Good day!
Personally, I would never expect the HO to provide anything for me during my stay, that would be totally up to me. Just getting to provide a service that benefits both parties and getting to enjoy time with pets would be the bonus for me!
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Hello @Bubba14 and a warm welcome to the Community Forum and itās great to see you are enjoying participating in this conversation 
For reference, as a member, once your listing is completed 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. 
Wow the nerve of some people! Those requests would definitely throw up flags if I was a homeowner. As a sitter I wouldnāt even think of asking for such.
Weāve been sitting since 2020 and full time for a year now. We have had homeowners leave their refrigerator totally empty not even the basic condiments. Others where the fridge is full of stuff that was near or past itās best before date and no room for the groceries we brought with us. Most say use whatever you want/need as it will likely spoil before our return. One that left us a $100 gift card for the local grocery store. If we use anything other than the basics oil, salt & pepper we replace it. May you have much success in finding sitters that understand and follow the THS guidelines.
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wow! we have been housesitters for more than 10 years and it would never occur to us to ask for money for flights or to rent a car (you are already letting them live in your house).
About food, we have been at home where they left us food, where they left us open things that we consumed so they would not get sick, they have left us gifts and we have brought gifts ā¦ but we have always replenished what we have spent, milk, paper towels, juices, ham, cheese, bread ā¦ the only thing we do not buy are spices but because we use few. Explain your expectations about food to them, and thatās it.
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If they ask for unreasonable things, why not just move on to someone else?
Andrealovesanimals, yes we politely declined their application. I asked the question to the forum to find out if it was a normal ask.
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Hi, in chats before the sit, I suggest that we are left bread, milk and coffee, and we will make sure there is fresh bread, milk and coffee for the home owners return. If itās a UK sit where we are bringing our car, then we need nothing, but if itās an international sit and we are flying in then itās nice to be left the basics.
We have a sit starting on the 24th December. As our sit ending on 22nd Dec isnāt far away, Iāve asked if I can bring in the food I need for Christmas on the 23rd. Fortunately the home owners are more than happy with this arrangement.
And no you should not be asked for flight and car rental money. What are these sitters thinking?
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I donāt think these are the usual things to ask, at least for me. But we travel with our own car in Europe. Never use the HOās food if they donāt ask us to, but or course we accept the gifts that sometimes they offer, as wine and/or chocolate.
We have made about 15 sittings so far, enjoyed them a lot and understand that staying in another home (kind of vacation) and not paying electricity, etc. and being in touch with a pet is enough retribution.
Iād be especially concerned on the travel fundās request. THS says this is a hard no, go with the rules.
I wonder if there āmembersā trying to scam funds from HOs before a sit for ātravel expensesā and then canceling once funds are received?
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Hi Wendy,
That didnāt even cross my mind! Iām glad I just went with a polite no thank you.
Rachelle
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@RavenR
LOL, I would never expect a homeowner on here to pay for my travel, whether it was allowed or not. If if wasnāt on TH and was instead a personally arranged sit that someone asked me to come and do, I suppose it could be negotiated. But not on here.
Iāve only had 2 sits so far and in both cases they told me to eat anything I wanted. I think if the sitters are coming a long way itās a nice gesture. If theyāre not staying long, should you expect them to eat out all the time rather than buying groceries they wonāt use up? And if they ARE staying a long time, while they might buy things they prefer, I think itās also nice to let them eat whatās there ā just be clear about any personal stashes you donāt want them to eat. If I was a HO I would tell them to help themselves, pretty much.
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Simply said, I love living creatures. (Of course humans are often times lower on the list.
As a sitter, I donāt expect a perfectly clean HOās house/apartment, and if something reasonable needs to be done during their absence, itās generally not a problem. āReasonablenessā will be in the eye of the HS. Simple communication should suffice. Good luck to all of you, sitter and owner alike.
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Thank you, agreed we too offer whatever is in the pantry and anything fresh in the fridge. I think Iāll stock some starter provisions from here on out. We also offer HS to stay pre and post sit dates since we are rural and there isnāt much nearby.
Cheers,
Rachelle
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I wonder what you mean by odd?
Weāve never asked to be fed, or for travel costs to be paidā¦ but with the current cost of living crisis I can well imagine there are sitters in dire straits, for whom food and / or travel costs would be very welcome.
Thereās no requirement for hosts to provide food, but some do - and if youāre on your uppers you might ask the question, even if it took some courageā¦
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I agree every HO is different. I did a sit where the HO put post it notes on every food item including salt and pepper saying do not touch but at the other end of the spectrum Iāve had HOās leave me a full fridge and in one case some expensive sea food which I left much to the dismay of the HO when they got back! They told me it was there to be eaten by me!
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Does anybody ask for travel funds?
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Asking for travel funds is completely against THS T & C @Susana so, if youāre a HO, avoid sitters asking for money for their travel expenses.
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