“In black and white” means it is written. The dates are written in the listings. If a sitter is required to arrive a certain day, that is the date that should be in the listing.
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The start date of the sit is when one would need to be available to meet up, regardless of whether the host is there - or else the dates would be misleading or possibly lead to consequences of the sit falling through - which makes little sense.
The dates published is the dates the host needs me to be free in my calendar if I wish to apply.
There might be additional dates, but that would be dates at my own discretion - how I choose to travel, if I’m invited to stay additional dates but it is optional.
The only way, in my opinion, of the dates being other than published is if a sitter have a choice of whether to be there or not. If the dates are fixed it needs to be disclosed for accuracy.
If the dates of the host are flexible, then the dates could be other than published, but the principle would be the same - I could decide when I can come, the host doesn’t need me to be there.
That is what makes sense to me, at least.
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I consider the sit to start when I am expected to arrive. I search by the dates I’m available. If I’m available starting on the 16th and the HO actually wants a sitter to arrive on the 15th, they need to put the start date on the 15th. More than once, I’ve been in a virtual chat only to find out they want me to arrive the day before the listed start date when I’m not available that day. That’s a lot of wasted time for both me and the HO. To me the sit starts when I’m expected to arrive - that is the date/time that matters in my travel planning, not when the HOs are leaving.
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So, it sounds like these were not confirmed sits. The sitters met with you and then withdrew their applications. It’s unclear whether you actually confirmed them. If I had a call with a host and they said they were going to confirm me and then 24 hours went by and they still hadn’t confirmed, I would be inclined to withdraw my application. I’ve also declined sits after a call because it didn’t seem like a good fit after I met the hosts. The sit is not a commitment just based on an application, and sitters shouldn’t be expected to make a commitment on the spot during a call. HOs are not expected to do that either. I’ve had HOs verbally commit during a call and then later say they decided to go with a local couple, or a previous sitter. The time between the application and the confirmation/acceptance is for both sitters and HOs to ask questions, get to know each other a little, and determine if it’s a good fit. It’s not a commitment until the HO clicks confirm and the sitter clicks accept.
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It’s entirely up to the homeowner to decide that for themselves! I am very proactive in my own life and don’t rely on anyone else to do the legwork for me but, yes, if a homeowner is having trouble getting sitters, the more info the better but if they are way out in the way out and it’s expensive to get to them it doesn’t matter how much information they provide, it’s still expensive, no?
@marshmish this is a global platform. What is way out for you probably isn’t way out for me. There’s almost always a sitter for every situation but the 5 application limit makes things more difficult for the right person to apply in time.
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@ebs_finland, sorry to hear of your frustrating experience. Seems that you’ve received and reflected on significant advice.
For context, we (full-time housesitters) have completed many housesits in north america and europe.
I’d add an encouragement that your listing clearly state dates … dates of your departure/return; any required dates for arrival/departure of housesitter; and any additional flexibility on arrival/departure dates of housesitter. Elevated transparency may help a prospective international housesitter applicant to use key dates and any flexibilities to explore flight options at an early point in the process.
For context, we often find that listings state approximate dates … sometimes the date of departure/arrival of pet parent; sometimes the requested date of departure/arrival of housesitter; and sometimes do not state any incremental flexibility. This is often not an issue as many housesit locations have ample travel options.
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Your sit is probably a dream for many people. I can see how this could happen. Because of the five application rule, people are going to get their application in before they have even before they’ve thought how they are going to get there. What you can do is slow things down slightly. Decline the sitters who aren’t appropropriate immediately. Get in touch with the other ones whether it is one, three, or five, who seem suitable. Priortize people who might already be close by or have another sit planned in your area (unlikely I know). Set up chats with all suitable sitters if you can. But let them know via email before hand that you will discuss their preliminary plans to get to you as you know the sit is remote and airfares are high. Let them know you don’t expect to make plans prior to confirmation, but you do expect them to look at fares and decline themselves before the chat if they can’t do it. It’s okay to let them know that once you confirm, you expect them to send you copies of their flight itinerary within 24 hours or you will cancel and move on. It’s also okay if this is a big problem because you are so remote, to consider offering to help a sitter with airfare or at least accomodation at your place or a hotel if they’ll need to arrive before the sit date. I wouldn’t take a sitter who hinted that that would be needed, but if a sitter seemed great but you sensed it was an issue, you could sweeten the deal. Up to you.
That would be wise.
Just a side note: A sit in the capital of Finland is hardly remote. Airfares depend on where you fly from and with which airline. From Europe, you can easily get affordable tickets, especially if you travel with cabin luggage only with a budget airline.
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A verbal agreement is simply not a sit confirmation, this needs to be done through your offer and the sitter’s acceptance via THS, when it will then appear in the dashboards of both parties.
I’d say it’s a common sense thing. As sitters, we need to know what date we are required to arrive. This is especially important since there can be no overlap of sit dates, so if we apply for a sit which is listed as commencing the day another confirmed one ends, we’d be wasting our time to then find hosts actually need us to arrive the day before the date listed.
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We do something similar; we never commit to a sit during a video call and ask that pet parents take time to think about things following our chat then get back to us ASAP and we can take things from there. It allows both parties to properly consider suitability and work out logistics. It adds just a couple of hours to the decision-making process but that time is useful and it helps avoid situations like this.
@ebs_finland it might be worth you employing similar tactics and, if you feel good vibes during your video chat, agree a specific period of time for the sitter to check-out the logistics and then get back to you, whereupon you can send the offer and they can accept, following up with flights confirmation.
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TBH, I’m a bit mystified by your post. Not your fault at all. But…
Don’t sitters actually read the details of a sit – including location and any encumbent costs – before applying?
I demand my Super Naive Sitter’s Badge! - Because I’m obviously entitled to it.
Many of us do, and sprinkle it in our application… 
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@fledermaus how do you read this whole thread and still remain confused?
We know a rough date and a rough destination from your ad. How would I go ahead and calculate exact flight costs based on that?
Will need to speak first and discuss exact plans before I can confidently know exactly if it is all going to match up. Flights don’t necessarily go everyday, awkward connections, HOs want buffer days that they haven’t included in the ad dates, HOs post speculative dates that aren’t even set.
That makes sense but I think we’re talking about two different scenarios here: one where the sitters are required to arrive at a specific date and the other where it is their choice and the HO kindly offers accommodation without asking for any assistance with the pets.
In my opinion, if the sitter is required to arrive at a certain date that is the date that should be listed although it should be specified if there is some overlap with owners. That’s just my opinion, what really matters is that both parties agree on the “official” date and that the listing is as clear as possible so that nobody wastes their time.
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Although one can’t calculate an exact price without exact times, one can surely get a quite accurate estimate.
I always run a price search - actually when writing my application (opening the application tab and then I open another app and calculate), but for sure I would check an estimate before a video-call. I wouldn’t want to withdraw later because of something I could easily look into. My travels are usually long distance and often including flights, so what I check is the price of the flight and what is needed to get to approx. location. If it is a real hazzle to get there, or if flights are way to long or expensive compared to sit duration I would not apply.
For long distance I would prefer to come a day early just to stay in a hotel by myself, so if someone is avoiding costs (at all costs… 
) that would be somewhat different, but maybe even more important to self-select out.
I find that long distance flights don’t vary that much if you go Monday or Tuesday. The prices go up if you wait to long, so if they are too high when I apply there is not much point as it won’t get cheaper. Save my time to use two minutes to check before I spend a lot of time writing an application. I feel also somewhat that it could impact a future possibility if I have to withdraw at a later point because of something I could easily check.
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