Hello - I am new to TrustedHousesitters. I have a few confirmations for a couple of trips that were coming up and I am very excited at having someone coming into my home to take care of my dogs and cat. My question is about how to respond to a sitter who is asking me to fill out a form in addition to the welcome guide. I worry about duplication and inconsistencies if I need to go back and forth to make sure that the information about my pets is the same in the two documents. Are there concerns and do our home owners provide different forms already? Many thanks for your advice!
It’s probably because the welcome guide doesn’t cover everything. I don’t ask for a form but I do ask for certain questions to be answered that’s not on the welcome guide.
1 Like
Maybe the Welcome Guide some more categories then. What is it that you feel is missing? Maybe @Angela_L can pass it on to the right people so they can act on it
I’m a sitter and the MOST IMPORTANT thing that I need to know in addition to what is in the Welcome Pack is the timings of when the owner would like me there for, and what time they are due to fly back (and preferably flight numbers, so I can check automatically to see they are on time).
I don’t think putting this in the Welcome Pack is the right place for it, as the info would be different each time, but it would be good if it was on the system somewhere. Like if there were a box to make our own notes, instead of having to read through quite a lot of messages. Sitters have a list of sit dates that are scheduled, and it would be great if there was a small area next to each sit where we could note the times.
Also, do they have any reviews? If not, maybe they don’t realise what is in the Welcome Pack, as newbies don’t see a sample of a welcome pack until an owner gives us our first official one.
I think the welcome pack is good, it keeps everything in one place, but I know owners would sometimes like to give a little more than it allows, rather than having content/title specific boxes, instead of just an extra info box where they can write what they wish.
Personally I wouldn’t be replicating any info that is already covered in the welcome pack, if they sit for you again, the details could be different.
3 Likes
Hi @Cashew welcome to our community forum and to TrustedHousesitters we are so glad you found our community and have joined us from Canada with Islay, Shadow and Peanut.
Your listing is great and I’m sure your Welcome Guide will be the same and provide sitters with all of the information they need. It is the only form that is provided by THS for Pet Parents/Owners to complete, some owners will have their own “Home Manual” but that is just personal preference.
You can share the Welcome Guide with your confirmed sitters and if they need additional information add to the guide. If you would like to Direct Message me we any concerns you have @Cashew I will be happy to help.
This article from our website blog has some helpful tips and information.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. The sitter and I agreed that I would provide the welcome guide well enough ahead of time and if there was anything missing, we would follow up with each other.
1 Like
You raise good points as I do find that some information is time-limited and there isn’t anywhere to indicate information that won’t be useful for another sitter - such as flight info. I also have a door code for my front door which will change for each sitter so the welcome guide is not the correct place to put this information. I have sitters providing me with their cell no for this kind of information and others who prefer the inbox from HSS.
3 Likes
I ask arrival and departure of homeowners and for me, the sitter, at the beginning of the video or phone call. Then I go through my other questions about pets, house, etc.
At the end of the call I organize all the answers into a document I call Notes. So for each of my owners I have both the Welcome Guide (or their House Guide) and Notes.
3 Likes
I like having departure and arrival times in writing because I need it, as I always have so much going on with my schedule. I usually do it by text but it sounds like this sitter is very organized. It it was me, I would complete the form and write “see welcome guide” for anything that is already available there. Welcome Guides are often outdated.
1 Like
Hello @Coloradical and a warm welcome to the Community Forum and thank you for joining in with this thread 
For reference, as a member, you can also add your TrustedHousesitters profile on to your Forum profile by following the attached link, should you wish. This will then enable others to offer you helpful advice and feedback.
If you are unsure how to do this, or if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask, we are all more than happy to help.
Also, remember you can use the spyglass symbol at the top of the page next to the TrustedHousesitters logo and search for any questions that you may have as they have most likely already been answered on here and of course if not then please just ask!
I have attached a thread below, it would be great if you could join in with this as we think you could offer great feedback and your input would be a great addition 
2 Likes
As a homeowner, it is also reassuring for me to give that information as well and to also gage where there is a certain level of flexibility expecially if I am going to a destination where it is also inevitable that flights will get delayed. Thank you for taking the time to provide your views.
3 Likes