Some of my friends and family members have fridges that are always full to bursting with jams pickles sauces salad vegetables cold meats and cheese at all times whereas others have just the bare minimum and mostly empty shelves .
THS hosts (like my friends ) come in all varieties too .
As a HO (and fairly new here) I always ask sitters if I can leave anything to get them started the first day or so. Iām also a double Cancer and canāt stop myself from leaving a bottle of wine, some OJ and some sweet and savory snacks.
This surprises me. As a homeowner, I ask the sitters ahead of time what kinds of food they like, and try to have several days to a weekās worth of food for them as a thank you for sitting. I make a note about any food in the freezer or pantry that they are free to use, such as rice, cereal, spices, etc. I thought this was a common practice.
Hi @Marlamay
No not common although many HOās are generous to allow a sitter to help themselves to at least the basics. Although one of my first sits on THS I arrived after a blind handover to post it notes on pretty much all food items including salt and paper pots and some cooking utensils that said in bold āDO NOT TOUCHā!
Just imagine the mindset of a person doing that kind of thingā¦
Itās probably the kind of person who gets upset about sofa cushions left in disarray!
Did you mention this in your review? I bet many sitters would avoid such hosts if they knew.
Hi @Maggie8K
No as unfortunately this was my 3rd sit on THS a few years ago. I would now. The HO had multiple 5 star reviews at the time.
No issues with cushions but I had other issues during this sit which started right after I arrived. The HO advised me I needed to pill by hand one of her cats (brother and sister) but forgot to send or leave any photoās of how to identify the cat to pill. I tried calling her multiple times but she was travelling and I couldnāt reach her. I called her emergency contact. Her brother without success (she later said he never answers the phone!). So ultimately I called the THS vet line for advice. She contacted me the next day to advise how to find the right cat!
We agreed pre sit she would call me just before boarding her European flight early in the morning so I could leave well before the start of a national train strike in the UK that started at mid day. She of course didnāt call me. I tried to contacting her without success. She eventually called me at 3pm to say sheād landed and would be home in an hour and I could leave. My hour train journey from my home to the HOās took nearly 9 hours to get home as buses were rammed and werenāt stopping, uber and bolt apps were down (due to volume of people trying them) and local taxis werenāt accepting anything not pre booked days in advance.
This was my worst sit to date and a steep learning curve for me on THS.
@richten1 on behalf of all THS home owners, Iām sorry you were treated so appallingly.
Thanks @Crookie but now with more experience of sits and being on THS, Iāve experienced some wonderful sits. Vetting on both sides is super important.
I hope that made up part of your review. Very unwelcoming.