That’s a good point you make about sits booked well in advance.
1 Like
FYI, many sitters book well in advance, especially good sitters.
Personally, I’m effectively booked for the rest of the year, because I don’t sit during year-end holidays. And some f/t nomadic sitters are even booked into 2025. A good number of sitters not only do THS sits, but also sits on other platforms and ones privately.
I don’t believe that is necessary, not with the official THS welcome guide. As I understand it, as soon as the HO makes an edit of the WG on the system, the sitter sees that when they access it.
I like to have a look at the WG as soon as the sit is confirmed (it is fine with me if that is a version they had used for a previous sit). But many details are only meaningful to read after I arrive at the sit.
2 Likes
I agree 100%
2 Likes
@ChristineB For the May sit, you should ask now for the Owner to (at least) send you their address so that you can plan your travel. The home address is usually (but not always) in the Welcome Guide, but it is a really good idea to get the home address sooner than later.
Apparently the Welcome Guide takes hours to complete well, and some Owners procrastinate. We have received actual THS Welcome Guides in only a minority of the 15 Sits we have done. Most provide a Word document instead.
Looks like you have requested a Welcome Guide. If you do not receive one within one week, and you don’t want to seem too pushy, you could ask if they have a Word document that they could email to you, instead of the THS Welcome Guide.
3 Likes
Hi @Margaret I hear you on the changes over time.
What I do for that is send the current WG (word doc, no personal nfo) with a note that there is probably going to be updates but that if there are any significant changes that I will contact them to dicuss, as I believe as a home host (and sitter) that the thsitter should be able to agree or decline changes to the criteria to which they originally agreed.
I send an updated copy later and print one for the home.
4 Likes
@Maggie8K I’m just curious. Why wouldn’t you go into a sit blind, I’m assuming after already confirming? If you’ve had bad lessons learned that led you to establish this, would you please share some examples of what can go wrong?
You can read what many sitters have posted about:
Pets that don’t behave as mentioned, including regular incontinence and/or diarrhea and/or viciousness; home or pet care that’s well beyond what was described previously; other unreasonable expectations; pets that are sicker and/or require more medications; and so on.
Here are some examples of things that hadn’t been disclosed when the sit was agreed but came to light by reading the welcome guide - these are just from the past month… you’ll find plenty more on the forum
and this thread ….
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/nightmare-sit
@ChristineB I learned to request access to Welcome Guide (via pdf) before confirming sit on TH app, after learning that Ho had indicated possible fee for use of AC/Heater if it exceeded their “average” monthly bill. *I only learned as I was reading the WG on their couch, the day they left on a camping trip, on a cold/rainy weekend. Prior to this experience I’d sat for a HO that hadn’t even completed the WG, so I didn’t even know that they existed or how to access it.
What I have found is that most REASONABLE HO don’t have an issue with my request (once I explain my intention). However, more recently a HO “decided to go a different route”, after I’d made a 2nd request for WG (in route to meet IP), following several TH messages and phone call. It was frustrating and disappointing, however, I reconciled this with knowing that their unwillingness to comply with what I feel is a reasonable requests, is a RED FLAG (for me) and an indicator that they/we would not be a “good fit”.
This strategy has been very helpful thus far, and helped ensure my sits are lovely for both of us. I appreciate transparency and informed consent, and find current set up on TH incredibly frustrating and problematic.
2 Likes