Home > Blog > No Welcome Guide: What to Do
Quick Facts
| Most common reason | Homeowner did not know the feature existed, or the guide was not shared in time |
| What to do before arriving | Ask for the guide in advance — message through THS before the sit starts |
| If no guide arrives | Prepare your own questions for the in-person handover |
| Most critical information | Pet feeding routine, vet details, emergency contacts, alarm code |
| If you arrive with no information | Work through the handover conversation — most things come up naturally |
| When to contact the platform | If safety-critical information is actively withheld or the homeowner is unreachable |
| Build your own reference | Take photos of food bags, write down codes, note feeding times yourself |
A welcome guide is not guaranteed. Across 18 sits and 11 countries, TrustedHouseSitters sends homeowners clear guidance on completing one, but completing it is not enforced. Some homeowners are new and do not know the feature exists. Some prefer to hand over in person. Some simply forget. And sometimes (as the THS forum shows) a guide that was completed disappears between sits when the homeowner creates a new one for each booking rather than updating their existing one.
This article covers what to do when the guide is missing before you arrive, what to ask during the handover, how to build your own reference document, and when the absence of information becomes serious enough to escalate.
Why Guides Go Missing
The THS community has documented several recurring reasons for missing guides:
Some homeowners, especially newer ones, do not know the welcome guide feature exists at all. They signed up, listed their home, confirmed a sitter, and assumed information would be exchanged at the handover. The platform does not make completing the guide a hard requirement for confirming a sit.
Some homeowners complete a guide for their first sit and then it disappears. This happens either because the THS system creates a new guide entry for each sit rather than persisting the previous one, or because the homeowner cannot find where to share it after confirming. The forum has a thread specifically titled "Where did my Welcome Guide go?" from March 2025 where a homeowner confirms exactly this problem.
Some homeowners prefer to hand over in person and feel a written guide is unnecessary. This is the situation with an upcoming Portugal sit where the homeowner explicitly said she would rather provide a printed version when we arrive. For a short, well-understood sit after a strong video call, this is manageable.
And some guides are shared too late, visible in the THS dashboard only after the sit has started, when the sitter is already at the property with no internet context for reference.
Request the Guide Before You Arrive
The first step when a guide has not appeared before the sit is to ask for it, simply and directly, through the THS messaging system. Keep it friendly and practical:
"Hi [name], we are looking forward to the sit. Would you be able to share the welcome guide when you get a chance? We find it helpful to review before we arrive so we can come prepared with any questions."
Most homeowners respond promptly to this. It is a normal, professional request. If the guide is missing because of a technical issue (the share button not working, the guide not going live), this message also prompts the homeowner to investigate the problem before you arrive rather than on the day.
Send this message at least a week before the sit starts. That gives time for a response and for follow-up if the guide still does not appear.
What the Video Call Covers vs What the Guide Covers
There is a meaningful difference between what gets communicated on a video call and what a welcome guide provides.
The video call covers context: the homeowner's personality, their relationship with the animals, the feel of the home, what they are excited about or worried about. It is a human exchange, and it is the most important step in deciding whether a sit is the right fit.
The welcome guide covers specifics that are easy to forget or mix up, especially if you are doing several sits in quick succession. Exact feeding amounts, medication schedules, bin collection days, alarm codes, the name and address of the vet, WiFi passwords, which keys open which doors. These details are easy to explain verbally and equally easy to misremember a week later when you actually need them.
The guide also serves as a reference you can return to mid-sit without having to contact the homeowner. Calling an owner who is on holiday because you cannot remember whether the recycling goes out Tuesday or Wednesday is avoidable if the information is written down somewhere.
Building Your Own Reference at the Handover
When there is no guide, the in-person handover becomes the moment to capture everything you need. Most of this happens naturally as the homeowner walks you through the home. Your job is to note the things they say so you do not have to rely on memory.
Practical ways to capture information at handover:
Photograph the pet food bag. The exact food brand, the portion measurement, any mixing instructions: photographing the bag is faster and more accurate than writing it down. You can refer back to the photo at every feed.
Write down codes immediately. Alarm codes, gate codes, WiFi passwords: write them in your phone as the homeowner says them rather than trusting memory. If you lose internet access mid-sit, the WiFi password in your notes is the thing that saves you.
Photograph the vet card and any pet medical documents. A photo of the vaccination certificate, the vet's contact details, and any prescription labels means you have them even if the physical documents are not left somewhere obvious.
Take a photo of any appliance you are unsure about. A washing machine with unfamiliar settings, a boiler panel, a gate mechanism: photograph it so you can troubleshoot later without asking.
Note any pet quirk the homeowner mentions in passing. "She always goes under the bed when she hears thunder" or "he has never liked having his feet touched." These details are easy to say and easy to forget. A brief note in your phone captures them.
This is also the moment to ask any questions that have not been addressed. If the homeowner has not mentioned the vet, ask directly before they leave. If medication has not been discussed and the pet is elderly, ask. The handover is the best and last opportunity to fill gaps in person.
The Information You Must Have Before the Homeowner Leaves
Some information is non-negotiable. If it has not been covered by the time the homeowner is heading to the door, stop them and ask.
| Information | Why it cannot wait |
|---|---|
| Pet feeding routine — what, how much, when | Missing a feed or giving the wrong amount can cause health issues |
| Vet name, address, and phone number | In an emergency, you cannot search for this under pressure |
| Emergency contact (family member or neighbour) | In case the homeowner cannot be reached |
| Pet medication details | Timing and dose are not guessable |
| Alarm code | Triggering an alarm without knowing the code creates an immediate problem |
| Key handover confirmation | Which keys, where spares are, what to do on departure |
For everything else (bin days, appliance quirks, preferred walking routes) you can figure it out, message the homeowner, or look it up. For the items above, you cannot. Our pet emergency guide explains what happens when vet information is missing mid-sit. It is a situation worth avoiding entirely.
The Spain Letter: When to Call
On a sit in Spain, we received a letter addressed to the homeowners. We could not read Spanish, and a postal worker required some form of identification to release a package. We called the homeowner immediately.
They explained what was needed, we handled it, and the whole exchange took a few minutes. It was not an interruption of their holiday. It was a two-minute call that resolved something neither of us had anticipated.
This is the right framing for any quick call mid-sit when something unexpected comes up: a two-minute call that solves the problem is better than a day of uncertainty, workaround attempts, or a situation that escalates because you did not want to disturb someone on holiday. Homeowners who use house sitting platforms understand they may get an occasional message. They chose this arrangement knowing that.
The reluctance many sitters feel about calling the homeowner comes from a misplaced sense that they are supposed to handle everything independently. The sit is a mutual arrangement. A quick call when something needs clarification is not a failure of the sitter. It is responsible communication.
When the Absence of Information Is a Problem
Most missing welcome guides are a minor inconvenience, not a serious issue. The handover covers the important information, you build your own notes, and the sit proceeds normally.
The situation becomes more serious when:
A pet has known health conditions or medication needs and the homeowner has not left any documentation and cannot be reached. This is the scenario where our pet emergency guide and the THS vet advice line (Standard and Premium) become important.
The homeowner is unresponsive before the sit starts and no information has been provided through any channel. If you have messaged twice through THS and received no response in the week before the sit, contact Membership Services. This is not normal and it is not a situation you should arrive into without escalating.
A sit involves animals with special requirements (farm animals, exotic pets, animals on palliative care) and no instructions have been provided. This is worth raising formally with the platform before the sit starts, not after you have arrived and are managing it alone.
For standard sits involving healthy dogs and cats, a missing guide is manageable. Use the handover, build your notes, and call when uncertain. Most of the information you need will emerge naturally. Our checkout guide covers the reverse situation: what information you owe the homeowner on departure.
The Homeowner Perspective
Many homeowners who do not provide a guide are not being careless. They are often first-time or infrequent users of the platform who truly do not know the feature exists or how to use it. A homeowner who wants a thorough and well-reviewed sitter is not trying to set them up to fail.
If you arrive and there is no guide, approach the handover as a collaborative exchange rather than an inspection of what the homeowner has failed to provide. Ask questions warmly. Show interest in the animals. The information will come. Our guide on how to prepare for a house sitter is written for homeowners and covers exactly what information sitters need. You could share it before the sit as a gentle prompt.
A Template Welcome Guide You Can Send to Homeowners
If you are frequently encountering incomplete guides, one practical option is to send homeowners a brief template of the information you find most useful, framed as a helpful resource rather than a demand.
"Hi [name], we are really looking forward to the sit. To help us look after everything as well as possible, we find it useful to have a few key details before we arrive. Anything you can share on the following would be brilliant: pet feeding routine (what, how much, when), vet name and address, any medication details, emergency contact in case we cannot reach you, alarm or key code, and WiFi details. No need to be exhaustive. The feeding routine and vet info are the most important. Looking forward to meeting you and [pet name]."
This message gets you the information you need without making the homeowner feel criticised, and it gives them a clear and manageable list rather than an open-ended request.
Conclusion
A missing welcome guide is a common situation with a clear response: ask for it early, use the handover to capture what you need, build your own reference notes, and call when something unexpected comes up.
The two things that matter most before any sit starts are the pet feeding details and the vet contact information. Everything else can be worked out. Those two cannot be improvised in an emergency.
Join TrustedHouseSitters with our 25% discount and read our guide on what to ask a homeowner before a sit. The right questions before arrival mean the guide's absence barely matters. DM us @housesittersguide on Instagram with questions. We answer everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if there is no welcome guide before my house sit?
Message the homeowner through the platform at least a week before the sit and ask for it directly. Most homeowners respond quickly. If the guide still does not appear, prepare your own list of questions for the in-person handover and use that conversation to capture the key information. The most important details (pet feeding routine, vet contact, emergency contacts, alarm code) must be confirmed before the homeowner leaves regardless of whether a guide exists.
What if the homeowner never answers my questions about the welcome guide?
If you have messaged twice with no response in the week before the sit, contact THS Membership Services. Unresponsive homeowners before a sit starts is not normal and is worth flagging. If it is a minor delay rather than total silence, arrive at the sit prepared for a thorough in-person handover and note everything yourself. Our video call guide covers how to use the pre-sit conversation to gather everything you need even when written materials are sparse.
Is a welcome guide required on TrustedHouseSitters?
No. Completing a welcome guide is not currently enforced by THS. Homeowners are encouraged to complete one, and the platform provides the tool, but the sit can be confirmed without it. The THS forum has multiple threads about guides going missing between sits, not being shared correctly, or never being completed by newer homeowners. Asking for it proactively is the sitter's most reliable solution.
Can I ask for a welcome guide from platforms other than THS?
Yes, though the format varies by platform. TrustedHouseSitters has a structured welcome guide tool within the dashboard. On other platforms including Nomador and Aussie House Sitters, the equivalent information is typically exchanged through messages, attached documents, or verbally at handover. The same principle applies regardless of platform: get the key details before the homeowner leaves, and write them down yourself if nothing has been formally provided.
