14th Dec-1st Jan then again 9th Feb-23rd for nice HO and x2 older dogs. We met this couple twice and visited the house and did a walk with the dogs. All 5*
We accepted knowing we couldn’t do the 6/7 weeks in between but we are happy to handover to another sitter. The HOs are away 3 mths. My question is about the handover.
The Island can be tricky to travel to in the winter due to fog etc affecting flights landing or the Ferry getting into harbour, so we’d like the option of a 12-24 hour handover with the next sitter so this would involve using 2 guest bedrooms or more. And yes there’s the whole cleaning/bedding/fridge handover thing to work out but can you see any other issues I need to add to my handover list.
Am I missing something? Is the HO looking for another sitting during those dates and you are just considering your role in the handover?
There are other threads on Split Sitting as many sitters would not be interested at all due to problems in handover and how the reviews would be done by the HO if anything went wrong.
1st update:
We’ve just completed 2 1/2 week sit and did the handover to the couple doing the middle 6 weeks (x20 5* reviews) before we return to do another 2 weeks; it went very well and we did a video walk through handover, sending this to the HOs. We overlapped by 18 hours. We’re nice people the HOs are nice people and the other sitters are nice people. However the crucial aspects of making this successful were in the detail, clarity of communication, and being upfront about any concerns needs etc. We picked them up from the airport yesterday, they dropped us off at the airport today… I hope this will be a ‘model’ for split sits to give others confidence that it can be successfully organised.
Yes, I found myself involuntarily involved in a split sit, and all went well. After being confirmed for months, the hosts decided to expand their 3 week trip, but I was committed to another sit and couldn’t come earlier. They found another sitter who was a lovely Irish lady, and we communicated before I came and did an in person handover. She left the place pristine, but the host arranged for her housecleaner to come on the handover day. So spit sits can work out well for all involved.
