Concerned about communication of sitter

Why don’t you send her a message telling her it’s vitally important that you hear from her and to please reply as soon as she reads this. That’s all.

Do you have her personal email address or can it also be sent on imessage/FaceTime?

After she replies you can ask her about flights and discuss your need for regular and prompt communication.

If no response shortly after it has been read, I would send another message informing her that if you don’t hear from her in ____, unfortunately you’re going to have to cancel the sit.

You can duplicate these messages on the THS email app so there is a record of them.

2 Likes

Same here. We have had three anxious HO situations… (they’d all been burned before!). In each case, we sent proof of flights, and a few notes for peace of mind: “Hi from ____! Looking forward to meeting you!” And the last one was, “Hi! En route - reach you by noon!” Guess what? They were all loving people, great sits, we’ve signed up to do more for them.

4 Likes

Communication is so important I probably as a sitter go overboard with information about my travel plans.flight details.bus details or train travel.my last sit I said I’m on the bus then that I had arrived at train station then said the time I would get off train.if I was a ho I would need that assurance that my sitter was on there way.

2 Likes

@ASASG I had an HO who I thought was too anxious many weeks before the sit. I tried humouring her with anything she asked for (like a copy of my liability insurance) but it did not stop her worrying.

On the sit, she found something to worry about in many of the photos that I sent her of the pet.

Not very trusting.

I have had two short term sitters here since September, I never had a reason to feel worried as they always communicated enough. I am only worried as this is a long sit, I will be 24 hours away by plane, I can’t afford to cancel my flight over Christmas or delay it, and I don’t own my apartment, and my cat’s welfare is also of course my concern. I won’t be able to find. last minute hotel, i don’t have friends or neighbours who can jump in and organise a sitter for me last minute here.

1 Like

I think you’re being perfectly within your rights to be a little concerned. Hopefully all will be fine but when you don’t have a reasonable back up and will be so far away for a long time, you need assurances. Strongly suggest you download WhatsApp and use that with sitters: it’s free for everyone, can be used anywhere and works both as a phone call and a video call. Peace of mind.

You do not need to worry. There is plenty of time. If it turns out that the student cannot afford the airfare, you just relist.

Do not do that at midnight, but during the day. That way you will get most of the first 5 applicants from Europe. You could even put that as a requirement, that they would be resident in Europe or already travelling there.

If nothing else: I could take the train to Croatia :slight_smile:

3 Likes

There is nothing wrong with casting a wide net for sitters from Europe and outside of Europe and for the holidays it is not at all early to be booking a sitter within or outside of Europe. People are making plans now. It seems that you want to go to Croatia so maybe it will be a good fit.

2 Likes

I just checked air fares from the New Jersey airports to Zagreb. They are not too bad. Not as bad as my route from within the US over Christmas. My guess is that she doesn’t understand your sense of urgency. I’d call her live on What’s App. It’s not an expensive call that way. It’s 1:38PM here on the east coast.

50 days for over the holidays is not plenty of time. People start early with their holiday arrangements, because they also know that air fares will get more expensive closer to the them.
I wouldn’t count on sitters already in Europe alone. It’s not warm weather season in Croatia and there might not be too many applicants.

It will be better than here in Sweden. And not as dark.

I could come at a week’s notice.
Ok, not a week before Christmas Eve, say two weeks notice.

(I have an application pending in Amsterdam since six weeks ago that I have not heard from, I would just cancel that. Croatia would be better.)

Might be the same one I applied for and the application is just sitting there, unacknowledged.

@Katie Also Antonia?

You seem to be worrying incredibly fast about this when you only confirmed it on Thursday, when she may have been short on time over the weekend to look into things properly. You are concerned about ‘if she bails the day we are going to the airport’… when it was only Thurs when you confirmed the sit, for a sit that is in 50days! Take a deep breath… you only confirmed it on Thursday!!!

Booking flights takes a little time to sort, trying to consider the different timings of different flights etc, especially when it involves such a long flight, and how she’s getting to/from the airport x two ways, and all when it’s the holiday season. There’s quite a lot of things she would have to think about.

Plus she may have already looked into the flight she wanted but was simply waiting until the end of the month before booking it (ie pay day!). It is the 31st Oct today, so I’d say that would be quite normal to wait.

You also seem to be making 50 days away from the sit a ‘thing’ that is linked to her creating a problem, but remember that wasn’t her fault, you were the one that waited until now to organise it. So don’t link that angst you are feeling to her. Take a deep breath, but you may well have stressed her out by expecting her to drop everything immediately to book the flights, and magic the money for them out of thin air immediately there and then.

Just ring her, and take it from there, but don’t put your own angst onto her, it’s unfair when you only confirmed it on Thurs, as it takes time to look into flight times that suit her budget.

7 Likes

Welcome @SarahJayne15 to the forum.
Prompt communication by home owners and house sitters is vital for a good sit .

You don’t say how long it took from your sitters applying to you confirming a sitter last Thursday? …Understandably you needed time to be thorough and talk with each of the potential sitters and then make a decision. Was this days or weeks ?

The sitter having only just been confirmed by you last Thursday also now needs some time to finalise plans and book flights etc it may take another week ,( maybe they have a busy work week or are on another sit that is taking their full attention ) .

Yes, it would be good if they kept in contact meanwhile and if you don’t hear any more by the end of next weekend then maybe it’s something to get concerned about.

2 Likes

Zagreb is beautiful this time of year. I’ll keep you posted about what happens here

4 Likes

The issue appears to be more about lack of responsiveness than whether the flight is or isn’t yet booked? It would concern me if someone did not at least acknowledge follow-up messages that they had read - even if it is just to say they haven’t yet been able to book a flight, but are working on it. Looks like you’ve already gotten some solid advice, perspective, and even the offer of a stand-in . . . All the best with it, and keep us posted. :slightly_smiling_face:

2 Likes

I think with so many options to communicate it’s best to be clear
up front whether you use what’s app or email or iMessage or THS site.
I prefer to have a contact no that I can call or text.
It’s too stressful to not be able to get hold of someone especially if you know they
have read your message and not responding back!

1 Like

UPDATE< It’s a week after confirmation and I just sent this as he has not communicated: Ivan and I are concerned that you haven’t written back to us since you confirmed the sit and we see that you have seen my previous messages. We understand that it’s only been a week since confirmation and booking flights can take a little organising, but can you please confirmation that you are booking your flights as as we have cancelled all other applicants. If you aren’t able to do the sit for any reason, please let us know ASAP so we can make other arrangements. It’s a busy time of year for everyone. We are willing to work with you on this, but we do need clear communication since we’re trusting you with my home and pet.

2 Likes

It’s been 19 hours and the sitter has still not seen my message. I really don’t feel right about this lack of communication and I want to cancel my sitter and keep looking. What are my rights? What if she has brought her flight?