I understand your concern 100%. Personally, I am averse to the possibility of cancellation when I have my own trip with flights. (My answer is different when I am driving for a getaway as flexibility is on my side). I would personally cancel the sit and re-post specifying local sitters only OR sitters than can drive to you (same state, different state, different country - all acceptable for me if they can DRIVE to you). Too much uncertainty in the world currently for my peace of mind.
Even when there is certainty in the world, I only confirm with sitters who would minimally be in my home location’s country a solid week before my sit OR they are driving. I was really concerned for the 2025 Christmas Sit we had as this was when the US airports were cancelling a bunch of flights due to the government shutdown. I chose a couple from the US who were already going to be in the country of my home (Mexico) for a week prior in another state a 3 hour flight away from my state. There were no flight issues in Mexico at that time so that week would theoretically allow them delays or reschedules as needed and still have time to get to me. Then I had another sit in Feb 2026, the sitters were a lovely young UK couple and were already going to be in Mexico a couple weeks before my sit start, so I chose them with peace of mind. They didn’t share their itinerary with me until 1 week prior to arrival (one Mexico state to another just to be clear). They did let me know they had arrived to Mexico in general though along the way.
I think the best approach is as stated by @Silversitters to gather all the facts and go from there. I also think the best plan for you is ultimately related to how popular/desirable your sit & location are, is your location in an area with many flight challenges or few? Having a solid Plan B no matter what your Plan A shapes up to be is crucial to safeguard your 3.5 week trip. Good luck!!
The sitters we are expecting in a couple of weeks only booked their flights a few weeks ago (we confirmed the sit in November) but I understood why (they were in SE Asia and were actively searching for sits before they departed for the US, so they weren’t sure where they would be flying from). It was a little nerve-wracking and I made sure I had alternate plans with a local sitter and kennel ready to go if needed. Fortunately all worked out and they safely arrived in country last week, so all is set.
Even if the sitter purchased their ticket, lots of things can unexpectedly happen. The best thing to do is focus on what we can control, which is our own plans.
The sit is not till July. You’ve already told the sitter to have the flight by the end of March. There is no reason to go back on this, but if the sitter doesn’t have the flight by then, it would certainly be time to have a discussion and to consider unconfirming and reposting. If you are in a popular area, you are unlikely to have trouble finding someone in in the beginning of April.
Flights are likely to go up not down given fuel prices and security concerns. Flights tend to be higher in the summer for most locations.
It really depends upon where they are flying to and from. But in general, I think your end of March is a reasonable request. And if you are a planner (and I am too so I get it!) this will be the most comfortable for you. And it gives you time to find another sitter should this timeline not work for her.
I will be traveling across the Atlantic at the end of May. i purchased my tickets in January. July is peak summer travel time for most places and prices will only increase, not decrease. I now also only purchase fully refundable/changeable tickets given the very many uncertainties at this time. For domestic flights i do usually monitor flight costs and book quickly. But given conditions now, I have booked domestic flights ASAP and will do my internal France and UK flights as well this week (even thought they are not until July and August). Best of luck with your plans.
It sounds like what you’re really looking for is a bit more certainty around the arrangements before your own overseas trip, which is completely understandable.
Given how unpredictable travel planning can feel right now, it’s reasonable to want confirmed plans well ahead of time for a sit of that length. If you’re not comfortable moving forward without flights or clearer travel arrangements, it’s okay to say so.
You could simply let the sitter know that, due to the current uncertainty around travel and the importance of firm plans before you leave the country, you’ve decided to reopen the listing so you can look for someone with confirmed travel plans. Since it’s only March and the sit is in July, there’s still plenty of time for both you and the sitter to make other arrangements.
It’s better to address that uncertainty now rather than carry the worry for the next few months.
I should have put in my post, sitter is coming from the Northeast, and we are in Texas. I was careful this time to consider local or at least US based sitters this time.
Yes, I agree with the craziness and unknowns right now. Our sitter is based in the US. So no border crossings. However, with fuel prices spiking, I don’t think flight prices will come down ( which is what they are waiting for). We are also sitters. We are confirmed for back to back UK sits this Summer and have our flights. Our son also lives there, so unless overseas travel is halted we are fully committed. I am grateful that overseas hosts are willing to take on American sitters right now!
All good points! We had a very good initial video chat, so I will suggest another one soon. They will be flying within the US. We offered them to stay with us the night before to ease the transition. We are giving them our bikes and bus passes. I am all about making a sit comfortable and affordable. We are sitters too. I am concerned that flights will only get more expensive with the war and oil shortages.
Reading the replies, I think it’s time for a video chat with our sitter about July prices. And see if they still think this sit is worth the expense from the East Coast to Texas. This is their first out if State sit and they got excited and confirmed before looking at July prices! We usually have great local sitters, but this year they want out of the July heat. We did get a local application but they asked for gas money right away when I suggested meeting in person. It feels off to me when money is asked for right away. I like the mutual exchange / barter nature if TH as both a host and sitter.
They are flying from New Jersey to Texas, just for our sit. Their first out if State sit. They might have been shocked at the price of US flights right now. I am going to ask first a friendly video chat ( like we did for the interview) to talk about the viability of the sit after looking at flights! I don’t think prices will come down much for July/ August
All good points. We are sitters as well as HO. We booked our UK flights and 2 housesits already. Prices, luckily were not bad bought in January for July. Our son lives in the UK so we have learned to plan early, and will go regardless of sits. Our sitter is coming from within the US. We are her first TH sit ( she gets good reviews on Rover in her home state). From my experience, flights just keep getting more expensive as you get closer to Summer. We are trying to help her make this sit affordable. Offering to put her up with us there in either end of the sit, to make transition easy and cheaper. Giving bikes, bus passes and helpful neighbors for back up. Because it’s her first sit, I get the sense she didn’t research Summer flight costs and is now hoping costs go down. I would like the reassurance that this sit us truly confirmed or start looking again. I also don’t want her to feel trapped in a situation she was excited about, but might seem out if reach with the high costs of Summer flights.
The thing is, this sit is confirmed. I can’t technically, or in good faith look for local TH sitters unless this sitter cancels or we cancel them. I want them to be able to sit. I understand they want to wait through the Spring, for better prices. I am an uber planner abd have our overseas flights and sits set for July now. I know things can always change, and even uber planners have to be flexible. My back up plan is neighbors and paid sitters - but it’s pricey for 3.5 weeks.
Perhaps asking her to have a “super quick” Zoom check-in to discuss the situation; a face to face is better than messaging to allow empathy to flow both ways.
While on the call, share your concern that if prices get too high for them, their travel costs might be cost-prohibitive for them to travel to you. After that statement you can say, “You see where I am coming from?” And let the dialogue progress from there.
Don’t take an authoritative approach (not that you would); use a the word “balanced”, so that they understand it is a “two-way street”, and manage toward a ticket confirmation or a mutual cancellation – be gentle with your words.
This approach makes sense. I agree with your thinking. We’re also combined sitters and considerations like seasonal airfare rates, and weather conditions, make a big difference to us in terms of whether we get an interesting sit a few hours away by car or train or whether we get a sit further away.
New sitter on THS, being used to being paid with Rover may not fully understand the difference in ethos. Similar to someone asking for gas money, this sitter may well think they are looking after your pets for free so you should pay for the flight. I previously referred to a sit recently gone very badly wrong, where a couple of days prior to sit the sitter could not afford the airfare and hosts paid. The sitter left the sit early and naturally the hosts are not happy.
