That’s the best plan. We learned that one the hard way too. I also tend to touch base with the family on the day they are packing up to come home to confirm times and if they’re flying, we usually have their flight info so we know if it’s late or something.
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Thank you for that insight. It is a timely reminder of what we are actually doing - looking after beloved pets while there owners have a break. The house is rather secondary and yes, it is lovely to walk into an immaculate home with lots of drawer and hanging space in the bedroom, the fridge cleared out and a meal simmering in the oven but in reality it very rarely happens.
I look back on living in my own home and remember the hassle of getting ready for holidays. The last thing on my mind was the state of the carpets, was the dishwasher empty, did I plump up the cushions. Funnily enough I always cleared out the fridge - I couldn’t have stood the smell when returning and cut the grass……. Who knows why that was important.
Your comment was a reminder we are not visiting hotels. We are staying in much loved homes where family life goes on and sometimes time is too precious to keep the place immaculate.
Elsie
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I was completing a sit that started this past Sunday. On the app, the sit was not to end until (today).
Yesterday, I texted the HO’s saying “Good morning, what time will you return tomorrow?”
They responded that the flight was delayed and that it would be around 6:30pm.
So I had it set in my brain that I would wake up the next morning doing chores and preparing for their arrival.
Later that same day they arrive and I am completely caught off guard. I say “I thought you were arriving tomorrow”.
The HO seems a bit annoyed and says “No, it was always today”. So I start frantically collecting my stuff in my suitcase and rushing out. At this point, I was feeling embarrassed and really kind of shocked since I’ve never been in this situation before and I don’t want them to be upset with me for not being prepared. Then I think to check my phone and go to the Trusted Housesitters app. Sure enough, it shows the sit ends in 1 more day.
So, in a non-confrontational way, I show them that the sit shows that it goes until (today) and then I ask them if they saw in my text where I say “tomorrow”. They said “oh, wow, we didn’t realize” and encouraged me to take my time gathering my things and that they weren’t upset with me.
I washed my dishes, took out the trash and got my things and left feeling a bit mortified and embarrassed and found somewhere else to stay for the evening. Has anyone ever been in this situation? I’m wondering how this should be handled in the future? It’s obviously a miscommunication as well as incorrectly booked dates but I’m just going back and forth in my mind on if I could have done anything differently.
Moderated to adhere to community guidelines
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@Karlealynne - I sometimes have nightmares that something like this might happen and I would be mortified if it did 
. It doesn’t seem like you did anything wrong.
When HO realised that you were not expecting them back ( as per the date on THS app ) did they check with you that you would be ok for a place to stay that night ?
Don’t know if this would have helped , but I add the day of the week to my messages -e.g “what time are you back on Sunday 4th ? “
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A few months back, I got a message from the HO that flight changes meant she would be getting back about 1 am instead of noon - 11 hours early. It was a 1 BR apt and I was sleeping in the bedroom. The HO indicated that she would just come in and sleep on the couch in the LR.` The bathroom was off the LR so she didn’t bother me when she came in and I was quiet when I got up the next morning.
Things happen - I got up, took the dog out and then went out for coffee and returned about 10 am and packed and left a few hours later.
Things happen and we live with them and manage.
oh gosh, what an awful feeling that must have been 
I’d be just as frazzled.
when cleaning I always put off the sweeping/vacuuming until the very very last minute (so much fur, so many dust bunnies!) and I do try and have the car loaded with everything but my refrigerated food, but sometimes things come up and I’m still doing floors when they walk in, or there’s a pile of my belongings stacked at the front door! It feels so weird.
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HO’s: it might be a nice thing to call/text our sitter when you’re a half-hour away, especially if you’re driving.
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Sitters if they’re flying, use FLIGHTAWARE.COM It has saved my bacon a few times.
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If you can manage, pay attention to the weather at their current location and also on their route, and at their landing destination.
I once avoided a 4-day situation where all flights were canceled by telling the HO, “Hey, the weather here is awful. What do you want me to do if you cancel your flight?” and they had no idea. They immediately changed to an earlier flight and their arrival a day early was an absolute blessing for both of us.
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I’ve just read this whole thread and it brought back uncomfortable memories! It really can be very stressful if the host arrives earlier than expected. We’ve had it happen twice- not a whole day before, thankfully- but several hours earlier. The first was a multi millionnaire mansion that we were determined to leave as pristine as we found it. The hosts had originally planned to arrive late afternoon so we planned to leave at around 2pm (to be well away before their arrival) On the morning of leaving they msgd they’d be back a bit earlier 2/3pm so we adjusted our leaving to midday and speeded up the cleaning!! At 11am they walked in the door, unnanounced, and with the mother in law in tow!! We were not quite finished and we felt so uncomfortable and stressed, even more so when they immediately took over in the kitchen, made themselves a coffee and did not offer us one. We felt dismissed & treated like staff. We could not get away quick enough!
The second case the host was only away for a weekend and due back at 6pm. We’d planned to leave at midday. She too arrived unnanounced at 11am!! We really felt she just wanted to check up on us!
In both cases we’d met the hosts before the sit so were not strangers to be checked up on. Fortunately both hosts gave us great reviews and both invited us back. But we don’t like this behaviour- it feels disrespectful to sitters who want to leave the best possible impression on leaving.
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This is poor form on the hosts’ side. I would be upset. They can text, They were trying to catch you off guard. You each agreed on a schedule, and they broke that contract.
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@toml
We also have had a HO return early ( several days ) due to a medical emergency - however there was good communication from them at the earliest opportunity to forewarn us . They said we could stay until the scheduled end of sit day .
We didn’t take them up on the offer . However we appreciated the fact that the HO (despite being very poorly) was still considerate of the impact that their ( unavoidable) early return would have on us .
@Karlealynne’s situation is entirely different- maybe just a mistake on HOs part - but even so I hope they showed consideration about the impact on their sitter .
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That sounds very distressing! I hope you didn’t have too much trouble finding a place to stay, and the homeowners made sure you’d be ok. But it doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong. I try to make sure dates and times are very clear before confirming a sit, and again during the handover. You did your due diligence by communicating toward the end of the sit to ask the exact time - it’s not your fault the homeowners made an error in the dates AND didn’t catch that you said “tomorrow”. I think all you can do is be extra vigilant with future sits for your own peace of mind to make sure the specific day, date and time are confirmed a couple of times so it’s super clear that it’s Sunday 4 June for example - if they skim over the timing they’ll have more chance of realising there’s a mismatch.
They asked if I had someplace to go but the vibe was definitely not super inviting so if anything I was trying to get out as quickly as possible. Similar to @Lokstar I felt a bit like the help. I just felt overall weird and disoriented. It honestly makes me want to pause on taking another sit for a while.
I’d like to think they weren’t just trying to pop up on me and not take things personally. It could have been an honest mistake. I just never want to be in that situation again. Sucked the fun out of the experience for me.
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you use flightaware. com SO you are asking them for their flight out/in schedule right??
good idea on alerting them of your findings and asking what they want you to do if they came in later than planned for
Yep! I’ve got a list of stuff I ask to make sure that we’re on the same page, and a lot of stuff that I explain about what they can & can’t expect from me.
I’m not messing around trying to read minds, and telepathy isn’t a thing 