£1 a day ‘normal’ usage = £30 per month - 6 times this is £180. Not exactly negligible 
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For me it would be more about the not asking than the money.
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Well, do you ask whether you can have permission to charge your mobile phone and your laptop?
Self-sufficiency stars would evaporate.
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The sitter is responsible for their own transportation costs whether it be plane/train/bus tickets or petrol for their vehicle. The electric cost in this case is the sitter’s transportation expense. So the comparison to laptop or phone charging is not applicable. Accept their payment offer and mention this in the review. At least you got an extension cord out of it.
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I don’t think you can compare. Other cars run on gas and owners pay for it. Wi-Fi is usually listed and assumed you are going to use those devices and there are not charging posts for laptops in the street but there are for cars. I don’t know if the amount is important or not but as @Twitcher said, I don’t they should have assumed they’ve got the right to travel at the expense of the owners without even discussing it.
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When you have visitors arriving by an electrical car, would you charge them if they charged it up at your place?
I do not like all this counting of rights and of costs. Better to be generous and not worry so much.
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If I was the visitor charging, I would insist on paying.
The sitters here knew it was their responsibility. That is why they quickly offered to pay when the HO brought up the subject.
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No @pietkuip but I don’t think charging a phone is comparable to a car. I wouldn’t expect a homeowner to pay for my petrol.
I guess it was because they thought it was not worth risking a star for it.
Definitely not worth it so I am puzzled as to why they even tried
I don’t think I would have worried about it. Not as a sitter, not as an owner.
But for many people here it seems that this is a huge deal. Surprising.
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I can understand it- utility costs are through the roof & it only feels fair to talk to HOs about it so they can make an informed decision.
You have said on other occasions that you are a bit “happy go lucky” and have given examples of it. Nothing wrong with that. You have accepted as natural some behaviours from your couch surfing guests that I wouldn’t. So I understand that for you it’s no big deal but I don’t find surprising that most of us would have appreciated and even expected some communication at the very least.
As a sitter, it would not have even crossed my mind to use the owner’s electricity to charge my car unless the nearest charging point was really inconveniently located and, in that case, I would have politely asked and offered to pay for it. If the owners didn’t want to accept my offer I would then have had some kind of gratitude gesture or gift.
As an owner I would not have minded so much the bill as the fact of taking it for granted. It’s like when sitters voluntarily accept to take care of an elderly dog with medical issues or not to leave it alone but nobody would like it to be undisclosed and imposed on arrival. From this point of view, this is even worse. A sitter can leave the sit while this owner only found out afterwards and had to go through the embarrassment of asking.
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When I mention couchsurfing guests it is often because they are just guests. They had not needed to do any work for me, or too spend time walking with dogs.
So once there was this guy in an electrical car and we got his car charged overnight when he was at my place. I did not even think of the cost then. In the same way that I don’t think of the cost of a guest’s morning shower. Or of their share of the food.
Now, a sitter did work for the HO. Took care of those dogs etc. Spent many hours walking, picked up the poop, etc etc. And then the host starts complaining about the electricity?? I just don’t get the mindset.
Generous of you, but at least you offered.
As part of an agreement previously reached by both parties. It would not have been fair if the owner had asked more work than agreed and it is not fair that the sitter makes non agreed use of facilities.
I am starting to feel that paid pet sitting is maybe easier than THS.
Is there any generosity left here? Or hospitality?
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Or respect for other people’s generosity and hospitality?
BTW, I have got a suggestion that I should send you a private message. This is the first time I get it. It seems 3 replies is the limit accepted as a reasonable discussion.
But I do enjoy a good discussion and I think we’re both being civilized and respectful of each other. Are we going to be flagged?
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@Jo27
Was this sit for 30 days? I cannot see any reference to timescale, apologies if i have missed it somewhere
If the bill is charged monthly, @Jo27 calculation would be correct regardless of how long the stay was. I think.
And consider how much they saved by not paying hotel bills. It’s not a one way street, y’know.
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