HOs, please state days and times of the days of your leaving and return

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
21

I don’t know you, Ken, so I don’t know what reviews you have. For the sake of making a point, I’m going to imagine that you’re new to the platform and have no reviews at all.

As a sitter, I could presume that you’re a good bloke, and maybe you are, but that assumption might prove to be very wrong - for all any of us know, you could be a predator! How on earth would we know?

With no reviews, I’d weigh things up and would I stay with you before the sit? No way. I’d expect you to understand why and I’d be glad of the THS protection there. That’s not ‘paranoia’, it’s about ensuring a minimum level of protection. More women than men will understand and identify with this point of view because we tend to protect ourselves routinely.

Let’s now assume the opposite scenario; you have loads of great reviews. You’re a verifiably great bloke. Will I stay with you the night before? Sure. No problem! We’ve had a chat and agreed to it - it’s all good.

All of that said, even if you had glowing reviews, I would pull out of a sit, or find other accommodation if you told me “things have changed and I’ll be around a night or two before”.
Presenting sitters with a fait accompli*, when you haven’t checked if that suits them, isn’t okay. We’re not there to hang out with the homeowners and personally, I can’t maintain the necessary confidentiality in my remote work while someone is there in the background.

There’s no need to be offended by a policy - there are some very good reasons that it exists.

*as has been the case for the OP.

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22

Thank you, Snowbird, you understand me perfectly! I have meanwhile talked to the lady HO and agreed that I will arrive on the day before the sit, hence shortened the time to spend with her husband to one night only which is fine for me. He will be leaving early in the morning. With that, my problem is resolved, but I will make sure to ask about the exact departure and arrival times of the HOs before I confirm a sit in the future, so such a shock doesn’t occur again!

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23

I take your point about reviews but simply believing that what has happened in the past will be the same in the future is naive. As someone has already pointed out circumstances change with regard HO. and a couple with glowing reviews can become a single male ‘predator’, to use your term.
You have presumed and assumed but end up agreeing with what I have said in all my posts, and that is communicating with people you are going to meet is essential and agreeing on a format. If that agreement is breached then the HO or sitter has every justification in pulling out. As regards being offended by a ‘policy’; I have no idea what you are talking about. I said I would feel slightly offended if someone feels ‘uncomfortable’ in my home whilst there with me and my wife, and so I would. I have made it a point that with every sitter there has been clear understanding of what We will be doing whilst the sitter is here. If then the sitter feels ‘uncomfortable’ in my home , yes. I would be offended!
You can present any scenario to fit a point of view but the bottom line is that if you don’t communicate and ask the right questions then there can be problems. I have a sitter coming from the USA, she will be here in the house with me and my wife for 4 days b before we leave. She is comfortable with that and the reason she is is that we have talked in depth. I only asked that she arrive at least a day before so 4 days is a bit of a surprise but I don’t see a problem with that, we have discussed our plans for those days we will all be together, or rather when we won’t be all together!! If people cannot reach an agreement beyond simply agreeing to sit then perhaps they shouldn’t be sitting!!

24

That situation is not considered against the rules because you are a good communicator and have discussed this with your sitters beforehand. I would actually say it’s the preferred scenario.

The rule is against all undisclosed third parties. A random adult child showing up midsit. Workers being scheduled in the house midsit. Someone with a key just popping in to check on the pets without the sitter’s knowledge.

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25

It wasn’t me that brought up the term ’ against the rules’ I was responding to someone who did. With what you refer to: I always make it as clear as crystal as to who can stay in the house. In my case it is a maximum of two and definitely no children. It is absolutely essential that people make clear what it is they want, or need, or there will be problems later. The posts I read here seem to take a great deal for granted without spelling it out to their sitter or H.O. Without full and proper discussion of course there is the possibility of confusion and people, being people, some will try and take liberties. Clear, concise and frank discussion between the parties does away with that and everyone goes home a happy bunny!!

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26

We treat the third party policy more as a guideline. I have no objection for regular cleaners, gardeners, pool personnel coming in during our stay. I completely understand grown up children or other relatives popping in for something they forgot. We welcome homeowners who suggest we arrive a day or two in advance particularly if there’s lots of animals and a large home and garden to be tended. You wouldn’t believe the friends we have made doing this. It’s all about communication and what’s right for each party.

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27

Very well said, Pips. I do wish more men understood the risks that women face.

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28

I usually get this information during the interview with the HO, but it’d be much better if they include it already in the listings, because I can immediately know if I have to arrive the night before or not, for one thing.

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29

For what it’s worth, I always clarify the homeowners’ departure and arrival dates of the sit during our first video call with them (we don’t book a sit way too in advance so they almost always have their dates confirmed, tickets booked etc). And if ticket prices are all the same, I let them choose when they’d like us to arrive and depart.

31

Hi @Ken just keep in mind, sometimes sitters are arranged before flights/travel plans are booked. In those cases there are only estimated times.

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32

Very true, in fact I would think that is almost the case in every arrangement but even estimated times must be discussed and arranged. Not to do so is ridiculous.

33

I agree it would definitely be helpful to know exactly what time to arrive and depart. Some sits have been extremely vague and even the dates have been wrong. After agreeing a sit I have been told it starts two or thee days earlier and will finish a day earlier etc. Thankfully I have still been able to do them but then owners have not changed dates on the site. I have also agreed sits knowing the dates were wrong but been told just to accept as it stands. I belive many find it too complicated to change

Edited to comply with posting guidelines

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34

I’ve done quite a few sits and I have a script for the initial message for the sit, a list of questions I ask for every sit, and I always offer a video call to make sure we are a good fit for each other. I have had wonderful experiences house sitting because of this.

In the initial message, I state my name, mention my current situation/travel plans, and mention my experience watching pets and my experience living with pets as pertains to the ad. I mention that I am clean and tidy, respectful of property, will collect mail, water plants, etc., and offer a video call. I also make sure to let them know I will send pics/videos of the animals as requested.

Once I get a response, we set up a time for the video call. I (almost) always can make sure I am in a quiet or private space and have a decent data connection (thank you sim cards).

The questions I always ask to make sure the sit is right for me are: dates/times of arrival/departure for HOs, closest or best public transportation, special requirements for caring for pets, plants, house, and whether there is anything else I should know before agreeing to the sit.

On one sit, I arrived after the HOs left. They left a key and made a video tour and a google doc for instructions, which was more than sufficient for me to grasp the important things. On most sits, the HOs have offered to pick me up from train/bus stations and drop me off. I have often been offered an extra day at the beginning or the end to suit my travel plans, and I have often taken them up on that. It has led to some wonderful conversations, dinners, games, and general merriment.

I have helped package up conference supplies, picked garden vegetables for a homemade dinner, played Monopoly and watched movies/tv, celebrated special events, gone out for drinks, learned about all sorts of countries and cultures, and more with the people whose pets and houses I’ve sat. It’s a nice change of pace when travelling solo and a great way to make some new friends.

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35

This is a good point. I’m doing my 3rd sit now and realize how important it is to know when the HO are leaving and what time they get back. Maybe one of the improvements to the system could be where the system asks for date and time for the estimated day the HO’s leave and come back. I make it a point now to ask these questions during the interview process.

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37

If you don’t feel this is safe or acceptable you should pull back. It is IMO an extraordinary circumstance that you didn’t anticipate. However, you can also have a frank discussion about this. Terms are only negotiable if people attempt to negotiate. You can bring up the TOC, previous discussions with the wife, and how much you value your privacy, and see if they can do something else or at least compromise on this. The fact is in a remote farm with a limited mobil signal, they are unlikely to get a lot of takers, so maybe there is something they can do to assure your feeling better about this eg – shorten the time for you to arrive, offer your a separate living quarter with a lot of privacy, etc.

38

I have had two sits in the last 2 months where the HO casually mentioned they’d be returning a day sooner. I’ll be double checking going forward but hopefully this doesn’t become a thing.

39

Totally agree, I had a long term sit booked and for the past eight weeks HO has constantly changed the start date by a ten day period, even then she still couldn’t give an accurate date of departure and then said the end date was to be four days flexible!! Being a full-time sitter this doesn’t work for me. The sit has now fallen through because of their disorganisation and a breakdown in communication but I will be making sure dates are known before accepting. HO’s must ask for flexibility up front if they don’t know travel plans. Can’t put ‘rough dates’, book a sitter then make your travel arrangements and muck sitters about.

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40

Sorry you’re in such an uncomfortable situation. I thought the departure / return dates had to be listed and that was part of the agreement.

For arrival / departure times I include what I will agree to in my profile, with a notation that anything outside of that will need to be discussed. I discovered within the first few sits that HO’s would arrange very late return flights and think I should stay until they got back. I work, so that’s not conducive or reasonable. So far, it hasn’t been an issue and if there is too much lag time, a neighbor, friend, or service takes care of feeding/walking. As it should be IMO.

41

I haven’t found this hard to nail down. It’s just an exchange of info. But I also scrutinize listings and skip or withdraw at any hint of a host who’s not got their crap together.

If stuff like this is hard at the outset, it doesn’t bode well. And to me, why bother with such hosts when THS sitting is voluntary.

A couple of days ago, I dropped a host, because they couldn’t manage to reply without delay and then schedule a video chat without hiccups. Red flags — I’m not going to risk having to chase down someone like that if problems crop up during a sit.

Bummer for them, because I live within easy distance and they travel a lot — they would’ve liked a trustworthy sitter who might easily do repeat sits. But from my POV, there are always good sits being posted and there’s no reason for sitters to volunteer for unnecessary complications that can easily be avoided.

Such hosts can shape up or risk not getting sitters.