just checked the app and the Sittings Essentials is not showing there either.
Thank you, I have checked the app (I was on the website) and the times show via the app.
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I don’t think the hosts are giving much thought to the sitters position. I’ve noticed departure time of 5-5.30pm which is very restrictive to anybody moving onto another sit, travelling home or having to find accommodation for that night as well as dinner!
It’s likely to reduce home owners application as I just didn’t apply whereas I would have previously, before it would’ve been discussed now I’ll just move on to another more suitable sit.
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It does show on the app so hopefully was just a blip and you have them now too.
I was concerned it was going to make a sitter look unprofessional by having to ask the home owner.
On app then choose ‘sits’ at the bottom, then “confirmed’ then select the sit in question and shows under dates confirmed 
I just had this experience, I applied to two one night long sits:
1st host, arrival 6 am, departure 11 pm. I text them “hey so I am concerned that it would be quite difficult to meet those times, should we look into them”. Host “our times are non-negotiable, and anyway we decided to take the pet with so we cancel the dates, maybe another time”. What a roller coaster.
2nd host, arrival 2:30pm, departure 8-9pm. Host during the call “yeah so we try to leave by 2:30, so it would be great if you arrived before that. And -we- get back around 8/9pm, and dont want our pet to be alone too late, so is it ok that you leave earliest at 4pm”.
One host lowkey is offended when I ask about their expected leave/return times, the other one thought to put their own leave/return times to the fields and expect something completely else from me. How is this making things better?
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Or isn’t. Terrible implementation. Is it really that hard to differentiate fields for HO arrival departure vs. requested sitter arrival/departure?
Just one field is stupid, no one knows what it means. < removed >
Moderation note: Post edited to align with community rules.
Oh yes - so it does thanks!
Yeah I had a feeling that was going to be a constant source of miscommunication when I saw the new fields.
I’m basically just ignoring them as a factor for consideration prior to applying, & then having my normal discussion about arrival/departure logistics during the call. Most of my Hosts have me stay over the night before in any case (although you can’t tell this from the listing — a feature that would actually have been more useful, probably.) In those cases, the inbound times are superfluous.
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@Mark_B Yet another example of clear expectations on a listing I saw today.
Hopefully the owners are not that rigid, but it certainly is starting to look like the demands of the owners take priority over the sitter’s travel plans.
Yes, communication is key, and there are so many variables in the schedules and flexibility of both the owner and the sitter. Hence the reason this new feature does not provide clear expectations.
After ten years as a member, I’ve yet to see TrustedHousesitters backtrack on any new feature they’ve introduced, even those overwhelmingly disliked by both owners and sitters. I doubt this one will be any different. 
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You bring up some good points. I do believe the Host is probably just trying to clearly communicate their travel plans & needs as best they can. But the more I read, the more it seems like this new feature is introducing more ambiguity vs clarifying anything.
It might be more useful if the field was intended to relay the time the HOST needs to depart their home, & when they’re estimating they’ll be returning (& the field description clearly indicated such.) That’s useful info for the Sitter to determine if the sit is even workable before applying, & gives the timing discussion a head start. Last, it mostly fixes the “tone” issue some people are uncomfortable with.
Exactly! Well said!
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