I’m curious to hear from owners who opt out of video calls.
As a sitter I really do not like them, they are way out of my comfort zone so I’m wondering if it the same for many home owners? If you are a home owner who has opted out of requiring a video call, why have you made that choice? And what advice can you offer to other home owners who prefer to avoid them?
Or, do you feel that you are pressured into doing them even though you would prefer not to?
There have been endless discussions about why they are important (I have posted about this before) but I’ve never seen a discussion about why not, and how owner’s navigate the process without doing them.
Personally, I much prefer everything to be done by messages because then it’s all in black and white and there can be no disputes. I also fear that people who just don’t perform well on camera may get passed over when they are in fact excellent sitters.
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I recognize you’re asking the HOs, but as a sitter I wanted to chime in that I hate video calls too, but I’ve found them essential. It’s not about “performing on camera” — it’s about seeing if the sit, the people, and the space are truly a match. I set the expectation up front that the call will be 20–30 minutes and focused on key questions. Leaving it open-ended can feel awkward, especially with newer HOs who may be just as nervous.
Written messages can be polished with AI, and photos can mislead. A video chat gives a truer sense of the home and the vibe of the homeowner. Many HOs don’t share their full property online for privacy, so the nicest parts often only come through in a call. I’m on a sit now that looked fairly average online, but during the call I realized how luxurious it really was — the owners simply didn’t want their valuables on public display.
Think of it as chatting across a coffee table, not performing. It’s about honest communication and making sure the sit is a fit for both sides. Besides, it’s usually only a matter of time before a pet’s backside ends up in the camera anyway — and that always breaks the ice. 
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@KittySitter thank you for your comment but yes, it’s home owners who do not do video calls that I have directed my question to.
I am hoping to hear only their point of view otherwise the answers will simply be a rehash of previous discussions. (Which have been numerous).
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As a HO, we started out just doing a phone call. Then one sitter specifically asked for a video call. We found this so much better. We look at the video call as getting to know the sitter. With phone calls or even text messages, you miss out on so much. Tone, facial expressions, etc.
We show the sitter the house and have our dog on the call. We are easy going, friendly and the process just flows. My husband is really good at getting the conversation going. We have not had any bad calls.
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Thank you @avidtraveler, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. However, I am hoping to hear from owners who opt out of video calls. Of course, there may not be any on the forum but it would be really interesting to hear from them if there are.
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We’re sitters, and we don’t have many video chats, only if the host suggests it. In 40+ sits, we’ve only video chatted about 8 times.
We travel to areas we are vaguely familiar with or know a lot about, rather than totally unknown places that some sitters travel to, so from our own point of view, we don’t feel the need to video chat.
We go on our first initial good feelings we have about the owners, because we know we’ll love their pets and location anyway, because we wouldn’t have applied otherwise. We’ve never had a bad sit yet.
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@HappyDeb I’m exactly the same and in other threads I have read comments from many sitters who are the same. I would really love to hear from home owners who opt out but so far none have replied.
It may be that there are none on the forum but I’m hoping that eventually I will get some responses.
I think there’ll be loads of owners too. If we’ve done 40+ and only about 8 asked to video chat, I think that speaks volumes. 
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Yes it does, but I would like to see their thoughts on it because on here we repeatedly get advised to always do a video call and I imagine that pushes many more members into an uncomfortable position if they take the advice.
I’ve never had a bad situation, I have always got what I expected, although, judging on what I read on here, what I consider acceptable is some other people’s idea of “I would demand a cleaner or I would leave”.
I’ve never been too far out in my assessment of what to expect.
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I am not an owner either - sorry 
However, I have had owners tell me that they were uncomfortable with video calls and would prefer not to do them. Others have accepted me without a video call. The majority organise a video call though, and I am comfortable with them as I do them for work every day. I don’t always insist on them though, it depends on the sit and how much of an impression I get through messages.
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Another sitter here! Sorry!
We have the opposite experience of @HappyDeb We find the vast majority of hosts we apply to these days do request, and expect, a video call. My husband hates them! He always stays as far in the background as possible! We joined THS in 2018, when Video calling was not yet a thing, and our first few sits were all arranged by phone call or just messaging. But since Covid video calling seems to have become the norm, even though many of us, on both sides, are not very comfortable with it!
I don’t mind any more but neither do I feel its a deal breaker to have a video call- or not.
What I don’t like is to send in a detailed application and receive back just a request to sit with no accompanying message. I do at least like to have a little dialogue with the HO before confirming to make it feel more personal. There are often a few questions we’d like to ask too. Occasionally we’ve confirmed a sit quickly with the plan to have a video call at a later, more convenient, date and then never got around to it! But all went well anyway! I guess in such cases neither side felt a video call was an imperative but it is certainly promoted by THS as practically essential.
It is not!! 
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Same. If you can’t make a bit of time to interact with me, I don’t want to pet sit for you.
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Hi CathyCat! I’m a HO only atm. Although I haven’t specifically opted out as such of video calls, I am more than happy to accept Housesitters to sit without one, personally. I am not expecting “personality plus” either, from my Housesitters - I just want people who would love to visit the area and who enjoy hanging out with animals and perhaps, I would go so far to say, even prefer animals to people in many cases.
I would suggest thought, that actual phone calls are necessary in this day and age but if you have a raft of photos of yourself, perhaps engaging with the animals on previous sits, that would do for me. Many young couples who have sat for us, are abroad when we are fixing up the sit and getting good enough connection for a video call may be difficult as well; our last sitters back in January were in Morocco when we were fixing everything up for them to sit and we didn’t bother with a video call and they were great. If you are free the beginning of October, PLEASE come and sit for us!!! You sound like a real “animal” person - and this shouldn’t ever go against you!
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@Lokstar thanks for you reply. I agree, it is not necessary and my main reason for asking this question was to try and get a bit of input from owners. I wonder if they feel pressured and maybe they would welcome a bit of reassurance and advice on how to proceed without one.
When I get an invite straight away, which often happens, I do usually ask a few questions, mainly to see if they are good communicators. I guess I simply prefer the written word to any other form of communication.
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It’s great to get a reply from a HO, thank you @Kimski44.
I do have lots of photos of myself with animals from previous sits, too many to post unfortunately but I have a very detailed profile and do a detailed and personal application. I also tend to only apply to detailed listings so I think that negates the need for a lot of questions.
My personal feeling is that if a home owner cannot be bothered giving a detailed listing then they are unlikely to be a good fit for me. I can also guage fairly accurately from photographs what condition their home will be in, and I have some immediate turn offs.
And thank you, but I am not free in October, I’m pretty much booked up until January.
Yes, I bet you are booked up! And this is the thing - you don’t need, personally, to worry about video calls or not! But it’s an interesting topic to bring up and definitely is good to gauge whether it is a deal-breaker for some or not.
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Exactly! A live video paints a thousand words. It works both ways. This is also why the pictures of the HO’s should be as big as the ones for sitters. I can learn a lot about whether I want to apply for a sit by a HO’s picture. The video takes it to the next level of scrutiny. Otherwise, learn the hard way.
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@CathyCat, we’re experienced housesitters and would never confirm a sit without a video call.
We find that it’s a highly valuable tool in understanding between our preferences and pet/pet parent needs; a wonderful way to clarify facts and to explore any unstated items per listing; and to directly ask red-flag questions that would terminate our application.
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@GotYourBack thank you for your input but, as I said in my post, I am really trying to engage home owners who do not do video calls. We have had numerous discussions on here about video calls and have heard all the arguments for them over and over.
I really don’t want this to be a repeat of past conversations if at all possible.
