You absolutely said it perfectly and I 100% agree
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I have just secured a sitter for Sept, her preceding sit which is only about 70miles away but cross country so 4 hours by public transport finishes 3 days before I leave.
I have offered her the choice of coming 3, 2 or 1 day early but unless I am leaving in the evening I always expect sitters to arrive the night before. I wouldnāt leave my pup with someone I had never met even if weāve spoken / video called.
Hi @Max2. I have some up-coming sits that are similar to your situation. 2 of them are in apartments that are too small for both me and the pet parents. One is a family Iāve sat for many times before. In these instances I meet the pet parents and have dinner with them the night before they leave (if theyāre leaving in the morning) and spend the night at a local hotel.
Another sit Iāll be on early next year will be just the opposite. Weāll meet and dine the night before they fly out, and then theyāre going to spend the night in a hotel near the airport.
Hi Karen,
I like your scenario of the owners spending the pre-flight night near the airport but it just doesnāt work in my case. Thanks for mentioning your upcoming sits with tiny apartments. My cottage is just about 750
sq. ft, perfect for me but not for me and guests.
Also, not only is this my first trip using a sitter, but one with a husband and wife. My dog will be fine with that but the cats have only had a man visitor here for a few short hours and they mostly prefer to hide until the coast is clear 
. That seems to be my main concern, which is why I asked the sitters to come a day early for meet and tour with me.
Virtually holding hands with you,
Maxine and scared cats
@Sallyann What a wonderful way to welcome your sitter. Your story really makes me smile
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Do sitters typically sleep overnight in your home? If so, what accommodations have you made for them?
Hello @tommarellofam Iām assuming you mean for the night before the sit starts in which case you may want to have a look at the attached thread
If you mean in general do sitters sleep overnight then yes, this is the ethos of THS where house sitter/s will stay in your home and care for your pets and property for you whilst you are away.
I have attached a video for you so you can see how it all works
Also, remember you can use the spyglass symbol at the top of the page next to the TrustedHousesitters logo and search for any questions that you may have as they have most likely already been answered on here and of course if not then please just ask! 
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We have not had a sitter yet, and I was wondering if owners usually meet the sitters before, like them coming a day early so we can show them the ropes? We have quite a lot to convey with an old house, range cooker and lots of pets. It might be a bit odd sharing the house for a night with strangers but it would be useful and give us peace of mind. I have looked for this topic and not seen it discussed btw .
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In four out of six sits so far I have arrived at the end of the afternoon, had dinner with the pet owners (home-cooked or in a restaurant in the village), went on a dog walk with them, had a tour of the home, appliances etc. Then they left early next morning.
I am quite used to sharing the home that way, from experiences with couchsurfing etc. Strangers are just friends that you had not met yet 
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Many people do. It helps ease the transition for the owners, sitters and pets.
Iāve met some of my best friends this way but we are also still odd 
.
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Since my home is small, we meet the day before the sit begins to tour, meet the pets and talk about the sit, and the sitters go to a hotel that night.
Hello @Henpecker and @tommarellofam - we nearly always do an overnight with the HOs before a sit starts. Always good when sitting with dogs as they need the handover/familiarity of owner to sitter; nice to meet the pet parents properly; great for general house run through and especially for things like medication, walking routes, complex properties, agas and so on. Yes it may seem odd but without fail 31 sits in, none local and most international, and we havenāt had a duff one yet and have made a lot of new friends 
As a sitter, Iāve done only long-distance sits across the U.S. and one in the U.K., with another couple planned. I prefer to arrive a day early when possible, for a handoff and in case of travel delays. I let HOs know that Iām flexible about staying at their place during that overlap, or I can pay for a hotel.
I make the offer that way, because some HOs might be stressed enough before a trip that I wouldnāt want them to feel pressured to have me stay early. So far, the HOs have offered me their guest rooms early and Iāve enjoyed getting to know them.
If they didnāt have a guest room, I would simply pay for a hotel room, because being in a tight space with a stranger seems awkward, especially if they might still be busy packing and prepping to leave. That would also be bad for the pets, because they pick up on humansā vibes.
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We frequently overnight with hosts, especially on international sits. It just makes it easier all round. The host has the reassurance that the sitter is there in time, and a bit of time to get to know them a little more, the sitter has the opportunity to receive a relaxed run through of the daily routine, and the pets have the chance to get used to the sitters while the āparentsā are still there! Good for everyone! If you have the space to accomodate a sitter the night before I would recommend it.
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I am frequently asked to stay with the owners the night before they go off on holiday. I think this is more stress free for the owners, rather than worrying if you will arrive on time on the day, or have been delayed in traffic etc. It is nice to share a meal together and get to know the owners and pets before they depart. Have frequently beed shown favourite walks to do with dogs and what is in the area. It can all seem a bit rushed, when turning up only an hour beforehand, with owner still packing and attempting to explain things to you at the same time.
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I always ask sitters to come at least the day before we leave so that we have time to show them around, let them meet the cats, etc. With our guest quarters being at the other end of the house from our room, it works out well. We also plan to take the sitters out to dinner the night before we leave.
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Totally agree and always ask sitters to do this to get comfortable and acclimated to the pets and home.
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Iāve experienced 2 different approaches:
On the sit that has just ended, as it is about 6 hours from home I chose to book accommodation the night before which was close enough to the sit for me to visit the evening before the sit began for a handover. I then turned up about an hour before the HOs left for any last minute information and to take the dogs for a walk, returning after the HO had left.
On my next sit, the sit begins the day before the HOs leave very early in the morning (at a time that is still night for me). They have kindly offered a meal with them that evening, which is lovely. Iāll be staying in a room in a part of the home that is far from where they sleep, otherwise I know I might find it a bit awkward. I feel Iāve already had a bit of a handover because I was able to visit them while I was on the sit that has just ended.
I would host my sitters, it seems the right thing to do to show your appreciation, sitter dont have to put them self out and why should there be left out off pocket, when its them doing you a favour.
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We live on the east coast of Canada in a rural area. For longish sits, most of our house sitters travel from overseas: UK, Spain, The Netherlands, New Zealand, etc. Given the vagaries of air travel, we are flexible for both arrival and departure dates for the sitters as long as they are here a day before we depart (very early morning). Hundreds of dollars can be saved by sitters by traveling on say, a Tuesday rather than Thursday. If our sitters arrive at the airport after midnight, we book a hotel for them near the airport at our expense and pick them up in the morning. Now that I think about it, after the sitters are unpacked and settled in their room, they invariably soon migrate to the kitchen island for conversation. We have never had a moment of awkwardness. We love our sitters!
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