I agree with EVERY POINT, Rebecca.
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Good point. I definitely donāt have the brain of a criminal as the point you made about keys never crossed my mind.
I agree and it would not be a problem for me as a HO to provide these informations.
However THS would need to add a section for up to date information like preferred arrival and departure times for sitters as well as about their own , because they can change from one listing of dates to another. As it is now, you simply add new dates to your originally created listing, but everything else stays the same.
I guess there are people who donāt realize that there might have been changes in their daily routines, because their listing was written years ago and they didnāt update it?
When I browsed through other HOās listings (to get ideas what to put in my own) I saw that there are dates for summer but the pictures of the house were taken around Christmas including decorations 
.
So a mandatory section, without which the listing cannot go online is a good idea.
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I agree. I like to discover the neighborhood on my own, and everything is shown on Google maps anyway.
And yes, water shutoff valve, fuse box, spare light bulbs are all important things to know
One other thing is extremely important to me but I need to know long before I get the welcome guide. Are there stairs?
Iām not quite old and decrepit, but I do have my limits. Recently I was all set to book a house-sit in Colorado. I was interested, the host was interested. But she didnāt mention, and it was only when I asked, that I found out it was a fourth-floor walkup. And because the dog needed to go out four times a day, weāre talking 16 flights up and 16 flights down every day. That is way too much for me!!
Oops!
Correcting my math! Going to the fourth floor would mean going up three flights of stairs. So āonlyā 12 flights up and 12 down.
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I would say I was pretty fit but that would be a no thank you from me as well.
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I guess you donāt have been to rural Germany. If you happen to have internet connection at all, be sure that many restaurants (especially the good ones, where only the locals go to) are not to be found on the internet. Happy exploring 
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Hi @Rebecca_R , the H O should have put all of this information in the actual listing, saving you wasted time.
ā¦and if anybody doesnāt need this kind of information, he/she is free to ignore it.
I totally agree.
Uuuupsā¦I guess even with a cleaning lady, ours is not a house for you to sitā¦
This picture was taken by me lying on my back on the ground floor 
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Holy moly.
Absolutely beautiful, but not for me.
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More and more HO is not willing to do WG. The last 3 sits, I had a piece of paper with couple words.
The one that I started yesterday, just nothing. Came in the day earlier to get accustomed to the baby and find out everything I need. Not a piece of paper, HO very busy and remote area with several points about the house. Trusted house sitter, please help us. Any HO when the put an add, you have to force well come guide. I am so lost today. I have a cat who talks. And I did not got info on her needs. So I am trying to understand, food or going out. If possible, I donāt know how, pls have a specific guide.
Thanks
Iām so sorry you find yourself in this situation @Grandma , as a HO I cannot imagine leaving our precious pack in anyoneās hands without leaving thorough info on their needs and habitsā¦ Iām afraid that in my opinion it doesnāt speak well of their care and relationship with their own animalsā¦
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Cats meow to get human attention. The cat may be testing you to see if you respond. If the cat is getting fed according to the owner instructions (assuming they at least gave you that information), the cat probably doesnāt NEED more food, but maybe WANTS it. If the cat is meowing at a door, it probably wants to go out. If you are going to be at the house for a long sit, you might want to train the cat that meowing doesnāt work. If the cat learns that you open the door whenever he meows, for example, he will meow more, maybe during the night.
As for the WG - I think some sitters require it 1-2 weeks before a sit or even before confirming.
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Hi @Grandma ā¦ sorry youāve had these recent experiences and I have moved your comment to this thread so that the wider team will see it here. As @ArjunaTHS mentions further up this thread the welcome guide is being looked at to see how it can be improved, following the recent survey. Iām sure there will be an update on this topic once any changes have been implemented.
In the meantime, one thing we do when we book sits, if a guide isnāt available, is to send a list of the most important questions by email and suggest that by answering these before the sit it will make the handover much easier (at a busy time). To be honest, weāve never had a situation where information hasnāt been available, but we are quite āstrictā about getting information in advance or at handover.
I know this isnāt the perfect answer to this situation, but if there is information you need as a necessity in terms of the care of the pets, that they didnāt give time to at the handover, I would ask for a quick phone call to clarify. Or send a message or email with the most important questions.
I hope you get some clarity.
The reason is, as I am finding often, those are people who have steady same sitters. We fill in when they canāt make it. So they use HO as a spare tire very rarely.
Thanks again
Thanks for responding.
This cat has to meow for food. Nothing out there for him. Then I prepare his plate. This I have been told. Goes to the faucet meow, at this time water.
I am learning.
Hahahahaha
Hi, at this point the Welcome Guide is at the HOās discretion. It is encouraged but it is not a requirement. Many sitters would like it well in advance. Personally, I would like it as soon as the sit is confirmed. It is my understanding that it cannot be sent until both HO and sitter confirm. It contains sensitive information, such as alarm codes, names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and WiFi passwords, that a HO would only want to share after a commitment has been made.
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Thatās a badly-trained cat (and owner!)