LOVE this response and yes, I agree 100%…I need to have a chat with them. 
Thank you @Chatsetchiens!
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@Samox24 thank you for the warm welcome and informing me I can link my profile! I’m brand new at this and learning the ropes! I appreciate your input and reminder I don’t have to do what I’m not comfortable with!
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@bluet0917 I had one HO ask if I would take them to the airport and pick them up on the phone convo prior to accepting. I declined. 1. Like you noted, it definitely made me feel like the hired help. They had friends, family, cabs, uber they could use. And when I asked why they didn’t utilize those sources, they didn’t have an answer. It was a red flag that they thought they were “hiring” me and I was their employee (unpaid). 2. It meant I would need to clean my car prior and I was traveling. Kind of a big ask. They didn’t even offer to use their car or pay for fuel. 3. The time request. It was during work hours and would take 90m out of my day each time and I’d have to be there early on day one and stay quite late on the last day. Such a huge ask of someone you don’t know. It’s an exchange and their house wasn’t in a prime area and didn’t have any big draw, so transpo on top…they didn’t find a sitter on THS.
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As usual this is something which can be discussed, asked or offered but not demanded.
It’s always about the tone.
There might be a reason why home owners don’t want to ask friends or family. We only ask friends to take us to the airport, but not to pick us up, because flights from South Africa, where we usually spend our holidays, arrive very early in the morning. The sitters have to get up early anyway. We wouldn’t ask them however to pick us up.
If two of our previous sitters hadn’t offered to pick us up, we would have taken a cab, no big deal.
It’s not unheard of for sitters to drop the owner off at the airport. Usually it is because the sitter will have use of the car (as it’s an isolated sit or they want the dogs taken to a park or beach for walks etc) so the owner can’t drive themselves and leave it at the airport.
This should be discussed before offering/accepting the sit or even better be in the listing.
If they are just demanding it of you now and you won’t have use of the car for your own purposes then I would not be happy as they would be treating you like some sort of servant to do there bidding.
I guess it comes down to if you are happy to do this, ok driving their car, get to use it yourself or if you feel they are being reasonable in their request or pushy and demanding. If you want to do the sit but don’t want to do the driving tell them you are not comfortable driving someone else’s car, can’t drive stick, can’t drive on that side of the road, suffer from night-blindness, don’t have a license or whatever else you need to say.
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@lou28 good for you to speak up for yourself and set boundaries! I’m learning to practice more and more of this thru THS! I’ve encountered other HO’s who have that mindset of “hiring (unpaid) help.” Thru this process, I’m getting clearer about what I’m willing and not willing to do etc. It’s a helpful albeit uncomfortable process.
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@bluet0917 I agree with you that someone’s tone and choice of ask/expect/demand are great indicators of the type of relationship expected, either by an owner or a sitter.
I only quickly looked through the responses, so I’m not sure if you’ve said whether she is making her vehicle available to you. For many that makes a difference, as the sitter may gladly do those runs to and from an airport as a way of thanking the owner for the use of the vehicle. I know we did that when I did sits as a couple, but now I’m doing them solo.
This type of request should have been covered by the owner before the sit was offered to you, so that you could have discussed it further so you both could decide whether it was a good fit.
I have an upcoming sit where the listing offered the use of their car. I’m one to thank them but I ask that they merely leave the keys and I will only use it in the case of an emergency. I prefer not to use an owner’s vehicle because of the complications that can arise if there’s an unfortunate incident.
However, I then awkwardly mentioned that I would also not be comfortable driving them to and from the airport. I was anticipating that it would be an expectation, given they were offering their vehicle. They immediately assured me that they already had that arranged. Phew. All discussed, all arranged, no hard feelings, and another tick in my mental list that they are really considerate people. 
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I agree with this 1000% percent. I don’t like having responsibilities added on after the confirm. It feels off to me. It’s different if they ask in the interview if taking/picking up is comfortable for me, but definitely not after the confirm as a post script add on request.
I hate driving anyone to the airport, even my own family members, lol. I find the airport to be stressful, so this type of request would also bother me. Whereas, Nate would have no problem doing it! LOL It all depends on people’s bandwidth and their comfortability with driving - as often airports are busy, and not everyone is comfortable doing an airport run.
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@Snowbird thank you for your response to my query! The HO hasn’t confirmed whether their car will be available for use. I’m still awaiting their reply to my message regarding this. I’m curious what they will say as I let them know I’m not comfortable driving to the airport.
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Thank you @cawosey for your feedback! I messaged the HO and waiting to hear back. We shall see what they say.
If her flight is leaving at a reasonable hour and she’s offering use of her car and a gas stipend, you should definitely consider taking her to the airport. If not tell her to get an uber/cab!
@bluet0917 if the car is offered to you and you’d like to use it, that will involve another set of questions to make sure you are both in agreement on the details. Search ‘use of car’ on the forum to be aware of what you need to consider.
I’m fully with you on this. It feels a bit underhand to just assume this ‘duty’ of a sitter once sit confirmation is all concrete.
I think it’s lovely that some sitters are happy to collect and pick up HOs/PPs from the airport and it shows what generous, good-hearted members THS has. For me personally, I’ve never been offered to be picked up from the airport by a HO and truthfully, I genuinely wouldn’t expect it from them either. I see it as my responsibility to get myself to and from the airport and I wouldn’t even ask friends or family as I personally think it’s quite a lot to ask but that’s my personal view of course.
I love it when HOs are upfront about these sorts of things from the outset before anything is booked in. Being on THS has been a brilliant training ground for me in terms of figuring out those who are decent, honourable and have integrity. I still slip up every so often to be perfectly honest but I’m getting so much better at trusting my gut instincts which I firmly believe to be SO important, especially in the initial stages of contact before taking things further.
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@Chatsetchiens couldnt agree with you more that TH has helped me flex the muscles of discernment more! I’m learning to trust the initial gut feeling & one can circumvent unnecessary stress, discomfort!
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You make a good point @Snowbird …she’s yet to read my message. Hopefully she does and soon! Want to get this part taken care before moving forward!
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Hello @bluet0917 and welcome.
I’ve a Christmas & new year sit and have been asked by the ho to take her to the airport & pick her up two weeks later (at 0020). As it’s her car I’ll be using for 2 weeks I can’t refuse 
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