I have had many HOs offer their liquor but I never touch it. Unless they specifically leave a bottle of wine for me. I bring my own, I like CA chardonnay. Even when they offer, if you drink much, I think it would reflect badly in reviews.
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We always ask how frequently updates are required, and go with that. It doesn’t take long to take a few pics and send an update on how things are going.
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We NEVER touch the host’s food or alcoholic drink (and don’t even use their tea and coffee, unless there’s a spectacular bean-to-cup machine and we’ve been told we can use it).
As others have already said; we’re frequently gifted a bottle or two of wine. That’s entirely different to checking out the alcohol supplies.
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Yes! I can’t even believe this question is being asked.
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If it’s not offered leave it alone. Asking is extremely rude.
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@TheBrandons0819, we have never consumed Pet Parent alcohol unless it was served by Pet Parent with meal or presented as a gift.
From some appreciative Pet Parents, then we’ve been offered all manner of delightful beverages during a handover meal/evening (thank you!). And some related gifts have been received with considerable appreciation (we’ve often reciprocated the gesture on our exit).
Asking seems rude - akin to asking a retail shop assistant if it’s ok to steal some products.
That said, if you see a Pet Parent has some interesting beverages then you could always find inspiration to purchase one of them for yourself.
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I go by what was mentioned during a conversation with them, or what is the indicated in the welcome guide.
If you are 100% sure there was no specific mention of this, I would send them a message the first couple of days with a photo or two of the pets, and I’d say something like “I’d be happy to continue sending daily updates, unless you prefer them every 2-3 days.” and go with what they say.
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This is a completely different topic—how often to send updates to the owners.
It is not similar to your other question about drinking the owner’s liquor.
We always ask how often the owner would like us to send updates, and then we follow whatever they prefer. Most are fine with every 1-2 days. It really depends on the length of the sit. There are oodles of threads in the Forum about this topic.
I agree with what many others have said about the liquor. Don’t ask, and don’t drink any. Even if you think that you can replace it, maybe you cannot easily replace it. Not worth it.
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Agree with others; only take what’s freely offered outright, don’t ask, at least as far as alcohol. Usually I don’t drink it even then as I generally travel alone & most HO’s don’t allow guests (ie like family members dropping by etc…I wouldn’t be bringing strangers in anyway, ever.)
What I found funny about this question is that I’m more often adding to their liquor cabinet than taking from it — bringing a bottle of wine then never opening it, & it’s more trouble to transport it than to “gift” it. 
And recently I had a sit in my old hometown where family guests were permitted, & I left half a bottle of premium vodka & 3/4 bottle of Cointreau we didn’t finish… 
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I don’t understand why most people seem to put alcohol in a different do-not-touch category than anything else.
If I were a whisky drinker, and there was an open bottle of whisky, unless a home host had specifically asked me not to, then I would have no problem helping myself to a wee dram. If there were an unopened bottle, I wouldn’t touch it.
Much the same as I would do to a packet of biscuits, or a shake of brown sauce.
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I think the answer is: expense! But, then again, we don’t eat any of the HOs food either, so wouldn’t think of noshing even a packet of biscuits. We like to leave things as we found them, and that includes everything edible or drinkable which hasn’t been expressly left for us to use.
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I don’t eat or drink anything I wasn’t invited to. Doesn’t matter what its cost or whether it’s food or drink, including alcohol. When I’ve wanted booze on a sit, I’ve bought it. I’ve even left what I couldn’t finish for my hosts.
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You’re right, it’s not about the cost - I was wrong to assume that - it’s the principle. We would no more raid the larder than the drinks cabinet.
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A dram of average whisky is around £1 or less. I think it’s sad to feel so unwelcome in a home that you don’t feel comfortable helping yourself to a biscuit.
We’ve never felt unwelcome in a sit home, @Colin , just prefer to be entirely self-sufficient when it comes to food and drink (and toiletries, come to that). It’s that concept of ‘helping yourself’ which puts the blocks on for us.
We’ve done sits in homes when we’ve been told to help ourselves to bottles of wine, and sits where the fridge has been left full of stuff for us, and we are totally appreciative of that sort of generosity but, when there’s no express invitation, ‘helping ourselves’ is not an option.
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Hi @TheBrandons0819 An interesting question. I certainly wouldn’t ask as it would put people on the spot somewhat, and even if I’m house-sitting for my parents I don’t drink anything without replacing it. We’re talking cheap plonk rather than vintage wine cellar, so I guess it’s the principle rather than the monetary value for me.
I think the forum is the right place to be able to ask any question. The fact that one ask here before asking the host is for me exactly that sensitivity to possible cultural differences that might occur. so I think @TheBrandons0819 did the right thing asking the forum.
A person that is himself/herself very generous and “mi casa es su casa” would maybe think that their culture is the general opinion and ofc we share, while others that are more “each to ourselves” wouldn’t offer and wouldn’t ask.
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It’s a valid question, and this forum is the best place to ask. I note that the responses from sitters are 90% “no way”. I have never helped myself to a host’s alcohol, because I don’t drink alone, and if I am ever given permission to have friends over, they are likely to bring a bottle with them. I do however totally get the degustatory curiosity. If I see an ingredient that I’ve heard of but never tasted or cooked with, I’d like to try it; and the same for intriguing bottles of booze. For some reason I can’t quite identify, it is easier to ask about the former than the latter. Perhaps the spectre of alcoholism lurks, and the hosts might fear that the request to sample a finger of whisky will lead to all the single malts emptied, the pets neglected, and the house trashed. Alcohol does exist in a category of its own, socially and culturally.
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That’s hilarious. I can see it now… offer a “wee dram” of my “average whiskey” but leave the 20 yo Garavogue be. Anyone else wonder how that hospitality shows up in the Hospitality part of the review?
We had younger sitters who, when offered some start up groceries, sent us a shopping list that would have covered a week stay. That list included cheeses. We obliged with a few days worth of groceries including 3 cheeses they specifically requested. Nice us. When we got home, they’d consumed 1 of their requested cheeses AND all of our cheeses. Granted, we have better taste in cheese and their 2 cheeses were still there. We’d make do. They packed up and left the following morning. Lo and behold, they’d packed up and taken all the remaining cheese with them. Like I said, they were young enough to be presumptuously entitled and it was/is an amusing lesson for us. Something similar with our wine or liquor would have been much less amusing and much more concerning.
Offering access to the liquor cabinet is begging for trouble, misunderstanding and resentment. Not with the bother for either party.
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We did a long sit over the Christmas period, where we were informed we were ‘welcome to any of the alcohol’. The day after our arrival, their very worried daughter arrived, to convey the message that the invitation excluded this, that and the other bottles, and their locations 
.
In the event, we used just a drop of brandy for our Christmas pudding sauce.
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