How do you normalt do check-out when leaving a sit before host returns?
On my sits so far I’ve left before the host returns (this has been agreed pre-sit of course). Usually I’ve made myself a «check-out»-routine. The day before I do the major end cleaning, and send a message in the afternoon with what I’ve done in regard to what we agreed. On departure day I send a message - I have left, the pet is fed/walked/other, linen in bathroom/ keys in «secret place». Pretty basic, has been discussed in other threads.
After reading on forum I might start to do photos also, for instance re cleaning and if the pet will soil somehow after I leave. The pet at current sit is a true digger, and would happily dig its litter box all over the place, it seems. My last sit I did quite a job cleaning the couch, but I saw that it was again full of pet-hair before I left. So maybe add a photo or to to check-out. Tips on check-outs?
If you’re doing a no contact check out, I would definitely take photos and send them to HO.
I also run through my checklist and any an HO may have left.
I will send a bullet list of handover notes, etc where applicable so they know the status of things, reasonings for why I may have done something a certain way, etc
I send a message to let them know when I have left the home so there is a timestamp on the “check out” and this will of course include where I’ve left the keys
I’ll also at this point thank them for the stay and time spent with their loved one and proactively tell them to let me know if something is amiss or if they have any feedback. I find being proactive and asking helps set ppl more at ease
I will oftentimes send the final note to timestamp the leave time in the app so it’s there for the record.
We keep it 1-2-3 simple -
1 - Make sure we’ve drunk all the wine
2 -Spray some furniture polish in the air for that ‘essence of cleanliness’
3 - Call a cab
I would add something in my check-out message asking home owners to send me a text once they are home safely, so that I don’t have to worry about them being delayed and the animals left alone for too long. Can’t quite relax until I know that I’m officially off-duty!
In over 14 years of pet sitting I have never asked a HO what cleaning they need and I have never told them what I have done.
Just leave it as you find it or a bit better
Don’t stress
We’re like @Itchyfeet , we don’t say what we’ve cleaned, we just leave it slightly better than when we arrived if we can.
We also right them a hand written note for when they return, mentioning anything they need to know, and mentioning the bedding/towels are clean and back on the bed (we don’t mention any other cleaning at all… they can see that for themselves). That way, the only messages that get sent the day prior and the day of us leaving are happy and appreciative ones, instead of ‘mundane/routine’ info when HO’s have enough mundane things going on with flight times, transfers, taxi’s, airport parking, and all that boring stuff.
By doing a hand written note, WE are fresh in their minds again, not just their pets when they return, but also we’re fresh in their minds the day after too, because they won’t put a hand written note in the bin straight away, they’ll leave it at a least overnight because they’ll be jet lagged, so it’s a gentle reminder without saying a word that there’s a review to do. But also, I think a hand written note is sweet, because almost every HO has left us hand-written notes with info that was missing from their Welcome Guide and usually they write thanks, enjoy your stay, enjoy the hand-baked goodies, or there’s prosecco in the fridge etc. It actually hurts my hand writing it, because I never write anything ordinarily nowadays other than short notes & doodles.
I just let the hosts know that I’ve left and where the keys are. I usually also send a photo of the pets that I took just before leaving. Of course, not if there’s an outdoor cat off roaming.
I don’t send checklists of things I’ve done — that feels like being a professional house cleaner or such, which I’m not.
The only cleaning thing I ever ask about is the bed linens, if not addressed in the welcome guide. Otherwise, I automatically do cleaning as needed to reset a home to how I inherited it. Not more than that, and I don’t need help figuring out how to do that.
So far, 18 sits domestically and abroad, that’s gotten me all five-star reviews that include mentions of how clean I’ve left sit homes.
I don’t stress about leaving homes in good shape. By contrast, if I needed to take photos of the house before I left (has never happened), that would mean I think the hosts are off and I need to cover my butt. If such circumstances unfolded, I would’ve started a report with THS and sent them the photos, because if I’m going to cover my butt, I’ll do it on the record.
To me, it’s important to pick hosts carefully. They’re the No. 1 potential dealbreaker for any sit, so I only go with ones I feel comfortable with. I’d avoid ones whom I thought I needed to cover my butt with.
BTW, if a pet is a “true digger,” presumably the hosts have previously seen that when they’ve left them at home before. So I wouldn’t bother “documenting” with photos that I’d left the home clean and tidy.
I do a 2 level check out: first, a WhatsApp (or whatever) message with info to put their minds at ease, like to say I’ve walked the dog(s), there’s milk in the fridge - things they won’t need to worry about. Also to say where I’ve left the key.
And I hand write a note with info that is less pressing, like any pet or home related information.
Since I’m old school and like snail mail letters and notes I also leave a hand-written note on a kitchen counter. It basically says something like “I hope you had a great trip and thanks for trusting me with Boomer.”
I have a small dog-themed notepad that I carry and that’s what I use for the note I leave.
Same here. I always leave a handwritten or printed note* letting them know the sheets are clean etc (things they can’t obviously tell), food in the fridge, thank them and ask them to text me when they arrive home.
I usually do that via text or WhatsApp. And hosts and I often continue to trade msgs after that, like when they arrive home if I’ve already left or even if we’ve overlapped before I return home. Like I’ve received several fun videos of my most recent sit dog since my sit wrapped about a couple of weeks ago. My host and I have chitchatted and I sent them a photo of my dog, who happens to look a lot like theirs.
I am usually there when the owners return, but there was a cat sit where I had to leave earlier in the day to catch the train. And then the owner found a broken (and partially disassembled) vacuum cleaner!
Please crash some topics that need a break from doom 