When/How Often Do You Increase Your Rates?

I arbitrarily set my rates low to attract clients when my profile went live, well it worked! At the end of year 1, I raised my rates by $2 for all clients. And I raised my posted rates on Rover significantly more as my calendar was always full. Well guess what when I lost a walking client at the lower rates I got new ones at the much higher rate. Best of luck.

Set a rate that works for you, regardless of attracting customers. Remember Rover takes about 20%, and another 30% needs to be paid quarterly for taxes. It looks like you are charging $25, so you are only taking home $12.5 right now for 24 hours of care. Most pups require about 3 hours of "hands on" care (feeding, walks), so you are making just over $4 an hour right now.

Once you have something that is comfortable for you, I would increase either at a regular interval (annually, every two years), or when something increases the quality of your care (my clients saw a bump after I took classes related to pet care). I've been on the platform for 6 years now, and have doubled. I bumped $10 after my first year after realizing I hadn't set my prices high enough, then bumped again after a few years, and once more after I took classes related to my sitting. Probably due for another raise. It's harder to raise prices with current clients.

I tend to increase my rates when I am bombarded by bookings because it indicates the demand is greater than I can supply. Surprisingly, increasing my rates has yet to impact the number of requests I get except when I used to do walking which I have since stopped doing.