Without going into the story that prompts this question, I’m curious how people feel about sending pics, vids and “all ok” updates to the HO?
I have no issue doing this as often as they like.
I always ask hosts their preferences, as it can vary. In my experience, most are good with every couple of days or so, though recently I have had a few say they would love a daily photo or video if possible, but that if I didn’t do it daily it wasn’t a big deal.
I still did send something pretty much every day though. I don’t think I have ever had someone who wanted multiple updates/photos a day, but if someone were to ask that, I would.
It doesn’t take long to snap a quick photo or video so I don’t find this burdensome, even in cases where they ask for one daily.
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If I was the PP I would want pics and updates every other day. They are leaving their pets with people they just met. As a sitter I ask them how often. Their answer ranges from daily to every few days with the average being every other day. I send pics and sometimes video shorts of us playing, walking, cute antics of the cat or dog. I always include a short update message. I want the PP to feel stress free and comfortable their beloved pets are doing well.
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This is something for which there is no one answer and should be discussed pre-confirmation between PP and sitter. What the PP asks for is how often they should receive pictures/updates - if the sitter disagrees, they don’t have to take the sit.
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Agree with @belluca. The key thing is discussing such questions at the outset and if there’s not a match, then move on.
Some hosts have posted about sitters who agree to X, then don’t do it, which is jerkish behavior, because part of the reason hosts get sitters in the first place is for peace of mind.
Some hosts and sitters neglect to discuss this before a sit starts, so then they’re left to negotiate this later, which can lead to problems. In that case, since they’re mutually at fault, it’s best to show grace from both sides.
Personally, I do sits of one or two weeks and almost always the hosts prefer at least one update a day. For me, that’s dead easy and I do it every morning, my time. If their pets do something cute, I might send more during the day, depending on whether the hosts enjoy such.
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I’ll do whatever I’m asked. Sometimes people don’t want any updates and others want daily updates. It’s b usually just a photo and a brief message of a sentence or two. I wouldn’t want to be doing lengthy messages.
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I send daily, approx. the same time. Often early evening. I’ve had a host that wanted several times a day. I found it disturbing my time and will not do it again. I sit up to two weeks. If longer sits I would think 2-3 times a week is enough. There’s limits to how many «all is well» one can send.
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I typically send photos/videos daily unless it’s a long sit, then every 2-3 days. For most of my sits that’s what the HOs have wanted. In my opinion more than once a day is too much. I did one sit that wanted videos of their cat twice a day. I felt like I spent much of my time trying to get videos of the cat doing something other than sleeping. It’s hard as a solo sitter to play with the cat and take a video at the same time. I saw one listing that said they required videos and photos sent a minimum of three times daily. I quickly scrolled on.
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as others have said, it depends on the HO and on what you agree to – that’s first and foremost.
I mostly do longer-term sits, and I tend to send more frequent updates at the beginning (day 1 + day 2, then every-other day ish) since I’m a stranger and they’re still getting comfortable with me at that stage. then as the sit progresses, I tend to taper my updates down to ~twice per week. I’m also almost always sending multiple photos/vids within each update – so they’re getting lots of happy pics of their pet in each text I do send.
if I can tell that an HO is a little more on the anxious side, then I’ll err on the side of sending more frequent updates. on the other hand, if it seems like the HO wants a break from it all and feels comfortable really trusting me while they enjoy their vacation, then I’ll err on the side of batching updates in less frequent communications.
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I offer one pic a day always around the same time - showing various pet behaviours: eating/sleeping/playing/walking etc
One sit the HOs asked me to send the daily updates to their emergency contact a local family member.
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My current sit HO requested updates twice per day. I send one in the morning with a cute video or picture and one before bedtime with a summary of the day. This is the first time I’ve been asked for updates twice per day. My norm is to send updates daily with cute videos/pictures and a summary of “how it’s going”. My upcoming sit asked for updates every 3 days. I’ve also had HO request no updates unless it’s an emergency.
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It’s part and parcel of doing pet sitting in today’s world, if it’s what the owner wants. We’ve found most owners want an update every 2-3 days, but some ask for daily. For longer stays, some want a regular update for the first week, and then a weekly one thereafter. It just depends.
When it comes to videos, we probably only send about 1 video every 5-7 days or so, because some of the owners we sat for at the start of our pet sitting journey couldn’t receive videos as easily as they could photo’s, eg cruise ships, iffy wifi etc, so we just continued to send more photo’s than video’s from there onwards.
Not sure why you’re asking, but sending photo’s twice per day or more wouldn’t be for us, we want to be able to relax and unwind with their pets, without reaching for our phones every time they’re on our laps, but we’ve also never been asked for more than once per day anyway.
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More than once a day seems excessive. I would not agree to that. I hate feeling micromanaged but that’s just me. I ran my own business for 30 years and I would feel like I now have an employer, ha. If it works for you then there is no problem.
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One update a day seems like the norm for most HOs other than on longer sits when it’s every 2/3 days. More than once a day seems intrusive to us so we would pass. We had one funny sit where the HO recorded her own voice to entice an errant cat back home and she also quite liked a FT with her felines. #facetimefun
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2 pictures a day is OK. 3 is too many.
Contact more than twice a day is too much.
Less than 3 updates per week is too little.
Pictures not including the pets are unnecessary.
Small talk is inappropriate.
Writing more than 10 words in a message is slightly pushy, but writing less than 2 is rude.
OK, kidding, I just wrote random things because it’s different for everyone!
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@Seniorsitter my sentiment exactly this was the first time I’ve had a HO request 2x per day over the course of my 26 sits. Most HO want to be able to enjoy their holiday without distractions.
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More than once daily is a lot to ask of the sitter.
If a sitter decides to send multiple updates per day without being asked, and this bothers the host, the host should simply tell the sitter how often they want updates. Be clear.
This is a good question for the video chat!
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We’ve discussed this a lot on the forum, you can use the spyglass to search. However, always best to ask the HO before they leave how frequently they want updates.
@Hiya, all comms that are in excess if that requested by pet parebt are excessive.
There is no right answer. But there is a preferred frequency/type of communication for each pet parent. Views vary a lot. Ask upfront so that there are clear expectations.
In my updates, I send written, video, and photos. The only difference from host to host is the frequency. Daily, every 48 hours, or twice a week. I send between 6-9pm local time so that hosts do not bother me during the day. They don’t have to check in with “how’s everything going?” They know my updates will come 6-9pm.
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