I’ve been a sitter for nearly ten years and I’ve never had guests whilst sitting. I suppose I’ve always thought I’m the one being asked to sit, not others. However I’m on a sit of over a month soon and it would be nice if a friend could visit. The sit says guests allowed ( if approved in advance) but how have people asked about guests to the HOs and what have the responses been? I guess I feel a bit awkward asking.
I’ve had daughter stay for part of sit or whole sit , uncle and brother visiting and I always ask upfront and say if they’d rather not I understand and that would be fine. All but one have agreed. I guess they can see from my profile and reviews that I seem like a decent person , at least I hope so. If the listing says guests allowed if agreed in advance then I assume they’re happy to accommodate such requests. If it doesn’t then I wouldn’t ask.
I would ask at the outset, before agreeing to a sit. Otherwise, it puts undue pressure on the host(s).
Easy : You simply ask nicely, respectfully and with sufficient/appropriate timing.
Given that you’re already on a sit, the last point above makes the request dicey - akin to asking to change a commitment after everything is established. Asking now puts everyone in a challenging place as noted above.
Personally if I were in your situation I would not ask.
When applying for your next longer sit, if the idea of guests still applies, asking the host from the outset is the fairest, most honest approach.
I’ve been asked and not asked. Asked is definitely better. When asked, we’ve agreed to visitors and overnight guests.
Whether you ask before getting the sit inevitably risks getting the sit so it’s up to you how you handle it. As a host, I would NOT be happy to receive a guest request last minute or immediately after agreeing to the sit. Either of those moves would feel coercive.
I’ll point out that hosts who check the “Guests allowed (with prior host approval)” box have given the idea some thought and are amenable being approached. If it’s a last minute and/or mid-sit request, insisting the choice is up to the hosts and you’re okay either way goes a longs ways in greasing the skids. Proactively offering guest identification information would slather on more grease.
FWIW, unannounced guests are a major bugaboo of ours and will definitely be part of the review a sitter receives. We’re also strongly inclined to say no if the sitter is local unless there’s a very strong reason the guest needs to visit in our home rather than theirs or elsewhere. Other than that, we’re quite agreeable to guests properly “introduced” to us.
@Maggie8K Good point.
@OnTheRoadAgain @OnTheRoadAgain thanks fir your response. The sit isn’t until 2 months time so it’s not last minute and I’m not currently in the sit but I take the point about asking before getting the sit. I only thought about a possible visitor after.
Hi, I’m not on the sit. I said soon on a sit, sorry fir the confusion, but actually it’s in 2 months time. It’s in another country to my home country. Thanks
This is a question I always dread asking and have been a sitter for eleven years. I love it when homeowners openly offer for us to have sitters which happened on one of our very first sits and a few times since. We’ve done sits in the cities where our children live to combine visiting with them and the homeowners were very open to allowing them to visit which was great. Also, done international sits in cities where we have friends and also wasn’t a problem with having them over. I usually ask after I agree to the sit. We can always visit our family and/or friends in their homes so not a huge dealbreaker for us.
Well, that changes everything !
Ask away in a manner that ensures the hosts that your request is simply that : A request, not a condition of your keeping your commitment.
I hope that you & your friend can enjoy time together on the sit.
@Reliablesitter, we agree with advice from @Maggie8K.
For context, a portion of our applications include a request that our adult child join us for some portion of the housesit period, with a simple rationale. Likewise some of our applications make reference to our use of pet parent vehicle (e.g. if rural location). Or other deemed important topics. Transparency is good.
We recognize that pet parent may decline us - we are completely ok with that. But we have no appetite to engage in a video call, nevermind confirmed sit, where any known dealbreaker topics have not been raised.
We find that many pet parents respond positively to this upfront transparency.