This subject has been discussed in part elsewhere in the forum but I’d like to raise it here as a feature request. While some people feel this is overanalyzing the details, my feeling on this is that there’s already confusion about which dates to post as the sit, especially if an home owner (HO) prefers to have the sitter arrive the night before their departure for orientation. On top of that, it’s very useful to know before applying whether the HO is leaving during the early part of the day, prefers to have the sitter stay the night before, etc.
Sure, this can be worked out during communications, but it’s inefficient for the HO and the sitter to communicate in the first place if there’s an arrival departure condition which can’t be met and which could have been advertised up front. Owners, especially frequent listers or multi listers, often don’t update their listings to reflect the current needs of the sit.
Basically, it would be great if there was an area somewhere on the listing page (below the dates, for example) which includes info about the preferred arrival and departure times for the sitter. Options could be general i.e. “Morning” or “Afternoon”, and for the arrival a “Night before” option would be very helpful. This would be an optional content area, owners could decline to specify.
Given the travel involved to conduct a sit, this bit of information would help HOs convey more info up front about their needs and sitters could know whether the sit is even possible for them to conduct.
I’d appreciate feedback from the community and THS reps, thanks.
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I think this should be worked out between the HO and sitters during conversations.
It depends too much on the constellation, say where the sitters arrive from and how. Do they arrive by train, bus, plane, own car? Each option might result in different arrival dates and is simply not plannable beforehand.
Of course, when the HO knows that he needs to leave very early in the morning, and a personal handover is preferred, and the sitters will arrive by plane or train, then it’s quite easy to post dates with the arrival time of the sitters a day ahead. But sitters arriving with their own car might want to drive through the night…you never know.
It’s not always this simple and I think this should not be something regulated too much.
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I agree with you, and things can change anyway. Best to have the conversation with the home owner
@anon39388349 This is why I suggested the information be optional for HOs to list and that it’s listed as “preferred”. No home owner would be obliged this info if they don’t want to. So basically the info is there to help, not hinder, at the discretion of the HO. I don’t really see how it would be a problem to have this info listed as an option.
But if a button like this existed people would expect HOs to use it.
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Not necessarily. It would depend on the guidance HOs receive from THS.
I don’t know what the back end looks for HOs but I imagine there are fields to fill out and options to choose from.
The preferred arrival/departure times could be marked as Optional with some simple guidance such as “If you’ve already planned your own trip or otherwise know when you prefer the sitter to arrive or depart, you can indicate those times of day here. In addition, if you’d like invite the sitter to stay over the night before you leave, you can make that invitation or preference known here.”
Something along those lines. Entirely optional.
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I am one of these people.
There are so many wish lists that THS are never going to get around to as they are too complicated to programme.
Once THS have completed the major issues such as the Calendar and the Review System then maybe members can ask for other changes.
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For sure, there’s a list of priorities and I don’t think my request is high priority.
But it’s also hard to know how those items are prioritized based on demand/feasibility so I may as well add my wish to the list and give a sense of how others feel about it!
I’ve used both sides of THS as a pet owner and pet sitter. Many times the homeowner has not considered dates for full coverage of their pets. When homeowners publish their dates, a prompt should be added “Have you considered an arrival & departure date for your pet sitter?” I always had a sitter come the day before my departure date.
Personally, I want the HO to list the dates that they want me to be there including handover time. If you want me there the night before because you leave early, include that. If you’re going to be home at 11pm and would like me to stay the last night, include that. It gets confusing when the web site lists one date but my personal calendar lists another because of those issues so I’d rather they both be the same. It also makes planning back to back sits easier. If a HO really needs me to come early or stay late, it might not be possible with another sit, so list when you want me at your house.
Dan
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