Owner Changing Listed & Confirmed Dates

As a homeowner we always confirm the dates to allow for a day before we leave and the day after in case we were to get delayed getting home and we would never mess our house sitters around and would actually invite them to stay should our plans have to change at short notice for something outside of our control.

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Precisely that @PVGemini. The dates listed should be the dates that the HO will need the sitter to be actively petsitting. Anything beyond that is discussed before agreeing the sit, like coming the night before for dinner or a longer handover etc.

We ended up turning down a subsequent sit for these same HOs for Sept. I noticed that theyā€™ve reposted their Sept dates, already knowing that they are coming back a day earlier than the dates advertised.

I feel there should be clear guidelines to HOs when they post, to give the dates they need the petsitter in their home. And they should be proactive about communicating if they need to change.

Itā€™s frustrating have HOs who are so cavalier with othersā€™ time.

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The problem (for me) with this approach is that you are assuming:

a) that petsitters want to have a 24 hour overlap in the home with you at the beginning or end of a sit

and/or

b) that petsitters can easily drop a day from the beginning or end of the sit even though they have committed to the dates you post in your ad

I donā€™t see how that is reasonable. No matter how much we like the people we sit for, I find it awkward being under the same roof for prolonged periods, especially if we are also trying to work remotely.

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Thanks for replying to my post:

We have been house hosts and members of THS for over eight years and this has been the way that every house sitter has preferred to do our sits. Allowing for an arrival before we leave allows them to settle in, get to know our pets, where we walk our dog, where the vets are, how our large old home operates. We donā€™t impose on them and completely respect if they prefer not to have a meal with us or wish not to socialise with us but it has always resulted in a great relationship with our pets and with our house sitters many of whom have become friends beyond house sitting.

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I really think this is more of a situation where times are so different now than they were two years ago. EVERYTHING is getting adjusted and we all have to be able to ā€œbendā€ a little. Hopefully, all this will change once the Pandemic is out of our lives.

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Agree, sometimes it maybe necessary to stay over if an owner arrives back late but I would some notice if they are going to be late returning so as to be able to choose where to say without if affecting the pets

Of course, the pandemic has thrown a wrench into travel plans! Of course, we need to be flexible! The main point here is that the POSTED dates of a housesit should be exactly what the Owner needs. Please do not add days before or after ā€œjust in case.ā€ Sitters generally sign up to housesit in order to stay in your home with your pets, in solitude. If an Owner requires a Sitter to come early to learn something, of course, that is discussed and agreed upon. This should actually be described in the listing, so that only those who feel comfortable will apply.

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Itā€™s not acceptable to change plans that were agreed upon in advance, unless itā€™s an emergency. Especially without consideration of sittersā€™ circumstances. Homeowners wouldnā€™t be happy if sitters notify them they had to leave a day early, after they begin the petsit.

We recently had the experience of a homeowner changing plans a few days before the end of a sit, notifying us that they would return a day early, an apology but no consideration of our plans and that we would have to make alternative ones. They also wanted us to stay until the end of that day to bring chickens in and feed other pets as they would return late. We had to find alternative accommodation for the night. It was disrespectful and we felt used,

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It may require a stayover before the sit date starts or after it ends but owners should not expect to change dates and times without asking or agreeing with the sitters first.

I always advertise our sits for the day before we go to the day we return. We prefer sitters to arrive the afternoon/ evening before we leave so that we can properly introduce them to the dogs etc. As far as we are concerned if a sitter or sitters cannot get along with us for a few hours then they are not people we would want looking after our dogs. We do not expect sitters to remain after we arrive home, however we are happy for them to stop over another night should they themselves need to because of their travel plansā€¦ā€¦.

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I think that can be confusing, because Iā€™ve had homeowners who post their travel dates however they specifically request that I show up the night before, so they can show me around meet the pets etc, if that extra day conflicts with my plans, I canā€™t take that sit anymore and we both wasted time.

My preference would be: If you want me to show up on April 1st then put that as the start date of your listing .

Regardless of whether that means you want me to do a tour and meet the pets the day before and spend the night, and then youā€™ll be leaving on the 2nd, or if you want me to arrive some specific time on the day of 4/1, because thatā€™s the day you leave, make that the date that you post on your listing.

If you expect to come home on April 5th, thatā€™s the day you should post on the listing. If you are planning on coming home late, say 10:00 p.m. on April 5th, and you are willing to let me stay overnight, you can mention that in your postā€¦ And then give me the option to take off, or sleep over and leave in the morning.

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I think the problem with that could be when sitters search for specific dates it can make a difference, if they arenā€™t free on the 1st but they are on the 2nd then the sit wonā€™t appear on their search. And sometimes homeowners are flexible if you cant arrive the day before, they just prefer if you could.

When I apply they usually make it clear and if they ask if I could arrive the night before, which is not always possible, luckily the homeowners have been flexible. A WhatsApp video call/tour and leaving the key somewhere safeā€¦

Correct! and I think thatā€™s how it should be.

If a HO ā€œmustā€ have me arrive on the 1st, for whatever reason, such as they insist that a home tour and/or animal acquaintance must take place in advance of their actual departure date - then the 1st is the start date required by them, and THAT should be the posted date.

OTOH, If a HO is flexible, (as in, our flight leaves on the 2nd, and Iā€™d be happy for you to come on the 1st to meet, share a meal, etc. but if the sitter showed up on the 2nd thatā€™s still ok) that flexibility can be detailed in the body of the listing.

I donā€™t look for posts with a ā€œday-beforeā€ and/or a ā€œday-afterā€ in mindā€¦ If someone posts ā€œflexibleā€ dates that are longer than what they truly, actually need, then Iā€™ll never see those listings because I only investigate dates that match my own availability.

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At least half of my sits ended at a later date than it was advertised. Most of the time I try to accommodate as flights are getting changed by airline companies very often . If i am going to book a flight to overseas, i donā€™t do it until H O book his flight and give me dates and hours.
I have a sit in S. Korea and her end date a booked flight date are completely different.
I try to give time in between 2 sits if they are back to back.

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I do the same thing. Iā€™m both a HO and a petsitter. I actually like having the people come the night before (whether they stay at my house or a hotel) and I love sharing a meal with them whether I cook or take them out. Part of the whole TH experience for me, is meeting new people from different places. As a petsitter traveling alone, I really appreciate it when people take me on a drive or a walk around their town to get the lay of the land. There are many ways to arrangeā€”communication is the key.

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It is my understanding that the first day of the sit is the date you are sitting the house and pet and you are covered by insurance from that time. I would not have a problem meeting up with an owner for a few hours (socially distanced and Covid Rules permitting) before the sit starts but to expect the sitter to stay over without asking if they want to stay in home is a different matter. For immuno-compromised people, I think their choice might be not to stay at a home but come early to meet the owners early on the start day for a few hours.

Hi @Willexcell l would never dream of expecting a sitter to stay over without askingā€¦ā€¦ It is something that is discussed during our video call but in view of the fact that we offen leave VERY early in the morning meeting for a few hours beforehand is seldom feasible.obviously it the arrangement doesnā€™t suit both us and the sitters alternative sitters night be a better fit.

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That would make perfect sense. It really is down to timing.

We arrived at a two month sit to find the owner has changed the end date and it is now ending a week earlier than the listing states. We only found this out when we arrived for handover and I checked the end date with them before they left. As it is for two months it is not too much of an issue but frustrating because they we turned down other sits during that week.

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Sorry that happened @adamas. Fortunately, there are many sits available so you may find something great to fill in that week.

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