We do from time to time arrive in a place a day before and pay for accommodation when we want to sightsee or if it represents savings in airfare even with the accommodation added. But when it’s the HOs asking for us to arrive early, they’d host us at their home because the point of our arriving early is to introduce us to the house and the animals.
Hotel at HO’s request? No problem, but it will be at their expense.
Also, 4 nights? We get along very well with our HOs but as with life in general, we like and click with some better than others. But I bet the ones who ask you to spend 4 nights with them while you stay at a hotel, are generally not the ones you actually want to spend 4 nights with. RUN!
That has not been expected of me in any of my sits (so far six plus two upcoming). When HO wanted to leave in the morning they invited me for dinner and for the night. Once they left in the evening and stayed in a hotel at the airport.
Of course I make sure that I have enough margin to deal with travel delays.
No one is saying that this is always an expectation. The point was that this is not an unreasonable expectation when stated clearly in the listing and agreed to in advance.
I like a housesitter to come the day/night before so I can show them around the house and I can get up early the next day and be gone but four days is ridiculous.
Sounds like you dodged a bullet on that sit.
As a newbie, here is my take on the discussion:
Both the sitter and HO pay an annual membership fee.
The sitter gets to care for gorgeous animals in different parts of the country/world.
The HO gets an animal carer, house sitter and regular updates; equalling security and peace of mind.
I don’t think either side should incur any extra costs…however, the sitter has to travel to the HO so has extra costs there.
It would be a kind gesture to allow sitter one extra night in home for a handover.
On another note, as someone who worked in dog rescue for years, I would always want to initially meet the pet with the owner first and not just walk into their territory unannounced. Many animals have a fear of strangers
It must be super location to ask you to book 4 nights out of your pocket. How long is the sit?
I often arrive the night before and get a hotel - some owners like to do the orientation and key hand off the day before, especially if they’re leaving early. I’m fine with paying for 1 night; I’d tell the owner 4 nights is not in my budget.
Four days early is absurd. It’s a big red flag. I would only consider it if the HO was paying for it. I hope they had a good reason why they needed you to arrive 4 days early.
I am an avid walker and biker. I like driving dogs to hiking locations but usually, I do not need a car. I am just as happy without one because I get more exercise. I always ask if the host has a bike I can use and I have taught countless dogs to ride well next to me on a bike (I have a method and a lot of experience doing this). 80% of the hosts let me use a bike. And I travel with a bike bag for groceries.
I am 100% nomadic and can go anywhere so I have more flexibility then most. I apply for numerous sits, talk to all, and ask as much detail as I can. I ask for the exact arrival and departure times, try to get a sense of all responsibilities, and if the situation will be a good for me. I either take the sit that is the best situation or, if I have hesitations, I do not take it at all, and I pay for my own lodging, enjoying life either way.
I don’t mind paying for a hotel if it is part of my personal vacation and it is somewhere I want to spend time and enjoy, but I will not pay for a hotel just to meet up with a host.
I do feel like I offer valuable service. Many sit I do the dogs never leave my side. I am an animal lover and I make sure I provide the best care possible. Because I know I am providing a quality service, I only say yes to sits that work out for my schedule and lifestyle.
We usually plan to spend the night before at a hotel at our expense unless the homeowner has sufficient room and offers to host us. If the sit is in a gated community or condo complex, the sitter should ask if there is a guest suite available – that’s happened a couple of times for us and it usually is cheaper and more comfortable than a hotel room, as well as being conveniently close to the sit.
I would never expect sitters to show up four days early. I have requested that they can show up one day or the night before if I have an early flight and don’t want my dog to be alone when a new person shows up. And my offer has always been that they can stay in the guest room for one night.
Interesting they asked four days early and didn’t offer to help with the hotel costs.
I have done one night at THEIR expense before. Otherwise it is a no from me. I am not going to take an expensive super early flight or train, so that they can get a cheap flight themselves. Equally, I only do Saturday to Saturday sittings, or maybe Sunday. I don’t like mid week starts, because that means I have to take the day off work as a holiday to facilitate somebody else’s cheap midweek flight. I sit for my enjoyment of the pets and the areas, but it needs to work for ME.
I wouldn’t come four days early even at the HO’s expense, because they sound high maintenance and unrealistic. And I say this as a sitter who’s typically willing to come a day early and pay for a night’s hotel room on my own. I’ve yet to do that, though, because HOs have offered to host me early so we can do a handoff.
Hi, I always ask if I can arrive one day prior to the sit, to meet the HO before their departure. When they have an extra room, they invite me to stay at their place, but - when an extra room is not available - I simply book a room and pay for it.
Never asked them to pay. But, again, it’s just one night.
How do you feel about sleeping on a sofa?
I am new to this as a HO and it did not occur to me until the sitter asked if she could arrive the night before and stay at my place. Is it rude of me that I offered the couch? We only have one bedroom (that the sitters will sleep in during their stay here) and I would prefer to sleep in my own bed.
I never even thought of asking the sitter to come early. Maybe I will specify our expectations and offer the sofa bed for the overlapping time in my next listing
I’ve found also that a lot of HOs want the sitter to come the day before, and that’s a Monday, meaning MY airfare will be outrageous. Also what you said about the workdays.
I am a HO whose current sitter arrived a day early and stayed at my place. I have a very small apartment and no spare bedroom, so couch it was - for ME! I would not ask a sitter to sleep on my (comfortable!) couch.
For my previous sit, the sitter had family in the area and preferred to stay there prior to the sit starting, but I had a very early flight and still slept on the couch so that I didn’t have to deal with changing sheets at 4am.
