Are you expected to stay just overnight and/or daytime and overnight with not leaving. I have a request for a 22 day sitting at their house. What is the usual situation?
When a client hires you for housesitting, you are expected to stay at the client's home for the entire period. Obviously, like any normal person, you probably will have to go out, attend to errands, etc., However, you are supposed to stay at the home, take care of the pet and/or house and sleep there. That is why housesitting is typically a more expensive option. The alternative is to provide drop-in visits, where you check on the pet, attend to its needs, walk, feed, and play with it a certain number of times a day.
There probably is no usual situation. Everyone handles things differently. But the most important thing is to find out what the client expects. If you are not prepared to stay at a stranger's home, then you should only be offering drop-in visits.
Then why does Rover call it an "Overnight" X 'price'. If I have other services like drop-ins' why would there not be something in rover to distinguish between 'overnight' and full '24 hours' . I had one client just ask for being there by 5:30pm and then leave 5am if I want. Another wants full house watching. Shouldn't their be a price difference between the two? I don't want to seem to bait and switch but I can't charge the same for the later as the first.
You have the flexibility to charge more or less, which is why it is important to find out what your customer expects from you at the M&G or via messaging beforehand, so you can give them an accurate quote for the services they require. Rover guidelines typically show services as per night or per visit. However, in the Help section, it specifically states: How much time does the sitter rate cover? The amount of time covered by the sitter’s rate depends on the service being offered: Dog Boarding and House Sitting are both per night, up to 24 hours. Dog Walking is per 30-minute walk. Drop-In Visits are per 30-minute visit. Doggy Day Care is per day, dropping off around 7-9am and picking up around 4-6pm. Rover offers sitters and pet parents the flexibility to customize their experience. So while these are our recommended guidelines, you and your sitter...
Remember, Sarah, you asked if you were "expected" to stay the night. The only way to ascertain that is to ask the client. I was only giving you Rover's stated guidelines for services and how they are charged.
That's funny when I mentioned I don't do sleepovers unless it's an absolute necessary the client said to me" really you do get requests like that I don't have anybody but family sleep at my house. Dogs sleep at night. Why would you need to spend the night"
This is definitely something to be discussed at the M&G.
There is a sitter in my area who is a student and offers housesitting from afternoon through overnight and then morning, then he's at school during the day. When I housesit, I move into the client's home for the duration of the stay. I discuss with them how often I can leave to run errands, check on my house, grocery shop if it's an extended stay, etc. While I'm there I take in the mail, turn lights on and off, and other smaller chores that we agree on, like watering plants, feed the fish, etc. But basically I live in their house for the entire stay, coming and going as needed.
Topics to discuss at the M&G: do you provide your own food and drinks (I always do, even when the client gives me carte blanche to use their food), who provides towels, chores and other responsibilities, community amenities such as pool or park area, do they have Internet or Wi-Fi, access to TV and other electronics. Be sure to find out how to operate shower and any appliances.
I do the same thing I turn on lights take the mail in I just don't sleep over
Hi Sarah: I offer walks and drop-ins, and overnights for my previous (and current) clients. I've only had one overnight stay (so far) and I had a walk previously scheduled for the next day. Basically, what I'm saying is that if you have other services, I would think the overnight clients would understand if you had to come and go during the overnight stay. Most of us sitters have our own pets to take care of too, so we'd have to leave at some point to take care of them. I agree with what Karen and Cari say. Just be sure to discuss everything at the meet & greet - I make a list of things I want to go over and take notes.
Exactly how I do it, I tell them in the very first few sentences that I meet and greet them