One of our upcoming trips we will return very late. I’m new here. What do others do in that case? I don’t want to put a sitter out in the night. Do they spend the night at my place? I’d be ok w that.
1 Like
Hi @Windylindy When this happens for us, we tell the sitter they may stay overnight and leave the next morning. Their choice often depends on what their next step is (after leaving our sit) and whether they have to be at another sit right away.
I will say that we do discuss this variable during the video chat, since we most likely know what our flights are or, if we’re driving home, our expected return time.
2 Likes
As a sitter, I’ve been invited to stay overnight when owners return late but also not invited. The latter situation often depends on the pets involved, especially if there are dogs. If cats have a cat flap/litter tray and extra food put out then a sitter leaving before the owners return is usually okay. It’s a little harder if there are dogs who are inside with no access outside. Flights can be delayed by hours which can put stress on everyone. You would need a backup plan (neighbour) who could check on your pets if this was the case. I always ask owners to message me when they are about to depart their destination and when they land so at least I know they’re in the country before I leave.
It’s a discussion you need to have with potential sitters and your advertised dates need to include that overnight stay.
4 Likes
@Windylindy If you have a spare room (i.e your sitter is not having to use your room) and you’d prefer them to remain till you are home then it makes sense to invite them. It can be more comfortable for everyone. We are frequently invited to stay before or after a sit if the hosts have early/late travels. Quite often these extra overnights help fill gaps when we are doing back to back sits as we are right now. We have no fixed base so every night without a sit can be costly (in UK)
On our current sit the hosts will return at midnight- in the video call they just said evening which could be anything from 6/7 onwards- so we thought it was manageable for us to leave early afternoon. But they updated the time after we’d confirmed. They then asked us to stay as late as possible into the evening but did not invite us to overnight, even though we’re in the guest room. They also did not ask about our onward plans and if that would be OK for us! We explained to them this late arrangement would not work for us, was not comfortable for us- and why- so they might put themselves in our shoes. (Some hosts really don’t consider the sitters situation and think we can magically appear or disappear at times to to suit them!) We asked them if they could organise afternoon cover for their dog so we could leave earlier in the day- so we’d have the possibility of either going to another sit or other overnight. This sit was arranged very last minute- only a few days before- so flexibility all round was needed.
Since we want to avold expensive overnights (and they were not inviting us) we arranged a sit that starts on that last day and will leave here at midday. The hosts were fine with that and have arranged cover. Better all round as we always prefer to leave before the hosts return (unless we feel good staying with them)
Its all about communication!
What I would say though is when you list your dates do include that last night as well so sitters can factor it in when doing a search. Then have the discussion about overnight or not.
We have had to turn down a couple of sits- at the video call stage-where it turned out the hosts were leaving very early on the listed date and would prefer us to come the night before. In those cases we were still on another sit not close enough to them for a possible split/overlap (we are two)
4 Likes
My sitters have their own room so I offer the overnight stay, if they need to move on I arrange for family/friends to bridge the brief gap. Always a good idea to have a Plan B in case of delays!
7 Likes
Thanks for that info. It is very helpful.
1 Like
Thanks so much for responding.
Sounds good. Thanks so much.
Thanks for the info. I want the sitters to feel welcome and cared for, too, so this gives me some ideas. It’s all about communication it seems. I just wasn’t sure if typical sitters liked staying over when owners return. It depends on the person I guess. Thanks again for your insight.
1 Like
@Windylindy I think the typical sitter prefers NOT to overnight at the end of a Sit- according to other threads I’ve read & its our own preference too. (At the start of the sit its a little different) Because we are sitters, not friends or family. However sometimes its just more convenient all round! Especially for the sitter if it saves an expensive overnight somewhere!
1 Like
We are sitters only and always state our preference to remain in the home with the dog(s) (we’ve never done a cat only sit) until the owner is back on the premises. This is particularly important with flights, as illustrated by our last sit where the owners were in W Coast USA & we were in their house in Scotland. BA cancelled their flight from San Francisco, so they were frantically trying other routes etc. They were reassured as we were able to stay on until they got home (in the middle of the night) some time later. I hate leaving before owners return!
3 Likes
Like others, we’ve stayed overnight when they are arriving home.
We’ve also left earlier in the day a few times. We walked and fed the dog, cleaned the house, and left around dinner time. The dog was ok on his own until they got home and we had ensured that their flights had left on time.
Another time, another family member took the dog for the evening. There’s no contact at their return but it’s worked out well anyway and we’ve left a detailed update as closure. Once we left a video because we hadn’t met the home owners at the beginning either.
1 Like
@Saltrams We’re the opposite- we always prefer to LEAVE before the owners get home! Everyone is different! But we always make arrangements for whatever is needed for the pets so that we’re all happy!
E.g our current hosts will arrive home at midnight but have not invited us to overnight. Instead they asked us to stay on till the evening-‘as late as possible’!
That’s not comfortable for us.
The compromise is we’ve arranged another Sit starting that day (so we’re covered for the overnight) and the hosts have arranged afternoon cover for the dog.
Everybody is happy!
1 Like
We also prefer to leave before the owners get home, even if just an hour or so. Once it was literally within 3 minutes but we didn’t realise they were so close!
For our next housesit, the HOs mentioned they’ll arrive at 11pm and we are welcome to stay the night, however, they’ll be up at 7am to take the kids to school. We hate to be in the way and this was our cue to look for a motel to escape to, around 8pm, once everyone is settled and we’re sure they’re on their flight etc. This is at our own expense, but we still prefer it this way. This is not the first time we’re doing it.
1 Like
Thank you for the reply. Wow this forum is so responsive. Thanks to all. I think it comes down to this: Everyone is different and we just need to work that out with whomever is our sitter. That works! 
We always ask our sitters to stay until the next day, especially in these uncertain times of travel, if we was delayed or the flight cancelled and we didn’t get home we would hate our dogs to be left alone. I would say let them stay, have breakfast with them the next day see how they went on, did they enjoy it, is there anything they might want to tell you.
2 Likes
Thanks! I love your idea, and I would love it but I’m finding it depends on the sitter so we will offer and see where it goes. Thanks so much for your help.
1 Like
I have only done petsitting for cats, so leaving them alone for an evening/night with food and water is not a problem. Of course, this needs to be discussed with the HO. But on all my 4 sits so far, I left (as agreed) before the HO arrived. And dropped the keys where they wanted them. I assume other pets (especially dogs) will have other requirements.
Absolutely @Champfleurie & thank you for publicising that. I can’t understand sitters who flee & abandon dogs after caring for them assiduously for the previous time of the sit. To me that would negate the ethos of the sit in the first place.
3 Likes
I can only say we do agree snd I would nit agree to a sit where the sitter couldn’t stay until I returned it’s not right