We are experiencing more and more HO’s not having a welcome guide, most say there will be one when you arrive or rush to create one. Should it be a requirement when posting a sit that a guide must be completed before it goes live. Without the guide you are going into a sit blind.
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If we don’t receive a WG in good time , we won’t do a sit
We ask about the WG before we confirm a sit usually in the video call with the hosts -
“Have you prepared a WG ? Does it include vet contact details / emergency contact number ? “
We say that if we are chosen as their sitters, we will need to read the WG as soon as the sit is confirmed to make sure that we are prepared for a good sit. We also tell hosts that we don’t mind what format that the WG is in and we provide our e-mail address if they are creating their own guide .
If they are new hosts to THS and not sure what to include we offer to help them through the process by providing a list of questions.
It hasn’t been necessary to cancel a confirmed sit as with this approach ( asking about it at application stage) we have always received a WG with all relevant information promptly after the sit has been confirmed.
Many hosts have sent across their WG and said if there is anything you think is missing let us know . We read it promptly ( same day ) When we have noted missing information ( like vet contact details or emergency contact number ) we have asked for it and received the information promptly. If there is something that’s not clear we ask for clarification.
The official THS WG is not user friendly for hosts to complete ; so we are happy to have a WG that’s a word document or even hand written as long as we get to see it as soon as the sit is confirmed or shortly thereafter.
If we didn’t receive the WG promptly, we would send the host a comprehensive list of questions ( covering all the information that is needed in a WG ) . If these weren’t answered promptly we would withdraw from the sit .
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When I agreed a last minute sit after a cancellation I found on arrival that there was no welcome guide “ We didn’t know we needed one!”
Well I let it go as I had a two day handover . But in my review I mentioned the lack
Of a Welcome Guide was overcome by a thorough briefing at handover. But yes Welcome Guide is the steering wheel and I don’t fancy my pet sit voyage without one! I agree it should come at negotiating table.
One Home Owner said , after I had agreed the sit ( (lots of reviews had mentioned great well trained dog and good info) he’d send it when he got back from an imminent holiday.. remind him if he forgot!
Not entirely happy start!
My only thought was it would include his home address … info while he was away? But I’m
In a different country!
Bit of a puzzle! But hey the dog has saved the day!
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I’m sure there are THS nudges for hosts to have a WG?
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A thousands threads about the topic here. Just continue on of them instead of creating a new thread… 
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I state both in my application and will ask during our chat if they can get me the welcome guide well ahead of the sit. If the answer is no, then my answer is no. In the beginning, I had a welcome guide sent to me as I was driving to the sit. It turned out there was so much info I was overwhelmed. Then another sit I didn’t get one until I got there and there was barely any info on the printed paperwork. I had to ask so many questions. They both turned out fine at the end of the day but those were my learning lessons and then going forward, made sure before I confirmed the sits
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I won’t sit without a welcome guide. (I don’t mind the format or platform.)
I prime hosts during video chats to send one well ahead of a sit. If the host doesn’t (rarely), I send a friendly nudge that tells them I won’t go on sits blind.
To me, hosts who can’t be bothered to set up a sitter for success aren’t good partners. Successful sits require good partnership. If the hosts don’t care, why should I?
Tangentially, I withdraw my application if a host doesn’t reply within 48 hours. By doing that, I increase the odds that I’ll get a welcome guide. That’s because hosts who are prompt tend to have their act together, including sending a robust welcome guide early.
I read WGs immediately, to cover myself. In one case, that helped me avoid a dealbreaker sit — the host had withheld (till they mentioned in the WG) that one dog needed letting out overnight and the other was prone to diarrhea. I immediately politely told the host to cancel the sit and they did. If they hadn’t, I would’ve reported them to THS and had them cancel.
In any case, neither THS nor any host can force me to go on any sit. All sitters have such agency. Whether they use it is up to them.
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As others have mentioned, we won’t go ahead with a sit if we do not receive a fully completed Welcome Guide – with full details about the pets, their vets, and the home – within 48 hours of confirmation. We stress that it can be in any format.
(We do not need info in the WG about stores, restaurants, attractions, etc. because this is all easily found via an online search.)
During the video chat – before confirmation – we always discuss this with the HO. So far, this method has been successful.
After three years of being sitters and being HO’s on THS, our list of “must ask” questions during the video chat has gotten longer. A lot longer! LOL!
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So for those who “won’t do a sit without a WG” – is there ever enough info given in the video chat that you would go ahead anyway? I mean, if the chat is going well and they’re going to invite you, if you asked the questions that should be covered in the WG, would that be enough for you?
I’ve been lucky with my sits so far. One where there was no WG was a repeat sit within a year, so I mostly remembered things, we went over stuff when I got there and I took notes. The other where the WG didn’t come right away, was also fine.
So I haven’t yet been in a position of having to withdraw because no WG. I’d like to hear from those who insist on them promptly, if you think there is any sort of threshold for withdrawing that could be overcome in the video chat.
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I’d switch approaches if what I was doing stopped working well for me. Things have been going swimmingly, though.
I consider video chats wasted if I were just using them for pure information, like the pet’s vet info, what time they’re fed, when they walk, etc. That’s what the WG is for — written factual info.
I optimize video chatting for what I can learn only via video. I ask few Qs. I use that time mostly to observe the hosts. Like I want to see how they conduct themselves, what and how they ask. I look for easy-going, kind, thoughtful hosts who think reciprocally. For instance, if they asked me a barrage of Qs, came across as intense, distrustful or handwringing (or tried to treat me like an employee), I’d know to avoid them. And if they don’t ask whether I have Qs, that highlights to me that they think it’s just them choosing me, versus us potentially choosing each other. And so on.
To me, hosts are the No. 1 potential dealbreaker for any sit, no matter how good otherwise. I choose carefully.
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BTW, I want WGs early not just so I might withdraw. Reading the info early also allows time for clarification and such. Like with one sit, the WG was robust — the best I’ve seen yet — but I asked about something and the host realized that he’d sent me the wrong version. They’d moved to a new unit on a higher floor, so he then sent me the updated WG.
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I did one sit with 2 cats without a guide. I felt comfy with that. I stayed overnight at their home with them and they didnt leave on their trip until early afternoon the next day, so had plenty of time to get to know them, ask questions, cats routines, etc. I do prefer a guide, especially if there are dogs. I did one sit in Nuremberg and the host put so much time and effort into a beautiful guide she put together herself on the side. Colored pictures of her and her husband out at local places in the area, a great list of places to visit, restaurants, thorough information on how to care for their cat, etc…her guide should be the “model” for all other TH home/pet owners. I still have the guide and look at it once in a while. Reminds me of my trip and the time with their pet.
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No
We have a video call before accepting a sit. The purpose is to chat with hosts to see that we can communicate well with them and to confirm in our own minds that the sit ( pets, home, location and responsibilities) is as described in the listing . During this call we would discuss the pets usual routine for sleep, exercise and feeding and the expected arrival and departure times.
During a video chat ( when we haven’t been confirmed as sitters yet ) we would not be asking for the host’s emergency contact phone numbers , the address and phone number of the vet that the pets are registered with, or where the fuse box or stopcock are located , asking for the wi-fi password or the code for the intruder alarm .
However, we do need all of this information in a WG.
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Absolutely, im on a sit without a welcome guide, and now i forgot half of the things we went over. Especially how to use remote to control heat, control TV, the places where i can go off leash with the dogs. When you first arrive at HOs home and they drive you all around things are going by so fast i dont remember what road that was, or do i turn right or left at the gas station. So many things are running through my head when im picked up from airport that all i can really think about is something to eat and drink, and cant wait to go to bed. So now because HO didnt write all this down i have to text her constantly to remind were,how,when . And coffee pots what happened to the good old fashioned coffee pot one i dont need a manual to operate. If only HOs new how important this guide is for us. And they can even make the welcome guide to their liking if they dont want to use the platforms . THS NEEDS TO MAKE SURE HOS ARE AWARE THESE ARE TOOLS THAT ONLY MAKE THE PROCESS SMOOTHLY.
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Even if homeowners haven’t completed the Welcome Guide, I’ve usually had their own notes with everything I need and often guides for the various appliances. I normally get them to show me how to work the tv and have a list of the pets’ feeding and walking routine
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I started sitting in 2023 and my first post to this forum was regarding not being sent Welcome Guides and as of today, this is still an issue. I’ve been very diligent in requesting WG in advance, making sure to mention sections that are empty or not very detailed, and notifying hosts that I will cancel a sit, before going into a sit blindly. Still, what bothers me most are the hosts that provide so much useful information in person, rather than putting it in the WG.
Please host, spend adequate time preparing a detailed and complete Welcome Guide, via whatever format available, then send in advance and ask the sitter to review and send questions.
Don’t tell your sitter about an important medication that your pet needs to take daily, as your rushing out the door.
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I agree. It should be a requirement to complete a Welcome
Guide prior to listing your sit. When sit is is confirmed it should automatically be sent out. to you. Most owners are very good and do send one immediately but then you get the odd one who do not and you end up chasing them up. I really do like to be able to see where I am actually going, so do like the address, in order to look up on google maps or something.. There should also always be clear directions in the guide, so as to know you turn by certain landmarks etc. and if you reach such and such, you have gone too far. Some places are a bit, in the middle of nowhere and set well back from the road, where easy to just drive past and not see.
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I always ask the owners their address, I don’t wait for the WG to find it
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I agree with the Welcome Guide being sent automatically when a sit is confirmed. When we joined THS, my husband managed our sits. I helped pick the sitters, but he did everything else. I started getting more involved with the website and found out yesterday that he didn’t send the WG to our sitters for our trip next month! I apologized profusely to them. Luckily everything we have told them is transparent and there is nothing new for them to be concerned.
So for this reason alone, the WG should automatically be sent. 
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As a new HO, we have spent hours and hours on our WG. So glad to see how many sitters do actually read and value them!
I agree with other comments that the THS own format is not user-friendly. I also don’t appreciate not being able to re-share once it’s shared. If sitters want to see it early, this is reasonable, but there are all sorts of reasons why you might need to update something later on, and atm I don’t have a way of communicating that except by alternative delivery methods.
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