Trusted my gut and declined this booking.

After a really micromanage-y sit that I accepted against my gut telling me not to, I wanted to share a meet & greet I had yesterday where I actually listened to that gut feeling and decided not to accept the sit.

I went to a meet & greet at a really nice house. It was a young couple, probably in their mid-30s. I actually have a really great client who lives next door, so I thought it was going to be another great sit. (I love house sitting at rich peoples homes lol.)

Anyway, I get there, and the wife walks me into the kitchen where her husband is on the phone. He wraps up his call but has this “I’ve got five minutes, let’s cut to the chase” kind of attitude. The very first thing he asks me is about my schedule. I tell him I work from home, so I’m pretty flexible. I usually step out around lunchtime for a couple of hours and then again later in the afternoon to go to the gym.

His response was:

“I’ll tell you what I don’t like about your response, it’s really vague. Are you actually going to spend time with my dog, or are you going to be gone 6+ hours?”

I completely understand wanting to know a sitter’s schedule, especially if you’ve had bad experiences before. But the way he started the conversation immediately rubbed me the wrong way. It felt like I was being held accountable for other sitters’ mistakes before I’d even had the chance to introduce myself.

After I clarified my schedule, they told me their dog couldn’t be left alone for more than 2–3 hours at a time. For context, I charge $60/night for house sitting. To me, expecting someone to be there almost all day for that rate feels a little unrealistic. If they need someone there nearly 24/7, I feel like that’s closer to constant care than standard house sitting.

At that point, I already knew I probably wasn’t going to accept the booking. I had a strong feeling this was going to turn into one of those sits where every little thing was going to be questioned.

Then I asked if it was okay to use their kitchen during the stay. In my experience, it’s almost always a yes, but I always like to ask first. The wife explained that they’re Orthodox and only eat kosher, so she said no.

I completely respect that, but expecting me to stay at the house almost all day while also not really being able to use their kitchen doesn’t really sound like a good deal to me. I was probably going to spend more on takeout than I would actually make from the sit.

I politely declined afterward, and honestly, I feel really good about it. It’s important to trust your instincts, and this time I actually did.

Would you have taken this booking? I’d also love to hear your stories of meet & greets where you realized it just wasn’t the right fit. I’m always curious to hear what makes other sitters walk away.