Most home-based bookings involve a key: the owner hands one over, the sitter lets themselves in, and afterwards the key comes back. The handover is easy to remember — someone is waiting for it. It is the return that gets forgotten. So the one rule that matters: agree the return before the booking starts, and mark both events on the booking page.
Agree before the booking starts
- Before — how the key reaches the sitter: in person, a lockbox, a concierge, or another way.
- Before — how and when it comes back: the moment, the place, the method.
- After each event — the sitter marks on the booking that the key was received, and the owner marks that it came back.
The ways people do it
In person
The simplest and the safest: hand the key over at the meet-and-greet or on day one. Count the keys together, show which lock each one opens, and agree the return moment.
Lockbox
A code-protected box by the door. The sitter takes the key out and puts it back at the end. Change the code after the booking. Never send the box code as a message — say it in person, or use a channel outside the conversation.
Concierge or a trusted person
Leave the key with a concierge, a neighbour or a friend. Tell them the sitter's name, and tell the sitter who to ask for.
Smart lock
Create a temporary access code scoped to the booking dates and delete it afterwards. Never share the master code or an alarm code — temporary access exists precisely so you do not have to.
Parcel locker
Where courier locker networks operate — in Ukraine, for example, Nova Post lockers are commonly used — a key can change hands without a meeting: a small parcel with no address on it, sent to a locker the other person picks.
Safety rules
- Never send an access code, an alarm code or a lock combination as a message. Conversations are stored, and Petlify deliberately stores no codes and has no field for one. Say the code aloud at the handover, or use a channel that is not the record of the booking.
- No address on the key fob. A lost key with an address on it is an invitation.
- Hand over only the keys that are needed, and count them both ways.
- Agree the return before the start — after the booking ends nobody is waiting for it, which is exactly why it gets forgotten.
Mark it on the booking page
A confirmed booking carries a key block: an optional method label and two events — the sitter received the key, and the owner got it back. Each side confirms its own. If the booking ends with the return unconfirmed, both of you get a single reminder.