I think maybe you are misunderstanding my reply. As a sitter I am responsible for researching flights and other transport to the homeowner’s country and nearest city, if I need some advice on how to get from that city to their town I will ask that when a line of communication has been established. As an adult I am fully capable of looking into flights to destinations I am traveling to. Is that not something most are capable of?
I understood what you were saying, and this is our expectation and assumption also, previously. But it seems that we assumed (our mistake, I guess) that a sitter would have looked into flights 1) before applying or 2) during the course of exchanges several messages about any other details of the sit or 3) certainly by the time we had a video call and they verbally accepted the offer (and yes, I know that it is not “official” until they accept it on the website, but does a verbal confirmation not mean anything?). We will be more clear about our expectations next time and if that is not preferable to some sitters, they can choose not to apply. 
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That all seems very reasonable, though I understood his comment differently I think. Both of what you are saying seems accurate and reasonable.
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As many things it is probably also a personality thing - I don’t want to waste my time and do video calls if flights are more than I want to spend on «time period in location», I travel frequently and it takes me two minutes to check.
It could also depend somewhat on what one is used to regarding flight prices. If one is used to flight prices being more or less similar to a train ticket, it could be quite an eyeopener finding flights to destinations with long and limited traffic.
But I still would think travel options is part of preparing for a video call for long distance locations. One could use that as a check point for assessing «organized». 
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Yes sorry @marshmish did misread your comment and totally agree a sitter needs to research the flight prices from their location .
However if it’s last minute sit to a destination with only a few flight options - like Finland - prices of tickets can dramatically increase within a matter of hours as tickets get sold .
So the price of seats that the sitter saw when the researched may not be available to purchase a couple of days later .
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Yes, this is very true-- they can change fast, and it seems like there are a lot more tourists from the UK to Lapland in recent years, so much more demand than usual (and that is a school break week in the UK apparently). It may have been a perfect storm.
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Is that an official thing or just your interpretation? Seems more logical that the start date represents the start date of the sit (When the owner leaves). Until then, “sitting rules” don’t apply yet, so the dates should represent when the THS’s rules apply.
Sitters need to be on top of their own travel arrangements, I would never confirm - verbally or officially - with a homeowner until I had my business sorted, that’s being really inconsiderate. Just don’t confirm a sit until you know for certain you can afford to get there. I’m not even applying for some really desirable sits because I’m looking at the airfare and trying to work out the least expensive means of getting to that country first. It’s a two-way street, though, with inconsiderate actions - now homeowners are listing a sit and allowing applicants to pile up while they ask their family and friends if they can do it, leaving all of those sitters with no response for days, then coming back and saying “oh we have found someone locally” or some such thing. Like at least let sitters know what you’re up to instead of letting their message sit with no response for literal days, like 3 or 4 days. This happened TWICE this last week with me (and the 3 or 4 other sitters who applied). This site is quickly nosediving into the depths of the toilet.
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Good arguments on both sides. As an example: Just yesterday I saw a listing at the very top of Norway. Of course I wanted to apply straight away to secure my 1 in 5 spot, but I thought to check possible flights first, as it’s such an odd location. Lo and behold, it would take 5 flights to get there! From Germany! So that was an easy no from us.
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The caveat with that is the whole overlapping thing so if the sit doesn’t have the “real” date you’re first needed then you might say yes and then not be able to do it which messes everyone around. We’d rather the posted dates included the handover time for planning too @kitty2 #smoothplanning
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Goes without saying that the posting should mention both expected arrival and sit start dates. However I still think the “official” start date should represent when the sit officially start.
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In the context of this thread , sitters need to know from the listing the date that they are expected to arrive in order to research flight prices .
If it transpires after applying that the hosts want the sitters to arrive a day earlier than the dates in the listing - the sitter may not be able to find flights for that date at all or not at the price they researched before applying .
The sitter and host both need THS cover from the date that the sitter is expected to arrive at the home .
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Hi @marshmish
The original post was from a homeowner who repeatedly finds themselves in the same situation, asking what they can do to avoid the same thing from happening again.
Regardless of whose responsibility it is to research travel, it’s sometimes worth going the extra mile for the sake of efficiency, especially if you’re not getting the results that you want by doing whatever you’re currently doing. Adding extra information to a listing may help potential sitters decide whether or not a sit is feasible for them. Surely that’s a good thing, no?
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Yes. And it seems that this was somewhere in Lapland. I once had a nice couchsurfing guest from there, who told me that I would be very welcome to visit. But that is not easy, certainly not in winter… They are reindeer owners, no public transport there, hardly navigable roads.
So then it is very difficult to get a real committment when the details of transportation had not been discussed.
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That sounds like a great invite! Will you take them up on it one day? Just make sure you take your stuff in several smaller, soft bags, rather than a suitcase, in case the only way in is by packing reindeer…
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I think there may have been information missed here: we had communicated with both sets of sitters about the dates of travel, when they would need to be here, travel to and from our home, etc. via messages and before having a video call, where all these things were discussed again. These are not instances where people lacked information on the sit, but rather where they did not actually look into flights until after they applied, messaged back and forth and had video calls and verbally agreed.
The helpful responses on this post will definitely inform us on future sits, but these were not instances where they did not have enough information to do their own legwork looking for flights or where information was not clear.
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Not in Lapland, but Helsinki, so actually just getting to the airport.
Getting to Lapland is another trip entirely And would benefit greatly from a lot of homeowner help with logistics and knowing how things run here!
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Hi @ebs_finland
You are probably answering your own question here – maybe try not to allow things to go so far down the line without making sure that applicants have done their research:
If you’re confident that your listing contains enough information to allow them to do so, then you could ask that any future applicants include their proposed flight details as part of their initial application.
You might then expect a bit of messaging back and forth to give potential sitters the opportunity to ask anything else that they feel necessary regarding travel. If things are still on track and their proposed flights still work for them – ask them whether this is the case – schedule a video call.
As a sitter, I usually end a video call by suggesting that both parties ‘sleep on it’ and make a decision the following morning, rather than pushing for a verbal commitment during the call itself. It gives both of us the opportunity to back out without any awkwardness should we want to.
If you’re happy with your decision the following day, hit the ‘confirm’ button. A keen sitter will usually be waiting with bated breath to find out whether they’ve secured their chosen sit… or maybe that’s just me!
If your sitter accepts, you could follow up with a message that includes your own flight details, and ask that the sitter messages to confirm their travel arrangements once booked. Personally, I would feel uncomfortable being given a deadline by a home owner for booking my flights, but I would most likely message to let them know that I would be booking my flights later that day/the following day etc. (assuming that they had also booked theirs).
If a sitter is keen and motivated, this translates into action. If you’re not seeing action in the form of firm travel plans within a reasonable time frame, be concerned and start asking questions.
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“Is that an official thing or just your interpretation? Seems more logical that the start date represents the start date of the sit (When the owner leaves). Until then, “sitting rules” don’t apply yet, so the dates should represent when the THS’s rules apply.”
Why should it be seen as an “interpretation?” It is in black & white and sitters should get credit for the entire length of their required stay.
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Sorry to keep this off topic discussion going…
but what do yo mean by “credit”? 
I guess different people do the overlap differently but it certainly isn’t black and white. I’ve invited sitters to stay 2 and 3 nights before a sit began because they wanted to stay longer in my city and told me they were going to take a hotel. During this period they are staying as guests, I do all pet duties until I leave. To me it’s pretty black and white that this should not in the sitting dates.
From HO perspective - I don’t want to be rated on that period since during these days I’m still tidying and cleaning the house so that it’s up to my standards when I actually leave and the sit begins.
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