Like many others I am happy to arrive a day early and pay for a room or Airbnb for one night at my own expense. Four nights in an expensive hotel at my expense? Out of the question!
This does bring up a related issue - how early can one leave the sit? Being asked to stay later than midday may mean that I then have to pay for a second night at a local hotel. What if I have a train/plane to catch? What if the home owner’s return is unavoidably delayed but I have already made my non-refundable travel plans?
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Also, what happens if the home host decides that you are not a good fit after your four-day expensive’ pre-sit’?
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I’ve asked the sitter to come 1 day early before depending on when we are leaving but I always let them know we will pay for the hotel but never more than 1 day.
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Great point Colin which did cross my mind. I guess I move an expensive return flight or stay the week in an expensive hotel!
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I’ve only had 1 sitter and got another lined up for later in the year. I have asked both to come a day before we leave to get to meet us and meet the pets and go over all the details of pet sit. I would not expect them to stay at a hotel but at the house. I don’t blame you for declining.
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I dont see anything wrong with them requesting it but if we were to do that we would know that we might not get as many options to choose from with the sitters that would apply.
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All the HO’s that have requested my arrival early have offered to host me… i tend to think its rarher presumptuous to ask a sitter to pay top prices for a hotel during peak season…plus, 4 day’s is a lot, I can maybe see 2 but not 4 thats my take.
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I am a full-time traveler. I would have turned this sit down also. In the beginning, I booked cars and paid for hotel rooms until I realized I was the person paying to watch the animal. If I am on vacation, I generally have a whole different plan than if I am sitting. So now I either sit or spend the money on vacation. Now I do not take any sits that require cars or hotels. I no longer take any sits unless they benefit me. But because I am not traveling for vacation, others might feel different. I think it is an absurd request. But the beauty of it is, you do not have to agree to anything you do not want.
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After reading this post, I realize I’m paying for hotels to sit too. Can you describe how you arrive arrivals and departures so that you don’t have to book hotels? Also do you only accept sits that provide cars?
Yeah, I agree with what Colin says. It is weird for a homeowner to want to get to know you just before the sit is starting… What’s the point of that? It is too late to cancel. The homeowner needs to trust they’ve chosen the right person before the sit is confirmed. If they can’t do that perhaps they need to look at other options like choosing someone local. Good choice to decline. 4 days before to look after a cat, I’d never pay for a hotel for that time. Only if I were already planning on paying for another accommodation outside the sit, but then I wouldn’t spend all four days getting to know the homeowners.
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I think I would decline too.
I drive everywhere so spend quite a bit on fuel; couldn’t really justify hotel as well. Did they say why?
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@IHeartAnimals From a HO’s point of view, I would not expect a sitter to book a hotel. If we leave very early in the morning, we ask the sitter to come the day before, and stay in the house for the night. Same if we come back late: the sitter is welcome to stay until the next day.
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Do you sit solo or as a couple/family?
We sit as a couple and often overlap sits to avoid Airbnb and/or hotel costs.
The car question is a difficult one. Insurance differs from country to country so in some countries it is very common/easy to find sits that provide cars. In other countries, it is very rare/difficult!
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I sometimes arrive in a place a day before and pay for accommodation, if the HO hasn’t offered to host me. This is usually if I really want to visit a place and might want some holiday time there before I take on the responsibility for a pet and a home. Recently I stayed in Stockholm for two nights before a dog sit and that worked out great. The thing is that it has to work for me! If the home owners request for me to arrive earlier and pay for my own accommodation, it feels a bit unwelcoming. I don’t think I would agree to such a sit any more (I have done it in the past). Asking for arrival of more than one night before the sit, and also asking you to pay for it, is just totally absurd.
@Colin we sit as a family of 5 and so far, we have not overlapped sits but see the value of doing that. The only thing is we travel with 1 car so if we overlapped, then the next sit has to be close or get a rental car I guess. Maybe inviting a whole family of 5 to sleep with the HOs the night before seems too chaotic. It’s okay, if we have to get a hotel here and there, we can manage.
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@IHeartAnimals our family of 4 once stayed the night before our housesit started with a family of 6. So a household of 10 for the night!I guess it was a little chaotic, but also a lot of fun!
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From the HO standpoint, it is important for everyone’s sake that sufficient time is built in to account for potential travel delays, and to provide for a proper handover. I would never ask a sitter to arrive more than 1 night prior. I don’t see this as any different from the other travel expenses involved in a sitter getting to his/her sit location with ample time for a handover. While it is a thoughtful gesture to host the sitter or pay for their hotel, I don’t feel that should be an expectation. It’s easy to offer to host a sitter if one has a spare bedroom. In my case I only have a tiny apartment that can be rather uncomfortable to share when meeting each other for the first time. I also always state any early arrival/hotel arrangements very clearly in the responsibilities section of my listing. I don’t think it would be appropriate to confirm a sitter and THEN ask them to arrive the day before and pay for a hotel room. As nearly everyone has said, four days is an unrealistic expectation. I think that should be separated from the reasonable expectation that sitters arrive a day early and arrange their own accommodations.
From a sitter perspective this is the way I also see it. If I coming a distance (like from the US to Europe) l try to come at least a day or two earlier at my own expense just so I can get my bearings and rest a little. I also think this helps get sits because it gives the HO more assurance that any travel delays will not affect them. I am going to Norway from the states later this month and have scheduled a hotel night (paid by me) for the night before and after. My current sit which was from one side of the states to the other the HO asked me to come a full extra day early because they have a large herd of 6 horses and wanted to make sure I was acclimated. For this they provided a place to stay and a fabulous ride with them on the horses. This site is all about doing what works for both parties.
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Wow so it can be done. We have our first family sleepover with the owners there in Aug. Hope we don’t overwhelm them
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I agree totally. If the HOs want servants, then they can hire them! TH shouldn’t serve as a cheap source of labour. If the HOs want you to come early, then they should cover the cost - either by hosting you themselves or paying for your accommodation.
Edited to meet posting guidelines
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