Anyone else notice insanely low rates from other Rover sitters?
We started sitting with Rover a couple of years ago and had a very steady stream of regular clients (many of whom are still regulars). We were busy all the time and loved it. However, our dog became terminally ill last Spring and we had to take a break. We needed to give her our undivided attention during her last months with us. We still watched the dogs of regulars on a case by case basis (our dog loved them and enjoyed it).
We're back sitting again and we haven't really been getting many requests from new clients. So I went online to look at the other sitters in the area. In the time we took our break, the number has grown from just a few sitters in our area to dozens. What shocked me is how little most of them are charging. As little as $15 a night, which is half what we charged. We've had to take our price down a bit. I'm all for healthy competition but this is still a business. When I started, I looked at prices in the area and charged accordingly. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to these massively low rates the new sitters are charging.
We're Rover clients as well. Our regular sitter noticed the same thing! She's been doing this for years and is worried about staying with Rover at all. I'm starting to think the same thing. I love doing this. I'm home all day and I absolutely love our fur guests! We treat them like family!! I just can't keep doing it if the amount of money I make gets cut so drastically. Anyone else notice this trend in their area??
UPDATE ON THIS POST...
Bookings picked way up after a month after I posted this. And quite a few of those cut rate sitters seem to have dropped by the wayside. They must not have been serious about it or maybe the quality of their care wasn't very good. What we've come to realize is that we shouldn't cut our rates because people choose to charge nothing. We're very good at this and our clients appreciate that. I look at it this way...would the Four Seasons cut their rates because the Motel 6 down the street is charging low rates? No. So if anyone else runs into this issue, hold your ground. If you're the best in the area, the clients will come your way. Just be patient.
I'm also new to Rover. As a new sitter myself, I charge $22 a night (for now). New sitters, I've read, have to charge less to gain clients. And I love dogs, so I want this to work out. Don't worry, the loyal ones will stick with you; they won't turn. They like you for a reason. =)
That would've been my response almost word for word. I started with rates slightly lower than those I saw in my area. HOWEVER, I notice that people charge MORE for sitting than boarding and I do that the other way around because I don't have to prep the house, worry about as much, etc.
Professional dog walking/sitter business charge $60-$100 per overnighter. Rover's minimum needs to match that. If you only charge $30 per night, subtract 20% for Rover's cut = $24. Subtract another 20% for taxes = @$18. Deduct gas, travel time & mileage. Congratulations, you've made @$10!
Keep in mind those prices are per animal. http://Rover.com can get pricey if you have more than one dog and then add on the service fee. We found it to be out of sight price wise.
Prices are insane. I'm thinking of switching to http://care.com. I'm being charged 50 dollars for an hour of walking. so if I work 4 days I'm paying 200 dollars a week for my dogs to be walked.