Are walks included in the price of an overnight stay?

Whether you board dogs in your home or sit for them at the client, the "nightly" charge is for a 24-hour period of care, which would include walking, feeding, playing, etc.

https://support.rover.com/hc/en-us/ar...

Of course, you have the flexibility to charge however you want so long as the customer understands and you've sent a revised invoice. When a customer requests x number of nights per dog, Rover's system assumes you are providing the full level of care described in the FAQ linked above. When a dog stays at my home, all walks are included in my daily charge.

I agree with Karen. Walks are included in all of my rates and services except for drop in visits. Since you are charging for a 24-hour period, an additional charge for a walk would be double-billing in my opinion.

An overnight stay includes a place to sleep, food, water, human interaction AND exercise. I don't usually hand-walk my boarders, but that is because I have a huge yard where they run around all day, so they get plenty of exercise. If a dog needs additional energy burned off before bed, then I will take them for a good long run.

Always include walks/daily exercise as part of your boarding service. If you do not feel you are being well paid for your time per dog, then raise your nightly fee.

I agree with both Cari and Karen. Rover includes all of the dog's care in the nightly stay price. Since most sitters do not charge additional fees for walks during boarding or house-sitting, it could drive new clients away. At the meet and greet, I always lay out what my typical boarding schedule looks like. This includes a morning and evening walk, plus a midday and bed time potty break. If a client wants adjustments to this, such as a senior or puppy that need more frequent outings, I make note of it.

If you do decide to charge additional fees for walks, I would consider lowering your nightly price. If I was paying $200 for 4 nights for my two pups, I would expect that my sitter would walk my dog according to their usual schedule. I would only consider paying for walks if a sitter were on the lower end of pricing.

Of course, as Karen said, your fees are totally up to you! I would just suggest making it clear in your profile and in the messages leading up to the meet and greet, that walks would incur an additional charge. This way, a client doesn't feel blindsided at a M&G (or when booking) by new prices.

I consider what the Rover cost shows as my "base" rate and let them know in the initial messaging that the cost could go up or down based on the meet and greet after I have a deeper understanding of the pet's needs. At the meet & greet, I talk to the owners in depth about their dogs needs, preferences and schedules, and then I come up with a rate I feel is acceptable for both the amount of work required to take care of their dogs and for the amount of total time they expect me to spend with them. I won't accept a booking that means I earn less than $10 an hour for my work.