This should be part of it… I’m happy to arrive the night before, but don’t make me have to eat dinner early or feel like I have to eat a protein bar in my room.
and if the HO arrives after 9pm and wanted an in-person handoff, invite me to stay that last night too.
Ugh! @MissChef, early dinner 
, it’s like being a child again. I just can’t understand why people want dinner at 6pm. I’m not quite Spanish in outlook although I could easily get there if I had an early snack about 7pm.
Traditionally Scottish farmers and their workers had their dinner at noon and tea which usually consisted of sandwiches and a hot drink at 5pm.
Because other cultures have different meal times doesn’t make them wrong. It’s part of travelling. We know not to go out and try to have dinner in USA after 9pm. Nothings open. We adapt, or try to.
Didn’t call it wrong @ElsieDownie; I’m well aware of world cultural differences. It’s still 100% not for me and I can’t understand the appeal of eating my dinner at teatime.
As sitters, we like to arrive the night before HOs leave so we can get familiar with the house and pets. Or, if we are already local, come the day before for a 30-minute orientation. Then we arrive the next day after the HOs have left. We’ve done it both ways.
As HOs, we always want sitters to arrive the night before we leave (which is ALWAYS super early in the morning) so we can show them the workings of the house and the pets’ routines. That way we know the sitter is already “home” and all is well when we leave.
This thread has been massively helpful in clarifying a few things. I tend to include the night before in the dates for handover but do need to make sure this is explicit in the listing for the sitters.
Thanks all.