Pre-Arrival Message to HO

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

I’ve had over a dozen successful sits without issues but I want to start being a little more organized with everything. I’m considering starting to send a kind of standard message to HO a few days to maybe a week prior to my arrival to a confirmed sit to go over a few things. Does anyone else do this? This is partly so I don’t forget to ask or do some of the things and partly because I thought some of it might be less awkward to address in a message than in person. I also figure it’d be good to have agreements discussed during a video chat written out in a message on THS, such as guest permission, just in case there was ever a problem.

Below is a draft I’ve come up with, would appreciate feedback or suggestions. I don’t want to offend HO or come across in any sort of negative way.
Some parts of the message I would be filling in with the appropriate names of pets, dates, etc.
I am a therapist so I want to be very clear on the camera topic.

Hello,
It’s almost time for my sit and I’m looking forward to spending time with
My understanding is that you’ll be leaving on
And returning home on
I plan to arrive
And depart
You have given permission for me to invite guests over, obviously with no parties or chaos. No other pets will be in the home and no one would be staying the night without your permission.

Just a couple reminders or tips as I know it can be hectic preparing to leave home and it’s easy to forget some things.
I personally do not need any space in a closet to hang clothes so no need to make space for me there. If you have an empty drawer available that would be fine, but not a necessity either as I travel pretty light. I do enjoy cooking and using a kitchen when I house sit though, so if you wouldn’t mind making some room in the refrigerator for my food and making sure there is clean and clear counter space, that would be appreciated. When I arrive, you can let me know what if any things in the kitchen or elsewhere are off limits to use as well as where all the pet care items and cleaning supplies are located.

As I’m sure you’re aware, audio/video cameras or recording devices operating inside the home during a house sit are against THS policies, so please remember to turn them off before you leave. However, since I provide therapy and will be working from your home, I need to take an extra step to be certain of confidentiality for my client’s privacy. If you could please point out where any cameras are (if you have them) so I have done my due diligence to assure they are indeed turned off to assure confidentiality, I would appreciate it. External cameras outside the house are fine to remain on.

Things to consider
In the event of a pet health emergency and if you were unreachable -
Does your vet or emergency contact know your wishes in regards to emergency care in terms of amount you are comfortable spending and/or end of life care/wishes?
Is your credit card on file with your veterinarian still up to date/not expired?

Have you let your emergency contacts know the dates you will be gone and my name?

I can’t wait to meet you and
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
See you soon!

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2

A reminder email or message is a good plan, I think it’s a bit too wordy tho. Reduce the 3rd,4th & 5th para to something like “Please leave me some space for clothes & personal effects during the sit. If you have them, do turn off any internal cameras as they break all THS Ts & Cs, & please make sure you leave the vet contact details & a payment method should an emergency arise. These are all essentials for a happy sit.” It covers it all in a sentence and probably more likely to be absorbed. #mytwopenniesonit

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3

I agree with @Cuttlefish keep it a bit shorter. Some of those issues should have veen discussed and confirmed before actually confirming the sit e.g cameras & guests- so perhaps no need to reiterate unless you are doing a blind handover.
A quick mention (clean) fridge/freezer space in advance is a good idea- many people, like our current hosts, had no freezer space and had not cleaned the fridge…

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4

I agree with @Cuttlefish , make it way shorter. I don’t know how you usually communicate with HOs, but we use whatsapp with sitters, and a message that long would not work very well.

Your tone is friendly, but rather official/distant (English is not my first language, so I might interpret incorrectly). I often go with a more chatty tone with sitters, so that kind of a message would feel a bit odd.

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5

Also agree it’s too wordy. I’d leave out the stuff about closets & drawers. If you don’t need the space, don’t use it. If they said they made a little space I’d just say “OK, thank you.” They won’t know whether or not you use it. I’m not sure about “please clean your counter” either…
I feel like some of this stuff, like cameras, guests, vet care, etc., should be discussed before you accept the sit.
I prefer a video call prior to invitation/acceptance, to see whether we would be a good match. You could address some of your concerns that way – especially if you are having therapy clients come in.

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6

@Jayhawksw it’s definitely a good idea to send a message before the stay .
With a shorter message nothing will get missed .

We discuss all of these things in a video chat before committing to a sit , especially the discussion about the vet bills - we don’t want to find out last minute that the host expects us to pay upfront so we won’t commit to a sit unless the host has already got arrangements in place for paying any emergency vet bills . As soon as the sit is confirmed we asked for and receive the Welcome guide which we read to ensure we have the information about the vet and emergency contacts etc ( confirming what was already discussed)

It’s a good idea to repeat the arrival and departure dates / times - We add the day of the week so there’s no mistake … eg we will be arriving on Thursday 10th October at midday - not 10-10-24.

We also ask if anything has changed since our video call -or there is anything else they think we need to know . Giving them an opportunity to mention any deterioration in pets health / or that the en- suite shower has broken or they have an extra pet now etc.

If we then arrived to find that there were significant changes hadn’t been disclosed that we’re going to seriously negatively impact our stay , we would have good reason to leave for non- disclosure if we felt that was necessary.

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7

I think this is too much and could be quite off putting to the home owner. I just send a WhatsApp message a week or two before I arrive checking on the arrival time they want me and the time they get back. If it has been discussed, I also check it’s still ok for me to stay the night before or the last night if appropriate.

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8

As mentioned some of these topics should be done sooner, maybe even pre-confirmation. I think particularly cameras and vet.

What if the host don’t want to turn off cameras or isn’t able to set up a vet-account? I think I like to know this so early that I can withdraw/ decline.

That would automatically make it shorter.

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9

To me this is also a bit much. I feel like it would get the homeowner’s back up and make them worried that the sit was going to be a stressful one. If they’re a clean and respectful person then you’ll have fridge space and a clean kitchen anyway. If they’re not (or, more likely, just oblivious) then I’m not sure the message will have the desired effect.

For me I just choose sits as carefully as I can and sometimes end up clearing space for myself and, one time, giving the whole kitchen a thorough clean.

Have you had issues with this stuff before?

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10

End of life care… It’s lacking in ‘heart’ and ‘emotion’. They could be feeling guilty leaving their pets, and you’re talking about their pets dying while they are away. Most HO’s are contactable while they are away, also they have their emergency contact anyway to make big decisions in their absence. There’s really no need to make anyone focus on the death of their pet, it’s not necessary, we all know it will come one day, but the last thing you want is to emotionally hurt a pet owner by forcing them to think about it just before they leave their beloved pets. You’ll stress them out. I would leave that whole part out, or they could cancel their holiday altogether. That conversation is not needed, until ‘that’ time comes.

It’s also incredibly long, and so quite formal and impersonal too, when they picked you to be friendly and love and adore their pets, because they liked you.

All we confirm a week or two prior, is our arrival timings, and what time they plan to leave, and when they hope to return home, and their return flight details, without any waffle about other things, because it’s essential I get those details quickly. I feel if they have something long to read, I won’t get the vital details I need, because they’ll read it later, and later will never come.

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11

I agree with the comments about wordiness, but maybe that can be overcome by bullet points?
Many (most?) people read their messages on a phone with a small screen, so short & sweet is best.

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12

I have to disagree. As someone who has both had a pet die during a sit and had one get catastrophically injured, I always discuss these things in advance now to make sure we’re all on the same page. Yes, HOs will generally have some way to reach them while they’re gone, but it could be a dozen hours later, depending on where they’ve went. So knowing in advance what they want to happen in various circumstances is important.

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13

I agree with the others that this is too long. I’d work on editing it down and potentially making it a checklist? I’ll be honest, I didn’t even finish reading it because it was too much. As a HO I’d be the same.

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14

I feel it is the other way around.

Yes, sending this message is risking getting a cancellation by the HO.

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15

Agree with everyone else. Far too long, I got bored half way through, it also comes over as a bit patronising.

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16

Hi @Jayhawksw
I usually send a whatsapp message to the HO a couple of days before arrival. I just confirm I’m looking forward to spending time with x in x and should arrive at the property at x time. If a blind handover I’ll confirm how to get access to the property. If they are picking me up from the airport/train station/bus stop I’ll check the pickup place.
Everything else I’ve agreed before this point.

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17

I’m often booked up a year ahead, and about a month before the sit, I do contact the home owner just to confirm nothing has changed. I also find they often contact me to check I am ok and still coming as arranged. I confirm my arrival time and check what time they will be back. A couple of nights before I send a looking forward to seeing you on (date) and I say I will of course ring if delayed and we have an emergency plan for where the key is if needed. I think it would be very stressful to have a really long message, keep it short and to the point

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18

I think there’s general consensus ( and I am part of that general belief) about a few points :
1- Some issues should be discussed before confirming the sit (cameras, vet account and need of emergency contact)
2- The length and tone is off putting. If you write something standard when you have already agreed to a sit and are very closed to it, it feels as though you are going back to the first stage when both parties are trying to find out if they are a good match. It shows distrust when some level of mutual trust should already exist.
3- It’s a good idea to confirm dates and times of departure and arrival and handover details and as @Silversitters mentions, to confirm that there have been no changes. This should be enough proof if there are problems. You could also thank them here for authorizing guests and confirm that you won’t have parties and they won’t stay overnight.

Regarding the “end of life care”, there are different opinions. I never word it so clearly but I do mention possible health emergencies and ask for an emergency contact to help and make important decisions, including house emergency repairs. If you feel it’s important to mention it specifically, I think it should be done at an earlier stage.

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19

Thanks everyone, I guess how I’ve been handling things up to this point is more the norm and I should stick to that. Lol know I can be too wordy!

I will focus on making a checklist for myself of questions to ask during the video chat instead as that is where I often forget to ask and clarify things like cameras, etc. Thus, my desire to check later that they are aware there can’t be any cameras.

I did have an experience in which I had to take a pet to the vet and the HO credit card on file was expired. They were international and I couldn’t get in touch with them immediately so I had to put the fee on my credit card. It wasn’t a huge amount and they reimbursed me as soon as they found out but I would rather not have to risk it. I have found that some homeowners have never even thought to put a credit card on file until I mention it. I also pet sat for a veterinarian once and she told me that her office had on file end of life choices if something were to happen as she had senior pets. That’s where I got that idea that maybe that was also something that could be suggested. It’s more my style to plan and address things proactively instead of reactively but I totally agree that could make them some people more anxious to leave.

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20

I don’t get why wait till so late to discuss cameras and other elements that are dealbreakers (if that’s the case for you). For me, I note dealbreakers in my sitter profile to save everyone time. Even if a sitter doesn’t do that, raising such during the video or phone chat would be better and more proactive. The timing you suggest seems way too late — by then, if there’s disagreement, travel arrangements would usually have been made and it would cause host and sitter disruption to cancel if needed. And it would be a scramble for the host to potentially line up another sitter. (They should have a Plan B, but that can be costly and/or much less convenient.)

About vet accounts on file: For me, I expect a welcome guide well ahead of a sit to include such info. I don’t book travel till that arrives. (I don’t care whether it’s via the THS platform or say in PDF, Google doc, Word doc, video, etc.) If the host hasn’t sent such info, I nudge in a friendly way. But there’s no chance I’ll go forward with a sit without the host having provided emergency contacts, vet account, emergency shutoffs for gas and water, etc.

To me, sitting is a partnership. If a host isn’t willing or able to do that sort of thing, they’re not my idea of good partners and I won’t settle for weak ones. My POV is, the host should want to set their sitter up for success, because it’s in their interest for good outcomes for their pets and home. If they don’t care that way, why should a sitter?

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