As a sitter, I cannot stress enough how important it is for HO’s to make sure their listings detail their needs, and to thoroughly complete their Welcome Guide as soon as possible after securing a sit. The Welcome Guides on the last few sits I’ve been on have been lacking details, or were provided to me only a couple weeks prior to the start of the sit, and it has been so frustrating trying to pry the info I need out of the HO’s so I can complete my sit to the satisfaction of all parties.
As a sitter, I need to be TOLD by the HO what my responsibilities are for the sit. If it’s important to you & your pet, then you have to include it, even if it’s as seemingly trivial as where you keep the forks. If finding a misplaced fork in the wrong drawer when you return home is going to be a problem for you, then you have to tell me that. And I need to know PRIOR to a sit what the HO’s expectations are, so if If I’m unable to meet those expectations, I can advise the HO sufficiently in advance so if any issues cannot be resolved prior to the sit, the HO has the option of selecting someone else. HO’s who fail to specify what the sitter needs to know prior to a sit may ultimately be disappointed with the sit. Certainly as a sitter, I know I hate having to guess what’s important to the HO, or how they would like me to handle a certain situation. Of course, not all unforeseen circumstances can be addressed in advance, but after reading some of the HO’s concerns an complaints on this forum, it’s clear that insufficient advance communication was the culprit for many of those sits.
While the Welcome Guide, listing, and THS “conversations” are not technically legal documents, ultimately, in the case of a dispute, those will be the documents that a third party will rely on to resolve that dispute, whether it be THS, or, in a worst-case scenario, a court of law. And as a sitter, if a conflict arises, those are the documents I’m going to refer to, and will hold you to.
So, my appeal to HO’s is to please not assume that your chosen sitter will intuitively know what you expect from them during a sit, and kindly communicate your expectations in your listing & your Welcome Guide well in advance of your sit. Your listing, Welcome Guide, & THS conversations with your sitter prior to your sit are what are going to insure you have a successful sit & stress free vacation, and is what is going to support & protect your interests in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.
@AmyJayne - please be aware that the HO can amend the Welcome Guide at any time. You will not get an alert and you will not be able to identify the changes.
I suggest you print off or screen shot the Welcome Guide for your peace of mind and refer to your Dashboard at regular intervals in the run up to the sit to check for any changes.
Thanks Twitcher. I’m aware, & I do, every time.
Are you from the US by any chance? I’m wondering as you mention a court of law and litigation is so common in the US. I certainly wouldn’t worry about putting a fork in the wrong drawer and most home owners I’ve met wouldn’t worry about that. I always apologise in advance in case I put something in the wrong place, it’s not a crime. Also many owners don’t like the Welcome Guide format and type their own notes, often sending them ahead. This has been mentioned many times on the forum but, so far, THS hasn’t corrected the problem.
Try to be a bit calmer as most owners, in my experience, are happy that their animals are going to be kept in their home and looked after. Items misplaced are not so important
Hmmmm, just relax, things are not as complex as they might seem
There is a problem with Welcome Guides. They are hardly ever updated. So, I don’t care much for them and prefer whatever “paper” the hosts give me. Most of the time, it differs from the Welcome Guide, but above all, the info is current.
So may I guess that a picky HO deducted a star for you for the cutlery or for sofa cushions “left in disarray”? You will survive that.
no. hold the condescension, yeah?
Just wanted to pop in to ask if we can kindly respect all viewpoints with kindness and respect in accordance with our forum guidelines
the fork is an extreme example, based on some of the forum posts. But what about damage that may happen to a HO’s vehicle if they let you use it? Or damage to a home? Or a lost of injured pet?
Well you’d have to deal with those rare examples should they arise but take care that they don’t.
I think the comments are respectful and useful. @pietkuip & I are trying to put things into perspective and reassure @AmyJayne
Hosts typically include sitters in their insurance. As for the rest? Not much, unless you set the house on fire or negligently feed the dog chocklad. But even then…
I’ve experienced both vehicle damage & home damage on sits, all of which have been resolved amicably, without issue. But the longer I’m on this site, the more First Time Homeowner’s I encounter, who provide almost nothing prior to a sit. And I’m surprised that HO’s don’t realize how essential providing this info is for their own benefit. So perhaps the post should be directed towards them. Regardless, if you look at other forum posts, many sitters stress the need for adequate communication prior to a sit. I’m envious you don’t feel you need that.
the comments didn’t feel like any of those things.
Indeed. I saw someone upset (the capital letters) and probably rightly so (picky HOs can be a pain). But it is not the end of the world. Sorry if that caused further upset.
(I now got four stars without any reason given, probably because the HO did not know that on THS five stars is the baseline.)
I have lots of communication with home owners before sits, not sure why you think I don’t. I’m currently on my 80th sit (not all through THS, but the majority) and so far have not experienced the things you mention. I have broken the odd glass and kerbed a car on one occasion, but would always tell the owner who appreciate honesty.
I never worry about things in advance but deal with problems at the time they might arise.
I agree with you. Maybe the example of where a sitter is supposed to put a fork is extreme, but it’s also true that there are people who get upset for things like that out there.
I’m interpreting that you are also referring to the very personal preferences that some HO’s have about how to take care of their pets (and house) that, if not spelled out, can leave room to interpretation on the sitter’s behalf, leading to the HO’s disappointment.
I cannot stress enough that we are people living in the four corners of the planet. IMO it’s logical that a one-size-fits-all way of doing things cannot be expected.
I started noticing that some pet parents were really detailed in their listing and welcome guide and some were really missing a lot of information. I don’t like to wait to get information about the pets in the welcome guide so I started asking more detailed questions during the application process so that I can determine if I want to move forward or withdrawl my application. Some pet parents are surprised that an applicant will withdrawl. Maybe they assume that the “yes” only comes from their end.
As a HO I’m not sure what your expectations are with respect to the welcome guide regarding car damage or home damage or lost or injured pets. Our version of the Welcome guide (12 pages) gives information about our cats and home but other than caring for the cats (with a few specifics) and leaving our home as you found it and some specifics on where things are and things to watch I don’t see what else could be expected. We trust our cats and home to the care of sitters expecting they will do just that, care and do what is appropriate. Communication during the sit ensures that the unexpected is resolved and although accidents do happen we do not provide for them beforehand nor do we account for negligence as it is called TrustedHousesitters.
Shouldn’t these things you are highlighting be discussed at the video meeting before the sit is accepted?
To me, the home guide is a document that dots the i’s and crosses the t’s. Everything of any importance is always discussed before pressing that button.