Hi @mars I don’t think I have a set rule on that. By the time I agree and confirm a sit, I’ve established a relationship with the homeowners. We have most likely had some emails back and forth, and I do want a video chat. My most recent sit was for first-time homeowners and I suggested two weeks prior would be fine for me. We had covered everything and more. I realize we all work with different timeframes, so I think there’s no one-size-fits-all for how far in advance you ask for it.
I do now stress the importance of the Welcome Guide. I also suggest they don’t need to do it all in one go. I remind them too that it’s being done for all future sitters, not just for me, and that it can be updated. I think it makes the task less onerous then.
One of my timeframes is that, if I’m booking a flight to get there, I want to know that their travel arrangements (pre COVID) are unlikely to change. I also want to be sure they’ve booked their flights, if applicable. I realize that’s not directly related to the Welcome Guide, but it’s just an indicator for me that they are organized, are committed, and will follow through with what’s asked of them. Overall, I seem to have attracted homeowners who are highly organized and planners, like myself, and have rarely run into any issues.
Thank you for the great advice! I do chat with owners as part of the interview process, and I will add this to my list of topics during that chat. As I would really like to have their actual address right away, waiting for the WG is not really an option for me. The sit is sometimes four months in the future, and they might not work on the WG for weeks. Like you, I am a highly organized planner, and there really is no reason why a sitter should not be given the owner’s address post haste upon confirmation of a sit. I vote for TH to provide it, along with the owner’s cell number and email address. I also belong to a home exchange organization, and that is how they do it. As soon as a home exchange is “finalized,” this information is “unlocked” in the system so that both parties can view it. This alleviates the burden on sitters to ask, nudge, or remind. I really would like to understand the reasoning behind the current TH system. It doesn’t make sense.
Hi @PVGemini thanks for sharing your approach and reasoning. As I said at the start, I don’t have any set rule on that. For one of my most recent sits, that was within driving distance, I asked for the address once she confirmed me in the video chat. My reasoning was that I wanted to look at the various routes, as I like to find the more leisurely routes to get there.
Before I’m confirmed and still an applicant, sometimes I ask for an intersection, as it may help me decide whether I want to visit that location, or if I want to look at safety issues, for example.
I do agree that, once a sit is confirmed, there shouldn’t be any reason why the homeowner doesn’t make it available. I would certainly not leave it until relatively late to ask.
@Ben-ProductManager can we please get this HO info included as mandatory info when the sit is confirmed? We are sitting for a new HO in December who asked if it’s ok to not send the WG straight away as she hasn’t done it yet as due to house renovations the info will change. We are ok with that but we want to plan our public transport travel between sits either side of hers. She gave me her address, mobile phone number & email address on request but it would have been easier to just have automatically received this in the auto message from THS when the sit was officially confirmed.
Hi @Crookie. I’ll take your idea one step further. When a sit is confirmed, a template Welcome Guide could be generated and pinned to the sitter’s confirmation of sit. It could be auto-populated with the information that’s already known - provided details of pet(s), and the mandatory information such as address. Then homeowners could be instructed in whatever they get once the sitter confirms, directing them to complete the Welcome Guide. Although this sounds simple to me, I’m not a programmer so I’m making some assumptions that this could work.
@anon36831737 My understanding from Ben’s update is that it is now mandatory for new homeowners to share their address, once a sitter is confirmed, and that it will be auto-populated into the Welcome Guide. Therefore THS will be sharing the homeowner’s information with the sitter. I think I also read that over time, this will be required of homeowner members who joined before this new feature. My understanding is that the concept is not one being requested, but rather being implemented by THS.
@anon36831737 I understand what you are saying re sharing of Information & privacy laws but THS can get around this by obtaining members authorisation in their T&Cs that once a sit is formally confirmed each party will be given the other’s contact details & in the case of the HO the sit address. THS by the very nature of the support it offers is more than a mere introductory service.
I do agree with @anon36831737 that some members are expecting THS to guide them through every step. I never commit to a sitting until I have obtained their address otherwise how do you know the area will suit you.
THS need to concentrate on 2 “products”
The review system
The calendar
Hi Ben,
Thanks for the update!
I’m wondering if there is a way to keep former home locations when homeowner moves. I am in the military and move every few years. My current profile shows that I’ve lived in my current location for all former sits; however, I have moved and will be moving again this summer.
Is this possible?
Thanks
I’m a bit old … actually a lot old so I prefer the website to any App as my phone has a 6" screen but my computer has a 34" screen and my laptop has a 13" screen.
I know the world is changing to young people (as it should) but I’d hope to have the same good functionality at the back end reflected on the website as well.
The improvements to the Welcome Guide are quite significant … I tweak my guide after each house sitter to pick up little things I missed.
Not every sitter has a fixed address. My hubby & I are full time sitters- nomads with no homebase! Although our profile lists my hometown because we were required to write sonething but we are never there. However THS has all members email addresses so they can always make contact wherever a member is.
You don’t need to wait for THS to provide info or the Welcome Guide from the host. When we apply for a Sit and want a quick response we add our WhatsApp number in the application to encourage ease of contact. On confirmation of a Sit we always ask the host immediately for their address and their precise departure and arrival timings in order to locate them properly and to be able to coordinate with back to back sits. We’ve done 25 Sits and only ever received a Welcome Guide twice from hosts! Most hosts just seem to leave notes at their home or send a pdf doc in advance. I don’t know why the Welcome Guide us not more often used.
I don’t use it, because it isn’t practical.
We have an old house and it has been remodeled several times since it was built in 1840. There are some things that need to be explained with pictures, but it isn’t possible to put them right next to the text in the THS Welcome Guide. It would be very confusing for the sitters, who have never seen the house, to find out which picture belongs to which text.
I also tried to fill out the section with vet, vet hospital and phone numbers. It’s way to complicated and isn’t clear when there are several numbers for different practices involved. The same applies to the emergency contacts.
I prefer my own, very detailed and regularly updated PDF file, which I send to the sitters 1-2 months prior to the sit (or whenever they prefer to receive it) and additionally, it is printed in a folder in the house so that they don’t have to print it themselves.
Thanks for your explanation! I actually prefer printed out notes anyway -even if a Welcome Guide has been sent in advance- for easy reference once on the Sit.
That’s the way I like to get my “welcome guide” as well. Specific to the house, emailed in advance so I have time to read it fully and can be prepared with questions. If I think it’s missing any information, I can ask ahead of time.
By “approved” do you mean that the owners have officially invited you to the sit?
If so, yes, you can ask for the location any time you want during the “interview” process.
If the town isn’t apparent on the listing, I often ask for the name of the town/village with my initial application. There’s no point in going forward with a video chat if the location isn’t right for us. And before we accept, I ask for the exact address so I can see the exact location in relation to amenities etc. All of this is before we’ve been invited/accepted for a sit.
I realize we all work with different timeframes, so I think there’s no one-size-fits-all for how far in advance you ask for it.
