How often do you keep in touch prior to a sit?

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

Aloha
Husband and I are sitters and homeowners (USA) who use THS sitters while we’re away. We have a big 11 week trip coming up this summer to the UK and have committed to sits for part of our trip with 5 different homeowners. We have also selected a wonderful couple through THS to sit for us for the duration of our trip.
My question is this: how often do sitters and homeowners like to be updated? It just seems a bit strange for me to accept these sits and then not have any contact with the homeowner for months… Same with my sitters. I was thinking of sending a quick note once a month just saying we’re looking forward to the sit/them sitting and available for any questions or concerns? Do other homeowners/sitters appreciate this kind of contact or do you think it would be annoying? Would love some feedback on this. Thanks!

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2

@DarkAloha It never hurts to send a quick message, say on WhatsApp for instance, just to keep in touch and make sure everything is still good. I am sure they will appreciate.

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3

I’m a sitter who has been booked even 9 months in advance and I’ve heard from the pet parents now twice. And I usually start reaching out about 10 days before the sit, to see if that their flights haven’t changed.

I trust this helps.

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4

If we’re booked way in advance, then we might not chat much after the initial interview. Then, one month out, I would send a Whatsapp message saying: ‘Hi, looking forward to meeting you in one month’s time!’ just to make sure things are still going as planned. And then the week before, I send another message saying ‘see you in a week’, and maybe some fine tuning.

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5

We are HO & Sitters as well. I check in a couple times before our sitters arrive (and as a sitter before our sit begins). A month out I always make contact and then the week of the sit I do as well. If I’m traveling to the sit, I make sure the HO knows when we are flying or driving in and touch base when we get there, even if the sit doesn’t immediately start.

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6

I always tell pet owners I’m happy to keep any level of contact they want. I’ll usually provide them with my WhatsApp info as I get notices for that and can answer promptly. Everyone should be able to feel confident about the sit.