Home > Blog > What to Do If the House Sit Dates Change While You're Already Traveling
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Think of it like this | The sitter is an Airbnb guest who's already booked. You wouldn't change their dates or move in with them because your own plans shifted, you'd find your own alternative accommodation instead |
| Before the sit starts | TrustedHouseSitters requires the sitter to actively reconfirm availability before a date change proceeds, you're not automatically bound to accept |
| After the sit has started | No self-service tool. Both parties must agree, then contact Membership Services directly to have dates manually updated |
| 1-2 day delay | Fair to ask the homeowner to cover interim accommodation or host you briefly, this is our preference, not a rule |
| 2-3+ day delay | Still workable, but outside accommodation is strongly preferred over staying in the home itself |
| A week or more | Treat it as a cancellation. Don't try to make it work |
| What's never fair | A homeowner asking the sitter to simply cohabit with them for the full sit instead of resolving the disruption properly |
| Nomador's equivalent process | Less clearly documented, no confirmed sitter-reconfirmation step found in Nomador's own help materials |
A homeowner changing dates while you're already traveling toward a sit is genuinely two different situations, not one, and the platform mechanics reflect that. If it happens before the sit's official start, on TrustedHouseSitters you have real leverage: the platform explicitly requires you to reconfirm availability before the sit proceeds on new dates, meaning you can decline if it doesn't work. If it happens after the sit has already started, there's no such self-service safety net. Both sides have to agree, and then it has to be manually processed by Membership Services, a step that real sitters report can be slow and frustrating exactly when you need a fast answer.
We've never had a homeowner change plans on us mid-journey, though the closest we've come was a sit in Tavira, where the homeowner let us know ahead of time that she'd be returning a day earlier than planned. Because we travel by campervan, that kind of shift barely registers for us. If you're setting up TrustedHouseSitters membership, our 25% discount is worth grabbing regardless of how flexible your own travel style is.
This guide covers the actual mechanics of both scenarios, and what to do in each.
Scenario One: The Change Happens Before the Sit Starts
This is the better-documented, and honestly the more manageable, of the two scenarios, at least on TrustedHouseSitters.
According to THS's own support documentation, a homeowner can edit the dates of a confirmed sit through a self-service tool in their dashboard. But critically, THS states directly: "when you change dates with a confirmed sitter, we'll need them to reconfirm their availability and interest before the sit can go ahead." That means the change isn't automatic or forced onto you. You have a genuine checkpoint to say yes or no.
If you're already traveling and the new dates simply don't work, given your onward flights, a next sit already confirmed, or anything else, you're within your rights to decline. Practically, this likely means the original confirmed sit doesn't proceed as it stood, and it becomes a conversation about whether an alternative can be found, most likely resulting in a cancellation on the original terms rather than you being stuck with dates you can't actually make work.
That said, real forum reports show this process isn't always smooth. One recent thread describes a sitter unable to get any response from Membership Services after a homeowner said they'd return over a week early, leaving the sitter unable to confirm their actual dates or apply elsewhere in the meantime. The reconfirmation right exists on paper, but getting the platform to actually process a change quickly isn't guaranteed.
Scenario Two: The Change Happens After the Sit Has Started
This is where the mechanics shift meaningfully, and it's worth knowing before you're standing in the situation.
THS's own support content is explicit that once a sit is underway, there's no dashboard self-service option anymore. Instead: "you'll firstly need to ensure that both you and the sitter are completely happy with the changes," and once you're aligned, "you'll need to send confirmation through to our Membership Services team, who can update your dates for you." In other words, a mid-sit change requires mutual agreement plus direct, manual intervention from the platform, not a quick edit either side can make alone.
This matters practically because it introduces a genuine dependency on how responsive Membership Services is at that moment, and it means there's no equivalent "reconfirm or decline" checkpoint the way there is before a sit starts. If you're already mid-journey and the sit has technically begun, or is about to, and dates shift, your leverage is different: you're negotiating directly with the homeowner and hoping the platform processes the change promptly, rather than having a built-in right to simply decline new terms.
Nomador's Process, and What We Couldn't Confirm
Nomador's own help documentation describes homeowners editing a scheduled stay through "My stay offers > Edit this stay," but we could not find equivalent documentation describing a sitter-reconfirmation requirement, or a distinction between a pre-start and mid-stay change, the way THS spells out clearly.
We're not going to assert Nomador works identically to THS here since we can't confirm it directly. If you're on Nomador and this situation comes up, we'd suggest contacting Nomador support directly to clarify your specific rights before assuming either platform's process applies. If you've been through this on Nomador yourself, we'd genuinely like to hear how it actually played out, drop it in the comments below.
A Practical Threshold, Regardless of Platform
Whatever the exact mechanics, the length of the delay should still drive your actual decision, and it's worth being upfront: this is our own preference, not a platform rule, but we think it's a reasonable one.
It's unfair to expect a sitter to simply absorb a date change without discomfort, especially one happening a day before or on the day the sit was meant to begin. You've cleared your schedule, arranged your travel, and mentally committed to this specific sit. A homeowner shifting the goalposts at that point, without offering something in return, puts the entire cost of the disruption onto you.
| Delay Length | What We'd Do |
|---|---|
| 1-2 days | Ask the homeowner directly to cover interim accommodation, or offer you a room themselves for the gap |
| 2-3+ days | Still manageable, but we'd prefer outside accommodation over staying in the home itself |
| A week or more | Definitely not. Look for alternate accommodation and treat this as effectively a cancellation |
Even at 1-2 days, staying as a guest inside the homeowner's own home only really works briefly. No matter how well you get along, after about three days sharing that space starts to feel uncomfortable, because you can't properly relax. We've made this point elsewhere: it starts to feel like going on holiday with your boss watching. That dynamic doesn't disappear just because everyone's being friendly about it.
One arrangement we'd push back on directly: some homeowners, facing a cancellation, offer to simply have the sitter stay with them in the house for the full duration instead. We've read accounts of this happening, and it's genuinely unfair, however well-intentioned. It leaves the sitter in an ambiguous position nobody has actually defined: are they still expected to look after the pets as if it were a normal sit? Do the two households now share cooking, space, and routines for the entire stay? Most sitters who've described this situation say they simply didn't know what was expected of them, which is exactly the problem.
If a homeowner needs to cancel or delay a sit, the fair options are: cover a hotel for the sitter, formally cancel and compensate reasonable travel costs, or stay elsewhere entirely while the sitter remains in their own home. Cohabiting for the full length of what was meant to be an independent sit isn't a genuine fourth option, it's just a different, less obvious way of leaving the sitter to absorb the disruption.
Here's a mental model worth adopting if you're a homeowner in this position: think of the sit the way you'd think of an Airbnb booking, just paid for in time, care, and communication rather than money. The sitter is covering their side of that exchange by staying in your home, looking after your pets, and keeping you updated throughout. You wouldn't expect an Airbnb host to change your dates on you a day before check-in, or to move into the property alongside you for the length of your stay because their own plans changed. You'd be the one finding alternative accommodation, not the guest you'd already booked with. The fact that no money is changing hands here doesn't make the commitment any less real. It just makes it easier to forget that a real commitment was made at all.
If the reason behind the change is a genuine emergency, none of this changes the basic principle: talk it through together and look for the option that's fair to both sides, not just convenient for the homeowner. The sitter took real time out of their own plans specifically to look after this home and these pets. That's worth factoring into how the disruption gets resolved, not treated as incidental.
For Homeowners: Communicate Early, and Know Which Process Applies
If your plans shift and your sitter is already traveling, knowing which of the two scenarios you're actually in changes what you need to do. If the sit hasn't started yet, use the dashboard tool and give your sitter real time to reconfirm rather than assuming they'll simply adjust. If the sit has already started, reach out to your sitter directly first, agree on the change together, and then contact Membership Services promptly, since that step won't happen automatically.
Either way, communicate the moment you know, not once you've exhausted other options. If the delay is short, offering a room in your own home for the gap, or covering a couple of nights of accommodation, is a considerate response that acknowledges the disruption you're causing.
Have you had a house sit's dates shift while you were already on your way, on either platform? We'd like to hear exactly how the process actually worked for you, drop it in the comments below.
Caro and I have completed 20 house sits across 12 countries, driven 19,000km across Europe in our 1998 VW T4, and saved over $26,500 in accommodation costs over three years of house sitting. If this is happening to you right now, DM us @housesittersguide, we answer everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a homeowner force a date change on TrustedHouseSitters if the sit hasn't started yet?
No. THS's own documentation states that when a homeowner changes dates on a confirmed sit, the sitter must reconfirm their availability before the sit proceeds on the new dates. You're not automatically bound to accept a change.
What happens if dates need to change after a sit has already started?
There's no self-service option at that point. Both the sitter and homeowner need to agree on the change, and then contact TrustedHouseSitters Membership Services directly to have the dates manually updated on both accounts.
Is Membership Services fast to respond to date change requests?
Not always, based on real sitter reports. Some sitters describe waiting days without a response while trying to get a date change processed, which can be genuinely stressful if you're relying on that update to plan your next move.
Does Nomador work the same way as TrustedHouseSitters for date changes?
We couldn't confirm this directly. Nomador's help documentation describes how homeowners edit stay dates, but doesn't spell out a sitter-reconfirmation requirement or a pre-start versus mid-stay distinction the way TrustedHouseSitters does. Contact Nomador support directly if this comes up for you.
Responses
What are your thoughts on this post?