Pricing question? Is your nightly fee all you charge for full days including multiple walks, runs, hikes, feedings, socializing, and overnight stays?

Hi, Yes, the nightly fee generally includes a 24 hour period of care (from daytime through overnight to roughly the same time the next day) of: walks/runs, feeding meals/treats, socializing/cuddles/tender loving care. If their care extends much past an even 24 hours, many sitters charge a daycare or pro-rated partial or half daycare rate. And yes, a lot of care goes into what is charged. You'll likely find it's better to review the pricing of services for sitters within your competitive area, rather than the entire nation.

Do not think about it being just a nightly charge, like the dog is just sleeping over at your home and going home the next morning. Your Rover rate is for a 24-hour period; the clock starts ticking when the owner drops off the dog. At a minimum, the dog should receive feedings, walks and playing/hanging out with you. You are not required to spend every waking moment with a client dog. That is up to you. Your listing should describe what you will be doing for a client's dog, how many walks it will receive per day, time between pottying, what kind of exercise/playtime activities you will do with the dog, how much time (if any) you might leave the dog alone during the day, etc.

As Deb A suggested above, look at rates set by other Austin sitters and, if you are new, then you should probably set your rate below other, more established sitters in order to get some jobs.

I charge a flat nightly fee for full care, that includes walks, hikes, feeding, administering medication and bathing if the pup needs it.

One of the reasons we use Rover for our own dog was that I don't like that kennel's charge extra for things like walks, hikes, and whatever else. If I'm already paying somebody to care for my dog, I shouldn't have to pay extra for them to actually do the things that constitute caring for my dog.

The other's advice about starting your pricing a tad below the local average is good. We started 5 dollars below average for ours and raised it after 6 months once we got a few good reviews up. We did lock in the lower rate for our early customers as kind of a "thank you" for giving us a start and trusting us with their pets while we had very few reviews.