The HO and I agreed to the plan of same day arrival. I was never asked to stay/arrive the day prior to the sit. I was scheduled to arrive at 10am and meet the HO 2-3pm. They had a max deadline of 6pm before they needed to leave. Because of airline issues I arrived after 5pm and was able to meet the HO at 6:30pm. They, the HO, seem happy so far but it was a stressful day. Thanks for your feedback!
2 Likes
Travel can be stressful on the best of days @sarahmarye. Sounds like you made the best of an unfortunate situation. Our one delay in the last 5 months involved a train trip that was meant to be 2 hours that ended up being 4 hours. There was a fatality on the track, and no trains were moving at all. Such a sad situation, but thankfully we were able to arrive without any additional stress. Being back in the states, and having a car again, allows for much more freedom of travel. Enjoy your sit!!!
1 Like
@Angela_L - I really like the idea of putting in your profile the fact that you leave âcushion daysâ before and after a sit. I also leave cushion days on either side of an international sit But if you are doing that to cover the hostâs change of plans, rather than to cover your own potential travel delays, then who pays for the potentially cancelled lodgings? For example, if your host plans to return Tuesday afternoon, and you book a hotel or airbnb for Tuesday night ⌠but then at the last minute, the host ends up being delayed til Wednesday and needs you to continue on at their home. Itâs too late to get a refund from your hotel or airbnb. How does that work for you?
1 Like
Hi @Betsy a very good point and to date an owner delay has never happened however as we have discovered post COVID travel can be unpredictable.
We always have a plan B and discuss all options, including âWhat Ifâsâ with the pet parents/owners prior to confirming any sit arrangements, there is no one size fits all.
When unforeseen situations and circumstances happen itâs up to the individuals involved to manage and of course it helps if there have been prior discussions ⌠the âwhat ifsâ ⌠and there is usually more than one solution to any problem.
2 Likes
So, it was several hours you were late by. The mistake you made was stating a precise time! If you only live around the corner then thatâs fine but if, as you had to, catch a flight then being that precise is a mistake. With very long journeys, international flights etc it would always be best to give an approximation spread over a whole afternoon or even a full day. As I said before, I always ask that sitters arrive at least the day before. That gives us time to show them around, not just the house and pets but the area. Given that the sitter will have their own room there isnât any reason they canât come early, at least as far as we are concerned. Itâs most convivial to have a meal prepared, if they require one and time spent being able to talk and relax before parting. That can only be done if people arrive early and I think the general consensus here is that needs to be the case. Anyway your several hours late wasnât too bad at all, just avoid being so precise in arriving unless, of course, it is a flight arrival time and you are being met!! I hope the sit was a huge success.
@sarahmarye my comment about the extra overnight was directed to @richten1 whose host had asked them to arrive a night early but did not offer to pay for it- so they incurred extra costs. Its different if you choose to arrive earlier for your own benefit. 
1 Like
If we are flying international we would try to arrive at least 1 day earlier. We would tell the homeowners and more often than not they would say come and stay here.
3 Likes
Thanks @Lokstar. I only joined THS in May so Iâm learning as I go along. This year with my sits (6 so far) Iâve learnt a lot of what I would like from a sit in addition to spending time with some great family pets.
3 Likes
I quite like a quiet moment to myself, or with friends to decompress after travel, but we are always happy to offer accommodation to sitters the night before a sit!
2 Likes
I always have the sitter arrive the day before I am going away. I have also suggested to the last ones that due to up coming train strikes, if they wanted to get here even earlier, then I wouldnât mind.
I also gave them stay until the day after I get back, again, you are never sure if you are going to be delayed on your return.
Hi
Nit applying for sits is very drastic measure given the absolute benefit yiy get from sitting. I know I just completed 5 month of back to back sits across uk and eu.
One way around your issue of delayed arrival is look to arrive 1-2 days early if possible so you have a buffer especially when travelling long distances.
The owners may have room for you to stay when u article early by 1 or 2 days or else you could find affordable accommodation for the 1-2 nights before duty starts. I would go meet the family even to dogs ( if they are ) out for walks etc
Sorry for your stressful situation. We are doing our first international sit starting 24 Dec. and we are actually scheduled to arrive on 21 Dec. With all of the flight cancellations and delays, we didnât want to take a chance of delaying our clientsâ departure, so we are just arriving a few days early and taking some time to enjoy the area first. Our client did not suggest we arrive a day early, but we took it upon ourselves to plan so that we could all have a relatively stress free experience.
Hope your sit goes well, and do consider arriving at least one night early next time. Could enable you to enjoy some free time, get over jet lag, and arrive to your sit stress free and refreshed. Good luck!
3 Likes
All 3 of our sits we asked in our zoom call if they would like us to come and stay the night prior and all weâre eager to show us their petsâ routines. One couple even asked us to come two nights prior so we could spend a day 1/2 with their two dogs prior.
We had never thought of staying at a hotel- two of the three were rather remote, so that would not really have been an option.
We always try to arrive at least a day in advance even if that means getting a hotel room the night before. Many times the home owner will offer for us to spend the night there if they have room. This way you will never be late and leave a good impression.
2 Likes
If we have to fly to a sit (which is very common for us) we always arrive the day before the sit and budget for 1 night pre sit accommodation. If the home owner offers for us to stay that night with them before they depart the next day then we count that as a bonus, not a given.
3 Likes
Hi Sarahmarye, Like most of the responses, we always leave a cushion especially on a 1st time housesit before the homeowner has met us. We always ask to come the night before they leave and spend the night so the pet gets to be familiar. It also puts the homeowner at ease having met us.
We have been known (on a new housesit & unknown winter weather conditions) to spend a couple days in a hotel before the housesit just to make sure we will be there on time.
Most people will understand, especially after COVID and the crazy air travel cancelations and delays, and will make arrangements for someone locally to step in.
We also leave extra time at the end of the housesit and in December 2021 our homeowner was in South Africa when all travel was shut down in South Africa and even when it opened some countries would not even let people returning from South Africa not allowed to travel through some countries. I ended up staying a week extra while my husband moved onto our next housesit. We have a personal mandate and that is we do not leave the residence until the homeowner is back safe and sound.
I hope this does not put you off, just an awareness and helps with future planning. Janet
3 Likes
One thing Iâve learned and continue to practice is to plan to arrive a few dayâs ahead of scheduled sit. I will often just book an alternate accommodation just to make sure Iâm there in advance. Fortunately Iâve stayed on the west coast so far USA so I make sure I have my travel plans set on stone way in advance. Iâve not yet done an overseas sit largely due to the many travel delays that are occurring recently.
In March I have a 2 week sit back east and Iâm going 3 days ahead of time and booking an airbnb or hotel just to make sure Iâm there. Also I like to get to petâs house the njght before so to have animals adjust. Arriving ahead of time also affords the opportunity to do meet and greets which I feel are important.
My last sit in the owner asked me to come two dayâs before which worked great and even picked me up from the train station, so itâs advantageous to arrive ahead.
2 Likes
@Catgoddess_99 I couldnât agree more! When we needed sitters, we always asked them to arrive the night before (most did) so we could enjoy a dinner together, give them a lay of the land, but most importantly, let our little girl warm up to them and feel safe and secure when we left. It always did our heart so good to see her get really close and lean into their legs, then when they were sitting on the sofa later in the evening, it was great to see her so over and lay her head in their laps. I knew it was all good when we leftâŚ
One of the other great things about it was the fact we have made some life long friends that way. Now that our little girl is gone we still stay in touch with quite a few of them and many have stayed over when driving through our area. It gives them a place to stay that is welcoming and comfortable and we get the chance to see those great folks who took such great care of her!
5 Likes
Pre pandemic we nearly always were invited to stay with the HO at least one day/night before they left sometimes 2 nights.
Since the pandemic this invite to stay is rare. So we now build in a night or two before and sometimes after a sit in the local area. Not only does this mean we have a cushion should there be an airline delay, and this year alone weâve had 2 flights delayed by more than 6 hours, but we can also do the touristy things we wouldnât do whilst on a sit because it would take us out of the house for more than a few hours. We are nomadic and house sit for 9 months of the year, the rest of the year we spend in Thailand. Weâve been sitting since 2016.
2 Likes
A few years ago I planned to arrive one night before the sit, but my flight to NYC was delayed for more than 18 hours. Thankfully due to the time difference I made it. But on hindsight I think HOs should prepare for the worst⌠frankly if the pets and house are not too complicated, meeting in person is not that important. An online meeting can be arranged instead for the handover. A well-written pet and housesitting guide will be useful too.
1 Like