You can ask for pretty much anything you want as a host. Whether you get sitters to apply depends on the sit. We would not have a problem with this providing the sit lined up with our requirements.
Ask them if they are paying for the hotel. Otherwise forget it! Too entitled!
Presumably the necessary hotel stay will be at their expense? Have you asked?
Depending on the location, I’m open to paying for a hotel. But I’d never do it for a host unless it was my idea, not their entitled “requirement,” no matter the location or otherwise.
Sitting for hosts who are entitled is just borrowing trouble, IMO. And a host who words things as this one has is doing sitters a favor, by making clear that they’re trouble.
For me, it really depends on the listing. I realise the following may sound a little harsh, but it is an honest reflection of how I make my choices. And who knows, perhaps Versailles will appear on TrustedHousesitters one day!
If you live in Versailles, have a private cinema, a sauna and a hot tub, employ staff to keep the house spotless, and the only pet is a goldfish, feel free to contact me anytime.
However, if it is a typical house sit with the usual time consuming responsibilities, and we have no particular reason to be in that area during those dates, I would politely decline and wish you the best of luck finding someone.
That said, if you still have plenty of time, there is no harm in testing the waters. Alternatively, you could offer to contribute a fixed amount towards the sitter’s hotel expenses.
Everything that Maggie8k said.
@Blondce are you a sitter, or the host who has posted this, hasn’t received any applicants, so is now seeking advice on appropriateness of wording? 
I understand your intent, but it is not kindly worded and is therefore off-putting.
I would not apply for a sit where I was ‘required’ to do anything!
I’ve had a few pet parents who give my family a tour of their home and they go to a hotel for the night after the handoff
Yes, I’ve done repeat sits for a couple who do that.
We have done this exact thing, at our expense, a number of times but it was our choice.
The wording here is 100% off-putting. They see sitters and employees, not a mutually respectful exchange.
@Blondce I am arriving at a sit tomorrow afternoon for the handover, then my hosts are departing for their hotel near the airport, ready for their flight the next morning.
Their flight home arrives late at night. They have booked the airport hotel room so that they will not disturb me arriving home so late. This shows me how considerate they are for both my arrival and departure.
Perhaps this is something you would like to consider.
Then, you surely can afford hosting the sitter.
As others have said, it’s the wording that’s off putting. I have done that voluntarily several times but I would not apply to that sit.
Absolutely not. If you “require” the sitter to be there a day early, you either put them up or pay for their hotel. It’s your preference, not theirs, so why should they pay for it?
We live in a rural area, and we always like our housesitters to arrive the day before we leave so that we can show them where everything is – post office, dump, etc. We have found that almost all of our sitters like to spend time at our house getting to know the dog and her routines. We have a three bedroom house, and the house sitters stay at our house the night before we leave. This gives us a chance to have dinner with them and get to know them. Also, our sit is different than most because we are usually gone three to four months, so it helps to get them settled in to their new digs. All of our sitters seem to like doing the transition this way.
Personally, I would not apply for such a sit. It is written in a very demanding way. The majority of my sits and I arrive the previous day but the home owners invite me ito their home and I stay with them the evening before departure. They always provide either a really nice evening meal with wine offered or I have a couple of times been taken out for a meal. Comes across as a very bossy home owner to me, so I would give it a miss.
I think the OP is posting as a sitter not the host?
The wording is very off putting.
I applied for a sitting and during the application process the Host advised me that there was no room for us to stay the night before but she would be paying for us to stay in a hotel nearby.
We called in to meet them the evening before and pick up the keys.
It all worked very well