I am curious how others have been handling this. We are dual sitters with a verification and all that on our profile. The first time I applied for an overlapping sit I was trying to follow the THS guidelines and I think I made it too confusing, trying to explain how one of us would be leaving early, but we had two vehicles and such, and we never even got a response to that posting. It’s coming up again for us and I think now what I’ll do is wait till the video call, and towards the end just mention that I’ll be leaving a day early but my husband will of course stay until the appointed time and that we have two vehicles so this shouldn’t be a problem. Not sure why I actually have to even say this? If I was going home a day early but Hubbie was staying, I wouldn’t feel the need to mention it…how do others interpret what we are required to say? I think this will be a point against us on more competitive sits.
Since the dual sitter option came up, we have only booked one overlapping sit. There didn’t seem to be any confusion, and the person didn’t have any issues with it. Unless the host specifically said this was why they didn’t choose you, you actually don’t know if that had anything to do with it. If a sitter believes they have any sort of ‘weak spot’ in their appeal, it is all too easy to assume that played a part in not getting selected.
If it were me, I would still mention it right at the time of applying to be sure they were okay with it. I imagine most people would not care, but I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable with approaching it the way you describe–just slipping it in at the end of the conversation as some statement of fact–as I wouldn’t want them to feel put on the spot to say it was okay if they really didn’t feel that way.
I imagine that in the past many people didn’t inform hosts of doing overlapping sits. I know I always didn’t and it wasn’t because I was trying to be secretive or hide anything. It just didn’t seem like something that needed mentioning. But with the notifications now being sent to hosts, that obviously is not possible anymore.
I don’t necessarily think it would hurt a sitter’s chance of getting a more competitive sit. Of course it’s possible some hosts may not like the idea, but I imagine that would be a pretty small percentage, and would primarily be people who really feel the sit requires two people the whole time.
Hi @cdrewco
I think your approach makes sense! In terms of what to share, you don’t need to over-explain. Just a simple mention that you’ll be leaving early but your husband will stay should be enough. It’s about making sure the pet owners feel comfortable, but you’re right — you shouldn’t need to feel like it’s a big point to make. In competitive sits, sometimes less is more. I’ve found that focusing on what will reassure the owners (like confirming that the vehicles and everything else are sorted) helps keep things clear and easy.
Good luck!
