We have a sit supposed to start in two days and the HO messaged us last night at 11.30pm saying their flight has moved a day out. They asked if we could extend our arrival an extra day so they didn’t have to pay for an extra night in a hotel.
We responded and stated just to make sure we got their thinking correctly, that they wanted us to pay for an extra night in a hotel instead of them?
As a sitter, would you have told them that you could come a day later and be out another night in a hotel or would you have stuck to your guns like we did?
If all goes well with this sit, would you deduct stars for hospitality, accuracy of listing or communication? Overall, we know that plans and schedules can change last minute. It just seemed a little weird that their flight changed two days before they were supposed to leave. Also, the way they worded the message came across a bit blunt and non-considerate especially considering that wanted us to pay for another night in a hotel and not them.
I’ve had similar happen. It sounds like you handled it well. They probably just thought nothing ventured, nothing gained. But since they said not to worry about it, I wouldn’t. I’d forget it happened unless you encounter other things and you see a pattern.
It sounds as though it all worked out ok in the end, so I’d just give them the benefit of the doubt and not deduct stars – it sounds as though the situation was beyond their control. Their message may have come across as a bit blunt as they were probably in panic mode at time of writing.
I’ve had one sit where the home owners’ flights changed a couple of weeks in advance of the sit beginning. It affected my rental accommodation both before and after the sit. I agreed to change the sit dates at short notice on the basis that the home owners would cover any additional costs I incurred in order to do so. I only had the basic THS membership, and it didn’t really seem right that I should have to alter my own holiday plans, and bust my budget, to accommodate their needs. As it was, nobody ended up out of pocket as the places I’d booked were really helpful about changing my bookings.
In this instance, I don’t think this situation would warrant penalizing them in any way, especially since everything worked out okay in the end. I think the nature of this arrangement calls for hosts and sitters showing each other a bit of grace unless it is some egregious error or violation.
It sounds to me that they reached out to see if it would be possible for you to come a day later, you replied that it would require a hotel booking and so the original dates have remained. I don’t think it should impact your review if them. It is ok for them to ask and it’s ok for you to say no. It might have suited you, they don’t know your circumstances, perhaps if you had an overlap or similar.
They are working with you on this and doing the best they can. Planning on deducting stars before the sit has even started is not a great way to start off. Sometimes plans change and that can happen both ways.
I think @Popidol has nailed it. They possibly asked in hope. You haven’t said what your distance to HO is/transport arrangements. I’m sure HO knows and maybe they just wondered whether rearrangement could be done at no cost.
They backed off when you rightly pushed back, so i don’t think it would be fair to penalise them on this particular issue, even if perhaps it could have been worded better.
I’d note in your review what happened factually. You pushed back when they asked for something nervy — you pay instead of them. Some sitters lack the confidence or life experience to do likewise, and if you’re honest in your review, such folks stand a better chance of not being caught off guard if the hosts try to pull something similar in the future. I guarantee you, when people are nervy like that, it won’t be an isolated incident.
Travel can be disrupted or delayed, but it wasn’t fair for them to ask you to pay so they could avoid it, given the timing.
@Couple_travels_fulltime things happen sometimes with sits that are outside the control of a HO. I remember my first sit abroad on THS a few years ago. I flew in Sunday to meet and stay with the HO’s before they left early Monday on a flight. Unfortunately a flash strike by their airline was called and the poor HO’s had to stay Monday night after being on hold unsuccessfully to their airline to find out when they could fly. They got through on the Tuesday and offered a flight a few days later but the airline offered them to put them up at a hotel at the airport until then (even though they lived 30 minutes away). The HO took up the offer as they thought I deserved some privacy.
So unfortunately sometimes you just roll with it!
No , not at all , unknown future changes to flights can’t be anticipated at the time of writing a listing .
The hosts have told you as soon as they knew -that’s for communication. Asking a question is good communication and doesn’t mean that the other party has to agree to the request but nothing wrong in asking .
Hospitality - they could have said that they expected to stay with them at the home for two days instead of one . Instead they are paying for an extra nights hotel so that you are not inconvenienced . Sounds like for hospitality .
It’s not entirely clear what HOs intentions were when they asked. They didn’t say they expected OP to pay for a night in a hotel (or at least it doesn’t read that way to me) only that they didnt want to pay for one themselves.
Perhaps they thought OP could stay home an extra night i.e. at no cost to either party. That may well have been unrealistic but not enough details here to be able to tell.
They could have asked if the sitter would be inconvenienced by postponing the start for a day.
Of course it would have been possible that the sitter would have welcomed the change. There is no harm in asking. But the tone with ASAP etc… no, not good.
We are on the outside looking in. It is always easy to say what someone else should do or say after the fact.
We are reading one side as presented from the OP’s viewpoint. Maybe the HO said “Please let us know ASAP.” We really do not know or the tone intended by the HO.
If the HO had said, “Please let us know ASAP.” Would that be considered nice enough?
I honestly think this is way too early to start rating the sit. It has not even started.
I would just wait and see how everything goes. Even then, you have two weeks to consider what you write in your review and how many stars you give.
You may have a wonderful sit, great communication and great hospitality and forget about this incident or consider it just an unfortunate choice of words in a moment of confusion.
You also may end up considering this is part of a pattern.
Either way, you will know when the sit is over.
I hope it will be the first scenario.
Good luck
