How do you do House Sitting?

I do house sitting, boarding, and drop in visits. My drop in rate is $15 for a 30-minute visit, and my house sitting rate will be $45 starting Jan. 1. I have had 2 different types of house sitting assignments, all agreed upon by the client at the M&G. One type is where i make 3 visits a day, 2 30-minute visits and one about 2 hours at night, but I don't spend the night. The other I basically move into the client home and use that as my base of operations. I come and go during the day if necessary, to take care of other clients or to check on my house (I don't have pets of my own). My price includes all care for the dog. In your situation, my house sitting fee would definitely be lower than the per-visit drop in rate, but higher than what you are charging.

It sounds like your house sitting rate may be too low. Since you are basically spending a lot of time at their house, disrupting your normal routine and potentially being unable to take care of other clients, I would consider raising your rate depending on what other sitters charge in your area. It also sounds like your client is just trying to save money, thereby depriving you of previously-accepted income. I would consider whether or not you wish to keep this client, since they were previously ok with your fees.

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.

From the questions/comments posted here, there are some sitters who choose to charge on an a la carte basis for every service provided. My rates are all-inclusive (feeding, walking, giving meds...)

Hey Megan, it sounds like you are undercharging for your house sitting! I would adjust your rates :)

For me, house sitting is easier than drop ins because I go to sleep with the dogs and wake up with them, so it's easier to get them out and is less driving for me.

It makes sense that your client would choose the cheapest option on your profile, but you have to figure that since you will be "living" with the dogs, you won't have to wake up at 6am to drive over to walk them, and you won't have to leave your house at 10pm to walk them.

My overnights are 12 hour shifts. Then if they want drop in visit during the day, I'll do that before I go back at night for the overnight again. Typically I do 6pm to 6am if it's an overnight stay.