As an HO, I found a lot of these comments very informative. We are currently away on a trip of nearly 4 weeks (@pietkuip watching the TT motorcycle racingš¬)
Our very, very, experienced sitters have sat for us several times, this time, I gave them a new improved WG (not that they needed it)as it could be a while before they can sit for us again and with new sitters expected in the future, I wanted to make sure we had included everything any new sitter might need.
I asked them to read through it and give me feedback or add anything they felt should be included.
Four days after we had left for our trip, I was asked by our sitters if I could forward the WG via email so additions could be made.
I have visions of teachers red pen marks all over it, spelling mistakes, poor grammar and pages of additional information (tongue in cheek)
Thinking about it seriously, if HOās are to be trusted, why not let any new sitter or in my case repeat sitter to your home add stuff they feel is relevant?
I realise people, HOās, sitters, see and do things differently, but surely information is key?
That is a good idea. The restaurants that one liked. Or if one has figured out the remotes of the smart tv, I could imagine doing a writeup about that 
Have fun in Assen!
Edit: or on Man. But I am not on that kind of bike, I am pedalling 
Weāre closer to home, watching the TT in the Isle of Man 
We wrote 
the WG for a first time THS HO who had only used MMH previously and they didnāt know where to start! All went well and we had spent longer in the villa than the owners ever had so made good sense. #goodthinkingbatman
We learned the hard way after a HO didnāt disclose significant behavioral issues with one of the dogs before we agreed to the sit. Now during the initial video chat, we ask VERY specific questions about the pet such as:
- When is the last time any of your pets had an accident inside the home? If the answer is anything other than āyears ago when being housebrokenā or āwhen my pet was seriously ill on a specific rare occasionā, itās a red flag.
- How does your pet behave on leash. Is he/she reactive to other dogs/people?
- What special care does your pet need that we havenāt covered yet?
We had one horrible sit where the dog peed and pooped in the house at will, despite frequent walks outside. It was awful. Never again!
I had the same issue with my last sit! Not enough info about responsibilities and it made for an uncomfortable situation. I had traveled to this sit. Iād been in that city before, but had I wanted to explore more I could not have. The dogs needed to be walked 3-4 times a day and one had chronic diarrhea.
I may not have applied had I known.
I did share with the HO that she might want to include these details in her responsibility section of her profile, and she thanked me for my suggestions. I hope she actually does it!
Honesty. And video calls!
I hope your review mentioned such.
I did mention it in my review!! Politely but definitely said to be sure to ask how many walks were required! And about the steep narrow stairs, 3 flights, you needed to carry the 20lb dog up and down! I knew that part, but when I hear first floor I donāt think if 3 flights! In Italy the first floor is not the ground floor!!
Good: I applied for my first two local sits since starting sitting with THS about 15 months ago. (Iāve just moved cross country and want to get to know various neighborhoods via sits.) Both hosts replied promptly and we video chatted right off. They then sent their welcome guides immediately. Both WGs were thorough. One of them is the best Iāve ever seen. That one was a PDF. The other was via the THS template.
Bad: The latter one revealed that one dog must be let out to pee overnight daily, which wasnāt discussed during our video chat. And the other dog has bouts of diarrhea. That wasnāt discussed, either. Iāve withdrawn from that sit, which is in August.
@Maggie8K thanks for highlighting the importance of Welcome Guides were you able to receive the THS before the sit was confirmed ?
No. That host and I video chatted after she quickly replied to my application. She then offered me the sit during our call and I accepted online within a minute after. She sent the WG immediately ā Iād asked her to. I read it immediately, saw the problematic references and immediately asked her to unconfirm my sit.
Basically, within 10 to 15 minutes of our meeting over video, I withdrew my acceptance, because of what was disclosed in the WG, but not beforehand. To me, if a dog has to get up every night to pee or you have a pet prone to diarrhea, that should be disclosed ahead of a sitter accepting, because those can be deal-breakers.
It would be ideal if WGs were shared ahead of someone accepting a sit. (Address and other sensitive info could be withheld till after acceptance.) This host and I discussed that, but her WG was on the THS template, which makes sharing ahead of acceptance a pain.
Address is important too. And not really sensitive. One would like to have a look at how far it really is to the beach. Or to see a google streetview of the neighbourhood.
(My next sit is not in the best of neighbourhoods. I am not too scared and it is just two nights, but it is the kind of thing that I would like to know before confirming.)
Some hosts want to wait till a sit is confirmed before sharing their address. What you mentioned can be accomplished with a nearby business address, for example.
What I do is ask the HO for nearby major cross-streets, so I can get oriented to where Iāll be, but without making them uncomfortable that Iām asking for their exact address before Iām confirmed.
Many people consider their address to be āsensitive information,ā and I agree. (Iām sure there are cultural differences regarding what is considered āsensitive,ā as well as personal differences. Anyone who has been stalked or harassed at their home isnāt usually interested in giving out their home address to strangers unless and until itās necessary, as one example.)
Has happened to me, actually. But addresses are a matter of public record, at least in Sweden.
@Maggie8K Maggie, did this HO agree, moving forward, to discuss the pee and diarrhea issue during the video chat/phone call with prospective sitters,
prior to confirming?
No. When I brought things up, the response was they should update the WG, because that hadnāt happened in months. Whether or not thatās true, I couldnāt verify, of course. And I chose to not chance it.
Weāve today applied for a sit where there are 4 dogs and a cat. Initial messages were positive and a talk was planned for tomorrow, until I asked whether the dogs have any behavioural issues, what their recall is like, how they are on meeting other dogs and whether they pull on their leads. Response was that they don"t like other dogs, they do all pull when on their leads and are all lead reactive. We thanked the pet parent for her response, informed her that in light of this further info the sit clearly isnt a good-fit for us, but urged her to make these issues clear in her listing so that only sitters who donāt mind these behaviours can apply, which might make things easier.
Response just received states āI would also advise you to put down your necessitiesā¦it works both waysā¦Thankyouā
@Happypets some people just canāt take feedback! You dodged a bullet there! 
Tempting to report the HO @Happypets for not reporting the behavioural issues as per Ts & Cs too. #cheekyresponse