We have now done 20 sits in the last 12 months and had more date changes to what was posted. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep tag of it, thankfully we run a diary.
Anyone else frustrated by it ?
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I don’t recall ever having a date change. What sort of reasons have been given for date changes?
It’s not been an issue for me.
Sometimes hosts post sit dates, but leave out the overlapping handoff day. I always ask from the get-go and make them adjust the dates on the platform, so we’re covered.
One host got their dates wrong, but caught that early and I hadn’t booked travel, so no sweat.
Another pair of hosts asked me to add an extra day, which made no difference to me, since they had covered my airfare with mileage points and would cover the adjustment as well. (They had volunteered airfare to get me to repeat-sit soon after our first sit. Otherwise, I had no reason to return to their city so soon.)
When I agree to a sit, I ask hosts to send me their travel departure and return times in writing. That’s to avoid mixups. I tell them I won’t book travel till I get that in writing.
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Mainly they haven’t booked flights etc, some are handover times
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I haven’t had that happen very much in the 11 years I have been sitting.
You mentioned about some not having booked flights yet. If this instance, I wouldn’t confirm a sit unless the hosts had firm dates already set for their trip. So this sort of situation can be easily avoided.
As for handovers, are you inquiring about this ahead of time and then they are changing the agreed upon date or are you not discussing this first, assuming the dates listed are correct?
It is understandable to make that assumption and obviously hosts should be clear about when they actually want you to arrive and if this date is different than the start date of the sit. But sitters need to be sure they are getting all the necessary information upfront.
In these scenarios, this problem can easily be avoided by asking the appropriate questions ahead of time.
But if this is something being discussed ahead of time where you have confirmation of when they want you to arrive, confirmation of their travel dates and then they are changing them, that is just something that can happen.
But if it is happening a lot, I am inclined to think that it is more of the former scenario where there isn’t enough discussion about the dates or perhaps you are just having an unlucky run with this issue.
Whether or not you choose to accommodate the date changes is up to you. As a full-time sitter that often books sits back to back when traveling in places like the US and the UK, I don’t have a lot of leeway with date changes.
And if their date changes meant I may incur high costs for accommodation–such as wanting to start the sit later than planned and I wouldn’t be able to fill the newly freed dates at the start of the original sit–, there is a good chance I may consider cancelling depending on the particulars of that sit.
@Twogreys, in my initial application I ask for the exact dates, allowing for handover. Some owners include the handover day but some don’t think about that so it’s always best to clarify times and dates as early as possible.
Yes it’s an issue if the HO expects to leave early say 9/10 am…. do they expect their sitters to travel through the night to arrive? Or conversely if they’re arriving back at 2am are sitters expected to leave then? Time zones/dates can confuse sitters and HOs…..
When it comes to hosts who’ve not booked travel, why not just screen them out from the start, rather than be frustrated?
Personally, my sitter profile mentions that I’m looking to partner with folks with firm travel plans. And then I ask at the outset for their travel details.
A host in the U.K. was the only one in two+ years of my THS membership who’d not made firm travel plans, despite listing dates. I withdrew as soon as I heard that, because that’s a waste of time to me.
Yes changed the agreed dates due to their personal reasons beyond our control long after we agreed to sit. Meaning we have to pay for hotels. It’s quite frustrating.
We cannot now access one of the HO to respond to her msg on THS stating that she had booked flights two days after the agreed date to arrive
One of my toughest early lessons was to require, in writing, exact departure and return dates and times — theirs and mine — before confirming, because expectations can be all over the place. My favorite sits are when the hosts are gone before I arrive and back after I leave. I love cats, but forced small talk with humans feels like punishment for a crime I didn’t commit.
Early on I even had hosts who wanted me to come days early and stay days after “just in case.” Hard pass. Now I only accept sits once all times are in writing — and if plans change in a way that costs me extra (or forces me into more human interaction than I signed up for), I’m out. No one can take advantage of me without my permission. My rule these days is simple: clear dates, clear cats, and no surprise auditions for “roommate of the year.” 
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@Twogreys that’s very inconsiderate of the home owners, I think I would be inclined to cancel. However, if cancelling would be more costly than paying for the hotel then it would need some thought. 
My fear would be that they would be inconsiderate in other ways.
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You know that if they change dates, that means you can cancel the sit? If they don’t reply, you can ask THS to cancel if you have proof, or you can ask THS to contact them. Especially if your sit is soon, that can give you more leverage.
If you do go through with the sit, please review them factually and warn other sitters that they changed dates without regard for your inconvenience or costs.
I’m fine with overlaps, but have always asked for hosts’ departure and arrival times simply to coordinate my travel. Often, they offer to pick me up at the airport, train station (or hotel, if I do sightseeing ahead of the sit). And my asking about how much overlap they prefer has automatically led to meal invitations and such.
I have arrived as early as two days ahead and done sightseeing or telecommuting. But I’ve done that only at homes that are spacious enough to offer guests privacy and their own room and bathroom. Some hosts have even offered to let me stay after their return, if I wanted to do more sightseeing.
I would respond via THS. If the dates work for you otherwise, I would say something like, we have already made our travel plans but will be happy to accommodate you if you will be providing a hotel room or similar lodging for the difference in dates. Please contact us by end of day Tuesday with room information or decision to cancel the sit. We will be watching for your response.
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I don’t do a lot of sits and haven’t run into this a lot, but because I ran into it recently, I now discuss on a chat to assess how certain dates are AND I make clear in advance what I would or wouldn’t be able to accomodate and why.
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We find the usual reason for a change of dates is because the HO did not think to factor in an overlap night before of after the sit.
E g if a host is leaving very early/returning late and expects a very early arrival or a very late departure we would not just agree- we would ask about the possibility of staying the night before and/or after to make this more comfortable for us. If that’s not possible, for whatever reason, we would withdraw our interest. We do not agree on inconvenient timings unless they fit comfortably in our travel plans. When back to back sitting in the UK we often have a very tight schedule so its not always possible to be flexible but we do try to be as accomodating as possible, within reason. However all of these scenarios are discussed and agreed before confirming the sit.
We had a rare situation pop up with our next sit which is in Spain. We are currently in France and only have 2 days (day/overnight/day) to drive down there from the current sit-1200km! They found out their flight was changed by the airline and asked if we could arrive a day earlier. We would have happily done so but its impossible! We would literally need a magic carpet to get down there in a day!! Fortunately its a repeat sit (3rd time) so they are getting their friends (who we’ve also sat for before!) to see to the dogs that day and handover to us in the evening when we arrive. We’ll miss seeing these hosts for the usual overlap evening with a meal together etc but .. needs must! And where there is a will there is a way!
Communication is key! 
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We’ve had plenty change by a day or two. We used to feel it, but we tweaked how we did things, so now it doesn’t impact us.
You’ve done 20 sits in 12 months, so maybe that’s why you’re feeling the impact, because that’s why we USED to feel it when we did normal-length sits.
Longer stays are easier, so during the last 12 months, we’ve had 2 x 6 week sits, 2 x 4 week sits, 1 x 3 week sit, so that’s almost half of our year where we just won’t feel it if a date changes by a day or two.
They were all planned way ahead of time and then as the time gets nearer (so there’s no further date changes), we organise other shorter sits in date order around them, so that we’ve very few voids too.
That is very frustrating for sure.
If this is something you are encountering frequently, you might need to discuss with hosts upfront how date changes will be handled.
If you are in an area where you can easily find another sit, you might let them know that if the original sit dates change, you may not be able to honor your original agreement due to the costs that will be incurred.
And while most sitters probably would not feel comfortable doing this, you can always state that if date changes will require you to book accommodation, you would expect the host to share or cover those costs.
To me, this isn’t the same as requesting payment for services and I liken it to sitters who request hosts cover the cost of a hotel if they want them to arrive early, and either can’t or don’t want to host them in the house. But again, I doubt most sitters would do this and that is fine but they just need to own they are choosing not to pursue a potential solution.
As for the second instance with the flights, I would highly recommend not accepting sits for hosts who have not booked their flights yet–of course such people could also end up changing their plans but it far less likely. It is not unreasonable for a sitter to only commit to a sit if the host has already booked their travel. You might even consider mentioning this in your initial application message.
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Re- logistics- sometimes there are exceptions! We were in Malaysia over winter, just finished a Christmas sit in KL. We were looking for a longer sit in Malaysia and magically one appeared starting 10 days later for 5 weeks! We applied immediately, got on great & accepted the sit. The hosts had not actually booked their flights at that time as it was so last minute & they were testing the waters first to see if there were any good sitters around! Once we confirmed the sit they went ahead and booked their flights that evening and the next day we booked ours down to them in Johor. A few days before the sit they asked if we were available for a further week, which we were. In fact the extension made it the perfect gap-fill sit for us!
So much depends on timing and flexibility at the time!
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Yes this is definitely a good example of an exception and I would probably have done this sit as well.
But based on what sitters are sharing on here, this isn’t the sort of scenario most appear to be encountering. It seems like hosts are still not booking flights for quite some time after the sit has been confirmed, and then are wanting to change the dates way down the line.
If a sitter is going to accept a sit where the host says there are going to book in the next few days for example, then it is a good idea to follow up and if they still have not, it is up to them to decide if they want to wait on them still.
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